Preview: Punk's Not Dead
July 21, 2008

For weeks, Monday Night Raw has been embroiled in a wave of unpredictability that continued through to The Great American Bash, as CM Punk retained his World Heavyweight Championship in a match against Batista.

The title was retained not by a pin or submission, however, but only after a double-disqualification due to outside interference from Kane. This is the second time that the Big Red Monster has attacked the Straightedge Champion outside of an official match — what can Punk expect from the unstable Kane next? And with The Animal’s quest for championship gold thwarted, will Monday night find him directing his fury toward the Big Red Monster?

Also at The Bash, Chris Jericho continued to direct his fury toward Shawn Michaels’ right eye, originally wounded by Y2J on an episode of the Highlight Reel. The contest was called off due to Michaels’ injuries, but not before Jericho did severe damage to HBK’s eye. Y2J emerged later to claim that Michaels’ retina was detached, and that it was a career-ending injury. Will Shawn Michaels be able to recover from this injury like he has so many others, or is Chris Jericho right? Has he truly ended the career of one of sports-entertainment’s greatest performers?

Another punishing match actually took place outside Nassau Coliseum: A NYC Parking Lot Brawl between John Cena and JBL. Recent weeks had seen Cena & Cryme Tyme deface the self-made millionaire’s limo, and JBL attempting to run over the Chain Gang Commander in retaliation. Cena has claimed that the thing between he and the self-proclaimed “wrestling god” isn’t just a match, but war. Will the events of The Great American Bash have been enough to settle things, or have we only witnessed an opening skirmish between these two Superstars?

For the answers to these questions and more, be sure to tune into Monday Night Raw, live at 9/8 CT, only on USA Network.

Labels: 2008 great american bash, c.m. punk, chris jericho

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:14 AM | Permalink | Comments

Some thoughts from Sunday's Great American Bash show from Long Island, NY:

WWE Title Match: Triple H defeats Edge to keep the title - Well, called this one during the pre-match show that Vickie would get involved, and sure enough she and the "wedding planner" came down and got their hands dirty. Pretty standard match, with HHH getting the win as Edge speared Vickie by accident and then got pedgreed by Triple H for the win. We'll see a lot more of these two, and here was just the beginning. Overall, pretty good PPV with some interesting title changes and okay matches up and down the card setting up SummerSlam.

NYC Parking Lot Brawl: JBL defeats John Cena - I called for a lot of bumps here, and got it with a match with some rather cool visuals and effects with the fire, the cars, and the forklift. The ending was good, and a bit of a surprise with Cena getting thrown into the window and taking the loss. I have to wonder now, and hate this thought, that we're due one more stip match between these two at SummerSlam. Here's hoping that they won't, but I don't doubt they do another round of these two.

World Heavyweight Title Match: C.M. Punk and Batista battle to a Double DQ - I enjoyed this match,and hope to see more of these two. I asked if Punk could step it up in a PPV title match on one of the major two brands, and I think he proved he could. Of course the outside interference from Kane sets up a Triple-Threat between these three for SummerSlam. I have no doubts that Kane is refering to his old masked self when it comes to "is he dead or alive." Again, Punk and Batista stepped it up, and I hope that we see more of them in the future.

Divas Championship Match: Michelle McCool defats Natalya by submission to win the belt - I thought this would be a good women's match, and overall it did its job. McCool is a worthy champion, as would Neidhart would have been as well. Pretty good back and forth with each lady getting their submission holds on before finally in the end McCool made Natalya submit. Look for plenty of rematches and I wouldn't be shocked at a few title changes between these two.

Chris Jericho defeats Shawn Michaels as refs stop match after Michaels can't continue - Basically nothing more than an ending to continue the feud next month or maybe in September with a big stip match at another PPV. The storyline is that Michaels career is over after he suffered a "detached retina." Was a pretty good match and a great visual till the hookey ending. Expect some sort of "funeral" for Michaels by Y2J as he buries him for weeks till HBK returns to challenge Jericho to a big match at a PPV.

ECW Title Match: Mark Henry defeats Tommy Dreamer to retain title - Bit of a surprise ending with Colin Delany turning on Dreamer, but you saw it coming when he jumped on the apron with Dreamer as he was going to jump on Henry. Never a doubt in my mind that Henry was going to win here, but the bigger story was Delany with the turn, and where they go with it from here and if he can do anything with it.

US Title Match: Shelton Benjamin defeats Matt Hardy for the title - Little bit of a shock here, but overall I like the move, as it gives SmackDown another title and puts it on a great worker like Benjamin. Match made Hardy look a little weak, which as now he's the main guy other than Mark Henry on ECW makes the brand look even weaker. Overall a good ending and I can live with Benjamin as the new title holder.

