Viewership For RAW Down After Two Week Rise

Our friends at WrestlingInc.com posted the following report.

Viewership for WWE Monday Night RAW fell this week after being on the rise for two consecutive weeks. Last night’s episode averaged 3.98 million viewers, according to TV By The Numbers. Viewers were down 4% from last week’s episode, which scored a 3.03 rating with 4.15 million viewers.

The show drew 3.743 million viewers in the first hour and rose to 4.287 million viewers in the second. Viewers fell to 3.910 million viewers in the third and final hour.

Matt Striker: “WWE Is Not A Wrestling Company”

During an interview with SirusXM Radio’s “Busted Open” wrestling talk show hosted by Doug Mortman and Mike Riker, recently released WWE announcer Matt Striker discussed his feelings on his release. In a series of highlights posted by Raj Giri at WrestlingInc.com Striker explains what the WWE is really about and what he says wrestling fans need to understand.

“Guys you got to understand something. WWE is an entertainment company that uses wrestling as a vehicle, it’s not a wrestling company. And that’s something I had to learn. No one give’s a crap about Billy Robinson. No one cares about Mr. Saito and Mr. Fuji. All they care about is that John Cena has to take on Mark Henry and why. And I think that’s something that we all need to kind of understand.”

You can read more highlights which were sent exclusively to WrestlingInc.com by clicking here

Jack Swaggar Found Guilty Of DUI And Speeding Today In Gulfport, MS Court Case

Jack Swagger has been sentenced to six months’ probation along with a $500 fine and is ordered to pay for all court costs related to his case. The 2 days behind bars has been dropped as well as the marijuana possession charge.

RAW Segment of the Week: AJ Mocks Kaitlyn

Well, there was some thought in my mind of having co-segments of the week in this post, but WWE decided to edit the great segment between CM Punk and Paul Heyman, so that left this video of AJ mocking Kaitlyn all alone and a deserving choice it is. This is one of the funniest spots I’ve seen in a long time. Usually I’m not in to these type of segments, but this one was a classic!

Ed Boston

Co-Founder

DTRT Wrestling News

Raw Recap: June 24 2013

Daniel Bryan came to the ring for his match with Randy Orton. Bryan said some people accused him of having some sort of complex. Bryan said some people say he is an walking example of the little man syndrome. Bryan said some people have always called him the weak link. Bryan said those people are morons because he has fought toe to toe with Randy Orton not once but twice. Bryan said a true weak link would have taken a count out victory over Orton & ran but for him it is not good enough. Bryan said he wont be satisfied until he pins Orton or makes him tap out in the middle of the ring. Bryan said will I do that tonight, Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Randy Orton came to the ring. Bryan said he is glad Orton came out here. Orton grabbed the mic from Bryan & said he came out here to tell him straight to his face shut up & fight. Bryan unloaded on Orton with some punches & knocked Orton from the ring. Orton got back in the ring & the referee separated them so he could start the match.

Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton: The referee called for the bell to stop the match & 3 other referee’s come out to help separate Bryan & Orton. The match was ruled a double DQ.

Backstage in Vickie Guerrero’s office with Vickie & Brad Maddox, Daniel Bryan came in & was upset that his match ended with a double DQ. Bryan yelled NO! No! No! Bryan said he wants a rematch & he doesn’t care what kind of match & that this ends tonight. Maddox said you already had your match tonight & we have a full show. Bryan told Vickie to give him a match with Randy Orton or a match with him(pointed to Maddox). Vickie said you got it, you got your match with Orton. Bryan yelled Yes! & walked off. Vickie laughed at Maddox. Mr. Vince McMahon came in & said some people say Bryan isn’t worthy enough of being a WWE Superstar due to his size & some people think he is a downright embarrassment. Vickie asked Vince what does he say. Vince said I will let you figure that out.

Team Rhodes Scholars vs Sheamus & Christian: Sheamus & Christian got the win.

