WWE  ha “abandonado” el impulso a Jack Swagger hacia el estrellato, ya que según los ejecutivos no cumplió con las expectativas como se habían previsto inicialmente, según comenta el  último número del Wrestling Observer Newsletter

La primera vez que Jack Swagger apareció en escena, fue hace un poco más de un año,  “The All-American American” fue identificado como el futuro de la empresa debido a su tamaño, y su impresionante récord en lucha colegial. Pero hoy en día, es considerado una figura de comedia clasificada ligeramente inferior a Chavo Guerrero en el orden jerárquico en RAW. Además, algunos sienten que está en peligro de convertirse en el “Chris Masters del año.”

Monday Night Raw 11/16/09
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY
Announcers: Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler

- We open the show backstage where Roddy Piper is sitting inside Piper’s Pit. He is back and he has Luis Guzman with him in the Pit. They pimp Guzman’s upcoming movie before Piper goes into a random rant about how he destroyed Mr. T. As a treat, Piper flew in the Iron Chef Bobby Flay…actually it is just Iron Sheik, not the Iron Chef. Luis brings up Hulk Hogan and Sheik goes off on a rant about that jabroni. Sheik has old school LJN figures and has his replica beat on the Hogan figure. The Bella Twins come in and all five of them do a SNL style opening to send us to our new animation and theme music. We then head inside the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden where the NYC fans are revved up and ready to go. Cole and King run down the card as we head to the ring for our opening contest.

1) Miz vs. MVP for the United States Championship

Miz makes his way through the sweet old school entrance way that we are rocking tonight. Miz has the mic and says the people have chosen to hate him before even uttering a word. He gives MY World Series Champion New York Yankees a plug…before tearing them down a bit, using the lame “they bought a championship” excuse. Miz is drowned out by a “Let’s Go Yankees” chant as the Garden is flat out rocking tonight. He didn’t have to buy his US Title because he earned it and he will prove it tonight. MVP makes his way out to a great pop as he is sporting a Yankee hat. He gives it to his girl Sherri Shepherd, who is at ringside. MVP starts hot and dominates Miz, eventually knocking him to the floor. MVP tosses him back in but Miz catches him with a boot to the knee and then spikes his head into the ring post. MVP fired his way back into things and was able to drop the Ballin’ Elbow. Miz avoided the Playmaker but MVP got a good near fall off a big boot. Miz would regain control with a boot to the gut and then pick up the win with the SCF in a peppy opener. MVP loses again but Miz needs these quality TV title defenses. They kept the crowd into it as well. Nice match. Miz d. MVP with the Skull Crushing Finale; Grade: 1.5

- Miz takes off with his belt as we hit a break.

- Our Sonic Slam of the Week takes us back to last week when Ricky Hatton knocked out Chavo Guerrero. We then head back inside MSG for our next match.

2) Chavo Guerrero vs. Santino Marella

Chavo hits the ring first and then is followed by Santino, who is rocking a Rangers sweater. He takes that off to reveal a Giants jersey, then a Knicks jersey, then a Jets jersey, then a Mets jersey, then a Phillies jersey and finally a Derek Jeter Yankee jersey! Chavo wants to fight and Santino obliges. Chavo hits the Three Amigos and tries to go for the Frog Splash but Santino keeps rolling around the ring. Chavo keeps climbing every corner, but Santino just rolls all around. Degenerate Horny comes out to run interference, allowing Santino to roll Chavo up for the win. Well that was pure comedy and not much else. Marella d. Guerrero with a roll up; Grade: 0

- And the bell has barely stopped echoing before DX makes their way out to the ring to a big pop. Hunter puts over MSG and the DX Army. They wanted to come out, have some fun and sell some merchandise but it isn’t going to happen. Shawn says they aren’t coming out here to let us know that the DX book is out on WWEShop.com right now. Shawn tosses a copy to Sherri Shepherd as Hunter says they are here to talk about the Big Fat Elephant in the room…and not the Big Show…but the triple threat match this Sunday. Hunter says they are on the same page and will not implode or turn on each other. They have come to terms that only one of them can be champion and the only thing that matters is that the belt comes to DX. Shawn now wants to move on to another small piece of business and that involves a member of the Leprechaun community. Hunter says he has been warned but keeps wearing the DX merchandise that he did not pay for. Hunter tells him to come out now and they will consider letting him join DX. Horny pops out from under the ring and is very excited. He crotch chops his way around the ring until Hunter makes him stop. They have Horny line up to do the Suck It catchphrase, but Hunter stops in the middle, kicks Horny and drops him with a Pedigree. They tell Horny to Suck It and leave him lying there and I just have no idea where this is all heading. Hunter and Shawn reach under the ring and pull out a mini stretcher that is tagged with the DX logo. They load Horny on it and carry him to the back as we go to break.

- We are back and getting a quick look at last segment once more. Hunter’s goofy smile before dropping the Pedigree was pretty funny. Cole and King then pimp Jay-Z’s newest CD. They put over MSG and intro a great WWE in MSG History video package set to “Empire State of Mind”, highlighting all the big moments. That was an awesome piece of business. Cole talks about our main event before we head backstage. Piper is prancing around the Pit when he is joined Chris Jericho. Jericho says all guest hosts have disrespected him, and Piper is included in that group. He makes fun of Jericho’s hair and then brings in Chris Masters. He cues up “Boom, Boom, Boom” by the Black Eyed Peas and Masters does his dancing pec act for us. The Bellas are all about that as well. Masters, the Bellas and Piper all take off as Jericho glares angrily. Back in the arena, we see that the two Black Eyed Peas that are not Will.I.Am. or Fergie are in the house before heading to break.

- Back from break, Justin Roberts brings out Judah Friedlander from 30 Rock with a crazy over the top introduction. He will be the guest ring announcer for our next match.

3) Melina vs. Alicia Fox in a Lumberjill match for the Divas Championship

Melina is out first and is ready to defend her title. Alicia is out next and we are good to go. Alicia wants Judah to announce her as the new champion. Judah refuses because he only came out here to watch Melina’s entrance. And he also has to announce that this is now a Lumberjill match. All the Divas involved the Survivor Series bout head out and surround the ring. We get some standard Diva action mixed with the usual Lumberjill antics around the ring. Melina hits a nice flapjack but Alicia countered with a stiff tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Melina eventually hits the Last Call for the win. Melina d. Alicia with the Last Call; Grade: 1

- After the bell, Michelle comes in and jumps Melina to trigger a big brawl. The face team wins out and Judah hops in the ring to celebrate as well. Cole tells us that Piper’s Pit will be next after this break.

- We are back from break as Cole plugs Survivor Series week on WWE.com. He then announces the USA/WWE TV deal to renew the Raw contract through 2014. And with that, the great “Rowdy” Roddy Piper makes his way into the arena amidst the all too familiar sounds of bagpipes. Piper thanks the fans for his recurring MSG standing ovations. He made his career on not being nice and only New Yorkers would put up with that. He is a NY orphan child. He embarrassed Cyndi Lauper in this ring, but she did a good job of that herself as well. He took on the biggest legends of the ring right here like Captain Lou, Bruno, Andre and Hogan and if they messed with Hot Rod they end up bald or dead. He loves them all, mainly the dead ones and not the bald ones. He takes credit for Hogan’s baldness and says he couldn’t resist the jab. He has one more dirty rotten nasty job to do before he checks out and that is one more match…against Vince McMahon! He knows that Vince is a big fan of his because when he did Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, he got fired right here in MSG afterwards. He knows Vince is here and he barely has to goad the boss before he struts out to the ring. Vince rags on Piper’s dye job and he tells Piper that the most heinous thing he has done in MSG was show up tonight. He rips on Piper’s arms, legs and knees and his catcher’s mitt face. The only thing that hasn’t dried up and withered away is Piper’s kilt. Vince’s forefathers would be ashamed of him if he soiled his hands with Piper here in MSG. Vince calls Piper “Father Time” after Piper makes fun of Vince’s suit and gray hair. Vince is on a roll tonight and says he has always looked better than his opponents and he has beaten all the big stars. Unless there is better competition in his future, Vince is officially retired from ring action. Piper calls him a coward for backing out of a fight. He has 7,000 matches and 30 car crashes and he is not sane. He has been electrocuted, gone down in a plane and beaten cancer and he can beat Vince too. Piper doesn’t want the match on PPV or at Wrestlemania because he wants Vince to come down and fight later tonight. Piper will retire him officially if they fight tonight. Piper heads off as Vince looks around and we head to break.

- As an aside, Jesse Ventura will host next week’s three hour Raw Thanksgiving special.

- We are back and King is wondering if Vince will accept Piper’s challenge. We then head back to the ring for our next bout. Sheamus makes his way down the aisle as we get clips of his destruction of Jamie Noble from two weeks ago. Cole tells us that Noble has officially retired. Sheamus introduces himself and says he has been on Raw for four weeks and has already retired one wrestler. He issues an open challenge to anyone in the back. Nobody answers the call so he heads to ringside and grabs timekeeper Mark Yeaton. He wipes him out with a kneelift and then tosses him across the announce table and onto the floor. Now the King drops his headset and goes to check on Yeaton but Sheamus kills him with a big boot to the head. Sheamus leaves as Cole and some officials check on the King and Yeaton. We get a replay of the brutality and then see King being helped to the back as we take a break.

- We are back and Matt Striker has joined Cole at ringside. They run down the Survivor Series card for us, as we are just six days away. We then head back to the ring for our next match.

4) Evan Bourne vs. Jack Swagger

Air Bourne hits the ring as he is set to take on his archrival, Jack Swagger. As Swagger heads to the ring, we take a quick break. When we return, we see that Swagger has overpowered Bourne to take control. The crowd continues to be lively, so kudos to them. Bourne tries to comeback but Swagger just drills him with a big clothesline from behind. Bourne finally uses his quick strike offense to get on track and pick up some near falls. Swagger catches Bourne on a moonsault attempt, stampedes him into the corner and then plants him with the gutwrench suplex for the nice win. This could have been much better, but was just too short. I hope they get an extended sequence on Sunday. Swagger d. Bourne with the gutwrench suplex; Grade: 1

- Swagger celebrates as we cut backstage to see Piper walking before we head off to break.

- We are back from break and the bagpipes are blaring again as Roddy Piper is in the ring. Piper is looking pretty good I must say. And it looks like Piper’s challenge will be answered, but it won’t be by Vince McMahon, because we are being joined by Randy Orton. Orton doesn’t know if McMahon is coming out, but he knows that Piper has a big problem because Orton is here. The crowd is chanting for Orton. Randy can’t think of a better way to relieve stress than to put Piper down. Orton kicks Piper but Piper fires back with a right hand. Orton kicks him again and then clubs him down. He stomps away at Roddy as Striker eulogizes Hot Rod. This show improved immediately upon Striker taking over for Lawler. Before Orton can punt Piper, Kofi Kingston hits the ring and hammers away at Orton. Orton slithers away and heads to the back, but Kofi goes out after him. Piper cheers Kofi on as he takes it to Randy. Kofi tosses him into the fans and follows him with a flurry of fists. Orton is able to ram Kofi into a cheer but Kofi fights back and runs Orton into the barricade. The fight has evened out as they trade blows. Orton sends Kofi back to ringside and starts to stomp on Kofi’s midsection. Orton tosses him back into the ring and slingshots him throat first into the bottom rope. Kofi is on his stomach and Orton lines up for the punt. Orton charges but Kofi pops up and hits Orton with a cross body. He hammers away until Orton bails to the floor. Kofi follows him out again and they continue to brawl around ringside. Kofi throws Orton back over the barricade but Orton meets him with a boot. They are clubbing on each other as a gaggle of officials breaks things up. That doesn’t last long as Orton breaks free and the fight starts up again. The officials hold Orton back again and that allows Kofi to dive onto him. They keep slugging away at each other and end up in the second level of seats above the tech area. Kofi runs him into the railing and then flips him over it and down to the tech area. Kofi grabs a steel lift and smacks Orton across the head with it. Orton is sliced open and it looks like it may be hardway. The crowd is chanting for Kofi as he hops back up to the second level. He climbs on the barricade and is about to launch onto the prone Orton but the officials stop him before he can leap. Kofi breaks free and charges back to the barricade. He leaps high into the air and puts Orton through a table with a great looking Boomdrop. Kofi is over like rover, boys. Orton is left broken on the table. Kofi stands tall and his music fires up as the crowd cheers him on. That was a great brawl and Kofi has taken the ball and run crazy with it.

- We are back and Matt Striker is thanking Nickelback for the new Raw theme song. We then head backstage where John Cena is standing alone. He does the usual promo, plugging New York, discussing the upcoming main event and putting over the Undertaker. He talks about Survivor Series as well, calling his match a handicap match. A PA walks over and hands Cena a note. He throws it down and says it changes everything. He clarifies that it is a triple threat match and not a handicap match. Cena rants on some more about the match Sunday and then heads off as we hit the ring.

5) Chris Jericho & Big Show vs. Shawn Michaels & Triple H vs. John Cena & Undertaker in a non title match

Big Show and Chris Jericho are out first but first we are taking one last break. As we return, Cole reminds us that Ventura will be the guest host next week and Striker breaks out a good Jesse imitation. DX is out next, followed by Cena and finally Undertaker, who gets the big druid entrance and classic “Undertaker” MSG chant. Taker gets a big time pop, natch. We are well into the over run here and the match hasn’t even started yet. Cena, Jericho and Michaels start things off but Jericho quickly tags in Show. Shawn obliges and tags Hunter so Cena tags in Taker too. Taker and Hunter turn their attention to Show and start double teaming him. Hunter hits a facebuster and Taker clotheslines Show to the floor. We get some vintage Hunter and Taker until Shawn is tagged in. He and Taker stare each other down before going at it. Show makes his way back in and spears Taker before clubbing Michaels down as well. He tags in Jericho who picks apart Michaels before hooking the Walls. Taker breaks that up but Cena tags himself in from behind before Taker can do anything. All six men tag in and out and the flow is pretty good here as the star power is just oozing from the ring. Show plants Cena and Hunter with a double chokeslam in a cool spot. Taker comes in and hits Show with a big clothesline. He knocks Show to the floor but Show whips him into the barricade. Jericho nearly steals a victory but only gets two. Hunter is able to tag Shawn and he hits Jericho with the vintage Michaels moveset. Shawn cues up the band on Cena but Cena ducks it and takes Shawn down with a shoulderblock. He hits the five knuckle shuffle and hoists Shawn up for the AA but Hunter reaches in and tags Shawn’s back. Hunter rolls through Cena and Jericho but Show stops him with a headbutt. Shawn drills Show with SCM, but Jericho catches him with the codebreaker. Taker drops Jericho with a chokeslam, but he gets knocked to the floor. Cena comes in and hits Triple H with the AA for the win. That was a wild little brawl and the crowd was rocking the whole time. Cena & Undertaker d. Show & Jericho and Triple H & Michaels when Cena pins Triple H with the Attitude Adjustment; Grade: 2.5

- Taker comes back in and plants Cena with a Tombstone. Taker stands tall in the ring as we fade out. This was a really fun show tonight that was aided by the fresh MSG look, different entrance and smoking hot crowd. Piper was awesome as always and the show just flowed well from beginning to end. The Kofi/Orton brawl was great stuff as well as Orton has just done everything he can to help elevate Kofi. See you next week for the three hour Raw Thanksgiving special and the Body will be in the house!