Fatal Four Way for the WWE Tag Titles: Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder defeat Miz and Morrison, Jesse and Festus, and Hornswoggle and Finaly - Not a bad first match, and having Hawking and Ryder win the belts was not a bad decision. It was time for the belts to be moved, and giving them to a team like Hawkins and Ryder will for sure give them a big boost. Kept it a pretty straight-forward match with not a bunch of stupid comedy spots like could have been expected. We'll see now that Hawkins and Ryder have the ball if they can run with it.

Labels: 2008 great american bash, chris jericho, colin delaney, curt hawkins, edge, jbl, john cena, mark henry, shawn michaels, tommy dreamer, triple h

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tonight the WWE presents the "Great American Bash" a 7-match card with the main event being a WWE Title match with Edge vs WWE Champ Triple H. The card also will have C.M. Punk's biggest WWE match to date, a World Heavyweight Title match with him as champ defending vs Batista. Many feel that Punk's title run will be short, while I personally would like to see another few months of him with the strap to see what he can do.

The rest of the card is ho-hum to say the least. Shawn Michales vs Chris Jericho will be good, as it usually is, the 4-way Tag match should be okay as long as they don't let too much comedy with Finlay and Hornswoggle get involved. The Divas title match could actually be a bit of a shocker as it should be pretty good with two good ladie wrestlers. The ECW match with Mark Henry (c) vs Tommy Dreamer will probably be mostly a squash with Henry walking away with an easy win.

The NY Brawl with John Cena vs JBL should have a bunch of big bumps, and it should wrap up this feud. All in all, an okay card, I don't see Edge winning the strap, and my concern is that coming out of Friday nights ending of SmackDown you'll see Vickie get involved and cost Edge the win. Bottom line is let these two wrestle and don't let too much outside stuff get involved, but it probably will.

John and I will have the Let's Talk Wrestling Great American Bash Post Match show tonight after the PPV, and we'll be on the site all night with the ShoutBox! in full effect for your thoughts and comments.

Labels: 2008 great american bash, edge, john cena, triple h, vicki guerrero

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross updated the blog section of JRsbarbq.com. The following items are among the highlights:

Ross on the match that will main event the Great American Bash on Sunday: "Look for Edge's challenge to Triple H for the WWE Title to close the show at the Bash from what I understand. Things could change between the time I write this and Sunday night on PPV but that's close to a lock."

Ross on speculation that ECW will be taped on Monday nights: "The aforementioned statement (regarding the Hunter and Edge main event) is more of a lock than the never ending speculation that ECW will start taping their program prior to Raw on Monday nights or on Monday nights period. That horse ain't leaving the barn. Could there be some combo ECW/Raw live events? Sure. There could also be ongoing ECW/Smackdown live events too at the same time. However, that has zero to do with ECW moving its TV production to Monday night which, again, I don't think will happen."

Ross on catching up with Magnum T.A.: "It was great seeing my old friend Terry Allen aka Magnum T.A. Tuesday night in Charlotte. Terry recently underwent back surgery and was walking with the aid of a crutch while he heals but was in great spirits. This guy has great character and perseverance and I never once have ever heard him say "poor me" due to the hand that was dealt him. Terry's two, beautiful young daughters were wonderful to meet."

Labels: 2008 great american bash, ecw, edge, jim ross, magnum t.a.

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments

Matt Loede and John Sefcik are back as they break down the Great American Bash! The two talk about the card, give the winners, and break down the latest in the WWE. Click below to hear the Let's Talk Wrestling Great American Bash Pre Match Show.

Labels: 2008 great american bash, john sefcik, matt loede

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:38 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: 2008 great american bash, edge, triple h

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: Seascoops.com

The World Wrestling Entertainment website has just announced that John Cena will be facing JBL in a NYC Parking Lot Brawl match at the Great American Bash on July 20. Below is the updated card:

WWE Championship Match
Triple H (c) vs. Edge

World Championship Match
CM Punk (c) vs. Batista

NYC Parking Lot Brawl Match
John Cena vs. JBL

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho

Labels: 2008 great american bash, jbl, john cena

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:14 PM | Permalink | Comments

Below is the early promotional poster and synopsis for WWE's Great American Bash pay-per-view, courtesy of WWE and iNDEMAND. Based on how generic the poster looks, WWE will probably be releasing another one soon. This year's Bash pay-per-view comes to us from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY on 7/20.

Rev your engines, WWE Superstars are about to go head-to-head at The Great American Bash. Don’t miss Triple H, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Undertaker, Batista, CM Punk and all your favorites fight it out Sunday, July 20th live at 8pm ET/5pm PT, only on Pay-Per-View.

Labels: 2008 great american bash

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:23 AM | Permalink | Comments