The Raw Report (01/01/07): John Cena vs. Kevin Federline
Submitted by Chad Matthews on Monday, January 1, 2007 at 11:05 PM EST





The Raw Report (01/01/07)

The show opened with a hype video for the Cena vs. K-Fed match…

Match 1: WWE Champion John Cena vs. Kevin Federline
-(CMV1 note- Lillian read from a cue card that K-Fed was a TV personality, dancer extraordinaire, etc.) K-Fed wore a boxer’s robe to the ring, but wrestled in a white T-shirt and khaki shorts. He got on a mic before heading to the ring and said that the Coach had made a little change to their match…it’s now no-DQ (and still non-title). He then introduced his personal trainer and friend, Johnny Nitro. Nitro wore a Team Federline boxing trainer’s outfit. A “We Want Britney” chant erupted, as Federline put on a mouth guard and kick boxer’s gloves. There was a lot of stalling. Nitro put boxing head gear on K-Fed. The match finally got underway, with Cena giving K-Fed a free headlock. K-Fed applied and torqued it, but Cena easily freed himself. Nitro gave Federline a few tips, as Cena waited patiently on the opposite side of the ring. K-Fed took his gloves off, as the crowd chanted for Cena. Nitro, meanwhile, gave the ref a chair and suggested a full-nelson challenge. Cena sat down and agreed to it. K-Fed applied the hold, but Cena easily escaped, looking annoyed. Federline took his head gear and mouthpiece off and asked for a test of strength. Cena used one hand, so K-Fed took him to the mat and put him in a cross armbreaker. The champ picked K-Fed up and placed him on the second turnbuckle. Nitro tried to get involved, but Cena easily disposed of him. Federline snuck up and gave Cena a low blow, but Cena no-sold it and put him in FU position. At that point, Umaga and AAE showed up. Umaga beat the hell out of Cena and blasted him with the championship belt. The crowd chanted for Cena, but it didn’t prevent Umaga from blasting the champ right b/t the eyes. Estrada screamed that they’d see Cena on Sunday. K-Fed made the cover and scored the pin. Federline defeated Cena at 4:55. (CMV1 rating- ˝ *) (CMV1 note- the pre-match antics took forever to get thru, but once it got started it was mildly entertaining. Can’t say I’m too happy that this is going to continue).

Backstage after a commercial break, K-Fed and Nitro led a crowd of women into Federline’s own personal dressing room. Maria banged on the door and tried to get an interview. Melina showed up and took issue with the idea that the result of K-Fed vs. Cena was tainted. She slapped Maria and told her to meet her in the ring later…

JR and King reminded us of DX getting destroyed by Rated-RKO two weeks ago. They cut backstage to DX waiting for Edge and Orton to arrive.

Back to K-Fed’s dressing room…the Coach showed up and joined the party. Coach said it was a New Year and that Cena would spend the year being embarrassed by all of them. Thus, he made a 4-on-1 handicap match, pitting Cena against Umaga, Nitro, Coach, and Armando.

The Miami Heat were in the house!


Match 2: Cryme Tyme and The Highlanders vs. TWGTT, Cade, and Murdoch
-(CMV1 note- Haas has begun giving the old “west-side” hand symbol, I assume to promote “World’s” in WGTT). Cade and Rory started off the match, with Rory scoring with an early cross body off the second rope. JTG tagged in and used a drop toehold to take Cade to the mat. Murdoch then got involved and allowed Cade to come back with an elbow drop to the back of the head. Haas tagged in and whipped JTG hard into the turnbuckle. He followed with a butterfly suplex before tagging Shelton. Some tandem offense followed from TWGTT. Cade and Murdoch proceeded to connect with a double team of their own. Cade ascended to the second rope for a flying elbow drop, but JTG moved and tagged Shad. Shad cleaned house, using a running big boot and a back suplex to take out Cade and Murdoch. Benjamin came in and blasted Shad with a roundhouse kick. All hell broke lose, leaving Shad and Murdoch alone in the ring. JTG, meanwhile, snuck up behind Murdoch and snapped his upper back across the top rope. Shad got the pin soon after. Shad, JTG, Robbie, and Rory won the 8-man tag at 3:16. (CMV1 rating- ˝ *). (CMV1 note- really short…uneventful)

Tomorrow night on ECW on Sci-Fi…RVD will change Lashley for the ECW title…

The Wrestlemania Recall featured Hogan vs. Andre the Giant…(CMV1 note- gave me the Mania jitters)