CM Punk backstage & Vickie approached him. Punk asked if she has seen Heyman or Brock Lesnar. She said no. Vickie said she is putting him in a match tonight & he ignores her. Vickie yelled excuse me & he Yelled excuse me back at her & said for her to tell him when Heyman & or Lesnar get here.

Kaitlyn vs Aksana: Layla is at ringside with Kaitlyn. During the match Kaitlyn’s music is played & Kaitlyn is confused. AJ came out dressed up like Kaitlyn, mocking her. Kaitlyn got the win. After the match AJ mocked & made fun of Kaitlyn. Big E Langston came out & they reenacted Kaitlyn falling for her secret admirer. Kaitlyn tried to go after AJ but Layla held her back.

Promo for the Wyatt family.

Showed what happened last week between Mark Henry & John Cena.

Chris Jericho vs Alberto Del Rio: Jericho had Del Rio in The Walls Of Jericho but before he could tap out Ricardo Rodriguez hit Jericho with a bucket. Dolph Ziggler came to the ring & went after Del Rio. Jericho hit Ricardo with a Code Breaker. Ziggler hit Del Rio with a Zig Zag. Jericho got the win by DQ. Ziggler & Jericho stared at each other & Jericho walked past Ziggler & Ziggler hit Jericho with a Zig Zag.

Vickie & Maddox in her office, She said she thought about what Mr. Vince McMahon said & is going to cancel the Daniel Bryan & Randy Orton match. Triple H came in & said he heard that Vickie was thinking about canceling the Bryan match. Vickie said she believes that it is the best decision & that Mr. McMahon was right on some issues. Triple H said he doesn’t agree with that theory about Bryan. Triple H said it doesn’t matter what anybody back here thinks it’s about what the WWE Universe thinks & they want to see this match. Triple H said not only do I want you to have this match I want you to give the WWE Universe the chose of what kind of match. Triple H said ain’t that a great idea & Vickie agreed. Triple h told Vickie if she listens to him everything is going to be OK. Triple H told Maddox that his shirt is spectacular & asked if they make it in men’s sizes too.

Jerry Lawler in the ring with Vickie & Brad Maddox to announce the launch of the new WWE 2K14 video game. Lawler announced a contest to design a cover for the game & the winning deign will be on the flipside of the cover of the game. Vickie said she will let the WWE Universe decide the stipulations for the Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton match tonight. The fans was booing her she screamed excuse me. The chose are a lumberjack match or street fight or falls count anywhere. Vickie said she designed a cover for the video game & she showed it. It had Mr. Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon & Triple H on it. Maddox designed a cover to & it had him with John Cena & CM Punk. Lawler revealed the real cover for the game which had The Rock on it.

Ryback vs The Great Khali: Ryback got the win.

John Cena came to the ring & talked about the history of the WWE Championship. Cena talked about what Mark Henry did last week. Cena said Henry disgraced his family, cheated the WWE Universe & his speech was a utter disaster to every Superstar who had to have that conversation with the fans that they would never do this again, names like Edge, HBK & Ric Flair. Cena said Henry made a mockery of all of them. Cena said Henry has been here for 17 years & that maybe he realizes that th door is closing & time is running out & he wont have a legacy in WWE unless he holds on to this(Cena held up the WWE championship). Cena said for Henry to hold this he has to go through me. Cena said best part of Henry’s speech was when he handed the title back to him 7 said you have to earn it. Cena said Henry you have to earn this & at Money In The Bank you will realize the only thing you earned is the right to let me knock your teeth down your throat. Cena said Henry forgot to check his calendar because we still are in the middle of whoop *ass season & in 3 weeks you will find out what the world already knows, are time is now & the champ is here.

Promo for the return of Rob Van Dam.

WWE Tag Team Championship #1 Contender Triple Threat Match: Tons of Funk(Bodus Clay & Tensai) vs 3MB(Jinder Mahal & Drew McIntyre) vs The Uso’s: The Uso’s got the win to become #1 contenders.