Final Grade: B+

WWE Raw
November 2, 2009
Worcester, MA
DCU Center

Note: Justin was watching the Yankees LOSE (sorry big guy) last night, so I’m your substitute Raw recapper. I was watching the Saints/Falcons game which is why this is a day late. My bad.

We see some smoke rising in front of the ring with Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne inside. One of Ozzy’s songs plays overhead. I’m not the biggest Ozzy fan, so I couldn’t tell you what it is and I can’t make out any of the lyrics. Surprised? I mean, it’s Ozzy. ALL ABOARD THE CRAZY TRAIN! Kiddies, this isn’t the first time Ozzy has been inside a WWE ring. Sharon introduces a clip of WrestleMania 2 where Ozzy accompanied the British Bulldogs and yelled, “BRITISH BULLDOGS FOREVERRRRR!” Sigh. He also appeared on Smackdown in 2007 to perform with his band, “I Don’t Wanna Stop”. I did know that one. Alright, let’s move on. Ozzy says he has no recollection of either one of those appearances and the crowd cheers. YAY MIND-ALTERING DRUGS! Where’s CM Punk when you need him? Speaking of MTV whores, The Miz interrupts to say he’s a bigger star than all of the Osbourne family combined. O RLY? Since Ozzy and Sharon are the guest hosts, he wants them to overturn the decision last week where Miz lost to Evan (Os?)Bourne by countout. Ozzy interrupts Miz to ask him who he is. Well he’s certainly not part of the British Bulldogs. He’s Miz and he’s awesome. Now DiBiase and Rhodes interrupt the Miz to tell him how petty he’s being for complaining about a countout loss. They have much bigger problems – Kofi Kingston vandalized the Randy Orton NASCAR and they want a handicap match with that punk – tonight. The interruptions just keep getting bigger as the Big Show comes to the ring. He tells Ozzy to ignore the three complainers in the ring because he was betrayed and assaulted by the entire Raw roster. Now he wants an apology. So Ozzy apologizes? Big Show threatens that somebody is going to get a BIG RIGHT HAND OF DEATH tonight. Ozzy screams “Sharonnnnnn” and out comes Degeneration-X. What the FFFF could they possibly have to complain about? Triple H calls the four already in the ring the “ratings killers”, so they have come to save the day. They plug Ozzy and DX’s books coming out eventually in fine bookstores everywhere. H whispers to Ozzy and then Ozzy repeats as he points to the Miz, “You will wrestle Evan Bron tonight…” and H whispers again, “…for the US title.” Shawn plugs WrestleMania tickets which go on sale this Saturday while taking a dig at Legacy. He whispers to Sharon who repeats back to Legacy, making a Kofi Kingston versus Randy Orton match for later tonight, which isn’t what they asked for at all. Big Show doesn’t want an apology now, maybe he just wants to see a warm-up match for Survivor Series with Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and John Cena. Big Show plays the DX game and whispers his idea to Ozzy, but HHH changes the plans and whispers in Ozzy’s other ear to make a John Cena-Big Show-Chris Jericho main event. Big Show is pissed, but Sharon says these matches are final. If you’re not down with that, you can suck it.

WrestleMania XXVI is coming March 28 2010. Buy your tickets this Saturday at noon at Ticketmaster.com!

• WWE U.S. Champion The Miz vs. Evan Bourne
  

Miz kicks and stomps Bourne around to start. They go for the hiptoss across the ring spot, but Bourne catches himself on the top rope and springs down into a rana on Miz. Spinning heel kick sends Miz to the floor where Bourne follows him out with a slingshot diving double knee drop on the shoulders. Incredible. Back inside, that gets two. Bourne tries to charley horse the leg, but Miz comes back with a knee to the gut. “MIZ IS AWESOME” chants begin. He drops Bourne stomach first on the top rope and then grabs a deep ab stretch on the mat while Cole shills Ozzy’s biography again. How much you want to bet he just read the part about the bat? Bourne escapes a pumphandle slam and falls on top for two. Miz attempts another front suplex, but Bourne knees out and knee strikes Miz into the corner. Shining Wizard misses, but Bourne catches himself and hits a springboard roundhouse kick to the back of the head for 1-2-NO! Miz headbutts the gut and charges Bourne in the corner, but Bourne brings a foot up to block and flips up onto the top turnbuckle for to go AIR BOURNE. Miz moves, but Bourne lands on his feet and charges into a hiptoss that sends him crashing into the corner. SKULL CRUSHING FINALE! It’s all over. (4:14) So Miz gets his win back. They really need to do more with Evan Bourne though. I don’t think there’s any argument there. **

Please don’t try this at home.

Josh Matthews gets a word with Sheamus. Will he try to impress Ozzy Osbourne? He thinks Ozzy should have retired a long time ago and after tonight, Jamie Noble’s career WILL be over. Soooo, I’m guessing the answer is no.

• Sheamus vs. Jamie Noble

At least until Bryan Danielson arrives, Sheamus is the whitest man ever in WWE. Total squash. Sheamus takes Noble to the floor and runs him into the ringpost. Back in, more ripping and tearing and beating and knee strikes before he delivers the IRISH CURSE! Bicycle Kick connects, but Sheamus lifts him up at two. He puts the boots to Noble in the corner until the ref stops the match. (2:24) Oh it’s not over. Sheamus places Noble up top and boots him out to the floor for a POWERBOMB. Here come the referee squad to prevent anymore spine-busting moves. Poor Noble ends up doing a stretcher job. Somewhere I’m sure Bono is smiling. ½*

WWE DID YOU KNOW: Last Monday night, Raw was watched by more male viewers than every program on NBC, the CW, and FOX? Sounds impressive, but let’s see what is on at 9-11 on those networks. CW has Gossip Girl at 9pm, FOX has Lie To Me at 9pm and then the local news at 10pm, and NBC has Trauma at 9pm and the Jay Leno Show at 10pm. So the only show out of that two hour block on those three networks that a majority of the male demo would even WATCH is the Jay Leno Show.

A recap video is shown of last week’s Raw where Kofi Kingston pinned Chris Jericho before being attacked by Randy Orton and knocked off the stage because he ended up costing him the WWE title at Bragging Rights. As a consolation prize, DiBiase and Rhodes made Randy a custom-made NASCAR. Since Kofi was pissed about the shove off the stage, he ends up vandalizing Orton’s new NASCAR.

Josh Matthews stops Kofi Kingston on his way to the ring. The man refuses to be bullied by anybody. Heyyyyyy, where’d your accent go?

• Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston
  

Kofi fights off an assault from Orton and clotheslines him out. Back in, Orton gets dumped out on top of DiBiase and Rhodes who run down to ringside. Here comes Kingston with a suicide dive! That’s all real and good, but it’s 3-on-1 pal. While Legacy surrounds the ring, Ozzy and Sharon interrupt us on the jumbotron and changes this match to a 6-man tag. I thought all the matches were final? MVP and Mark Henry (or The Kool-Aid Men, whichever you wish to call them) head to the ring to join Kofi Kingston. LET THE MADNESS BEGIN! Commercials!

• The Legacy vs. Kofi Kingston, MVP & Mark Henry

When we return, the match is in progress and Kingston is making a comeback out of a chinlock. Double chop to DiBiase! Armdrag and a double chop to Rhodes! VINTAGE STEAMBOAT! Orton takes a hiptoss and heads to the floor. Russian legsweep to DiBiase apparently leaves him for dead as Kingston and MVP deliver STEREO BOOM DROP AND BALLIN. Cover, 1-2-NO! WHAT. In comes Mark Henry, who takes care of a double team attempt from DiBiase and Rhodes. MVP screws it all up and runs into a boot in the corner to become *your* face in peril. This goes on for several minutes while everybody takes their turn punishing MVP and preventing him from making a tag. Belly to belly toss to DiBiase sets up a HOT TAG TO MARK HENRY! Rhodes gets squashed with an Avalanche, but Orton saves him from a running powerslam. RKO? Nope. Kingston saves Henry with a dropkick to Orton that sends him to the outside. Rhodes comes off the top with a flying bodypress, but gets caught for the WORLDS STRONGEST SLAM. See ya later. (9:46 shown for the whole thing) Dang what a hot crowd. This was a perfectly fine formula tag for TV. Kingston stares and points at Orton while he sulks up the aisle way looking as only Orton can look at somebody. **¼

RAW’S GOT TALENT: In this age of terrible talent shows that are DONE to death on basically every major network, I don’t think I need to explain what this means. Ozzy, Sharon, and the Great Khali are your judges. Great – only one person anyone can even understand. Apparently the Ryan Seacrest of the segment, Jerry Lawler, speaks Indo-Aryan all of a sudden and interprets what Khali says. He’s got a big crush on Kelly Osbourne. Sharon would love him as a son-in-law. REALITY SHOWWWWWWW. The first contestant is Santino Marella dressed in his best interpretation of Ozzy Osbourne as he will sing Ozzy’s 1983 hit song “Bark at the Moon”. He’s got ripped up white pants on splattered with “blood”. Perhaps bat blood, Cole? Santino changes his mind and decides to do something as equally impressive. He’s going to bite the head of a bat…man figure. Both Ozzy and Sharon disapprove and give him the thumbs down. STEREO THUMBS DOWN! Chris Masters is the next contestant and booby dances to the beat of “Crazy Train”. Sharon approves while Ozzy & Khali are oddly mesmerized. Our final contestants are Chavo Guerrero and Jillian. She’s a HUGE fan of Ozzy. How about a duet of Ozzy and Lita Ford’s 1989 hit “Close My Eyes Forever”? Yeah, they get buzzed. Jillian says Sharon has always been jealous of Lita Ford and she’s really not even a fan of Ozzy. They head to the ring as Jillian starts singing some Britney Spears. Of course she gets a Linda McMahon slap. Chavo wants Ozzy to control his wife, but he knows he can’t do it by himself. Chavo gets in Sharon’s face until Khali stands up and BRAIN CHOPS him away. Uh oh, Hornswoggle dressed as Jack Osbourne runs down and TADPOLE SPLASHES poor Chavo.

Bouncy Bouncy Smiley Smiley Kelly Kelly is WALKING. He high fives the Bella Twins as they walk past Gail Kim. Just so she doesn’t get left out of this segment, Eve comes over and gives Gail Kim the DOUBLE high five! They’re all smiling! Everybody’s happy and having a good time!

Next week’s host is one of Mayweather’s biggest foes – British pro boxer Ricky Hatton!

• Divas Battle Royal – Winner gets a Divas title shot

Gail Kim, Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, Eve, and the Bella Twins are your competitors. Figures the only chick who hits a wrestling move (straight jacket neckbreaker on one of the twins) gets eliminated first by Kelly Kelly. Gail Kim is kind of pissed at that. Jack Swagger comes out to get a closer look at the ladies – specifically Eve. She’s ruling the ring right now eliminating both the Bella Twins until she catches eyes with Swagger and gets tossed by Alicia. Kelly Kelly tries to get rid of Alicia with a Handspring Back Elbow in the corner, but Alicia catches her and throws Kelly to the floor! (2:43) What? Alicia Fox is the new #1 contender. Melina seems somewhat pleased. I would be too. What’s this chick done anyway? ¼*

Update on Jamie Noble: He’s got some serious back and neck issues. Good luck, Jamie! We’ll miss you?

Earlier Tonight: WWE’s Got Boobies and Jackswoggle?

Another recap video shows the recent happenings with Rey Mysterio and his big pal Batista over on Smackdown.

Chris Jericho interrupts what looks like Ozzy tweaking Sharon’s nipples to tell him that he’s a HUGE fan of his, but now he realizes that he’s better than Ozzy. And if either one of them embarrasses him again, it will be “The Ultimate Sin”, won’t it.

Well gee, what’s DX doing? Talking to Jackswoggle I see. They have him hung up to the wall so they can see him at eye level. They rip off his afro wig and warn him to never imitate DX again. John Cena appears for the first time tonight and helps Hornswoggle off the wall as he’s crotch chopping DX. Cena tells DX that you can never hang a leprechaun on a hook. His uncle did it one time, but he only did it once. Once, Hunter…once. Anyways, Hunter tells Cena that he’s not really sweating the triple threat match at Survivor Series since he just beat Cena two weeks ago. Next week Raw will be in the UK, and the UK is where Shawn beat Cena. Bottom line is, they have all beat each other. They beat each other all the time! Well what do you know. The Bella Twins are standing right beside them, heard the whole thing, and decide to leave. Oh look, Cena is embarrassed. Shawn ~ “Way to go!” While Shawn is no genius, he knows that DX has the mathematical advantage to walk out of Survivor Series with the WWE championship. Whatever. THE CHAMP IS HERE!

• WWE Champion John Cena vs. Chris Jericho vs. Big Show – non-title match
  

DX joins us for commentary to make fun of Michael Cole by saying “vintage” and “oh my” a bunch of times. Hilarious. Triple H is more into that than Shawn seems to be. He’s more about putting Cena over for being a toughie. After a commercial break, the match is in progress. Cena shoves Big Show off into the ringpost and hits the release fisherman’s suplex on Jericho for two. With Big Show still on the floor, he pulls Cena out and throws him into the barricade a couple times. When he sends Cena back in, Jericho jumps on the cover for two. Big Show’s not cool with that. Nevertheless, they continue to double-team the champ. Meanwhile DX fails at math and Cole corrects them. HOW DARE HE? Back in the ring, Cena avoids an avalanche from Big Show and hits a face slam on Jericho, but stands up into a spear by the Big Show. Lionsault connects for 1-2-NO! Show pulls him off the cover! Now Jericho is PISSED. He slaps Big Show around and then takes a face palm that sends him all the way to the floor. Cena escapes the CHOKESLAM and goes for the ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT, but he collapses. Could it be pump splash time? No, Cena moves and shoulderblocks Show to the floor. That leaves more shoulderblocks and the Protobomb. Five Knuckle Shuffle sets up the ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT, but Show saves his championship partner with a BIG RIGHT HAND OF DEATH. Jericho gets the 1-2-3 after all. (7:14 shown) They were screwing with us all the whole time! Those two are still friends! Now that the handshakes are over and Cena is still down, they put him in a WALLS OF JERICHO/CAMEL CLUTCH submission. Since DX are such decent guys, they try to make the save. Shawn steps into a BIG RIGHT HAND OF DEATH while HHH takes a headbutt into a CODEBREAKER! Yes! Will this lead to DX taking the tag belts from these two and being the unified tag champs until kingdom come? Oh man I hope not. **

And with that, we are outta here.

