The July 22 edition of "Monday Night Raw" began with a contract signing between WWE Champion John Cena and his hand picked opponent for Summerslam, Daniel Bryan. Cena gave a promo singing his opponent's paises, but Raw General Manager Brad Maddox, believing that Daniel was not worthy to face Cena, booked the bearded wrestler in three matches to prove his worth.
Match No. 1: Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio
In this non-title match, World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio, newly turned heel, faced off against his familiar foe Sheamus, defeating him with a roll up after focusing on taking out the Irish giant's heavily bruised leg.
After the match, Booker T and Teddy Long were seen backstage, with Long blaming Booker T for them getting outed as the authority figures on "Smackdown" by Vickie Guerrero.
Match No. 2: Titus O'Neil vs. Christian
Despite a strong showing by O'Neil, who managed to toss around the decorated grappler like he was nothing for most of the match, Christian was able to sneak out a victory with his Kill Switch finisher.
Two interviews then followed the match. In the first, Josh Matthews interviewed Ryback, who proclaimsed his hatred of average people, such as (surprise!) Josh Matthews. In the next segment, Mark Henry helpfully informed the audience that his heart does not, in fact, pump Kool Aid and he is not afraid of The Shield. This lead to The Shield attacking the World's Strongest Man, before the Usos stormed the ring to even the odds and possibly set up a six man tag team match for "Summerslam."
Match No. 3: Dolph Ziggler vs. Darren Young
The Prime Time Players went 0-2 in singles competition, as Young was pinned after Ziggler hit the Zig Zag on his opponent. However, Big E Langston attacked Ziggler from behind after the match, leaving his former boss laid out in the ring.
The Miz then introduced the Divas who make up the new reality show "Total Divas" on E! to the audience. We got a slight introduction to each of the Divas, with the highlight being Eva Marie slapping Jerry "The King" Lawler.
We saw Triple H confront Maddox about his attitude towards Daniel Bryan, implying that he thinks Vince Mcmahon is behind his negative comments towards the wrestler. Stephenie McMahon also confronted the GM, saying she had an idea that may help Maddox with his problems.
Match No. 4: Cody Rhodes vs. Fandango
Damien Sandow joined the commentary team during this match, providing some colorful insight into his former partner Cody Rhodes as well as poking fun at Michael Cole. Sandow tried to interfere in Fandango's favor, but Rhodes was able to pick up the win anyway.
CM Punk was in the ring next, with him giving a promo about how he withstood Brock Lesnar's beatdown and stating that he does not fear the monstrous wrestler. He declared their upcoming match "the best versus the beast." Paul Heyman appeared on the Titantron, formally agreeing to the match and labelling Punk as either a coward or fool.
Match No. 5: Rob Van Dam vs. Wade Barrett
Rob Van Dam decimated Barrett in this quick match, hitting several of his famous moves before pinning the Brit after a Frog Splash that saw Van Dam fly across the ring.
Match No. 6: Gauntlet Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro, Ryback
Bryan had to face each man separately, with Jack Swagger being his first opponent. Zeb Colter gave a Texas-themed promo (as "Raw" was in Austin) before the match. After some back-and-forth, Bryan executed the Yes Lock on Swagger, causing him to tap out soon.
Colter's other charge, Cesaro, was next to face Bryan, providing an epic match that proved to be the match of the night. After an epic struggle that saw Cesaro give several stiff uppercuts to Bryan, the Swiss wrestler fell victim to a counter of Bryan's that lead to him getting the three count.
However, the juggernaut Ryback was Bryan's last opponent, and the monster used his power to dominate Bryan early. However, using a variety of submission moves Bryan gained the upper hand, until a running knee off the apron by Bryan cause Ryback to catch his foe and send him slamming into the ground. Ryback then powerbombed Bryan through a table, ending the match with a win via disqualification for Bryan. When Ryback continued his assault on Bryan, John Cena ran out to defend his fellow fan-favorite and "Summerslam" opponent, challenging Ryback to a tables match at next week's "Raw."
"Raw" ended with Brad Maddox being confronted in his office by the man himself, Vince McMahon, who intimidated the "Raw" GM to set up Bryan to face his former tag partner Kane next week.
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