Paul Heyman came to the ring & said he has ignored CM Punk’s text, emails & phone calls because he wanted to do it face to face in the ring. Heyman called out CM Punk to the ring. Punk talked about why he is a Paul Heyman guy. Punk said for Heyman to tell Brock Lesnar that he is coming for him. Punk said he doesn’t care that he is bigger than me &  stronger than me because he is not better than me. Punk said he is the best wrestler on the planet. Punk said he is going to say it straight up to Heyman’s face because Lesnar doesn’t have the balls to be here today to here it from him. Punk said he will do whatever it takes & is going to bring your beast incarnate down. Punk said Heyman has never done him wrong. Punk asked Heyman if Lesanar attacked him on his own or did he attack me because you saw the writing on the wall after Payback because I told you that I didn’t want you ringside anymore. Punk  said for the first time in your life tell me the truth. Punk said he can take it. Punk said for Heyman to swear on his children if he had anything to do with it or not. Heyman said he will tell Punk the truth because he deserves the truth. Heyman swore on his children that he didn’t know Lesnar would be there last week. Heyman said the moment you said Lesnar needed my help you picked a fight not with you picked a fight with Lesnar. Heyman said the professional jealousy between the 2 of you has run deep for a long time. Heyman said why do you think there has never been a Punk 7 Lesnar tag team match. Heyman said he kept them apart. Heyman said I’m going to walk down that isle with you one day when your challenging for the WWE championship & when your in the main event at WrestleMania. Heyman said that’s my dream because I love you, your my best friend in the world & I’m going to screw up my dreams because I got mad because I can’t be at ringside during your matches. Heyman said he will never represent anybody against Punk. Heyman said in 2005, 2006 people told me to get rid of you & I didn’t do it & now in 2013 everybody is telling you to get rid of me. Heyman said it’s your move Punk. Punk said I’m sorry I doubted you & hugged Heyman.

Darren Young vs CM Punk: Punk won by submission. After the match Punk was attacked by Titus O’Neil & Young. Curtis Axel with Heyman came to the ring & Axel helped Punk. they cleared the Prime Time players from the ring. Heyman said we will talk about it there was no other way it was 2 against 1. Punk seemed upset that Heyman sent out Axel to help him.

Backstage Vickie was on the phone with Maddox, Stephanie McMahon came in & said she noticed Vickie hasn’t announced yet the participants  in the WWE Championship Money In The Bank ladder match. Vickie said she is sorry. Stephanie said she will do it.

The Bella twins was at ringside handed out the All American edition of the WWE magazine.

Stephanie McMahon came out & announced the participants in the WWE Championship Money In The Bank ladder match. They are CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Randy Orton, Christian, Kane & Rob Van Dam.

Backstage Vickie was talking to Maddox, Ryback came in & said he would be WWE Champion if it weren’t for the cheap ambulance roof caving in. Ryback wanted Vickie to cancel the Mark Henry vs John Cena match at Money In The Bank & give him a rematch with Cena. Ryback said he deserved better. Chris Jericho came in & said he deserves to be in the WWE Championship Money In The Bank ladder match so he can go on to become the 7 time world champion. Ryback said he could eat Jericho alive. Jericho said are you a cannibal now, I would like to see you try. Maddox said this isn’t the time or place & got scared & backed off. Ryback & Jericho got nose to nose. Vickie screamed excuse me & made a match of Ryback vs Jericho at Money In The Bank. Ryback laughed & Vickie told them to get out of her office. Ryback said see you at Money In The Bank junior & walked off. Jericho smiled.

Backsatge Heyman tried to explain his action to Punk. Punk said I don’t need your help. Heyman said he sent Curtis Axel to help because it was 2 on 1. Punk said he didn’t need Axel to help him. Heyman said he fixed this & went to Vickie & got a match for Punk & Axel vs The Prime Time Players next week. Punk said you are unbelievable. Punk said he will do it because it’s his fight & he is going to prove to Heyman, the world & Axel that he doesn’t need anybody’s help & then he is coming for Brock Lesnar & Heyman can tell him that & then he is going to win Money In The Bank ladder match & then is going to become WWE champion again. Punk said that’s his focus & nothing else matters to him.