Monday Night Raw 10/26/09
HSBC Arena
Buffalo, NY

Announcers: Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler

We start this week’s show off with a recap of last night’s PPV. We then head inside the HSBC Arena where Michael Cole welcomes us to Raw. We are immediately joined by Big Show and Chris Jericho. Jericho has his Smackdown shirt on and is carrying the Bragging Rights trophy high above his head. Cole calls Show “Brutus” for stabbing Raw in the back and King asks if he is referencing Beefcake. Show has the mic and he wants us to know that he is still a proud member of the Raw roster despite what happened last night. Jericho tells him that he doesn’t need to explain himself to all the germ incubators out there. He says Show did what he did out of loyalty and honor for Jericho and their team. Show has something to say, but Jericho wants to thank him for ending the reign of DX. There will be no mirth or hawking of cheap merchandise out of embarrassment. Show stood up for what was right by punching Triple H in the face and helping Smackdown win. Show has something to say, but Jericho keeps cutting him off and putting over Smackdown and himself. Show cuts him off and says he did what he did for himself, not for his team or show loyalty. He spoke with Teddy Long and struck a deal. Because Smackdown won Bragging Rights, Teddy gave Show a shot at Undertaker’s World Championship. Jericho isn’t happy with that and makes a fat joke. As they argue, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano are tearing up the parking lot in their cars. They speed into the arena and pull right up to the ramp to a nice pop. They hop out of the cars and head to the ring, accompanied by the Bella Twins. They both grab mics and play to the crowd a bit. Busch speaks first and lets us know they are huge fans and are happy to be here to host. Busch says the fans aren’t impressed with what Show did to Raw last night. He is a man’s man and he is with Show. Busch shakes Show’s hand but Logano doesn’t like what Show did. He calls his actions weak. Show tells Busch to teach Joey about respect. Kyle apologizes and calls Joey young and dumb. Busch says they are here to win championships and make Raw happen. He says Buffalo hasn’t made it to the playoffs since Hulkamania and then rags on Terrell Owens. He says they will be singing “Oh, Canada” soon as well. Logano says Show will take on Triple H here tonight. Jericho mocks sympathy and then shows off his “grail of greatness” off to Busch and Logano. Jericho wants to go back to their office and he will tell them how he won the trophy last night. Busch isn’t impressed and puts Jericho in a match with Kofi Johnson…err, Kingston here tonight. And that is happening right now, as Kofi comes jogging out. Before that happens, though, we are taking a break.

1) Chris Jericho vs. Kofi Kingston

When we return, the bell sounds and we are under way. They lock up and get a clean break in the corner as Jericho bails to the floor. Jericho gets back and starts slugging away at Kofi. He shoots him into the corner but eats a Kofi boot on the charge. Kofi peppers him with rights and then plants him with a dropkick for two. Kofi hooks an armbar as Cole tells us that the Raw locker room is livid over Show’s actions. Jericho catches Kofi with a right hand and then slugs him down. He chokes him over the middle rope but Kofi sneaks a roll up in for two. Jericho comes back with some boots to the head before hooking a side headlock. He breaks the hold and puts Kofi down with a shoulderblock. Kofi is back up and nails Jericho with a back elbow but Chris bails to the floor. Kofi flies out with a plancha as the crowd is rocking a bit early here. Both men are back in and Kofi leaps up into the corner and hammers away but Jericho spikes him down to the mat with a powerbomb. Kofi slides out to the apron but Jericho meets him with a springboard dropkick. Kofi falls to the floor as we take a break. When we come back, Jericho sends Kofi neck first into the bottom rope with a slingshot. Jericho hooks a rear chinlock as we check out the action that happened during the break. Kofi fights free and gets a roll up for two. Jericho puts Kofi back down with a clothesline and gets two. Kofi tries to fight back with some right hands and is able to send Jericho flying into the corner as he attempted a bulldog. Kofi hits a pair of clotheslines and a dropkick and then puts Jericho down with a flying right hand. Kofi lands the Boomdrop but Jericho rolls through and goes for the Walls. Kofi flips free but Jericho meets him with an Enziguri for two. He stomps on Kofi and then smacks him around a bit. Kofi nails a kick as Jericho charges into the corner. He heads up top but Jericho meets him with a right hand. Jericho follows him up and tries for a superplex but Kofi blocks it and drops him to the mat with a gourdbuster. Kofi comes off with a high cross body but Jericho rolls through and gets two. Kofi is back up and takes Jericho down with a Russian legsweep. Kofi goes for the TIP but Jericho blocks it and goes for the Walls. Kofi blocks that and rolls Jericho up for a really close near fall. Both men are back up and Jericho nails him with the Codebreaker. He covers but Kofi just gets his foot on the bottom rope. Jericho jaws with Jack Doane and then turns around and walks right into TIP. Kofi covers and picks up the win to a big pop. That was a heck of a match and a big win for Kofi. Kingston d. Jericho with the Trouble in Paradise; Grade: 3

- Kofi is pumped up as he heads to the back, leaving Jericho to shake off the loss in the ring. As he is walking back, Randy Orton comes flying out and just chucks Kofi off the ramp and to the floor. Orton stalks around as we head to break.

- We are back and King is putting over the Halloween themed goodies on WWE.com this week. Backstage, Josh Matthews catches up with Randy Orton and asks why he assaulted Kofi. Orton says it was payback for Kofi interfering in his match last night. He has only just begun on Kofi. Rhodes and DiBiase come up to him and Orton wants to know what they want. They say he should be champion and that they agree and have a gift for him. They walk over and pull the tarp off a custom Randy Orton race car. Orton thinks it is incredible and can’t believe they bought it for him. Ted says it is a token of their appreciation. Cody says they have another surprise tonight involving John Cena and that it is only a matter of time before the title is back with Legacy. Orton stares at the car creepily as we cut over to the GMs chatting with Eve. They debate over who will win their upcoming race as Jack Swagger comes in for a chat. Swagger wants a title match with John Cena tonight. Busch says Cena wrestled for an hour last night so he won’t wrestle here but Logano says they will be choosing Cena’s next opponent tonight. Swagger likes that and then he introduces himself to Eve but Miz comes in to speak his piece as well. He says he is the only Raw member to win last night and that he should get the title shot at Survivor Series. Miz kisses Eve’s hand, grossing her out, before taking off. We cut elsewhere to see Santino Marella and Melina walking, surrounded by paparazzi. They are in action after this break.

- When we come back, Cole and King put over Sheamus, who has apparently been traded to Raw. We then head back to the ring for our next match.

2) Santino Marella & Melina vs. Chavo Guerrero & Jillian

Marella and Melina head down to the ring and they are followed by Chavo Guerrero and Jillian as we are in for some mixed tag action. Chavo and Santino start things off as Chavo shoves Santino. Santino comes back with a flurry and then drops Chavo with a back elbow. Chavo turns the tables and runs Santino into the corner. He chokes away with his boot and then lands an uppercut for two. Chavo hammers away in the corner and tries a hiptoss, but Santino cartwheels to his feet. Santino does a split to avoid a clothesline and then slugs Chavo down. Chavo tags in Jillian, who comes in and smacks Santino. He tags in Melina but Jillian drops her with a clothesline. Hornswoggle pops up from under the ring and distracts Chavo, allowing Melina to attempt her finisher. She botches it badly so Jillian hooks the ropes to break up the pin. Melina drops her with the Primal Scream for the win. Marella & Melina d. Guerrero & Jillian when Melina pins Jillian with the Primal Scream; Grade: .5

- Hornswoggle celebrates with Melina and Santino until a suit comes in the ring and gives Horny a green envelope. He opens it and then runs over to Lawler to have him read it. King says it is a cease and desist order from DX to make Horny stop wearing his DX garb. Horny walks off dejectedly, shaking his head. We see Cena walking backstage as we go to break.

- Back from break, we check out the Just for Men Slam of the Week, which brings us stills of the Iron Man match from last night. Back live, Justin Roberts is introducing John Cena, but before he can finish, Legacy interrupts. Rhodes and DiBiase head down to the ring and grab mics. Cody says this would be a good time for Cena to parade out here and talk about his “epic victory” last night. But, Cena will have to wait because the Legacy is here. Just because Randy can’t fight Cena for the title, doesn’t mean they can’t. At Survivor Series, they will bring the Championship back to Legacy. Ted says they didn’t ask the guest hosts for permission because they don’t have to. They are making a direct challenge to Cena here and they invite him out to accept it. Cena obliges and heads out to the ring. Cena says he doesn’t have to brag about last night because it was what it needed to be. It was the best of WWE competing in one final showdown. He can speak for Orton in saying that both of them were exhausted physically and mentally when the clock ran out. They did it for themselves, for the title, for the fans and because they both knew that the Cena/Orton rivalry needed to end. And it did. That brings us to Raw the next night as the WWE Universe is tuned in to see who the next challenger is. And that wouldn’t be Randy Orton’s Legacy. Cody says that they aren’t Randy and Cena agrees, telling them they have a lot to learn. Cena says the fans will think this is a rerun as they keep running in circles. Last night, he beat Randy Orton and earned the right to say no more. Legacy can come out and make empty challenges and say they are bringing the title back to Legacy, but if they want a shot at the title, they need to lace their boots up tight and fall in line with everyone else. They need to work for it because that is how it is done. He is looking at them and thinks they haven’t earned it. He asks the fans if the “Baby Oil Boys Club” has earned everything. Cena says he was talking to the guest hosts about a match for Legacy tonight and they agreed. That match is happening right now and their opponents are headed to the ring…MVP and Mark Henry. They head down to the ring as we go to break.

3) Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase vs. Mark Henry & MVP

When we return, Ted is picking up a near fall on MVP. He tags in Cody and they hit a double fist to the gut. Cody drops a knee and then hooks a rear chinlock. MVP fights out of the hold and hits a clothesline. He crawls over and tags in Henry. He nails Cody with a back elbow and a headbutt. He hoists Cody up in a choke but DiBiase come in and clips Henry’s knee. Cody gets a near fall before tagging in Ted. They quick tag and take turns working Henry over in the corner a bit. Cody hooks a front facelock but can’t get Henry to the mat. Henry tries to fight to his corner, but MVP ends up distracting the ref, allowing Ted to come in and kick the knee again. Cody gets two off a double dropkick. He goes back to the front facelock as the crowd starts to rally Henry. Henry finally tosses Cody off and both men make tags. MVP tosses DiBiase and then follows with some right hands and a facebreaker. MVP drops the Ballin elbow and gets two. MVP gets a sunset flip after a clothesline from Henry and ends up getting the win. MVP & Henry d. Rhodes & DiBiase when MVP pins DiBiase with a sunset flip; Grade: 1

- DiBiase and Rhodes yell at the ref but that ends when Randy Orton heads to the ring with an angry look on his face. Orton says the guest hosts are searching for Cena’s next opponent and it officially looks like the next opponent will not be him. He understands the terms of his match last night but he doesn’t care. He is a former champion and is entitled to his rematch. He will take his case to the Board of Directors to get back what is his. Kofi shows up on the Tron and mocks Orton for losing, saying nobody cares about what he has to say. Orton calls him out to the ring to say it to his face. Kofi says that is an interesting choice of words, because he is already doing that right now. The camera pans down to see Kofi standing on Orton’s race car. Orton warns him not to hurt the car but Kofi keeps walking around on the hood. Kofi likes stock cars because they are so durable. He walks over and grabs a rolling trunk and pushes it into the door. Kofi says smaller things do more damage and he pulls out a key. He scratches up Orton’s car with it and then pulls out a crowbar and smashes the hood and windshield with it. Kofi wants to make things right after messing up the car, so he grabs a bucket and dumps red paint all over it. Orton is not happy as we go to break. That was some great work by Kofi and it looks like he is being elevated.

- We are back and checking out some Buffalo Bills players at ringside. Cole then sends us to a replay of the last segment. Justin Roberts then brings out Eve to announce our next bout.

4) Evan Bourne vs. Miz in a non title match

Bourne charges to the ring and he is followed by Miz, who picked up a big win last night. Miz mugs for Eve a bit and makes Roberts open the ropes for her to exit the ring. Miz lands a kneelift off the bell and picks up a one count off a leg sweep. Bourne comes back with some kicks but Miz regains control and chokes him out on the ropes. Miz drops Bourne with a back suplex and gets two. Miz rubs Bourne’s face into the mat and then hooks an armbar. He turns it into a double underhook surfboard style move. Bourne fights free and back drops Miz. Miz goes for a sunset flip but Bourne flips free and knees Miz in the face. Bourne kicks away some more and then hits a nice flying headscissors for two. The crowd has totally died off here. Miz hammers away in the corner as Jack Swagger makes his way out to the ring. Swagger grabs a mic and tells him that nobody is watching him or his match. They are really watching Eve. And Eve is watching Swagger. Miz swats at Swagger and then rolls to the floor to confront him. They jaw with each other until Bourne flies out on to both of them. Bourne slides back in the ring and he beats the count as Miz is counted out. I was hoping for much more from those two. Bourne d. Miz by count out; Grade: 1

- Bourne takes off as Swagger and Miz stare each other down and we head to break.

- We are back and Cole tells us that Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne will be hosting Raw next week. Back in the arena, Jamie Noble is in the ring. Busch and Logano show up on the Tron and wish Noble luck against Raw’s newest star: Sheamus.

5) Jamie Noble vs. Sheamus

Sheamus heads out as Cole and King put him over for his destruction of ECW. Sheamus introduces himself and tells us that he is here to make an impression. Sheamus sends Noble to the floor with a shoulderblock. He follows him out and whips Noble into the steps. He tosses Chavo back in and drops a pair of stiff elbows onto him for two. He hoists Noble up into a hanging backbreaker but Noble goes to the eyes to break the hold. Sheamus tosses Noble into the corner but misses a charge. Noble goes for a roll up but Sheamus blocks it and pulls Noble up by his throat. Sheamus works Noble over as the crowd has gone flat again. Sheamus sticks him with a stiff backbreaker and then buries him with a big boot for the win. Despite the crowd apathy, Sheamus looked really good. I hope he doesn’t get lost in the shuffle with Raw’s cluttered mid card. Sheamus d. Noble with a boot to the face; Grade: 1

- DX is walking backstage as we head off to commercial.

- We are back from break and the Quiznos Rewind brings us still from last night’s Bragging Rights fourteen man war, which was won by Smackdown, thanks to Big Show turning his back on Raw. Cole then talks about Batista turning on Rey Mysterio last night, King talks about the Iron Man bout and Cole talks about the bragging rights tag bout. We then head up to the ring, where Big Show and Chris Jericho are chilling.

