The two competitors in the next match are together in the back and are being interviewed by Bobby Johnson. He is with MVP and Jack Swagger and he is calling this match “..somewhat of a culture clash.” The two play up the “All American Vs. The Ex-Con” angle and this stuff isn’t really all that great. Lets hope their match is better.

When we re-enter the arena we are joined by the second announce team of Jerry “The King” Lawler and Michael Cole. I’ve said it before that I am not a fan of the changing of announce teams during the show and it seems like and old WCW-like thing to do. “The All American American” Jack Swagger is the first to enter for the next bout, and doesn’t receive much from the crowd here as he makes his way to the ring. Montel Vontavious Porter, or MVP, on the other hand receives a decent amount of pop on his way to the ring. When the bell sounds, Swagger strikes first and tries to lift MVP for a double leg takedown. MVP escapes this with a backslide and tries for the first cover. Swagger is quick to kick-out and both men hop back to their feet. A clothesline from MVP is next that is followed up with a sidewalk slam. MVP raises his hands in celebration, after this the crowd opens up with a nice pop. MVP then hits the ropes but this goes nowhere as Swagger rolls from the ring to try and regain some composure. This is something that MVP doesn’t allow and hits Swagger with a springboard crossbody. He returns Swagger to the ring and hooks the leg. Swagger isn’t done yet and is able to kick-out before the count of two. It looks as if MVP is going to give Swagger a tornado DDT off of the top turnbuckle, but Swagger is able to pull him back the mat by his foot. Swagger then uses the Alabama slam to drive the back of MVP into the turnbuckle. Swagger nails MVP in the lower back with a pair of forearms before he uses the top rope to choke MVP. He does this until the ref forces the break and this is when MVP catches Swagger with a back elbow. MVP then tries for a clothesline but Swagger ducks it and hooks MVP with an abdominal stretch. After some time MVP hooks his hands and tries to leverage free from the hold. He does so, but Swagger flattens him with a clothesline.

Swagger hooks the leg, and as soon as MVP kicks out, Swagger hooks the leg and does it again. This one too is kicked out, and Swagger applies the camel clutch. MVP is able to stand this up and get Swagger with an electric chair drop. This hurts the back of MVP and leaves both men prone on the mat. Porter slowly makes his way to Jack Swagger and makes a cover. The delay gives Swagger enough time to recover and he is able to kick-out. The ref makes it only to a two count before they regain their footing. MVP ducks under a pair of rights from Swagger and lands a counter punch of his own after each one. He then hits Swagger with a three piece combo and slaps him to finish it off. This brings Jack to his knees and the crowd pops when MVP catches him with the kneebuster. MVP hits the ropes, does his best to mimic Kobe Bryant by shooting an imaginary three, and drops an elbow into the chest of Swagger. When he shoots the three, the crowd even responds with a “Kobe”. MVP then hooks a leg and the crowd let out a sigh when Swagger kicks out. MVP tries for his finish, The Playmaker, But Swagger reverses out of it and hooks the tights of MVP to try for a pin. This one is close but Porter is able to kick out. After Swagger brings MVP to the mat by bouncing his face off the turnbuckle, Swagger attempts a Vader Bomb. Porter is able to get his knees up and counter the splash. This time when MVP goes for The Playmaker it is a success. MVP then hooks both legs and the ref counts the three. For a squash match with little build-up and nothing on the line this thing was great. The match paced great and the bell-to-bell action was on point. Do yourself a favor and check this one out, too. Match Time-6:22

We see a shot of Luke Perry of 90210 fame in the crowd next and I guess I’ll get this tidbit out of the way now. This was at a time when every episode of RAW was hosted by a different celebrity. I guess the WWE was really striving to hammer the “Sports Entertainment” aspect home and was trying to become part of the Hollywood scene. Some of the famous host included Shaq, Bob Barker and Donald Trump, whom I have heard is credited for coming up with the hosting idea. Who would have thought such a bad idea could come from the amazing brain of Donald Trump….. One of the most infamous hosting stories comes from Ari Gold AKA Jeremy Piven. He called the SummerSlam event “SummerFest” and this became a popular backstage rib name for the show. Apparently Mr. Piven wasn’t too familiar with the product. We see a clip that shows a bunch of these hosts and their times on RAW. Some of the others included are Seth Green, ZZ Top and Freddie Prince Jr. Prince Jr. actually had a stint behind the scenes as a writer and helped the guys to perfect their acting chops. We get the ultimate celeb gossiper and host of Access Hollywood, Nancy O’Dell up next and she plugs her charity Betty’s Battle. This was something that she started to raise awareness for ALS, a disease her mother passed from the previous year. She thanks the WWE for their efforts in this fight and goes on to interview Freddie Prince. Enough of this lets get back to the reason we are here, wrestling.