Mark Henry came to the ring & said he fooled everyone. Henry said he seen the signs, heard the chants & seen the fans cry. Henry said because of his performance he has been nominated for an academy award & has the like of Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg & Tyler Perry reaching out to him. Henry said that’s great but that’s not what he wants or deserves. He said people are upset with him because he used his friends, family & other WWE Superstars & he isn’t going to apologize to any of you. He said people his whole life have been telling him how he should live & what defines him. Henry said what’s going to happen at Money In The Bank is a no good, dirty, filthy, lying, cheating Mark Henry is going to show up. Henry said last weak I said honey I’m coming home, I’m coming home alright, I’m coming home WWE Champion.

Another prom for the Wyatt family.

Street fight was voted on by the fans via the WWE Active App.

Street Fight: Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton: Bryan used a Kendo stick with his No Lock to make Orton tap out. Bryan got the win by submission. After the match Orton shook Bryan’s hand. Bryan lead the fans in a Yes! chant.

WWE’s Five-Point Preview Neglects To Mention AJ / Kaitlyn Storyline This Week

While it looked as if WWE’s Payback pay-per-view might have been the spark needed to re-energize the diva’s division, it looks as if it is being ignored this week or is it? Tonight on WWE Raw all major storylines appear to be focused on the superstars with no verbal mention of AJ Lee or Kaitlyn and the diva’s.

This is disappointing as the momentum from WWE Payback proved to be there and last week appeared to be utilized. I know I sound like I’m repeating myself but honestly with THREE hours of broadcast time on Monday night’s there is no excuse for not hyping a segment involving the diva’s within the five-point preview. Granted we will most likely see some kind of progression in the AJ / Kaitlyn saga tonight, however it should be advertised or hinted at in the lead-up to the broadcast.

I will have a follow-up on Tuesday regarding this week’s Raw broadcast and it’s outcome with the AJ / Kaitlyn storyline.

Trevor

Paul Heyman Hypes Tonight’s Raw Segment To “Straighten Out” Mess Between Brock Lesnar And CM Punk

News For Tonight’s WWE Raw Broadcast

Tonight’s WWE RAW takes place from the North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Confirmed for tonight’s show is John Cena’s response to Mark Henry and the third Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan match.
Triple H and Vince McMahon are advertised for tonight’s show, along with Chris Jericho and Paul Heyman. Fandango who is still recovering from injury is also advertised for tonight. CM Punk and Brock Lesnar are not advertised.

WWE.com is pushing the following storyline talking points

* What does the future hold for CM Punk and Paul Heyman?

* Can Randy Orton prove that Daniel Bryan really is a weak link?

* What destruction does Mark Henry have planned for John Cena?

* Will Dolph Ziggler be healthy enough to address his loss?

* Will Vickie Guerrero be forced to punish The Shield?

It should also be noted that the feud between AJ and Kaitlyn is expected to progress tonight as well. On Sunday Kaitlyn tweeted the following

Raj Giri from WrestlingInc.com provides the following backstage news on tonight’s broadcast and possible future plans including a possible match for Summerslam

There are currently no plans to add another member to Paul Heyman’s group. According to a source close to the situation, Heyman also suggested to creative that Curtis Axel be kept separate from the CM Punk / Brock Lesnar program, realizing that Axel will likely be used as fodder.
There has been some talk about doing a Stephanie McMahon / Triple H vs. Paul Heyman / Curtis Axel mixed tag team match at SummerSlam, but some people are against Heyman being involved in the ring that night since he will be managing Lesnar against Punk at the event.

Also, the reason that WWE essentially re-shot the Punk – Heyman “let’s stay friends” angle on last week’s RAW, which was originally done for the App and WWE.com after Payback the night before, was because views for the video were “disappointing.” The company pretty much ignored the original video and reset the story on RAW as a result.

AJ Lee has tweeted about her recent push