6) Triple H vs. Big Show in a no disqualification lumberjack match

Show is all business as Jericho prances around with his trophy. I hope he carries it around for the whole year because it has been awesome so far. Theme from DX fires up as Michaels and Triple H crotch chop and glow stick their way to the ring. As the bell sounds, Hunter grabs a mic and says he just met with Busch and Logano. They forgot to tell Show that this is a lumberjack match. And unfortunately for Show, the lumberjacks are all the guys Show screwed over last night. And on cue, the Raw locker room empties and they all head to ringside. Jericho quickly walks off through the crowd, trophy in hand, leaving Show to fend for himself against the Raw roster. Michaels now has the mic and lets us know this is also no disqualification. Michaels tells Charles Robinson that he can take off, because they have a special guest referee for the night: John Cena. Cena marches to the ring as Triple H knocks Show to the floor and we head to our final break. When we return, Hunter is hammering on Show in the ring. Hunter hops on Show’s back and hooks a sleeper as Show slowly starts to fade a bit. Show wakes up and mares Hunter down to the mat. Show misses a charge in the corner but he collapse on Hunter during a slam attempt. Hunter charges but Show meets him with a big spear. Show steps on Hunter’s chest as he jaws with Michaels. He chops Hunter and then steps on his back. Hunter tries to fight back but Show drops him with a sidewalk slam. Show covers and gets two and then goes to a nervehold. Hunter gets to his feet but Show puts him down with a headbutt. Hunter staggers around and gives Show a crotch chop but Show clubs him and slams him down. Chris Masters takes a swipe at Show, so Show yanks him into the ring and cracks him with a right hand to knock him out. Hunter comes back with a facebreaker and then slugs away, but Show catches him by the throat. Hunter slips out of a chokeslam attempt and drops Show with a DDT for two. Hunter goes for the Pedigree but Show back drops Hunter over to block it. Show heads to the middle rope and lands the Vader Bomb. He covers but Cena only gives him a two count before faking a shoulder injury. Show gets in Cena’s face and that allows Primo and Chavo to come in and land a double dropkick. Swagger, Miz and Henry hits splashes in the corner. MVP comes in and slugs Show down, allowing Bourne to drop the SSP to a huge pop. Santino sneaks in and goes for his cobra chop, but Show drops him with a chokeslam. Kofi comes in and nails Show with the TIP. Cena drops Show with the AA. Hunter puts a Smackdown shirt on Show’s neck as he struggles to his feet. Michaels nails Show with SCM and Hunter drops him with the Pedigree for the win. That was a hot ending to an OK match. Triple H d. Show with the Pedigree; Grade: 2

- As Cena and DX celebrate, Logano and Busch come back out. The crowd isn’t happy to see them, but they are ready to announce the top contender for Survivor Series. They couldn’t agree on a choice until Hornswoggle for them on the same page. Horny comes out, still wearing his DX gear. Busch says Cena will take on both Triple H and Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series. All three stare each other down as we fade out.

- No great shakes here tonight coming off a solid PPV. The Jericho/Kofi match was really good and it looks like Kofi is set for a good push here. The crowd was pretty good for most of the night, but the rest of the show was just sort of there. Busch and Logano tried but just didn’t have the charisma to pull anything special off and none of the other matches were that good outside of the decent main event. Well, hopefully things pick up by the time we get to Survivor Series. See you next week as we all hop on the crazy train!

Final Grade: C-

Monday Night Raw 10/19/09
Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
Jacksonville, FL

Announcers: Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler

- We open the show inside the arena as Justin Roberts brings out tonight’s Guest Host: Snoop Dogg! Snoop rides out in a pink Caddy and Cole is all a twitter for him. He is accompanied by the Bellas and Eve as he struts to the ring with his new single playing in the background. He is excited to be here tonight as he is a huge WWE and Raw fan and his mindset is on business. He knows Raw will embarrass Smackdown on Sunday night and he also has John Cena battling Triple H tonight in what could be Cena’s last night on Raw. He also Randy Orton taking on Ted DiBiase to keep things fair and he is adding Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels as well. Snoop then introduces DX who come on down to the ring to a good pop. Snoop dances and crotch chops a bit with Shawn and Hunter before he and the Divas head off to the back. Hunter says that it is in the contract for white guys to come out and try to talk in Snoop’s language so he asks Shawn to do the honors. They do a few “izzle” jokes and a high five to prove how white they are, but the crowd isn’t feeling it. They turn their attention to Bragging Rights and then show us Team Smackdown on the big screen. They take turns reading off each participant, sneaking inside jokes and put downs in on each one, including a Katie Vick joke. Typical Triple H in acting like he doesn’t know who Drew McIntyre and Eric Estrada are. I am tired of that shit. Why don’t you put over your young talent, clown? Michaels explains thoroughly who McIntyre is but plays dumb on Estrada. Hunter says he parked his car last week and Michaels explains that he is dating Vickie. Hunter makes a fat joke to Vickie, which is also fucking stupid. Michaels gets a funny dig in on Hunter’s relationship with Steph though. Hunter brings out the rest of the Raw team and they all march to the ring. Shawn goes down the line and introduces all of them as Hunter makes stupid jokes behind him. I am usually a Hunter defender but he is just being a dick here. Hunter dismisses Cody too and Cody says he will be following his own path on Sunday. Hunter and Michaels are captains in name only and if it were based on talent. Cody would be captain. He may not tag any of them in and just beat Smackdown on his own. Big Show takes the mic and tells Cody to respect him. If he thinks Cody will let the team down at any time, he will take him out himself and that goes for the rest of them too. Now Henry gets in Show’s face and asks if that was a threat. Show says it is and Henry thinks there is going to be a problem. Swagger steps in and says he is more athletic than either of them so they need to stick to their strengths on Sunday and stand in the background. Kofi tries to calm everyone down and says this is what Smackdown wants. They need to get on the same page or it will be bad news. Kofi no longer has an accent and Hunter calls him out on it. Shawn stops that train and says they need to focus on being a team. So, to put the team to a test, he organized a ten man tag match here tonight. Hunter says that if any of them lose tonight, the person who gets the pin from the other team will take the loser’s place on Sunday. And that match is going down right now. The challengers head to the ring as we take a break. Outside of Hunter’s Dumbass antics, that was a good segment that put the focus on Bragging Rights nicely.

1) Mark Henry, Big Show, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes & Jack Swagger vs. Chavo Guerrero, MVP, Primo Colon, Chris Masters & Evan Bourne

When we return, Chavo is working over Kofi and gets a one count. Kofi sends Chavo over with a back drop but Chavo fights his way back in it. Kofi leaps on to him in the corner and slugs away as we see DX watching backstage. Kofi takes out Chavo with a clothesline but Show and Henry both tag themselves in at the same time. As they argue, Cody tags Kofi and comes into the ring. Chavo drives him back to the corner and tags in MVP. He slugs on Rhodes but Cody catches him with a kick. Cody charges and MVP sends him over with a belly to belly throw. MVP tags in Bourne who stalks Cody. He gets a cross body but Rhodes rolls through for a near fall. Cody grabs a side headlock and then hammers on Bourne. Bourne fights him off and tags in Primo. He sends Cody down with a back elbow and then follows with some right hands. Primo takes Cody down with a Russian legsweep as Cole puts over Smackdown’s team. Cody crushes Primo with Crossrhodes but Swagger tags himself in and pins Primo for the win. Team Raw d. Team Raw Challengers when Swagger pins Primo after Crossrhodes; Grade: 1.5

- Team Raw gets into a big shoving match after the bell and it ends with Show and Henry alone in the ring. As Henry turns around, Show drops him with a spear. DX is not impressed backstage as Show leaves the ring. As he takes off, Cole and King take us back to last week when DiBiase pinned Randy Orton in a three way match. Backstage, Josh Matthews is with Ted DiBiase and Ted justifies his actions last week. Orton hasn’t returned his calls all week but he is sure Randy understands. And on cue, Orton stalks into the picture and asks what he needs to understand about Ted’s betrayal. Ted asks Randy if he would have done the same thing but Orton tells him to just listen carefully. He tells Ted not to lift a finger or fight back in their match tonight. Ted needs to finally show Orton the respect he deserves and there is then a chance that Ted can stay in Legacy. If Ted takes advantage, he will regret it for the rest of his life. Orton leaves the choice to him and takes off as we go to break. Good promo there with nice intensity.

- We are back and checking out a Wrestlemania video package as tickets go on sale in 19 days. Back live, we head to the ring where Ted DiBiase awaits.

2) Ted DiBiase vs. Randy Orton in a non title match

Cole ponders if DiBiase will fight or defer to Orton’s wishes. We will find out in a moment as Orton heads out. They stare each other down off the bell Orton slugs Ted down to one knee and then stares at him as he gets back to his feet. Orton nails him with an uppercut and continues to glare as the crowd is starting to chant for Ted. He kicks Ted down and Ted is just shaking angrily on the mat, face getting redder. Orton stomps on his knee and warns Ted not to fight back. He keeps stomping on Ted and then drops down and asks Ted if he wants to hit him. Ted is up and getting in Randy’s face and the crowd is getting behind him. Orton smacks Ted and Ted is looking pretty pissed. The crowd is getting more into it with each Orton smack. Orton shoves Ted and Ted shoves him back to the mat. He stalks after Orton but holds back. Orton gets to his feet and Ted looks out to the crowd. Orton pushes Ted’s chin up and then drops him with RKO for the win. The match was nothing but that was some great stuff. For the first time in a while, the crowd was really into DiBiase. When he finally snaps it should be a great moment. Orton d. DiBiase with an RKO; Grade: 1

- Orton stands tall over DiBiase and raises the belt up high. At ringside, Cole talks about the passing of Captain Lou Albano. Lawler gives a quick eulogy and then we get a nice tribute video package of Lou’s career, including NRBQ’s “Captain Lou”, a clip of Super Mario Bros. and some Cyndi Lauper footage. Lou gets a standing ovation from the fans as we fade to commercial.

- We are back from break and checking out the exterior of the arena. Inside, there are a number of Jaguars players in the arena. Cole then takes us to a sneak peak clip of Snoop’s new video. Backstage, Eve and the Bellas are putting over Snoop and his CD. Hornswoggle comes in and Snoop reminds him what he is supposed to do tonight. Chavo comes in and makes fun of Horny’s DX aspirations. Chavo begs Snoop to let him be part of Team Raw. He is wrestling royalty and is being overlooked. Now Jillian comes in and demands a Divas title rematch tonight. She sings “Gin and Juice” as Chavo keeps trying to get a word in. Now Santino comes in, dressed like Charlie Brown. He wants to start from scratch with Snoopy the Dog. He wants to chase the Red Baron and grab Lucy and smack her around. Jillian sings some more and Chavo whines until Snoop throws them all out. Before Eve leaves, Snoop asks for his bag so he can light one up. As he does, we cut to a funny Technical Difficulties slate featuring Michael Cole with his arm around Hornswoggle and some funny elevator music playing. When we come back, smoke is filling the air but Snoop reveals that it was his personal stash of scented candles. Santino comes in and drops a “Good Grief” to cap it off. We see John Cena contemplating life backstage as we go to break.

3) John Cena vs. Triple H

We are back and John Cena is out to a mega screeching pop. Cole reminds us that this could be Cena’s final Raw match as he heads into Bragging Rights. A loud “Cena” chant breaks out as Cena looks emotional in the ring. Triple H is out next and I expected him to be covered in dirt from all the burying he did earlier tonight. He does the usual to eat up some more time. The bell finally sounds and we are under way. They lock up and Cena takes Hunter down with a headlock. He goes for the AA but Hunter slips free and bails to the corner to regroup. They lock up again and Cena takes him down again. King tells us this is only the fourth one on one meeting between these two. Cena puts Hunter down with a shoulderblock and then follows with a hiptoss for two. Hunter backs off to regroup again as Cole puts over both men. We get another lockup and Hunter grabs a side headlock. Cena fights free and powers Hunter down with a hammerlock. The crowd is behind Cena as Hunter fights back to his feet and breaks the hold. He runs Cena into the buckle but Cena fires out of the corner with right hands. Cena shoots Hunter into the corner but Hunter comes out with a big clothesline for two. Hunter hammers on Cena and then whips him hard into the corner. Hunter whips him hard again and then sets up for the Pedigree but Cena slips free and whips Hunter over the top rope and to the floor. Hunter is down and out and we are taking a break. When we return, Hunter is pounding on Cena in the ring. He drops Cena with a backbreaker for two as we get a quick clip of Hunter taking over during the break, courtesy a shove off the apron and into the announce table. He works Cena’s gut over in the corner but Cena keeps fighting back with right hands. They trade some shots back and forth and Cena is able to hit a flying shoulderblock. He goes for another but Hunter dodges and he crashes and burns. Cena goes for the AA but Hunter slips loose and chop blocks Cena’s knee. Cena dodges a chop block and goes for the STF but Hunter wriggles free. Cena eats a boot on a charge but he recovers and takes Hunter over with a fisherman’s buster. He goes for a bulldog but Hunter blocks it and he goes flying. Hunter goes for the Pedigree but Cena slips free and takes Hunter down and locks in the STF in the middle of the ring. Hunter crawls for the rope and gets close until Cena breaks and drags him back a bit. He locks it in again but Hunter is able to force the rope break this time. They get back up and Hunter hits a Pedigree. He crawls over but Cena gets his foot on the rope at two. Both men are out and we take another break. When we come back, Cena is staggering around on the floor before sliding back in the ring. We see that Hunter took control during the break by whipping Cena into the steps. Cena ducks a right hand and goes for the AA but Hunter slides down and trips up Cena. Hunter locks in a Sharpshooter as we see Orton watching from backstage. Cena is able to reach the ropes to force the break. Hunter eats a boot in the corner and Cena comes out with some running shoulderblocks. He puts Hunter down with the spinning slam and then drops the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Hunter is back up and they trade some right hands until Hunter puts Cena down with a vintage high knee. He follows with a facebreaker, clothesline and a spinebuster. Cena is up and Hunter drops him with the Pedigree…but Cena kicks out! They got me with that one. Cena hoists Hunter up and drops him with the AA…but Hunter kicks out! Cena heads up top but misses his legdrop as Hunter dodges it. Hunter goes for another Pedigree, but Cena switches it to the AA. Hunter slips down and drops a third Pedigree to pick up the clean win. That was a really good TV match that picks up a grade bump due to the really good Pedigree near fall at the end. Triple H d. Cena with a Pedigree; Grade: 3.5

- Hunter extends his hand and Cena accepts. They shake and Hunter takes off as Cena stares off into the crowd. We see Orton staring at the TV backstage and then cut back live as Cena gives a salute to the crowd before solemnly walking to the back.

- Back from break we get the Ninja Gaiden Slam of the Week. It takes us back to Smackdown’s Dirt Sheet where Miz and Morrison debated over which of them was the Marty Jannetty of their team. Back live, Miz is heading to the ring. Miz is out, showing off his title. There is a random jobber in the ring but before the bell, Snoop appears on the Titantron and puts over Marty Jannetty. He then announces that Jannetty is Miz’s opponent here tonight!

4) Miz vs. Marty Jannetty in a non title match

And the classic Rockers music fires up as Marty charges to the ring. The crowd seems to either not care or have no idea who he is at this point. Jannetty pops Miz and gets a roll up for two. Now a “Marty” chant starts up as Miz slugs away at him. Marty ducks Miz and fires back but Miz whips him hard into the corner and then kills him with a clothesline. Marty even busts out the 360 sell. Miz hooks a rear chinlock but Marty elbows free and drops Miz with a back suplex. Marty hits a nice jumping back elbow and a back body drop. Marty heads to the middle rope and nails Miz with a fist drop for two. Miz floats over on a slam attempts but Marty reverses to try a Rocker Dropper. Miz slips loose and drops Marty across the top rope. Marty staggers back and Miz hits the SCF for the win. Nice to see Marty back but Miz picks up the victory and momentum for Sunday. Miz d. Jannetty with the Skull Crushing Finale; Grade: 1

- Miz takes off as Cole and King put over the new Raw vs. Smackdown game that comes out tomorrow. We see Jillian and Chavo chatting backstage as we go to break.

