The Raw Report (12/11/06): Cena wrestles twice; plus an Impromptu Six-Man Tag
Submitted by Chad Matthews on Monday, December 11, 2006 at 11:10 PM EST





The Raw Report (12/11/06)


Match 1: WWE Champion John Cena vs. Armando Alejandro Estrada
-(CMV1 note- glad they are getting this out of the way). AAE was wearing his usual suite-and-hat attire; not exactly dressed for the occasion. He grabbed a mic and said it was clear to him that no one wanted to see this match. He said that it was important to call this match off, so he brought Cena some peace offerings (a box of Cuban cigars). Keep in mind, there was no Umaga, yet. Cena smelled one of the cigars, but then broke it in half. Armando said it was okay, and he offered up his diamond studded watch. Cena looked at it, laughed, and ripped it apart. Armando said it was okay, and offered up a wad of cash. Cena took the money and threw it out into the crowd. Armando looked dejected, as Cena got back in the ring and took his shirt off in preparation for battle. The champ knocked Armando’s hat off, ripped his shirt open, and knocked him to the mat. Armando tried to hit him with brass knuckles, but Cena took them from him easily and threw them away. Cena gave him a hard chop across the chest and threw him from corner to corner. Still no Umaga, by the way, who JR reminded us cannot touch Cena (and vice-versa) before the two face each other at New Year’s Rev. Cena proceeded to mount AAE for several mounted punches in the corner. The finish came Cena defeated Armando with the FU at 1:16. (CMV1 rating- no rating). After the match, Cena made Estrada tap out to the STFU, at which point Johnny Nitro showed up and kicked Cena in the back of the head. Melina brought him a mic. Nitro reiterated that he was teaching K-Fed how to wrestle. (CMV1 note- more simple, solid booking for this feud. And don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of this KISS formula…keep it simple stupid. This feud is working for me, thus far, and it’s nice to see some logical, straightforward booking)

Backstage after a commercial break, Todd Grisham interviewed John Cena. Cena said he wasn’t in the mood to give any comments, but he was in the mood to make challenges…and he challenged Johnny Nitro to a match for tonight.


Match 2: Jerry Lawler and Carlito vs. Chris Masters and Viscera
-(CMV1 note- I’m getting a little tired of seeing the King in the ring. I’ve made my feelings pretty clear about old geezers wrestling well-past their prime. Some, like Flair, still can put on a solid match. Others, like King, bore me to tears and make me want to change the channel). Jerry started against the Masterpiece. The crowd got behind him as the two locked up and Masters backed him into the corner. Another lock-up followed, w/ Masters hitting a body slam, but missing an elbow drop. Masters went to work from there, hammering away at the King and tagging Viscera, who promptly missed a splash in the corner. Viscera still managed to get his offense going, though, with a series of clubbing blows and an elbow drop. Big Vis then locked on a choke hold. Lawler escaped the move, but Vis followed with a Baldo Bomb for a near fall (broken up by Carlito). Masters tagged back in and hit a vertical suplex. Lawler eventually got the tag to Carlito, who used everything he had to knock Vis, who had tagged in, as well, to the mat. Carlito’s offense didn’t last long, though, as Viscera caught him with a Black Hole Slam. The King went after Vis, but he wasn’t able to get anything going either. Viscera proceeded to splash the King in the corner, while the Masterpiece applied the Masterlock on Carlito. The finish came when Carlito countered out of the Masterlock before the submission was completely locked on. Lawler then tossed Masters from the ring, while Carlito rolled up Big Vis for the win. Carlito and Lawler defeated Viscera and Masters at 3:58. (CMV1 rating- ¼ *). (CMV1 note- pretty boring…Carlito is looking a little sloppy lately. I can’t say I blame him, as there’s really no logical reason to his lack of push…but nonetheless, he isn’t going to get pushed by becoming a repetitive spot machine…not using tonight’s match as an example, really, just have been meaning to say that)

Earlier today, Cryme Tyme and the Highlanders did some gambling backstage. JTG and Shad played the dealers, while Robbie and Rory got played. Charlie Haas showed up and said he was outraged at their racially stereotypic behavior. JTG took off his fronts and dropped the Ebonics for a second. Shelton showed up and said that the World’s Greatest Tag Team is back. Haas said that was for shizzle. Rory said he had no clue that Haas was black.

