The Raw Report (11/20/06): Final Survivor Series Hype
Submitted by Chad Matthews on Monday, November 20, 2006 at 11:10 PM EST





The Raw Report (11/20/06)

The show opened with WWE Champion John Cena making his way to the ring, along with Lashley, RVD, Sabu, and Kane. As Team Cena made their way to the ring, JR and King introduced a video recap of Cena getting beat down at the hands of Umaga and Big Show last week. Back to live action, Cena grabbed a mic and said that just when he thought he’d get a chance to have a fight with Umaga, Big Show had to come down and ruin the party. He said that was okay, though, as he and his team would like to start Survivor Series a little bit early. Cena told “Tons of Fun” (Show) to get his “Team Goodyear” down to the ring and fight. At that point, a remix of Edge and Randy Orton’s themes blasted throughout the arena. Team Rated-RKO, also including Gregory Helms, Mike Knox, and Johnny Nitro, came to the ring and said that the new tag team champs should be out here talking rather than Cena, who got his ass kicked last week. Orton said that after Nitro beats Hardy tonight, there’d be four champions on their team, plus the biggest rising star on ECW, Mike Knox. Team Flair, also consisting of Dusty Rhodes and Sgt. Slaughter (w/ Arn Anderson), then made their presence felt. Flair called out Edge and Orton, and called bullshit on their tag title win last week. The Spirit Squad didn’t want to be left out of the party, so they came to the ringside area. Kenny called Flair’s Natural History Museum rejects pathetic. He called himself the youngest captain in Survivor Series history and said he had a special cheer for the occasion. However, Team DX came out to interrupt the cheerleaders. HBK said he was tired of the talking and suggested that they all just start the Royal Rumble right then and there. HHH whispered to him that it wasn’t the Rumble, but Survivor Series. HBK said that works, too. HHH told Flair that he and his team could beat the Squad anytime…ask any guy and they’ll tell you they are easy. He said there was a big case of Twinkies in the back, so Team Show wasn’t likely to show up. Therefore, Trips decided that only two teams were ready for action. He signaled out his own team, calling Punk the next ECW Champion and hyping the reuniting of the Hardy Boyz. They were about to do their usual “Two words for ya” schtick, but Edge interrupted and said that he and his team were tired of hearing those words. Edge suggested even Cena was tired of it. Cena said that if Show wasn’t coming out, then he had no problem with Team DX kicking Team Rated-RKO’s ass. At that point, Captain Big Show came out with his team and challenged the notion that he was gutless. He called himself the dominant captain of the most dominant Survivor Series team. Cena interrupted him and suggested everyone get in the ring and we see who’s left standing. Show started toward the ring with Finlay, Umaga, MVP, and Test behind him. BUT, Vince McMahon came to the ramp and asked them if they’d also lost their minds. He said they weren’t going to have Survivor Series tonight, but they will have a few one-on-one matches involving Survivor Series opponents, as well as an all-captains 8-man tag team match, pitting Cena, DX, and Flair against Show, Rated-RKO, and Kenny. (CMV1 note- based on the sheer volume of talent that was just assembled around the ringside area, this was one of the better opening segments of Raw in a very long time. It set-up a big 8-man tag to hype the Survivor Series in tonight’s main-event, and made each Survivor Series bout feel special. Damn…I like the start of this show).


Match 1: Sabu vs. Umaga (w/ Armando Alejandro Estrada)
-Umaga struck first with a stiff uppercut and a headbutt. A knife edge chop followed, giving Umaga complete and utter control. The Samoan Bulldozer continued his dominance and no sold all of Sabu’s attempts at offense. Umaga then connected on a running shoulder tackle that sent Sabu rolling out of the ring. On the outside, the Samoan tossed Sabu chest-first into the guardrail. Back in the ring, Umaga drilled the ECW star with a jumping headbutt. Sabu tried to mount some offense, but Umaga caught him with a big boot. 2-minutes in and Sabu still had gotten no offense. However, he finally connected with a springboard leg lariat and springboard DDT to gain some much needed momentum. The finish came when Umaga countered Sabu’s attempt at another springboard and clocked him with the Samoan Spike for the win. Umaga defeated Sabu at 3:04. (CMV1 rating- ¾ *) (CMV1 note- good squash match, but it doesn’t speak well of Sabu’s push, which is already dwindling over on ECW)