5) Jillian vs. Melina for the Divas Championship

Jillian and Chavo are out first and they are followed by Melina as Jillian is looking to regain her title. Jillian scoops Melina up off the bell and plants her with a Samoan drop for two. Jillian whips Melina into the corner but Melina is able to avoid the handspring elbow. Chavo runs some interference until Hornswoggle grabs his leg and messes with him. Melina comes from behind and drops the split legdrop for the win. Melina d. Jillian with the Primal Scream; Grade: .5

- Hornswoggle, dressed like Snoop, is celebrating until Chavo comes in the ring and yanks him around. Now Snoop comes charging to the ring to help. Chavo tosses Horny down and then smacks Snoop a bit. Horny ducks down behind Chavo and Snoop shoves Chavo down over him. Now Snoop and Chavo dance around until Snoop takes him down with a nice spear. Chavo bails and Snoop, Horny, Eve, Gail, Kelly and the Bellas dance in the ring. Cole also dances at ringside a bit as they plug USA’s newest show, White Collar. The dancing continues as we go to break.

- We are back and thanking Maylene and the Sons of Disasters for the Bragging Rights theme song. Cole then sends us to a good Cena/Orton historical video package to hype the Iron Man match on Sunday. After that, Cole and King are in the ring to run down the PPV as is the custom on the go home show. Backstage, Chris Jericho is walking and we are taking a break.

- We are back and Cole tells us that NASCAR stars Joey Logano and Kyle Busch will host next week’s Raw. Perhaps we will get a Sparky Plugg return for next week’s Nostalgia trip? Or maybe we can at least get Steve Grissom and the WCW car. Back in the arena, Chris Jericho is sauntering to the ring, bedecked in a Smackdown t-shirt. Michaels is out next and it is main event time. Jericho has the mic and says he has no need to take out Michaels tonight because Team Smackdown already has an insurmountable edge thanks to his leadership. And in two minutes, Jericho puts over Team Smackdown way more that Triple H could have done in thirty minutes. Jericho says Team Smackdown will start the beatings tonight and they begin with Shawn Michaels. Cryme Tyme, Kane, Escobar, Ziggler and McIntyre all enter from the crowd and hop in the ring. Michaels stands in the aisle as Jericho puts down Team Raw for arguing. Before he can finish, Triple H leads Team Raw out in unison. The teams square off in the ring as Hunter grabs the mic. He credits Jericho for bringing Team Raw together in their agreement that they don’t like Jericho, his team or his show. And while they all may have walked onto Raw, they are about to get thrown off it. Before anything happens, Vickie Guerrero comes out, wearing a Smackdown t-shirt. The crowd heat is instantly there as soon as she comes out. She can see where this is going and as Team Smackdown’s consultant, she will not allow it. If DX wants a fight, they will get it Sunday and not tonight. She orders Team SD to leave the arena and they laugh at Team Raw. Hunter tells Jericho to leave like his boss Vickie said. Hunter keeps egging Jericho on and then says they don’t work for Vickie before attacking. The brawl breaks out and all fourteen men fight in and out of the ring as we fade out.

- Well, the show started off shaky with Hunter’s tirade, but it picked up nicely from there. There was good focus on the PPV and Snoop did a nice job as host as well. We got a lot of in ring action and the Triple H/Cena match was really good to anchor the show. The Jannetty surprise was a nice nostalgia segment and also helped get Miz some momentum for Sunday. Plus I am always a mark for the big pre PPV mega brawl to close a show. This was a much better show than last week so we will see if they can carry that over to Sunday. Enjoy Bragging Rights and I will see you next week!

Final Grade: B

En las grabaciones de WWE Superstars, Mark Henry vencio a Chris Masters y asi aseguro su lugar en el Team RAW para Bragging Rights.  Ahora solo falta definer el Team SmackDown, capitaneado por Chris Jericho que se conocerá en las grabaciones de smackdown de este 13 de octubre

Monday Night Raw 10/4/09
Wachovia Arena
Wilkes-Barre, PA

Announcers: Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler

- We kick off this week’s show with our opening animation before heading inside the Wachovia Arena where Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler welcome us to Raw. The Wilkes-Barre fans seem pretty fired up right out of the gate as we are immediately joined by Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger. Ben gets a mega pop from the crowd and he all sorts of ready to go here tonight. He acknowledges the boos from the Eagles fans and seems pretty at ease on the mic. He has something special right from the get go: the Diva Bowl. The King is pretty pumped as the Divas all come out in Steeler jerseys and tight white pants. Cole tells us that Divas from all brands will compete in this contest. The Smackdown Divas are rocking plain white tops and black pants. Gail Kim is dressed as the referee and is carrying a flag and has a whistle.

1) Mickie James, Eve, Kelly, Maria, Melina, Nikki Bella & Brie Bella vs. Natalya, Beth Phoenix, Michelle McCool, Layla, Jillian, Alicia & Rosa Mendes in the Diva Bowl

The bell sounds as Mickie and Rosa start things off. They look around as all the other Divas come in and start a big brawl. Gail blows the whistle and clears the Divas to the apron. So, Mickie and Rosa will start things again. Rosa is able to stun Mickie and tag in Alicia. This crowd is rocking. Alicia eats a back elbow on a charge and Mickie follows with a Huracarrana. Mickie snaps her down with a neckbreaker for two. Eve comes in and attacks Rosa but Jillian comes in and takes her out. Now all the Divas just keep coming in one by one and hitting a move. The run ends with Mickie and Michelle going at it. Mickie drills her with a big DDT and Michelle bails to the floor. Alicia comes in and Mickie takes her over with a victory roll for the win. Mickie James d. Alicia Fox with a victory roll to win the Diva Bowl for her team; Grade: 1

- Mickie gets no celebration time as we are joined by our new WWE Champion, Randy Orton. As Orton heads out, we take our first break.

- When we return, Orton is in the ring and ready to speak. Last night, he defeated John Cena to become a six time WWE Champion. He claims that he needed no back up or short cuts last night, despite what everyone says. He and Cena walked into HIAC and he beat him, end of story. He knows Cena is going to interrupt him and ask for a rematch and Orton invites him to do just that because he knows exactly what his response to Cena will be. The crowd chants for Cena and he obliges and appears to an ear splitting high pitched pop. Cena is ready to throw down but Orton wants to quell his excitement. Orton tells Cena he will not get a rematch tonight. Cena says that Orton has shown that he doesn’t give a damn about WWE Universe. But, he is a superstar who strives to be the best, so he is out there to congratulate Orton on his win last night. He could stand out here and talk about how brutal the match was, but truth is there was something special about it. He noticed that over 16,000 fans were on their feet the entire time and there were points were both men were cheered. He realized that Orton/Cena has become the rivalry. All of the fans know that the result of all their matches is always amazing. Cena wants to do it one more time and he thinks the fans are in agreement. He does care about the fans and wants to deliver one more match. However, he wants to give the match…an Iron Man match. Cena runs down the specs and says it will be epic, remarkable and legendary. This would be the end of the rivalry. No second chances, no rematches, this would be it. I think he meant fifteenth chances, but I digress. Orton isn’t stupid and wants to know why he would agree to a match with no rematches after that. Orton agrees they need one last match, but he wants to up the ante. If Cena wins, he gets the title but if he loses, he leaves Raw for good. He can go to SD or ECW, but Orton wants him off his show. Cena accepts the challenge, but Orton says there are more to his terms. There will be no disqualifications or count outs. Cena runs down all the things they could do in that scenario. Cena accepts the terms again. It will be an anything goes Iron Man match and Cena will leave if he loses. They shake hands and Cena takes off. This whole deal would be a lot more epic if they hadn’t traded the title so much lately. Cena leaves and we go to break.

- We are back from break and heading to the ring for our next bout.

2) Jack Swagger vs. Primo

Swagger saunters to the ring as King puts over Ben. He has the mic and says he looks line a winner, smells like a winner and is a winner. He didn’t get pinned last night and going forward, he will not lose. For the rest of the year he promises he will go undefeated. And he approves this message. Primo is the first man on Swagger’s docket to see if he can keep his promise. Cole tells us that the Iron Man is on for Bragging Rights in three weeks. The bell sounds and Swagger and Primo lock up. Swagger takes Primo down and works Primo over. Primo ducks a clothesline and takes Swagger over with a headscissors takedown. Swagger takes control and drops a Vader Bomb on primo. He drops and does some push ups and then clubs away at Primo. Swagger throws Primo and gets two. He pulls Primo up and hooks a bear hug. The crowd starts to rally Primo as Swagger releases the hold. Swagger misses a charge in the corner and Primo gets a roll up for two. Swagger tosses Primo into the corner and hammers away at him. He eats a boot ass he walks in and Primo comes out with some right hands. He hits a dropkick and gets two on Jack. Swagger swats Primo out of mid air with a boot. He picks Primo up and polishes him off with the gutwrench powerbomb. The streak is on as Swagger picks up a solid TV victory. Swagger d. Primo with the gutwrench powerbomb; Grade: 1.5

- We see Chris Jericho and Big Show chatting backstage as we go to break.

- We are back and the Divas are rumbling backstage as Santino walks in dressed as a referee and tries to break things up. He calls defense for encroachment and does his own echo effect. He wants to get into the football spirit and asks Mickie and “Felicia” to kiss and make up. Alicia has a better idea and she smacks him. A brawl erupts again and Santino is in the middle of it. He scampers off as we head back inside the arena. Cole tells us that at Bragging Rights, the winners of all the Smackdown matches will take on the winners of the Raw matches in a big tag team match. Backstage, Miz comes in to chat with Big Ben. Miz takes issue with what Swagger said earlier. Ben laughs about Miz getting pinned last night. Miz says he is awesome, and that isn’t just a catch phrase, it is a way of life. He says Ben was awesome two Sundays in his entire life but Miz is awesome every day. Miz wants a US title shot tonight. He mocks Ben for losing to the Bears and then says this is his birthday week and he deserves it. He begs a bit more and Ben makes the match official. But, there is one stipulation. If Miz loses, he has to grab the mic and tell everyone that he is the Miz and he is awful. Miz accepts and walks off as we walk off to break.

- The Buffalo Wild Wings Slam of the Week takes us back to last week when Chris Masters abused Hornswoggle until Chavo Guerrero made the save.

3) Chavo Guerrero & Chris Masters vs. MVP & Mark Henry

Back live, Masters and Chavo look to be back on the same page as they are teaming up here again tonight. MVP and Henry are out next to a nice pop. Henry and Masters start off and Henry shoves Masters down. Henry continues to work over Masters and drops a big splash on him. Henry is shaken up after landing hard on his knee. He crawls over and tags in MVP who hammers away at Masters until Chris drills him with a clothesline. Chavo tags in and slugs away. MVP crawls for a tag but Chavo dropkicks Henry to the floor. Chavo kicks away at MVP but he charges and MVP takes him over with a belly to belly. MVP hits a diving clothesline and follows with the Ballin elbow. Masters comes in and drops an elbow on Chavo by accident. Henry comes in and knocks Masters out as MVP rolls up Chavo and gets the win. Henry is still limping around and hopefully it isn’t legit. MVP & Henry d. Guerrero & Masters when MVP pins Guerrero with a roll up; Grade: 1.5

- Chavo and Masters argue a bit until Masters drills him. Masters goes for the Masterlock but Hornswoggle comes in from behind and runs interference. Chavo takes Masters out and Hornswoggle jumps up and down doing a crotch chop before scurrying off. Backstage, Ben is walking as we go to break.

- When we return, Ben Roethlisberger is making his way back out to the ring. Ben is quickly interrupted by the tag team champions. Jericho and Show head to the ring, looking dapper as always. Ben isn’t much smaller than Show. Show doesn’t want Ben to get intimated out here, he just wants to know why he is called Big Ben. He wants to know how big the offensive line is compared to him. Jericho doesn’t think they are bigger than him either. Ben grants Show his wish and he brings his O line to a big pop. Ben names them all as they stampede towards the ring. Show stares down the linemen as Jericho rants on about not being intimidated. They don’t wear helmets and pads or take time off for turf toe. So, he suggests they get in their huddle and get a strategy because Jericho and Show are the most dominant team in sports, not the Steelers. The Steelers huddle up and then line up. Show drops down into a three point stance too. Before anything can happen, Show and Jericho bail. But we are now joined by DX and I think we can see where this is heading. The Steelers and fans are rocking as DX hits the ring. Jericho calls DX delinquents that are only concerned with selling merchandise. Hunter appreciates the plug, but they only came out here to tell Chris how nice his hair looks today. Jericho smirks and likes the compliment, but Hunter tells him it looks ridiculous. Shawn doesn’t want to play games because he spent last night getting beat on in the Cell. Jericho and Show have faced some great tag teams, but they haven’t faced one. Show wants to know if that is a challenge. Shawn’s body is killing him but he admits it was a challenge. Show tells him to be smart and to go home to take care of his wounds and come back another day. Jericho doesn’t think DX is worthy because outside the arena, away from the tapeworms and hypocrites, they don’t mean a thing and don’t deserve a title match. They start to leave but Ben stops them. He makes the match official for tonight. Ben has two words for them if they aren’t down with it. And that is that. It looks like we have a big tag match for tonight’s main event. DX and the Steelers drop some crotch chops as we head to break.

- We are back and checking out WWE.com for some info on last night’s PPV. We also thank Skillet for the PPV theme song. They are actually in the house as well. Cole takes us back to some various highlights of Ben’s night here so far.

4) Kofi Kingston vs. Miz for the United States Championship

And it is now time for our next match and our weekly cup of Kofi. It looks like Kofi is officially from Ghana now, so the lies and deception have come to an end and international relations can be smoothed over. And here comes the Miz as Cole reminds us of Ben’s stipulation on this match. They lock up off the bell and Miz takes Kofi down. They trade shoves until Kofi sends Miz to the floor. Back inside, Miz headbutts Kofi and gets one. He stomps away on Kofi but Kofi comes back with some chops and a roll up for two. Miz bails to the floor to regroup. He comes back in but Kofi rolls him up for another near fall. Miz ducks a leapfrog and nails Kofi with a clothesline for a near fall. He kicks Kofi in the face and then chokes him on the bottom rope. Miz works Kofi over with some back elbows and right hands. He misses a charge and Kofi hammers away on him in the corner. He follows with some uppercuts and a flurry of kicks. Kofi charges but gets backflipped to the apron. He heads up top but Miz drills him and Kofi falls to the floor. He is down and out as we take a break. When we return, Miz has Kofi trapped in a chinlock. Kofi fights free and hits a cross body for two. Miz hits a big clothesline and then mounts Kofi and slugs away at him. Miz drops a knee and gets two as Cole tries to make an Office joke but botches Dunder Mifflin. Miz charges but Kofi nails him with Trouble in Paradise out of nowhere. Unfortunately for Kofi, Miz fell right out of the ring. Kofi goes out and rolls Miz back in. He covers but only gets two. Miz gets a near fall on a roll up. Kofi comes back with a leaping clothesline and then lands the Boomdrop for two. Miz bails to the floor and is able to hang Kofi across the middle rope as he reached out. Miz slides back in but Kofi gets him with a backslide for two. They trade right hands as the crowd is really into this one now. Kofi ducks a clothesline and hits a flying forearm and a dropkick. Kofi heads up top and comes off with a cross body but Miz rolls through and gets two. Kofi hits the SOS and gets two off that. Kofi leaps over Miz on a charge but slips off the middle rope and lands hard on the mat. Miz hits the SCF and picks up the win and a title in a great TV match! Miz d. Kingston with the Skull Crushing Finale; Grade: 3

- Miz has his title and a mic and lets us know that he is the new US Champion and that he is awesome! Miz leaves as we go to break.

