Summerslam 08 Raw Preview Results
WWE's 'Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer!' Raw Preview and Results
Formerly known as the biggest party of the summer, and now the biggest blockbuster of the summer, Summerslam has always been regarded as Wrestlemania’s fun-loving, sun loving little sister. However, this year’s card is shaping up to be anything but fun, in some instances for the superstars, and in others for the viewer.
Raw Bouts
Raw currently has three scheduled matches and one 'special announcement' from HBK. Orton's return was proposed for Summerslam however he is out for another three months after re-injuring his shoulder in a motorcycle accident. Also with the recent revelation that Kane has apparently tortured and possibly killed Rey Mysterio Jr. it is a pretty sure bet that he will feature at some point in the night.
Kofi Kingston(C) & Mickey James(C) Vs Santino Morella & Beth Phoenix for the Intercontinental and Womens Championships in a Winner Take All inter-gender tag match
Kofi Kingston has been a breath of fresh air since his debut match in ECW back in January and has gone from strength to strength since being drafted to Raw in the supplemental draft and winning the Intercontinental Championship in his first outing.
This match will more than likely open the PPV and the four competitors should put on a good showing. The inter-gender rules will let Morella continue to build his chauvinistic, proud of fighting women character but the on-off relationship between him and his partner, The Glamazon Beth Phoenix may prove to be their downfall.
Prediction: Mickey James to pin Santino Morella and defend her and Kingston’s titles.
JBL Vs CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship
This could well be the most boring match of the night. JBL was named number one contender just two weeks ago and with the John Cena Vs Batista match holding most of the raw promo time this match has received practically no hype what so ever.
Bradshaw has constantly referred to CM Punk as a ‘transitional champion’ and the general consensus is that Punk wasn’t ready for the belt, so the new JBL era could well begin this Sunday at Summerslam.
Prediction: A close one to call, JBL could grab the only title change of the night.
John Cena Vs Batista
This match deserved at least two months of hype before it came to a head at a PPV, however it has received little over three weeks of poor build up which for two weeks saw the rivals win the Raw tag titles only to lose them again the following show.
Little more build up has been given other than a couple of promo’s in which Cena and Batista have bleated about mutual respect and an urge to be proved the best in the business, and a few segments in which new GM of Raw Mike Adamle has boasted that he came up with the gargantuan match.
There was a time when matches between two of the top superstars would have been almost a year in the making, Randy Orton Vs The Undertaker in 2005 is just one example, and this one just feels like it has been thrown together last minute in an attempt to up buy rates. It seems even Batista agrees with this, speaking to Slam! Wrestling he said:
"I think a match like that deserves the fan's emotional investment. It's way too soon. It's just an attraction match and I think it's more valuable than that, I think it's been wasted a little bit. It will still be a hell of a match, I just wish some more emotional investment put into the match. Right now, I feel it's more of an attraction, something that's new and fresh."
Of course there will be die hard Cena and Batista fans who will be looking forward to this one immensely, but everyone else will be searching for a reason to care.
Prediction: Whoever wins this one will effectively be declared the top star on Raw and just the thing Batista needs to put him back in the title picture, although his comments to the media could lead to the creative team giving his opponent Cena the nod.
And finally....HBK's Special Announcement
No prizes for guessing what this will be. HBK will no doubt announce his retirement due to the eye injury suffered at the hands of Chris Jericho. Jericho will then goad Michaels into agreeing to a match at Unforgiven (the poster for that event just happens to be plastered with images of none other than The Heart Break Kid).
Results
- Beth Phoenix and Santino Morella beat Kofi Kingston and Mickey James by pinfall to win the Womens and Intercontinental championships respectively, after Phoenix took advantage of a distracted Mickey James
- C.M Punk retains the World Heavyweight Championship with a clean pinfall victory over JBL.
- Batista picked up a pinfall victory over John Cena after a strongly contested bout. Not the last time we will see these two meet.
- Also: HBK's retirement announcement was cut short by Jericho, resulting in Shawns wife taking a right hand shot from Y2J when he swung at Michaels, who moved out of the way.
See Smackdown and ECW preview and Results Here.
See an In Depth analysis of the whole Summerslam 2008 Pay Per View Here.
"Batista upset about lack of buildup for Summerslam." Bobby Spade. 2008 <Link> 15th August 2008
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