The broadcast surprisingly kicked off with Chris Jericho defending his World Heavyweight Title against CM Punk inside a steel cage. This was a good match featuring some great spots, including Punk almost crawling out the door while trapped in the Walls of Jericho. The former Y2J retained after accidentally falling through the side exit to the arena floor as Punk assaulted him. A somewhat weak finish, but it protects Punk while allowing Jericho to keep the belt, so the booking here made sense.

John Bradshaw Layfield took the microphone following his decimation of Tommy Dreamer and demanded that General Manager Mike Adamle appoint him the number-one contender to Jericho’s World Championship. JBL soon found himself verbally warring with Randy Orton, Batista, and Intercontinental Titleholder Santino Marella, all of whom took exception to the wealthy Texan’s self-proclaimed deservingness of a championship match. Adamle finally appeared on the TitanTron and announced that he would render a decision regarding the number-one contendership at the conclusion of the show. Batista argued his case for the spot by laying out both Marella and Beth Phoenix with spinebusters.

Chris Jericho came to the ring and watched in shock as Mike Adamle announced that - in addition to Batista squaring off against JBL in a number-one contender’s match at No Mercy - the blond Canadian titleholder would once again face Shawn Michaels at the PPV, this time with his World Championship on the line. HBK appeared and added that the bout will be a Ladder Match as Raw concluded.

In other news, Evan Bourne came to the aid of Rey Mysterio as the high-flying Luchador was being assaulted by Kane following his DQ victory over the demonic seven-footer and Dolph Ziggler (formerly Nicky of The Spirit Squad) made his return to Raw by introducing himself to various people backstage throughout the program.

This was a solid edition of Raw, although I feel the show should have closed with the Punk-Jericho match. I understand WWE’s desire to properly push the Michaels PPV bout (and rightfully so, as it should be another classic), but that announcement could have just as easily been made following Jericho’s victory in the cage.

Match Results: World Champion Chris Jericho over CM Punk in a Cage Match … Candice Michelle over Jillian via pinfall … JBL over Tommy Dreamer via pinfall … Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, and Manu over Kofi Kingston, Jerry Lawler, and Charlie Haas (impersonating Jim Ross) via DiBiase’s pinfall on Haas … Jamie Noble over Paul Burchill via submission … Rey Mysterio over Kane via disqualification.
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