Highlights aired of Kenny coming to Rated-RKO’s aid last week…and paying the price for it…

Backstage, the World Tag Champs, Edge and Orton, were talking when Kenny showed up and insinuated that he was the reason that Rated-RKO won last week. Orton said that wasn’t the case, and that Kenny got dropped with Sweet Chin Music and a Pedigree faster than he could say “Spirit Squad.” Edge said that if Kenny wanted a lesson in how to beat DX, then he should watch him face Triple H later tonight.

Next week, Raw will be 3-hours long and feature the “biggest battle royal in Raw history,” where the winner will face Cena for the WWE title later that night…(CMV1 note- sweet)


Match 3: The Highlanders vs. The World’s Greatest Tag Team
-(CMV1 note- I refer to Haas and Benjamin as TWGTT a lot). Haas grabbed an armbar on Rory to start the match, but Rory came right back and connected on a combination back drop-top rope body splash with Robby. Haas got back on the offensive with a belly-to-belly suplex and a running shoulder thrust in the corner. Benjamin tagged in and hit some tandem offense with Haas before connecting with a snap suplex. Haas came back in and connected on a body slam-backbreaker combo w/ Shelton. Benjamin tagged in and locked on an abdominal stretch, but Robby countered out with a Side Russian leg sweep. Both men tagged, with Rory taking control of TWGTT w/ simple offense. Benjamin came back and gave him a clothesline. He then dropped Robby with a stiff roundhouse kick. The finish came when TWGTT hit their signature move where Haas holds the opponent, whose neck is draped over the top rope, while Benjamin runs and jumps over Haas, splashing the opponent across the back and snapping their neck on the rope. TWGTT won the match at 3:42. (CMV1 rating- ¾ *) (CMV1 note- some good tandem moves from Haas and Benjamin, who should be a great addition to the tag division. Considering neither is doing anything else, why not? I’m referring to their signature move as the World’s Greatest Tag Team Move, from now on).

WWE 24/7’s moment in wrestling history was the AWA’s only PPV, Super Clash 3, highlighted by the Jerry Lawler vs. Kerry Von Erich match…(CMV1 note- that’s a great match)