Tomorrow night on ECW on Sci-Fi, the Hardy Boyz will be in action and RVD will battle Hardcore Holly in an Extreme Rules match…

Chris Masters came to the ring while Torrie Wilson was shooting the T-shirt gun at Jerry Lawler. He asked Torrie if she’d ever seen guns like his. Carlito came out to the ring to save Torrie once Masters started hitting on her. He said that it wasn’t cool…and actually ridiculous to talk about his guns when downstairs all he had was a little pistol. He then attacked Masters, sending him out of the ring. Torrie hugged Carlito, allowing Masters to come back into the ring and put him in the Masterlock. Jerry Lawler then came in and made the save.

JR hyped the IC title ladder match…

A video aired to hype the Cena vs. K-Fed match on the New Year’s edition of Raw…

Backstage, Todd Grisham interviewed Nitro and Melina. He mentioned that this would be Nitro’s first ladder match. Melina said they were dedicating Nitro’s match to Kevin Federline. Nitro said there were two types of people in this world…ballers like him and K-Fed and posers like Jeff Hardy and the people that cheer for Hardy. He said he’d beat Hardy and win back the IC title.

Further backstage, Kenny said that one of the Squad members would face Dusty Rhodes tonight. Johnny wanted the challenge, but Kenny said it’d be Nicky. Meanwhile, Flair was flirting with Candice Michelle. Kenny walked up to him and said that youth would prevail at Survivor Series. Farooq walked into the picture and said, “Damn!”


Match 2: Ladder Match- Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Johnny Nitro (w/ Melina)
-(CMV1 note- Nitro and Hardy ran under the ladder before the match. I’m kind of superstitious…). They each looked up at the belt as the match got underway. Jeff started his own “Hardy” chant as the two locked up in the center of the ring. Nitro backed him into the corner, but Hardy ducked his punch and clocked him with a hard right hand. Johnny scored with a kick to the gut and an uppercut in retaliation. Nitro continued to build momentum, but Hardy came back with a series of clubbing blows and the Whisper in the Wind. Hardy started to the outside to get the ladder, but Nitro stopped his progression and regained control. Nitro scored with a sit-out facebuster and went to get the ladder himself. Hardy connected with a baseball slide, though, sending the ladder into Nitro’s face. The IC champ proceeded to catch Nitro with a plancha over the top rope. We then got a dreaded mid-match commercial break, but I guess that was to be expected. Back from the break, Hardy kicked Nitro out of the ring and started to climb the ladder, which was set-up in the center of the ring. Nitro quickly came back into the ring and pushed the ladder over, sending Hardy throat-first across the top rope. During the break, Nitro scored with a baseball slide of his own to send the ladder into Jeff’s sternum. Anyhow, Nitro set the ladder up in the corner. Hardy knocked him down and climbed the ladder looking for a high risk. Nitro came up the other side after him and tried for a vertical suplex. Hardy blocked it, knocked Nitro down, and tried for another high risk. However, Nitro pushed the ladder into Hardy, causing the champ to crotch himself on the top turnbuckle. Nitro pulled the ladder back to the center of the ring, but Hardy regrouped and missile dropkicked the ladder into him. Hardy proceeded to set the ladder up under the belt and try to climb, but Nitro dragged him down to the mat and gave him a slingshot into the ladder. Jeff grabbed the ladder, though, rather than crash into it, and scampered to the top. Nitro made his way up the other side. Johnny then hit a standing dropkick off the top rung of the ladder, knocking Hardy to the mat. Nice! Nitro grabbed the ladder and tossed it into Jeff. He then reset it in the middle of the ring and headed up to the top. Hardy caught up to him and dragged him down to the mat. Jeff slammed Nitro onto the ladder and went to the top rope. Hardy went for the Swanton Bomb, but Nitro moved and sent Jeff crashing with all of his weight onto nothing but steel ladder! Nitro slowly made it to his feet as Hardy struggled to even move himself off the ladder. Johnny tossed the ladder right onto Jeff’s head, leaving it suspended around his neck. Nitro then dropkicked the ladder, further wrenching Hardy’s cervical spine. Johnny set-up the ladder in b/t the second and top ropes in one of the corners. He grabbed Hardy and slung him back-first into the ladder. Nitro went outside and grabbed another, taller ladder out from under the ring. Hardy began to stir as Nitro walked over and gave him a falling neckbreaker. Nitro proceeded to drive the tip of the tall ladder into Hardy’s mid-section before setting it up in the opposite corner. Johnny continued to pound on Hardy until Jeff reversed an Irish whip and sent Nitro into the ladder. Hardy set-up the smaller ladder and climbed to the top of it. Nitro caught up to him on the other side, but Hardy hopped over into a sunset flip, sit-out powerbomb. The champion followed with a leapfrog leg drop over the 8-foot ladder. He then set-up the smaller ladder in the center of the ring, making sure to keep Nitro trapped under the bottom rung. The finish came soon after when Hardy retrieved his title for the win. Hardy retained the IC title at 18:41. (CMV1 rating- *** ¾). (CMV1 note- the only thing keeping this very good match from reaching the rare four-star mark was the somewhat ordinary closing sequence. It’s very difficult to be innovative after all the matches we’ve seen over the years, though…because these guys managed to be innovative and pull off all the spots they tried, I walked away very impressed. Well done, gentlemen!)

