Kofi Kingston def. Paul Birchill
Mickie James def. Katie Lea Birchill

Segment One
New GM Mike Adamle is getting some major heat! A lot more than I ever imagined…then he compares himself to Ronald Reagan and equates the Gipper’s work with Bonzo the chimp to announcing with Tazz. OK, he really compared Bonzo to calling Jeff Hardy Jeff Harvey. I like the Tazz comparison better.

It seems the inept one might be turning the crowd after announcing three title matches on tonight’s show. OK, this isn’t is bad. The first is Batista and John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, Jr. I guess that’s interesting.

Before he can announce another match JBL and Y2J join him in suits claiming they deserve title matches. Yap, yap, yap, yap. Debate, debate, debate, debate.

C’mon Adamle, take some control! This is getting out of hand. He gives a lame compromise: JBL and Y2J vs. CM Punk in a handicap match. If they win they get Punk at SummerSlam, lose then no title match at the Slam. The Adamle era is off to a blah start.

Segment Two
Kofi Kingston is facing Paul Birchill in a defense of the Intercontinental Title, the first of tonight’s championship bouts. Kofi’s impressive athleticism is on display from the get go with some great defensive leaps. Katie Lea Birchill goes ringside to taunt Kofi and Kingston aims a boot to her face which misses.

Kingston gains control of the match with a great series of power moves before he finishes Birchill off with his familiar series of closing moves which culminates with a Trouble in Paradise. Kofi has really stepped his game up and has grown into a good champion.

Segment Three
It’s now Katie Lea’s turn to lose a title match as Mickie James rushes into the ring to destroy the deliciously trashy Briton. James looks good with a Neckbreaker and finally earns the pin after hitting a nice Mickie-DT.

After the match Beth Phoenix blindsides the women’s champ indicating a thankful end to the James-Birchill feud and a restart to the rivalry between the WWE’s best two female grapplers. Good news.

Segment Four
Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix’s love affair is heating up with some TV-PG butt touching and in a post-match segment they discuss SummerSlam with Adamle and beg for title matches. Mike obliges them both: a tag team winner-take-all match between James and Kingston and Phoenix and Marella. Not great, but not bad.

Post from: EveryJoe

8/4/08 RAW Part One: Mike Adamle = Ronald Reagan?

Chavo Guerrero def. CM Punk
Tazz and Mike Adamle bring up CM Punk’s Money in the Bank and wonder why he hasn’t cashed it in yet. We’re wondering the same thing but then realize that it took Edge nearly nine months to cash in the first Money in the Bank briefcase.

We’re not getting into this match as much as we should. First we’re distracted by a Shamokin-Mount Carmel sign and wonder how a shout out to those two Pennsylvania coal towns could happen in a Colorado Springs arena. Then we focus on CM Punk’s tongue ring and wonder if that ever cause him problems or pain in the ring. It must, right?

The match returns from commercial and we’re quickly snapped back to attention when CM Punk flips Chavo high over the top rope and then falls a long way down before crashing outside the ring. As Chavo crawls back in Bam Neely pulls the rope down and Punk flies out headlong into the announcers’ desk. This match got good quick. Punk looks to be near submission after Chavo hits a neat single-leg Boston crab but bravely grabs a hold of the rope.

Chavo finally pins CM Punk after a terrific exchange of acrobatic reversals and suplexes. See below.

Match Grade: B+. Tonight’s ECW is proving to be a lot more fun than Monday’s RAW and, if the early spoiler reports are to be believed, Friday’s SmackDown.

Kane vs. The Miz and John Morrison
The last match pits the WWE Tag Team Champions against the ECW Champion in a handicap match. A lady in the front row wearing a Roddy Piper “Hot Rod” T-shirt is holding up a “Marry Me Kane” sign. Hasn’t she seen See No Evil?

This disappointing match ends quickly when the tag team champs gang up on Kane and are DQ’d for not tagging. CM Punk, Tommy Dreamer, Chavo Guerrero, and (finally) Big Show all enter the ring giving us a free-for-all preview of this Sunday’s PPV only without the Singapore cane. We want Big Show and Kane to attack each other but they don’t instead preferring to beat up on the little guys. We’ll have to buy One Night Stand to see the real fun.

Match Rating: D
Post-Match Rating: B It actually has us excited about the PPV.

Overall, this has been a terrific night of wrestling. One with no drama and no side shows. Just great grappling. Good stuff.

Post from: EveryJoe

ECW: The Singapore Cane Match Preview