Match 4: World Tag Champion Edge vs. Triple H
-(CMV1 note- Rated-RKO will face DX at New Year’s Rev…neither guy had their partner with them, so Trips came out to his own theme music for the first time in months). They traded blows in the middle of the ring as the match got underway, but Trips gained control with a clothesline. Edge scampered to the outside…Trips followed and slammed Edge’s face into the announce table. Trips then drove his elbow into Edge’s throat a couple of times while he had the Rated-R Superstar lying on the apron. Edge came back with a hard right hand, but Trips scored with a running high knee soon after. Triple H followed with a hard shot that sent Edge from the apron crashing to the floor. Edge started toward the back, so Trips followed suit. At that point, Orton showed up and caused the DQ. HBK showed up to even the odds, but Kenny showed up to make it 3-on-2. Then, Ric Flair showed up and evened the odds again. Trips defeated Edge via DQ at 1:48. However, the Coach came to the ringside area and announced that the 6 of them would face in a tag team match. Thus, it became Rated-RKO and Kenny vs. Degeneration X and Ric Flair…The match started during a commercial break, and that’s unacceptable. Back from the break, Flair chopped Kenny and tagged Trips, who connected with a stalling vertical suplex. Trips followed with a DX crotch chop and a running knee drop. HBK tagged in, as Kenny fought the air. Michaels then choked Kenny with the former Squad member’s own head band. A series of knife edge chops followed before Trips tagged back in and targeted Kenny’s knee with a chop block. The Game proceeded to tag Flair, who backed Kenny into the heel corner and spit on Edge. Edge came in, but got a back drop for his troubles. Flair stayed on him with a series of mounted punches. He then went for the Figure Four, but Orton took advantage of a Kenny distraction and blasted the Nature Boy with a dropkick. Orton got the legal tag soon after and went to work on Flair’s knee. The Legend Killer taunted Flair and tagged Kenny, who no sold the damage done to his knee and dropped his elbow into Flair’s sternum. He followed with a diving back elbow smash and tagged Edge, who taunted the crowd and even gave DX a crotch chop. Edge went on to blast Flair in the corner with repeated forearm shots. Flair came back with a chop that rattled Edge’s cage a bit, but the Rated-R superstar came right back and locked on a modified Cobra Clutch (before switching over to an armbar). Ric again battled back and connected with a few knife edge chips, but Edge hit him with a hard right hand and headed to the second rope. Edge came flying off looking for a double axe handle, but Flair countered with a chop and got the tag to HBK. Michaels went wild, taking all the heels down and singling out Edge with a slam and a flying elbow drop off the top rope. HBK then called for Sweet Chin Music and drilled Edge with the superkick, but Orton planted Shawn with the RKO. We then got a dreaded mid-match commercial break, but I guess that was to be expected. Back from the second break, HBK and Orton were battling it out in the center of the ring, trading right hands and knife edge chops. The battle went on for awhile, but HBK scored with a swinging neckbreaker to break the stalemate of sorts. Edge got the tag and went to the top rope. He went for a cross body block, but HBK moved out of the way and inched toward the corner to make the hot tag. Kenny and Trips tagged in, w/ Trips easily taking control and giving him a hard clothesline to the back. HHH then tossed Orton and Edge out of the ring and gave Kenny a spinebuster. Flair tagged in and went for the Figure Four, but Rated-RKO came in to break it up. DX re-entered the ring to even the odds. The finish came when Kenny went for the Nature Boy’s signature submission, but Flair countered and rolled up the youngster for the win. After the match, Edge speared Trips, Orton gave HBK his patented backbreaker, and Kenny back dropped Flair. Rated-RKO got set-up for the conchairto, but Trips got his sledgehammer and cleared the ring. DX and Flair defeated Rated-RKO and Kenny at 16:26. (CMV1 rating- ***) (CMV1 note- good match…multiple hot tags got away from the usual formulaic tag format)

Backstage, Nitro and Melina were chatting with K-Fed on the telephone. Nitro said he would beat Cena’s ass tonight and let K-Fed “bitchify” him on New Year’s. Coach walked in and told Nitro he should have some vested interest in the Hardy-Umaga match later tonight, because at New Year’s Revolution, he’d get another shot at the IC title inside of a steel cage. (CMV1 note- New Year’s Rev is looking good)…


Match 5: Torrie vs. Victoria
-(CMV1 note- before the match, Carlito kissed Torrie good luck in a backstage segment). Victoria brought her checklist to the ring. Torrie brought Chloe the dog. Whose priorities are straighter? Victoria allowed Torrie virtually no offense, destroying her with a bottom rope guillotine and a half Boston Crab. She even bit her fingernail off. The finish came when Victoria hit the Widow’s Peak for the win. Victoria defeated Torrie at 1:33. After the match, Victoria checked Torrie off her list, leaving only Mickie James. Chris Masters came back to the ring and put the Masterlock on Torrie. Carlito made the save. (CMV1 rating- ¼ *) (CMV1 note- I like what they are doing with both feuds…again, it’s all very simple booking, but it all works well. You don’t have to complicate things to make a good wrestling show. That one 5-minute segment continued two nicely booked feuds…efficient is the word)

One of the best things the WWE does all year, The Tribute to the Troops, will be airing on Christmas night. It’s one of the few things that give this crazy wrestling watching habit of ours any credibility.