WWE 24/7’s moment in wrestling history was Undertaker debuting at the 1990 Survivor Series…

The Baltimore Ravens were in the house, as King said he thought Cryme Tyme was here…

Backstage, Todd Grisham interviewed Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes said he felt the electricity running thru his body. He cut a nice promo about how he’d beat Nicky…


Match 3: Nicky (of the Spirit Squad) vs. Dusty Rhodes
-The crowd got behind Dusty, who backed Nicky into the corner. Dusty kept taunting Nicky with the bionic elbow, prompting the Squad member to scamper away on multiple occasions. Nicky finally poked Dusty in the eye and hammered away on him in the corner. He kicked Rhodes in the thigh, chopping him down to the mat. Nicky continued to work over the leg, as a particularly vocal crowd member cried “boring.” Dusty used his foot to push Nicky over the top rope and eventually connected on a series of left-handed jabs and the bionic elbow. Dusty defeated Nicky at 3:52. (CMV1 rating- ¼ *) (CMV1 note- I’m not really a fan of a washed up old-timer defeating a young guy).

Backstage, Edge and Lita were about to make out when Orton showed up with Maria. Maria asked if they thought they could win tonight and at Survivor Series. They heard a commotion elsewhere, so they investigated it. Rated-RKO found Cryme Tyme hanging out. Orton said if those were the kinds of guys they’d have to face in the tag division, then they’d be tag champs for a long time. The new guys taunted the champs with their street slang. Edge said he had no idea what they said, but being a Canadian, he was down with the brothers and even watched Whitney Houston videos as a kid. He said they’d leave DX with something in common with the newcomers after tonight and Survivor Series, in that HBK and HHH would be black (like Cryme Tyme) and blue. Cryme Tyme didn’t have much to say in retaliation, but did grab Maria and force her to watch a movie with them.