- We are back and Cole and King are talking about Bragging Rights before taking us back to earlier tonight and the showdown between Cena and Orton. Backstage, Hornswoggle is talking gibberish to Ben when Santino comes in. He was mauled by the Divas and he wants Ben to do something about it. Santino tries to say Ben’s name but it doesn’t go well. Did he say Funky Buttloving? He finally gets it right after a playful smack and then quickly leaves. Elsewhere, JeriShow is walking as we go to break.

- We are back and we will have dual guest hosts next week in Nancy O’Dell and Maria Menounos from Access Hollywood. And with that, it is main event time.

5) Chris Jericho & Big Show vs. Shawn Michaels & Triple H in a non title match

JeriShow is out first and they are followed by DX. Jericho and Hunter will kick things off. The lock up and battle to a stalemate and a clean break. Jericho grabs a side headlock as the crowd is behind Triple H. Hunter sends Jericho over with a hiptoss and then tags in Michaels. Shawn chops Jericho but eats a boot on a charge. Jericho slugs away and slams Michaels down. He walks over and tags in Show as Shawn regroups. Michaels ducks a charge and tags in Hunter. He slowly gets in the ring as we take a break. When we return, Show has Hunter in a bear hug. Apparently Hunter’s back was targeted and worn down during the break. Hunter finally fights free but Show crushes him with a splash in the corner. Show gets a near fall before tagging in Jericho. He hammers on Hunter before drilling him with a boot to the face and a missile dropkick for two. Jericho chokes Hunter on the middle rope but Hunter avoids his charge and Jericho careens off the ropes and to the mat. Hunter tags Shawn who comes in on fire. That is short lived as Jericho takes control with a hard whip to the corner and tags in Show. Show drops a big leg and then hoists Shawn up into an old school hanging backbreaker. Show drops him and continues to pound on the back. He tags in Jericho who keeps the assault on. Shawn peppers back but Jericho crushes him with a clothesline for two. Jericho hooks a modified surfboard submission as the crowd tries to rally Shawn. He fights to his feet and battles free. Shawn gets a small package for two but Jericho turns it into the Walls. Jericho drags him away from the corner and cinches in the hold as Shawn is in some serious pain. Hunter finally comes in and breaks up the hold. The crowd is all fired up here as both men are down and crawling around. Jericho tags in Show but Michaels drills him as he charges in. Michaels dropkicks Show’s knee and he falls into the corner. Michaels tries to make a tag, but Show grabs his foot. Michaels nails an Enziguri and makes the red hot tag. Show tags Jericho and Hunter is all over him. He hits a clothesline and gets two. Triple H hits the facebreaker but Show grabs him from behind. He fights him off and drops Jericho with a spinebuster. He loads up the Pedigree but Show comes in and breaks it up. Michaels comes in as well and Show grabs both men and takes them over with a double suplex. Show charges and Hunter hooks the top rope and he falls out to the floor. Jericho goes for the Walls on Hunter but he blocks it and sends Jericho flying. Show blocks another Pedigree attempt from the floor. Michaels comes flying out but Show catches him. Hunter comes out and shoves Show into the post and then into the timekeeper’s area. Back inside, Jericho is all alone with DX and he quickly bails. Before he can get too far, the MNF theme fires up and Ben and his line appear to block the exit. DX heads out and they grab Jericho and toss him inside the ring. Michaels nails him with SCM and Hunter covers for the win and big pop. That was a fun match and the crowd was really rocking. Michaels & Triple H d. Show & Jericho when Triple H pins Jericho after Michaels’ Sweet Chin Music; Grade: 3

- DX and the Steelers celebrate as we fade out. This was a pretty good show tonight. The crowd was quite hot and Ben did a really nice job as guest host. Miz, Kofi, DX and JeriShow really brought the goods as well and the show kept a nice focus and pace throughout. That is all from Wilkes-Barre. My review partner Scott will be covering next week as I will be watching my Jets battle the Dolphins on MNF. Oh, and maybe a little Yankee playoff action as well if there is a Game Four. See you in two weeks!

Final Grade: B

WWE RAW Live en Guadalajara (26 septiembre 2009) / Photo by Jose Pablo Aguilera Ruiz de Chávez

Por Jose Pablo Aguilera Ruiz de Chavez, de Guadalajara, Jalisco
Hola que tal amigos de Súper Luchas les escribo para narrarles lo que vivimos en el RAW Tour Live en Guadalajara…

Habitualmente mi hermano, 2 amigos y yo asistimos cada visita de WWE a recibirlos al aeropuerto y al hotel… esta vez no fue la excepción
Era el día 26 septiembre de 2009, arribamos al Hotel Camino Real de la cuidad de Guadalajara aproximadamente a las 9 am… Estuvimos afuera del hotel durante 3 horas, al parecer aún dormía el roster de RAW que nos visitó… después comenzaron a salir varios elementos como Mark Henry y Eric Escobar rumbo al Gym
Aproximadamente a la 1 pm sale Jonh Cena con una actitud extraña y fue a recoger unas rodilleras y en el transcurso agredió a un joven que quería una foto con él (video comentado aquí) era mas de medio día y el personal del hotel era muy agresivo. Hicimos una reservacion al restaurant dentro del hotel y a la hora de la misma se nos negó la entrada, adentro pudimos ver a Randy Orton, comiendo junto con Santino Marella y Mark Henry, en cuanto nos vio, cerró las cortinas del restaurant… el tiempo paso y vimos desfilar a todos y cada uno del elenco de RAW, desgraciadamente tratando mal a su aficion y lamentablemente no pudimos conseguir alguna foto o autografo a excepcion de mi hermano quien llevaba una figura de Evan Bourne (aficionado de Matt Sydal de muchos años) quién logro que Sydal lo firmara, eso fue aproximadamente a las 5 pm cuando los camiones recogieron a todos paara ir rumbo la arena VFG, cabe destacar MVP nos presumió un collar con sus iniciales eso fue muy agradable, nos trato muy bin al igual que otros cuantos..

WWE RAW Live! en Guadalajara, México (26 septiembre 2009) / Photo by Jose Pablo Aguilera Ruiz de Chávez

Nos fuimos rápidamente rumbo la arena VFG, donde llevabamos todo el día sin probar alimento y bebida… por fín llegamos aporoximadamente a las 7 pm y de ahí comenzó la función, donde sinceramente el desempeño fue bueno, Evan Bourne realizó varios de sus movimientos y una lucha a ras de lona, la segunda lucha Santino hizo lo suyo y vencio a Eric Escobar, la tercera donde Alicia Fox estubo fallando y Mickie retuvo, en la lucha entre the Miz y Primo estubo normal, la lucha de Mark Henry vs Jack Swagger estubo muy lenta, de ahí el intermedio despues la aparicion del masterpiece quien en verdad nos emociono su reaparición contra MVP y lo emotivo de la noche donde salio DX (sinceramente no le llega ni a un 10 % al tiempo de oro del verdadero DX con chyna )vs el Legado y la lucha estelar de Randy Orton vs Cena q en verdad me gusto estuvo emocionante y pudimos ver un RKO despues de 3 apariciones en GDL pude tomar video y fotos a menos de 5 metros de Randy Orton(es mi idolo en WWE) eso en verdad fue emotivo

WWE RAW Live en Guadalajara (26 septiembre 2009) / Photo by Jose Pablo Aguilera Ruiz de Chávez

Al terminar la funcion y después de 1 hora para poder salir de la VFG nos dirigimos al aeropuerto de gdl para despedir y por lo menos conseguir una foto o autografo como ya lo mencione estuvieron muy payasos a comparación de años pasados… Arribamos alas 12:30 hrs del domingo y pasamos la noche en el aeropuerto, y fue asta las 6 am que arribaron los camiones y comenzaron a salir todos, yo no podia irme sin intentar que Randy Orton firmara un muñeco de colleccion y lo tope de frente y le pedi de favor pero como es de esperarse me volteó la mirada y no me firmó nada   despues todos pasaron a la revisión de su equipaje donde pude tomar varias fotos donde se veian seriamente agotados y desvelados… lo rescatable de esta historia que el masterpiece nos firmo la guia de hace 2 años y pudimos tomarnos una foto, él fue muy accesible y lo agradecemos
Pero sinceramente fue un dia muy desagradable y pesado ya que uno se esfuerza y paga un boleto y compra mercancia para que ni si kiera una foto o una firma, lamentablemente regresamos el dia de hoy a nuestro hogar a las 8 am sin haber comido y con el animo por los suelos

Jose Pablo Aguilera Ruiz de Chavez
Guadalajara, Jalisco

Presentamos a continuación los resultados de la función del WWE RAW Live Tour 2009 – El Salvador, celebrada el 23 de septiembre en la ciudad de San Salvador. Gracias a nuestros amigos Jorge Luna y Tony Alvarez por la información que nos enviaron.

Resultados:

• 1) Evan Bourne venció a Chavo Guerrero, en acción Hornswoggle que ayudo a la victoria de Evan Bourne.
• 2) Eric Escobar venció a Santino Marella.
• 3) Mark Henry venció a Crhis Masters.
• 4) Jack Swagger venció a Primo Colon.
• 5) Mickey James venció a The Glamazon, Beth Phoenix
• Intermedio
• 6) MVP venció a The Miz. Ambos hablaron en español durante su lucha. La gente se le entregó a MVP.
• 7) John Cena venció a Randy Orton en 5 minutos. Cody Rhodes  interviene a favor de Orton. Triple H llega al salve para Cena. Se convierte en una lucha de parejas, de poco más de 20 minutos, que termina con AA de Cena a Orton.

Público: 4, 500 asistentes

Charles Robinson con Tony Alvarez en El Salvador

Chris Masters con nuestro amigo Jorge Luna en El Salvador

wwe.com

WWE presenta SuperStars.Jueves 24 de septiembre.

Resultados de la lucha grabada antes de RAW.

1. Primo venció a Chris Masters. Primo evade la llave maestra, y luego aplica un rolls up a Masters para el conteo.
2. Goldust venció a William Regal por DQ.
3. Michelle McCool y Layla vencieron Maria y Melina. Layla cubrió Maria.
4. Matt Hardy venció Kane por DQ.

Las últmas tres luchas se grabaron antes de SmackDown! y ECW en Tulsa, Okla, aún no se sabe cuales serán los tres encuentros que se transmitiran.

wwe.com

WWE presenta Super Stars, luchas grabadas para ser presentadas el próximo 17 de septiembre a las 19:00 horas.

• Dark Match:  Sheamus sobre Jamie Noble.
• Dark Match 2: ECW Champion Christian venció a William Regal.
• Ambos fueron grabadas antes de RAW, desde Toronto Canada
  
• 1) Chris Masters venció a  Santino Marella.
• 2) Christian venció a Paul Burchill. Con el contendiente N° 1 al título Zack Ryder en la mesa de comentaristas.
• 3) Dolph Ziggler venció a Finlay.
• Estas dos luchas fueron grabadas en Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, entre ECW y SmackDown!

Desi nu au mai facut niciodata echipa Randy Orton si Chris Masters s-au descurcat de minune in fata D-Generation X chiar daca au pierdut meciul printr-un abandon al lui Chris Masters fortat de HBK. Dupa gongul de final si-au facut aparitia si cei din Legacy pentru a se putea rafui cu Triple H si HBK, insa partea importanta a show-ului a ramas in ring, acolo unde Randy Orton a fost intampinat de John Cena nervos ce a ajuns la podea unui RKO marca Randy facut pe un scaun.

Video:

Finalul meciului D-Generation X VS Randy Orton & Chris Masters si confruntarea cu Legacy.
Randy Orton VS John Cena din sfarsitul show-ului.

Monday Night Raw 9/7/09
Allstate Arena
Chicago, IL
Announcers: Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler

- We open the show inside the arena where the Fink welcomes us to the Price…is Raw! He introduces Bob Barker and the Price is Right theme fires up as Bob heads out to the ramp to a mega ovation. He even has the classic microphone, which is an awesome touch. He wishes he had a refrigerator for all of us. The crowd won’t stop as they just overpower him with cheering. He says we are really going to party tonight as the camera pans back and we see a Price is Right contestants set below the stage. Tonight he has the job of playing a pricing game for us and he needs contestants for that. Bob asks the Fink to get him four contestants and he brings down Santino Marella first. Santino comes charging through the crowd, tripping over the barricade. Jillian Hall, Irwin R. Schyster and Chris Jericho are the other three and they all emerge from the crowd, except Jericho, who angrily stews out from backstage. Bob says he is taking his time so he can get more camera time. The Fink lets us know that they are bidding on the new Best of Smackdown DVD, which is modeled by Rosa. Bob lays down the ground rules and kicks off the bidding with Santino. Santino is marking out big time and asks to buy a vowel. Bob says he has been slammed too many times because that is the wrong show. Barker is so damn smooth out there. Santino bids $1,465 and Bob is incredulous. Jillian says she prepared a song for Bob and she sings “I Will Always Love You” but Bob quickly cuts her off. Bob says he is tone deaf and asks her to sing her bid. And Jillian sings $75. IRS is up next and he asks of the bid includes taxes. Bob doesn’t want to think about taxes, but IRS disagrees with that. This is beyond awesome. IRS bids $50, including taxes. Jericho is up next and Bob calls him “happy boy” and asks him if he is awake. Jericho has his name tag stuck to his bare chest, which is all sorts of tremendous. Jericho leaves the set and walks up onto the stage and gets in Barker’s face. Bob eggs him on a bit and starts cutting him off mid sentence. Bob says Jericho is being naughty and Jericho is not happy. He calls Bob “old man” and says that nobody calls him “Chris” and he should be shown respect. Bob says he is respectfully asking for a bid. Jericho wants to be called “Mr. Jericho” and be pandered to because he is the best in the world. Bob no selling his claims is great. Jericho starts to say he is “one half of the Tag champs” but Bob cuts him off and says $1 is his bid. Bob shoos Jericho off, getting in some more jabs. Bob reveals that the price is $18.90, meaning Jericho is the winner. Jericho wins the DVD and gets to head to the ring to earn a chance to win a trip to Hawaii. The prize is presented by the Bella Twins as Fink runs down the specs of the trip. Bob tells Chris that a victory here will earn him the trip. And his opponent is…MVP! This crowd is rocking right now too as MVP jogs down to the ring.