Match 6: Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga
-(CMV1 note- Umaga took out his dreads). Jeff charged and collided with Umaga, but didn’t get the desired effect. Hardy tried for a sunset flip, but couldn’t get that to work either. Umaga looked for a rear drop, but Jeff moved and hit a swinging double boot with a little help from the ropes, a springboard body splash, and the Whisper in the Wind. We then got a dreaded mid-match commercial break, but that was to be expected. Back from the break, Hardy tried for a diving splash off the apron, but Umaga awkwardly caught and threw him out of the way. In the ring, Umaga took control with a trap grab. Hardy got to his feet after a lengthy stint in the wear down hold, countered Umaga’s attempt at Samoan Drop and gave him a dropkick. Umaga came right back with a hard clothesline, though. The Samoan Bulldozer went to the top rope, but missed a body splash. Hardy went to the top rope and connected with the Swanton Bomb for a near fall. Jeff then went for the Twist of Fate, but Umaga countered and hit a Samoan Drop. Umaga proceeded to place Hardy in the tree-of-woe and connect with a jumping headbutt. The #1 contender then connected with a running rear drop, whipping Jeff’s head back. Umaga drilled Hardy with the move again, prompting the ref to stop the match. Umaga defeated Hardy at 10:03. After the match, Umaga hit the ref and Jeff with the Samoan Spike. (CMV1 rating- * ¼) (CMV1 note- surprisingly competitive…it was a pseudo-squash, but it was a good one that put Umaga over as a killer. One thing is for sure, though…Umaga w/ AAE > Umaga w/o AAE)

Don’t forget that, earlier tonight, Nitro kicked Cena in the head…


Match 7: WWE Champion John Cena vs. Johnny Nitro (w/ Melina)
-Cena wasted no time tackling the former IC champ and hammering away at him with hard right hands. A back elbow smash, a body slam, and an elbow drop followed, as the champ got fired up. Cena then drilled Nitro with a hard running clothesline and back him into the corner. Nitro finally got free of the offensive barrage, but Cena stayed on him with a back drop and a big boot. Cena followed with a Fisherman’s Suplex. Melina pulled Nitro out of the ring, prompting Cena to head in her direction. Nitro tried to blindside the champ, but Cena stayed sharp and clotheslined him. Back in the ring, Cena caught Nitro with a running back elbow smash in the corner. Nitro tried to get the cheap win with a pinning combo with his feet on the ropes, but the ref saw it. Cena then tried to put it away with the FU, but Nitro countered and dropkicked him in the back of the head. Nitro then tossed Cena into the steel ring steps. Back in the ring, Nitro tried several pin attempts, but couldn’t get the three-count. Nitro mounted Cena for several punches and then caught him with a falling neckbreaker for a near fall. Johnny tried to follow with a vertical suplex, but Cena countered and tossed him stomach-first across the top rope. Cena attempted to clothesline Nitro out of the ring, but Johnny countered and back dropped the champ over the top rope. After an awkward sequence, the two traded blows in the center of the ring before Nitro gave him a thumb to the eye and locked on a sleeper hold. The champ got to his feet. Nitro used a body scissors to add pressure to the sleeper hold, but Cena fell backwards, slamming Nitro to the mat and breaking the hold. Cena tried to get back on the offensive, but Nitro countered and put him right back in the sleeper hold. Johnny got him to the mat, but Cena got back to his feet (eventually) and powered out of the hold. Melina got distracted Cena before he could capitalize, allowing Nitro to hit a sit-out facebuster for a near fall. Nitro then went to the top rope and connected on a corkscrew moonsault (barely hit it, but it was impressive). Johnny landed on Cena’s knee, but the champ came back nonetheless with his usual comeback moves. He hit a series of clotheslines, the Prototype spinning back drop, and the Five Knuckle Shuffle. The finish came when Cena defeated Nitro with the FU at 10:41. (CMV1 rating- **) (CMV1 note- acceptable, average TV main-event)


JR and King hyped the 30-man battle royal that will open next week’s show, and the subsequent title shot that the winner will receive later that night…





All in all…I enjoyed tonight’s show. The wrestling was lengthier and, thus, a little more entertaining than usual, highlighted by the mid-show 6-man tag match. I’m rather glad they held off on letting Edge and Trips go at it for real, as I think that’d be a great Wrestlemania match to build toward. All the feuds going on right now were effectively hyped tonight, and the NYR PPV is subsequently looking pretty good, thus far. Time will tell if Cena and Umaga can get it done in the ring, but the build up has been satisfactory to this point. On a few side notes, I’m curious to see where this angle with Kenny leads, it was great to see TWGTT back in action, and I can’t wait to see next week’s show, as I’m a huge mark for battle royals. I’m going to give tonight’s show a 6/10 and call it a night…





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