Match 4: Women’s Champion Lita vs. Mickie James
-(CMV1 note- before the match, Lita announced that Mickie would be blindfolded for this contest. This has actually been an entertaining way to hype this match). Mickie struck air with her first attempt at a punch, allowing Lita to take control. James managed to wrestle her to ground, but Lita regained control. Lita hit a spike DDT to set-up a moonsault attempt. The finish came when Lita defeated James via moonsault at 1:22. (CMV1 rating- ¼ *). Lita got on the mic, post-match, and called herself the most dominant female athlete ever. She asked how dare people like DX and John Cena talk down to her. She reminded everyone that she revolutionized women’s roles in the WWE, breaking her neck, and tearing up her knee in the process. She said she paved the way for people like Trish and Mickie…and at Survivor Series, she’ll wrestle her last match and retire. (CMV1 note- well, that’s an announcement that’s been coming for months. I can’t disagree with what she said, as she was the woman who brought extreme to the women’s division)

Backstage, the four heel captains readied themselves for their main-event, 8-man tag match…


Match 5: World Tag Champions Rated-RKO, ECW Champion Big Show, and Kenny (of the Spirit Squad) vs. WWE Champion John Cena, Degeneration X, and Ric Flair
-(CMV1 note- this is the first Raw main-event since the summer that I’ve actually wanted to see. In the midst of the introductions, JR and King ran down the Survivor Series card). Cena got introduced before DX, for those that care about that kind of thing. Cena and Flair attacked the 4 heels before the match officially began or DX could make their entrance. Show missed a splash on the outside and crashed into the ring post. DX made their way to the ring, w/ Trips giving Orton a spinebuster. Edge was left all by himself after Kenny got tossed out of the ring. He had to go it alone against all the faces, taking punches from each of them. HHH body slammed him and HBK gave him an elbow drop. HBK tuned up the band, but before he could deliver the superkick, Show pulled Edge out of the ring. Show came in and tried to take on all the faces by himself. He had DX set up for a double chokeslam, but Flair gave him a low blow while Cena distracted the ref. The WWE Champ eventually gave the ECW Champ a diving shoulder tackle, sending Show out of the ring. We then got a dreaded mid-match commercial break, but that was to be expected. Back from the break, HBK got taken down by Big Show. Edge became the legal man and built momentum for the heels. He taunted the crowd and tagged Kenny, who connected on a few hard right handed shots. He then slammed HBK and covered him with a lateral press for a near fall. HBK tried to fight back, but Edge gave him a knee to the back. Orton tagged in and stomped away. He then tagged Big Show. HBK again tried to fight back, but Show gave him a big boot and a running leg drop for a near fall. Kenny tagged in and connected on a hard shot to HBK’s ribs from the top rope. He proceeded to hit a nice flying back elbow smash and tag in Edge. The Rated-R Superstar locked on a surfboard stretch. HBK fought back, but Edge hit the previously called Edge O’Matic. Orton tagged and poised himself for the RKO, but HBK countered the finisher attempt to gain some much needed time to rest. Michaels inched toward his corner and finally tagged Cena. Cena cleaned house, taking the new legal man, Kenny, to school with his five moves of doom. Show came in before Cena could hit the FU, though, and attempted to give the champ a chokeslam. Cena countered and pushed Show into a Ric Flair chop, which sent him into a Triple H facebuster, which finally sent him into Sweet Chin Music from HBK. The superkick sent Show over the top rope, allowing Cena to hit Kenny with the FU for the win. Cena, DX, and Flair defeated Orton, Edge, Kenny, and Big Show at an estimated 12:44. (CMV1 rating- ** ½). After the match, all the other members of the Survivor Series teams came to the ring and initiated a 28-man brawl to end the show. (CMV1 note- perfectly acceptable main-event tag match w/ a post-match brawl that gave a nice final look at the main reasons to buy the Survivor Series PPV)



All in all…Yes! Finally, a Raw worth watching! This was the best episode of Raw in a long time. We started off with a hot opening segment featuring all the Survivor Series teams. The mid-show ladder match was one of the best Raw TV matches of the year. The main-event was exciting and continued to hype the previously unhyped (before tonight) Survivor Series matches. The rest of the show was filled with some solid backstage stuff. It’s rare to get a Raw with more good than bad, so I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts and give tonight’s show a 6.5/10 and call it a good night…





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