Team Jeri-Show is out next and the team of Chris Jericho and The Big Show are here to defend their Unified WWE Tag Team Championships. The team receives a nice pop as they enter the ring and raise both sets of tag Titles high in the air. Jericho takes to the mic and insults the fans and celebrities in attendance. Jericho is the man and you can’t go wrong by sticking a microphone in his hand. He receives the desired heat from the crowd before handing the mic over to Big Show. He doesn’t get a chance to speak because he is interrupted by the theme music of Cryme Tyme. The challenger are the pairing of JTG and Shad Gaspar. It seems like they would get a nice pop for interrupting the insulting ways of Jeri-Show, but instead the crowd gives them heat too. If you aren’t familiar with Cryme Tyme it is understandable because they didn’t have much of a WWE run. They were both call ups from OVW, and their over-the-top thug gimmick never really panned out.

Jericho and JTG, or Just To Good, start the match and begin with the collar and elbow. Jericho transitions into the side headlock, but JTG shoves him into the rope. Jericho comes back with steam and takes JTG off his feet with a shoulder block. Both men hit the ropes, and after JTG leapfrogs Jericho he catches Y2J with a spinning back elbow. A blockbuster follows this and JTG is soon trying for a cover. This barely gets a two count and both men are quick to their feet. Jericho strikes first, and after a headbutt, drives the face of JTG into the turnbuckle. He then tries for the Walls of Jericho but when he struggles to roll JTG over he choses to slingshot JTG into the corner instead. JTG somehow turns mid-air and lands seated onto the top rope. When Jericho turns back around, JTG catches him with a seated senton. He tries for a cover but Jericho kicks him off. Jericho is able to land a right hand that takes Just To Good off his feet and tag in The Big Show. Show hits a headbutt that sends JTG into the corner. Show is right there to strike him in the chest with his massive hands. These things let out a serious slap when they connect with JTG’s chest. The towering Big Show applies a side headlock and this really shows the size difference between the two. Show then releases on his own will and puts JTG back in the corner to deliver another one off those slaps to the chest. JTG is then whipped to the opposite corner but when Big Show charges he is met with a double boot to the face. JTG tumbles from harms way and makes the tag.

Shad enters and he is closer to the size of Big Show than JTG, but is still undersized to say the least. He lands a series of rights and tries to take Big Show off his feet with a pair of clotheslines. Big Show stumbles a little but grabs ahold of Gaspar and whips him into the corner. Show tries for a splash but Shad avoids it and Show collides with the turnbuckle instead. Jericho enters the ring but Gaspar easily lifts him into the gorilla press slam and drops him to the canvas. Jericho rolls from the ring, but the distraction served its purpose because Big Show nails Shad with a huge spear. Show then uses the ropes for leverage, as if he needs it, and steps onto the head of Gaspar. The ref forces the break and while he is confronting Show over this, Jericho bounces Shad’s head off the apron. After another slap in the corner, Show holds Shad so Jericho can enter and deliver a few punches to the midsection. Big Show leaves the ring and the ref allows Jericho to stay in even though no tag was made. Jericho hits the ropes and Gaspar uses all his energy to stand and catch Jericho with a big boot. Jericho is still first to his feet and knocks JTG off the apron with a back elbow. JTG comes sliding into the ring and the ref is there to stop him. The two arguing in the corner allow Jericho and Show to double team Shad. Show holds him so that Jericho can get a cheap shot in. Show re-enters the match, again without tagging. Do your job ref. Big Show applies the full nelson and Gaspar starts to waver. He tries to rally behind the crowds sparse claps but Show just shoves him to the mat. Show makes a legal tag and Jericho re-enters the match. He tries to drop a running elbow onto Shad but he is able to roll from harms way and towards his partner. Jericho is able to stop the tag by dropping an ax handle into the back of Gaspar and applying a headlock. This time the crowds rally clap is much better and it powers Shad to his feet. Jericho releases and hits the ropes but Gaspar is able to lift him for a spinning powerslam. The tag is made and JTG comes in hot. After a flipping shoulder block and a dropkick from JTG, he hits Jericho with his finish, The Mug Shot. Just To Good then gets the crowd pumped by giving Big Show a hot-shot, even though it doesn’t knock the big man from the apron. He catches Jericho with the sling blade next and goes for a cover. It looks as though the Titles may be changing hands, but Big Show enters and breaks the cover up. Big Show is then hit with a clothesline from Gaspar then send both men over the top rope and crashing to the floor. JTG hooks the tights and makes a roll-up pin. The crowd counts along but Jericho is able to narrowly kick-out. Both men are quick to their feet and after Jericho ducks a clothesline, he is able to apply the Walls of Jericho. After quite a struggle JTG is able to find the ropes. It takes the ref pulling Jericho off to break to hold and this is when Big Show catches JTG with a right hand. Jericho makes a cover and the ref counts the three. Chris Jericho and The Big Show retain the Title. This match was just ok and it seemed like these two teams were lacking in chemistry. It may be because the first two were so great, but I wasn’t a fan of this match. Match Time-9:42

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