1) Chris Jericho vs. MVP

MVP takes down Jericho off the bell and they battle on the mat a bit. Jericho puts MVP down with a shoulderblock but MVP bounces back with a big clothesline. He slugs away at Chris in the corner but gets backdropped to the apron. MVP lands on his feet and he and Jericho trade some blows. Jericho steps back and dives, but MVP yanks down the top rope and he crashes to the floor. Jericho is down as we hit our first break. When we return, Jericho has MVP locked in a modified cobra clutch. MVP breaks the hold and charges with a boot, but Jericho dodges him and he flies to the floor. Jericho follows him out and works him over before tossing MVP back in the ring. He kicks and slaps MVP around a bit until MVP fires back at him. Jericho reverses a whip and sends MVP into the corner. Jericho drops an elbow and then stomps away. MVP kicks him in the head but Jericho boots him back down. Jericho pulls MVP up and goes for a bodyslam but Jericho rolls through with an inside cradle for two. Jericho clubs MVP down and gets a near fall. Jericho hooks a chinlock as the crowd starts to rally MVP. MVP fights free and gets a roll up for two. Jericho misses an Enziguri and MVP drills him with a pair of clotheslines. Jericho eats a back elbow but ducks an MVP leap from the middle rope. MVP clotheslines Jericho for two. MVP puts his head down on a whip and gets caught with a boot to the face. Jericho drops him with a bulldog but misses the Lionsault. MVP plants him with a double thrust and a jaw buster. Jericho blocks the Ballin elbow and hooks the Walls in the center of the ring. MVP fights valiantly and is able to reverse the hold into a small package for an awesome near fall. He follows with a big boot to the face and gets two again. MVP sets up the Playmaker but Jericho blocks it and whips him into the corner. MVP blocks the Codebreaker and hits a jackknife pin for the win. And Jericho will not be going to Hawaii! I can’t believe we don’t get the losers horn there. That was a good TV match with a fantastic finish. The crowd is really behind MVP here. MVP d. Jericho after blocking the Codebreaker; Grade: 2.5

- MVP celebrates a bit as we head to the announce table. Cole and Lawler send us back to last week for a recap of the goings on between Dusty Rhodes, Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes and John Cena. Cena will take on Rhodes here tonight. And we head off to break.

- And we are back and checking out downtown Chicago. Backstage, Kelly not so subtly sets up Bob to explain what his Foundation is all about. All the proceeds from his book will go there. DX pops in now and they gush over Bob, specifically his role in Happy Gilmore. Shawn asks how they can get DiBiase and Rhodes spayed and neutered. He says they will get their hands on Rhodes & DiBiase Sunday, but they can blow off some steam on the big wheel. They head over to a little wheel. They will hit the button and that will randomly generate an opponent for both men. Shawn complains and rants about the concept until Bob shuts him up and tells him to spin. Shawn spins and he draws Chris Masters. Hunter rags on his hair plugs and says it is a bad spin. Hunter spins and he draws…Randy Orton! DX thanks Bob and Hunter says they will be back for the Showcase Showdown as we hit a break.

- We are back and our Castrol Slam of the Week takes us back to last week when Hornswoggle defeated Chavo Guerrero once again. We then head back to the arena for our next match. Chavo is in the ring and Bob tells Chavo that if he wins this match, he will win a brand new Corvette. Chavo is freaking out as the Bellas model the car for us.

2) Chavo Guerrero vs. Evan Bourne

And for the first time in a while, Chavo has a new opponent as he will have to beat Evan Bourne to win the car. They lock up off the bell and Chavo takes control early. He tosses Bourne around and then stomps away. Chavo lays Bourne across the top rope and boots him hard in the gut for two. Chavo hooks an abdominal stretch as Lawler talks about the days that he owned a red Corvette. Bourne works free and gets a near fall but Chavo punts him back down. King says he won his Corvette in a match as well. Bourne kicks his way back into things and then takes Chavo over with a headscissors. Bourne charges and chops Chavo down and then follows with a leg lariat off the middle rope. Chavo fights Bourne off with some boots to the face. He heads up top but Bourne nails him with a kneelift. Bourne follows him up and goes for a huracarrana, but Chavo ducks away and Bourne lands square on the top rope before bouncing to the mat. Chavo gets two and then takes Bourne for a ride with the Three Amigos. Chavo heads up top but Hornswoggle comes in and squirts him with a super soaker. Chavo hops down and corners Horny. Bourne sneaks up from behind and rolls Chavo up for the win. No car for Chavito, sadly. That was a good match until the weak finish. Bourne d. Guerrero with a roll up; Grade: 1.5

- Over at ringside, Cole and Lawler thank Lynyrd Skynyrd for the Breaking Point theme song. Backstage, John Cena is walking and we are heading to break.

- The Final Fantasy Rewind takes us back to the finish of last week’s Raw when Dusty Rhodes turned on John Cena but then took an RKO from Randy Orton. Back in the arena, we have a group of Chicago White Sox players in the crowd, having a good time. They all have Price is Right nametags on, which is a cool touch. Oh, and they beat he Red Sox today, so woot woot for them!

3) Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena

Cody is out first and he has a mic. He says he is a part of Legacy but that he doesn’t agree with what Orton did to his Dad. But, what is eluding everyone but him is that Dusty didn’t make him a main eventer, Randy Orton did. He can lie and say that Dusty was a neglectful and poor father, but the truth is that Dusty was and is an excellent father. When Shawn and Triple submit this Sunday, we will see that Cody made the right choice in picking career over family last week. And he will also make Cena tap out here as a favor to Orton. There is nothing he won’t do for his career. And that brings out John Cena, who emerges to an ear splitting pop. The bell sounds and Cody and Cena circle each other a bit before locking up. Cody grabs a side headlock but Cena hoists him for the AA. Cody slips loose but Cena tosses him across the ring. Cody bails to the floor as we go to break. When we return, Cena is picking up a near fall on Cody. Cena hammers away and then plants Cody with a facebuster for two. Cena sends Cody over with a backdrop and Cody hits the floor again. Cena comes out after him but Cody is able to send him face first into the announce table. He tosses Cena back inside and kicks away at him. I like Cody’s quick paced offense. Cody pulls Cena up but Cena takes him over with a belly to belly suplex. Cody recovers and hits a clothesline for two. He slugs away at Cena in the corner and then rolls through and takes Cena down by his leg. Cena pops up and takes Cody down with a drop toehold. Cody rolls free and drills Cena with a back elbow. He takes Cena down with a Russian legsweep and gets a near fall. Cody keeps the assault on and then hooks an interesting modified camel clutch as he tries to force Cena into submission. Cena powers out of the hold and hammers on Cody. Cena gets whipped into the corner and then Cody takes him down with a Fujiwara armbar. Rhodes really ramps it up until Cena is able to power to his feet. Cody goes for a dropkick but Cena avoids it. Cena takes Cody down and heads up top. Cody struggles to his feet but is able to avoid Cena’s legdrop. Cody tries to lock in a figure four, but Cena blocks it and turns him into the STF. Before Rhodes can tap, Orton charges in to draw the DQ. That was a bitching match before the weak, albeit necessary finish. Cena d. Rhodes by disqualification; Grade: 2.5

- Orton quickly bails and Cody nails Cena from behind. Cena fends him off and takes Cody over with the AA. He stares down Orton as Lillian announces Cena as the winner. The stare down continues as we head to break.

- Next week, Batista will be on hand to make a “career altering” announcement. Back live, the Fink once again brings out Barker. IRS, Jillian and Santino are still in contestant’s row. Fink brings out our new player…AJ Pierzynski! AJ is pretty pumped up as he charges over to contestant’s row. The crowd is either loaded with Cubs fans or disgruntled White Sox fans because AJ is being booed soundly. Bob asks if they are Cubs fans, but they boo that too, so we figure it out. AJ shows off his World Series ring and confirms his wrestling and Price is Right fandom. Fink outlines our next prize to bid on…a Wrestlemania XXVI travel package! AJ bids $1,000, IRS bids $2,000, Jillian bids $5,000 and Santino bids $1,200. Bob can’t understand Santino, leading to a funny back and forth. Santino wins as the price is $1,247. Santino comes flying up the ramp and freaks out. He paces a bit as Bob tells him the next prize he can win…a new hot tub! The Bellas show this prize off quite nicely I must say. Santino wants to know if the Bellas come with the hot tub and Bob says that is a no. Bob says Santino must compete in a bodyslam contest to win the hot tub. Santino is excited because he really wants to win the hot tub. But it looks unlikely because his opponent is the Big Show.

4) Santino Marella vs. Big Show in a bodyslam contest

Show hits the ring and they stare down. Santino tries to slam Show, but he can’t do it. Show swats him off and he slams Santino for the easy win. Show d. Marella with a bodyslam; Grade: 0

- We finally get the loser’s horn. Bob doesn’t hear it and gets confused so we get some awkward back and forth as Bob waits to see the ref raise Show’s hand. He finally sees it and calls the match a loss for Santino. Bob says we have another bodyslam contest and out comes Mark Henry. Henry will battle Show it seems. Henry hits the ring and we go to break.

5) Big Show vs. Mark Henry in a bodyslam contest

When we return, Henry is in the ring and Show is stalking around it. He climbs inside and we are underway. Show kicks Henry and tries for a slam but Henry blocks it. Henry tries for a slam now, but he can’t get it done. Show clubs on Henry, working the back. Show tries for another slam but gets nowhere. They trade some blows and slam attempts, but neither man is really budging. Henry falls onto Show on a slam attempt and then goes for one of his own, but Show counters it. Show eats a boot on a charge but he drills Henry with a back elbow. They trade some more blows until Henry finally and impressively slams Show. Henry d. Show with a bodyslam; Grade: .5

- MVP comes out and celebrates with Henry and they are rolling into Breaking Point. Backstage, Josh Matthews is with Barker. They chat about Bob’s career and his book a bit. He tells a story about the most memorable PIR moment, a lady popping out of her tube top. They chat some more as we take a break.

- We are back and discovering that Trish Stratus will be hosting next week’s Raw, live from Toronto. Back in the arena, Cole and King are in the ring and running down the Breaking Point card. Backstage, Bob is reading his book when Chavo comes in and cries about losing out on the car. Bob tells him to calm down but Chavo isn’t leaving without his car. Chavo challenges Bob’s toughness and Bob gets up and punches him in the gut and then chops him down. The price is wrong, bitch! He says he is having a great time tonight and reminds us to help control the pet population. Elsewhere, Orton and Masters are chatting as we head to break.

- When we return, we get another plug for Barker’s book and King thanks him for hosting tonight. And with that, it is main event time!

6) Shawn Michaels & Triple H vs. Chris Masters & Randy Orton

DX is out first and they get a huge pop from the raucous crowd. They do their thing and eat some time until the Masterpiece makes his entrance. Oh, and let’s get ready to suck it…and if you aren’t down with sucking it…suck it! He stalks to the ring and I think his hair plugs look quite nice. Orton is out last and he takes his time hitting the ring. Michaels and Masters kick things off and the crowd is still buzzing. Masters clubs on Shawn and then avoids a quick SCM attempt off a whip. He bails to the floor and confers with Orton as we take our final break. When we return, Orton is hammering on Hunter in the corner. Hunter bounces back with a clothesline and tags in Shawn. He mares Orton over and stomps on him. Orton drills him with a right hand between the eyes. Michaels slips out of a slam attempt and hits a swinging neckbreaker. He runs Orton into a Triple H boot and then makes the tag. Hunter tries for a Pedigree, but Orton blocks it and back drops him over. Orton goes for the RKO but Hunter shoves him off and hits a suplex. He drops a knee to the head and gets a near fall. Hunter runs Orton into a Michaels boot and makes the tag. Shawn eats a boot on a charge and Orton tags in Masters. He stomps away on Shawn but Shawn slips off a press slam and lands some chops. Masters reverses a whip and sends Michaels careening into the corner. He crushes Shawn with a nice backbreaker and then hammers on Shawn’s back. He tags in Orton, who buries a boot in Shawn’s chest. Orton drops a nice leaping kneedrop and gets two. I always dig Orton’s aggressiveness and precision strikes. He tags Masters back and Chris whips Michaels into the corner hard. Masters tosses Shawn to the floor and Orton takes the chance to drop down and smack Shawn around. Masters tosses Michaels back in and gets two. He kicks away at Shawn and then distracts the ref so Orton can club on Shawn’s chest. Masters tags out and Orton slowly saunters in and glares at Hunter. He turns towards Shawn, who is struggling to his feet. Shawn staggers up but Orton just drills him with a standing dropkick. Orton goes to the chinlock as he wears Shawn down. Michaels fights free and takes Randy down with a flying forearm. The crowd and Hunter are trying to rally Shawn to make a tag but both men are down and out. Orton slowly crawls over and tags in Masters but Michaels pops up and tags in Triple H. Hunter comes in and drills Masters with a high knee and a clothesline. Masters eats the facebreaker but Orton distracts Triple H. Masters sneaks up from behind but Hunter turns and drops him with a spinebuster. Shawn tags in and he heads up top and drops a big elbow on the Masterpiece. He tunes up the band but Orton hops up and distracts Shawn. Hunter comes over and he and Orton battle over the announce table. Masters ducks SCM and hooks the Masterlock on. Michaels starts to fade but Hunter comes in and breaks the hold. Shawn drills Masters with SCM and Hunter knocks down Orton. Shawn locks in a figure four on Masters and Hunter traps Orton in a sharpshooter. Masters taps out and that is that. The match was a big slow, but the finish was strong and the crowd was into the heat segments. Michaels & Triple H d. Masters & Orton when Michaels forces Masters to submit to the figure four; Grade: 2.5

- Legacy heads out and a big brawl erupts. They all brawl towards the back except Orton. He hides behind the entrance way to avoid any part of the brawl. After the coast is clear, he hops back onto the ramp. We cut backstage and Legacy and DX are brawling all over the place. DiBiase and Rhodes finally escape through the back door. Cody grabs a chair as Ted goes to get the car. Cody smashes Shawn with the chair as he comes through the door. He then books in and hops in the car and they drive off as DX tries to stop them from escaping. Back in the ring, Orton has the mic and starts ripping on DX and putting over Legacy. He then turns to Cena and says he will retain the WWE Championship. As he carries on, Cena’s music hits and he comes out onto the ramp. He stares at Orton and then charges to the ring. They start to brawl and end up fighting around ringside. Back in the ring, Orton catches Cena with the hanging DDT and Cena is out cold. Orton goes to ringside and grabs a chair. He slides back inside the ring and sets it up. He pulls Cena up and drops him with an RKO on the open chair. Orton stands over Cena and then proclaims that Cena will say “I Quit” on Sunday. Orton glares at him as we fade out. This was a fun episode tonight, thanks to Barker’s smooth mic work and the Price is Right gimmicks. Everyone worked hard in the ring too and we got some really good matches. Most importantly, we got some really solid PPV build as each match got some time in the spotlight. The brawls to finish the show were solid too. The show dipped a bit as it went on but picked up at the end and it was still a strong effort overall and featured a hot crowd. See you next week in Toronto as we will all get Stratusfied!