Match 3: Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Rob Conway
-Conway cut a pre-match promo about his New Year’s Resolution…that being to be a winner. He said that if he doesn’t win, he’ll quit Raw. Conway took early control once the match got underway, as the crowd chanted for Hardy. Jeff scored the pin out of nowhere with a roll-thru sunset flip out of the corner. Hardy defeated Conway in 25-seconds. After the match, Vince McMahon came to the ring dressed comfortably and shook Conway’s hand. He said that it was that time of year again to make New Year’s resolutions. He said that most people break those resolutions, but he doesn’t break his. Vince claimed that he wasn’t going to be so nice in 2007 or allow people to take advantage of him…guys like Donald Trump, who’s got his hands full right now with Yokozuna (Rosie O’Donnell). He said that Trump likes to claim that the phrase “You’re Fired” is something he made popular. Well, that brought him to Conway. He said he wasn’t going to allow Conway to quit. Rather… “Rob Conway…YOU’RE FIRED!!!” (CMV1 rating- no rating) (CMV1 note- bye Rob…not like you were on Raw anyway. Interesting to see Vince fire a bad guy).

Backstage, Todd Grisham interviewed Kenny Dykstra and asked him why he didn’t shake Flair’s hand two weeks ago. Kenny said that it wasn’t about class…it was about Flair saving face and keeping the attention on himself. Dykstra said that he was the future of Raw and that death comes in fours…Saddam Hussein, Gerald Ford, James Brown, and Ric Flair’s career.

JR and King introduced footage from Raw five weeks ago, when Rated-RKO took out Ric Flair…the event that led up to Edge and Orton doing the exact same thing to DX two weeks ago.


Degeneration X came to the ring. Many fans had pairs of glow sticks with which to make the DX cross. The crowd gave DX a strong reaction. HHH tried to do the usual schtick, but HBK wouldn’t let him finish. Michaels said that he couldn’t pretend like nothing had happened. He said that he and Trips had faced everyone that the WWE had placed in front of them…be it the rising stars, the best wrestler of a particular generation, etc. Shawn claimed he was still waiting to face that great wrestler of the generation, by the way. Anyhow, HBK said that everyone to come along that thought they were going to take he and Triple H’s spots were either no longer with the company or curtain-jerking somewhere. He then turned his attention to Orton and Edge, reminding them that DX transcends time. HBK and HHH are the great constant in the WWE, and Shawn said that for Rated-RKO to take them on, it took balls (a set, as he called it). Michaels said that they nearly beat Flair within an inch of his life and then managed to take out DX…and their set grew a little bigger. He said that at NYR, Edge and Orton would find out the difference between having a set and knowing what to do with them. HHH took the mic and said that he was disappointed that he didn’t get to fight Edge and Orton. Rated-RKO didn’t show up tonight (double yeast infection according to Trips). He said he knew they’d show up on Sunday, though, because they think they’ve got them right where they want them. Well, the last guy who thought that got the crap kicked out of him and his head shoved up Big Show’s ass (Vince). Trips said that he and Shawn were like Frosted Mini-Wheats…they’ve got the nice sugary side, but they’ve also got the side that Edge and Orton were going to get…the side where the two must ruthless bastards to ever live reside. He said that they would make Edge and Orton bleed, break their bones, and leave them lying in the ring…and if you aren’t done with that, they’ve got two words for ya…(CMV1 note- very good promo…nice to hear them continue to stay serious…nice little shot at Angle, by the way)


Match 4: Melina vs. Maria
-(CMV1 note- Victoria came to ringside with her clipboard). Maria got first strike points, but the two soon ended up rolling around the ring. Victoria joined for guest commentary and mentioned that she deserved to be on the last two Wrestlemania cards, but left out because of washed up bikini models. Meanwhile, Melina took control. Maria made a comeback, as JR mentioned that there was a new empty box on Victoria’s list. Melina regained control and got the pin. Melina defeated Maria at 2:11. After the match, Victoria started after Melina, but then changed her attention toward Lillian Garcia. She tried to give her the Widow’s Peak, but Mickie James made the save. (CMV1 rating- Ľ *) (CMV1 note- ho-hum…Victoria’s commentary and pseudo-shoot comments were far more entertaining than the match itself)

Highlights of the Tribute to the Troops special were shown…


Match 5: Ric Flair and Carlito (w/ Torrie Wilson) vs. Kenny Dykstra and Chris Masters
-Carlito and Kenny started off, w/ Kenny scoring with a couple of boots to the gut. Carlito came back with a hurricanrana, but Kenny took him back down to the mat and tagged Masters. Flair came in and gave Masters a chop block and a series of chops and punches. The Nature Boy then locked on the Figure Four, but Dykstra rushed in and broke up the hold. We then got a dreaded mid-match commercial break, but I’d be willing to be that it wasn’t necessary. Back from the break, Masters had Carlito bent across his knee. During the break, Carlito went for the springboard back elbow, but Masters tripped him up. Back to live action, Carlito tried to come back and make it to his corner, but the heels continued to isolate him with a double team maneuver. Kenny synched in a reverse chinlock, but Carlito got back to his feet. Dykstra kept momentum with a jumping back elbow smash and tagged in Masters. The Masterpiece worked over Carlito’s back. Carlito eventually battled out of the heel corner and tried to fight his way over to Flair, but Masters connected with a butterfly suplex for a near fall. Masters then locked on a rear choke before connecting with a gorilla press slam. Carlito finally got some offense in with a springboard back elbow and started inching over toward Flair. However, Kenny ran across the ring and took out Flair. Dykstra proceeded to toss Flair into the steel ring steps. Meanwhile, Masters leveled Carlito with a clothesline and applied the Masterlock. CCC struggled to get out of the hold, but couldn’t. He was about to pass out when Flair came from behind and gave Masters a chop block. Kenny came in to keep control, but he ended up missing a splash in the corner, allowing Carlito to finally tag Flair. Ric cleaned house and gave out knife edge chops galore. He set Kenny up for the Figure Four, but Masters caught him with a running clothesline. Carlito came back and battled Masters out of the ring and up the entrance ramp. Meanwhile, Kenny tried to put Flair in the Figure Four. Flair pushed him toward the ring post, but when the Nature Boy tried to capitalize, Kenny rolled him up and used the ropes as leverage to get the pin. Kenny and Masters defeated Carlito and Flair at 10:54. (CMV1 rating- **). After the match, Flair tried to get Kenny to come back to the ring, but Edge and Orton showed up and destroyed Flair again. Orton gave him the RKO. Edge gave him a conchairto. The crowd chanted “You Suck.” (CMV1 note- solid action, but was that commercial break really necessary for the one match that got a little bit of time thus far tonight? The post-match stuff was nothing we haven’t seen before, but it continues to give good heat to Edge and Orton)

JR and King ran down the NYR card…the tag titles are on the line in the Rated-RKO vs. DX match…Masters vs. Carlito and Flair vs. Kenny were officially added to the card…


Match 6: Umaga, Armando Alejandro Estrada, Coach, and Johnny Nitro (w/ Melina) vs. WWE Champion John Cena
-(CMV1 note- before the match, K-Fed got on the mic and said “I told you so.” He said that he takes pride in shocking the world like he did earlier tonight. He told Cena that he could definitely see him, but Cena couldn’t see Kevin Federline). Cena and Umaga started things off with a brawl. Cena hit a diving shoulder tackle and ducked a running Umaga offensive attempt that sent the Samoan Bulldozer over the top rope. Nitro came in and tried to take control, but Cena gave him a clothesline and a fisherman suplex before throwing him shoulder first into the ring post. Umaga came back in and dropped Cena with a Samoan Drop. The Samoan went to the ropes and tried for a Banzai Drop, but Cena got his knees up. Cena went on a roll at that point, taking out everyone in his path and putting Umaga in the STFU. AAE brought a chair into the ring, but Cena took it from him and blasted Umaga right between the eyes (twice) with it. With Umaga out of the way, Cena gave Nitro and Coach the FU. He then went after K-Fed, threw him into the ring, and gave him the FU! AAE, Umaga, Nitro, and Coach defeated Cena via DQ at 2:20. (CMV1 rating- ˝ *) (CMV1 note- pretty entertaining and gave Cena his heat back so to speak. Unfortunately, booking 101 would suggest that now Umaga might win. I am of the opinion that Umaga’s main-event run should end at NYR. It’s difficult to take a character like that as a serious championship threat here in 2006. That being said, I think it’s time to move on. The feud has been building since late October. It could continue to the Rumble, but all the other top male feuds on Raw are getting a little old…DX-Rated-RKO and Hardy-Nitro have been going on for months. I hope next week we start seeing a new direction)



All in all…Well, I hope that this Raw was not an indication of what’s to come in 2007. This was a throw back to one of those terrible Fall of ’06 Raws that stunk up Monday nights for seemingly months on end. The angles pushed seemed tired and old, an entertainer scored a pinfall over the champion, and the show gave an overall feeling of just going through the motions. The most exciting thing all night was the Wrestlemania Recall. There were two good things in my book…the DX promo on the Carlito/Flair vs. Dykstra/Masters tag match…but other than that, everything else was forgettable at best. Here’s hoping that the WWE gets it going as the Road to the Rumble starts next week. Here’s also hoping that Umaga-Cena ends at NYR. All that being said, I’m giving tonight’s show a 3/10 and calling it a night…





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