Final Grade: B+
MVP: Bob Barker
Runner Up: MVP
Non MVP: Chavo Guerrero
Runner Up: Santino Marella

Over the past couple of months, rumors have been going around all over the Internet wrestling community stating that Ted DiBiase will be getting a face turn in the near future. The reason for that is that he is the star of “The Marine 2″ which is set to come out December the 29th of 2009. Following up John Cena is not an easy thing to do especially if you’re a rookie like Ted DiBiase so having him turn face and be a “good guy” would attract kids to see his new movie.

Now, we have been so eager and anxious to see his face turn in recent months that we have completely forgotten about the second “Legacy” member, Cody Rhodes. One thing is for Randy Orton to have two henchmen. That idea is so tempting that he has had these same two henchmen for eight months now, believe it or not. But having him have only one henchman especially with the size of Cody Rhodes is not the best of ideas. So should Ted DiBiase turn face, maybe even win the WWE title, which is another rumor going around, Rhodes will go nowhere.

Randy Orton, as old as he looks, is only 29 years old. He is only 3 years older than DiBiase and 5 older than Rhodes. He is not Hardcore Holly. He will not move away from the main event scene for at least another year or two just to push guys like Rhodes. For those that expect Rhodes & Orton to form a tag team when DiBiase leaves “The Legacy” are dead wrong. It’ll never happen, and Orton, being a close friend of Vince McMahon has all the connections he needs to be in the title picture as long as he wants.

The last thought would be to keep Rhodes in “The Legacy” for a while longer and add another young guy like Jack Swagger or Chris Masters. The thing is though, WWE wants to keep them in the midcard for now and guys like Swagger & Masters may not have a dad in the hall of fame but they do have what it takes to main event.

So with that said, both Rhodes & DiBiase need a face turn in the next 3 months. Face turns don’t happen overnight so December would definitely be too late. Last Monday night on RAW, after Dusty Rhodes made a plan for the Legacy to ambush DX & Cena, Orton RKO’ed Dusty and you could see Cody Rhodes get pissed signaling that he will leave the Legacy sooner or later. Both Rhodes & DiBiase will have succesful careers with their connections but the question is, who is ready to leave “The Legacy” first? I will let you guys answer that.

Closing Thoughts

The best way to do this would be to have them do what they did a year ago at “Night of Champions 08.” Have Rhodes & Orton vs. DiBiase & a mystery partner at a pay-per-view after DiBiase turns face and have Rhodes kick Orton in the skull and be DiBiase’s manager for a while as a face. That is all for today folks, leave a comment, and vote on the poll, I’M OUT!

wwe.com

WWE presenta Super Stars, programas grabados antes de RAW y SmackDown! para ser transmitidos el jueves 3 de septiembre de 2009.

• Dark Match: Primo venció a Alex Riley en cinco minutos
• (1) Evan Bourne venció a Chris Masterss en diez minutos.
• (2) William Regal (con Ezekiel Jackson y Vladimir Kozlov) venció a Tyler Reks. Después de la victoria de Master Regal, Jackson y Kozlov aplican sus movimientos finales sobre Reks.
• (3) The Hart Dynasty venció a Cryme Tyme and Eve. Natalya se fue sobre Eve, y con eso la Dinastía se hizo de la victoria.

Tonight- WWE Superstars, TNA Impact

Four matches have been announced for tonight’s episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America.

* Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix “The Glamazon”

* “The Masterpiece” Chris Masters vs. “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry

* R-Truth vs. Charlie Haas

* Shelton Benjamin vs. Tyler Reks

… for more visit wwe/superstars preview

Tonight, TNA Wrestling returns to SpikeTV at 9/8c for two hours of Total Nonstop Action featuring the aftermath of the “Hard Justice” Pay-Per-View event.

The below is a preview of what will take place on the huge broadcast (card is subject to change)

- We’ll hear from still TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle and the members of the Main Event Mafia, who continued to dominate TNA Wrestling at the Pay-Per-View, with Kevin Nash capturing the Legends Title, Samoa Joe winning the X Championship and Booker T & Scott Steiner retaining the Tag Team gold!

- Speaking of the Mafia, “The Blueprint” Matt Morgan is hellbent on getting revenge on Kurt Angle for what happened in Sunday’s main event. Can Matt Morgan and TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle co-exist in TNA Wrestling?

- “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles has informed TNA Management that he plans to make a major announcement on Thursday night during the broadcast.

… for more visit tnawrestling/impact preview

DISCUSS THIS STORY

In theory, this post should have been up on Tuesday. Thursday, at the latest.  But I actually found myself spending my evenings doing some research for a piece for college this week, so it’s been delayed. And it has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that I took my laptop to bed last night to finish this post and ended up falling asleep with a copy of Rock Sound Magazine open on my lap. Nothing at all.

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This week’s Raw was comforting. It was a reminder that the show can function very nicely without the crutch of a two-bit celebrity and a reminder that all the talent they need is right there already on the roster. Ok, Sergeant Slaughter isn’t technically on the roster but you get what I mean. Was it the greatest Raw? Not even close. But it was a marked improvement on last week’s show, which gives me good feelings all over.

We started with Randy Orton, in the ring, belt aloft, beautiful. Randy has been kind of out of the loop the past week or so, what with all the celebrity interference. Or maybe I just missed him. Or maybe his thighs just got extra spectacular since last week.

Well done, babe. I was right behind you. I did 6.4

So what we have here is your classic PPV promo segment. Hallelujah! You’re kind of late to the Summerslam party, Raw, but let’s boogie! Randy began by reasserting his super-heel status via the belittlement of the Calgary audience.The ‘YOU SUCK’ chants erupted around the arena, which Randy TOTALLY got off on. His microphone almost got some very exclusive ‘oral pleasure’.

He also made it clear that he would be making mincemeat of John Cena at Summerslam, contrary to the rumours circulating that John had the upper hand.  John, as you would expect, had a response. So he made his angry way to the ring. Uh-oh! John is pissed. ROYALLY pissed. I have a feeling his temper may blow its banks, causing my insides explode from the excitement. KABOOOOOOOM!

Wow! I haven’t seen John this furious since his mini-feud with Edge after Wrestlemania. It’s possible that I may have made a WHEEEEEE kind of sound while this little piece was going on. Make that ‘probable’.   I was getting tense just watching all that up-close jaw clenching. John got all up in Randy’s chops and it was a battle of wills to see who would go in for the kiss first.

Much to my overwhelming disappointment, the imminent smooch was rudely interupted by Chris Jericho and Big Show. But my initial feeling of irritation was quickly replaced with delight at seeing Jericho’s new suit. I believe my Twitter went something like………..

Speaking of Twitter, in the early hours of Monday morning, Mr. Chris Jericho was partaking in some rather amusing drunk tweeting. Due to my living seven hours  ahead of Calgary, I got to witness the whole thing from my desk at work. In case you missed it, my favourite was……..

This late night revelry revealed itself on Raw. No amount of clever make-up and cucumber slices can de-puff eyes like that and if you wait for the close-up, they’re more than a little bloodshot.

Anyway, the physical effects of the hangover did not seem to dampen Jericho’s enthusiasm. Being in Calgary seemed to buoy him up even more. Big Show’s opening gambit even had to be paused for a few moments while the crowd got their repeated Y2J chants out of their beer soaked systems. They calmed down, Show finished his speech and then Chris took the spotlight. He only had to open his mouth for half a second before the crowd lost their minds. Even John couldn’t hold his smile in when he was supposed to be all stern like.

Stop smirking, John. You're supposed to look pissed off!

All this culminated in Jericho announcing that Slaughter had given him a match against John, and Show was granted a match against Randy. Right, so we’re 600 words in and there hasn’t even been a match yet. Anyone would think I’ve got a thing for John Cena. And Randy Orton. And Chris Jericho. And Big…… three outta four ain’t bad. We’d better get a match in.

With Maryse needing her knee sliced open, someone had to step up to Mickie James. Alicia Fox, Kelly-Kelly, Gail Kim and Beth Phoenix went against each other in a fourway match to be number one contender. This was actually a REALLY good match. Ok, so it was always going to come down to Beth or Gail, but they worked really hard. And the powers that be gave them some time to build the match too, which rarely happens. Beth pulled off one of those highly impressive ‘marvel at my immense strength’ moves……

Anything John can do, Beth can do better, Beth can do anything better than John.

……but the pin eventually went to Gail Kim. I do feel a teeny bit sorry for the Glamazon. I mean, she stuck it out through that painful Santina period without much ‘ffws na ffwdan’ as we Welsh language speakers say. She kind of deserved a title run. But I adore Gail Kim, so no complaints from my bench.

NEEEEXT!

Sergeant Slaughter came out for the first of many insults to Canada. He demanded that they stand up and pledge allegiance to the American flag. Riiiiight! You might as well ask the Welsh to affectionately lick the English flag. NEVER. GONNA. HAPPEN.

I mean, look at that ferocious creature? Take THAT King George. You mess with me, my dragon burns your arse.

Jack Swagger made light but entertaining work of Evan Boure, which left Jack with bleeding gums. Mmmm, scurvy is the sexiest of all the vitaand min deficiencies.  M.V.P appeared and buttered the crowd up by knocking Swagger on his rather fine behind. Actually, that one looked like it really hurt. Nothing like a bruised coccyx to take the wind out of one’s sails.

Montel challenged Jack to a match that night, but he refused, alluding only to the possibility of a match next week before disappearing up the ramp.

Remember last week when a disturbingly puffed-out Triple H vowed to make us all suck it? Well he was forced to travel to Texas to bring his buddy back from the brink of banality. (So many B’s.) I say ‘Texas’, but really it could have been any generic office building anywhere in the world.  HBK was discovered working as a chef in a trashy cafeteria and had been reduced to serving defrosted muck to ungrateful children. Hunter was not impressed.

Back up North Eugene (what?) was taking on the Calgary Kid (who?) for a contract to get in to the company. Whatever. I honestly thought this was some kind of local joke I didn’t get, so I just rode it out until the Calgary Kid began pulling off the mask and I realised it was The Miz. The Miz, who everyone was SOOO upset about last week, was back. See? Didn’t I say he’d be ok? Listen to Auntie Ray. She knows stuff about shit. Or is it the other way round?

Alright, next up Randy and Big Show were to tough it out. It was ok. I mean, Big Show is slow and Randy is deliberately slithery and calculating, so it felt like filler. Randy was getting beaten up so he left the ring and got himself counted out. Big Show sulked but who really cares.

Trips was making headway with persuading Mr. Hickenbottom to become Shawn Michaels again, but still no cigar. So we scooted over to Chris Masters vs M.V.P.  I notice Masters now enters the arena under the cover of darkness. Obviously a move to ensure we don’t see any more of his terrible tanning disasters.  M.V.P took the match within three minutes, but Jack Swagger made his way out, distracted M.V.P and gave Masters the nod to take him down.  Swagger jumped in to finish the job.

Back in Texas a granny snarled SUCK IT in to the camera and Michaels kicked a small child. I believe that means DX are back. Good work, Officer H. Now bring that boy on home. In the arena, Hornswoggle and Mark Henry fought Rhodes and DiBiase. Team Legacy won, giving them the opportunity challenge DX. I totally didn’t see that coming. So shocking!

Any excuse to use a pic of SJP.

I need me some Josh Matthews after that incredible shock! Ah. There he is, with Chris Jericho. WAIT! Did Jericho have that beard earlier? Maybe I was too distracted by his lovely suit to notice. I feel like I’ve seen that face-fuzz somewhere before. Oh yeah.

In a moment of comedy genius, after praising Canada til the cows came home, Jericho made the faux pas of dissing it when he thought he was off camera. DOH! An oldie but a goodie.

Exactly, Chris.

The final match, Jericho and Cena, was moving along swimmingly and it appeared that Cena had the upper hand when he hugged Jericho in to the STF. But Randy soon appeared, started doing a strange twitchy dance in front of John and distracted him long enough for Jericho to bring him down. Big Show got involved, things got messy and Slaughter had to bring the troops to order. He commanded that Jericho and Big Show tag team against Cena and Orton next week. Ooooh, I wonder what Buffy’s husband will have to say about that. Well, John-Boy, you kept saying you wanted to work with your BFF, now you’ve got your wish. Big Show was rolled out of the ring like a humongous log and as John threw Jericho on to his shoulders for the Attitude Adjustment, Orton ran in and RKO’d Jericho back down again. It was AWESOME.

Monday Night Raw 8/10/09
Pengrowth Saddledome
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Announcers: Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler

- We open up the show in the arena and we are immediately joined by Randy Orton, who is standing in center ring. He is out here because he has been hearing rumors that he bullied Piven last week so he could do all the dirty work. He did it because he can. He doesn’t answer to the fans because they are beneath him. He will beat Cena at Summerslam and that is a fact, not a rumor. He is interrupted mid-sentence by Cena who gets a loud mixed reaction. Cena says he is a patient man but Orton makes his hair gray, which makes him angry. He compares his mindset to Orton’s anger problem. He is tired of the talking and Orton acting like the business owes him something. Cena is all business here today and Orton is just staring at him as he rants. Their Summerslam match will happen, but right now Orton is staring at a problem. Cena wants action and they do a head to head staredown. Before things accelerate, Chris Jericho and Big Show saunter out to the ring, decked out in a pair of swank suits. Show says that neither Orton nor Cena know much about intimidation. The crowd is chanting for Jericho big time here and Lawler acknowledges it. Cena gets a Shaq dig in on Show and then asks why they are there. Jericho says they are there because Raw is in his home country. Cena lands a shot on Canada, saying Jericho chose to move to the US. Jericho shrugs it off and says he met with tonight’s host and he was granted a match with Cena tonight. Orton threatens to punt Cena later tonight but Show lets Randy know that the host also made another match: Big Show vs. Randy Orton. Orton is annoyed as Show smirks at him. All four men trade stares and smirks for a few moments. We then cut backstage where Sgt. Slaughter is decked out in his full gear. He yells “Atten-Hut!” and we find out that Triple H will be searching Texas for Shawn Michaels tonight before we head to break. Raw is in Canada, Sgt. Slaughter in charge and we will be watching Triple H & Shawn Michaels antics? Yes, it is officially August 1997 again. That was a solid opening segment with Jericho getting the biggest pop of the four.

- We are back and checking out the WWE.com trivia question of the week. Who did Sarge beat to win the WWE Championship? Log on and vote! We then head to the ring for our opener.

1) Kelly vs. Alicia Fox vs. Gail Kim vs. Beth Phoenix

All the ladies make their entrances and Gail gets the homeland pop. The four ladies all brawl off the bell and trade some near falls. Alicia plants Gail with a nice backbreaker, sending her to the floor. Kelly fights off Beth and Alicia until Gail comes back with a big missile dropkick. Beth uses her power to slow Gail down and eventually stacks Gail and Kelly on her shoulder and squeezes both. That was a neat power move. Alicia breaks it up and Beth is not happy. She shoves Alicia down and then tosses her to the floor. Gail recovers and dives out onto Alicia off the second rope. This is a spunky little match. Kelly takes it to Beth and then dives onto Gail and Alicia with a cross body. Now Beth heads up but Alicia trips her up and she lands on her stomach across the top buckle. OK, now we know for sure she isn’t pregnant. Gail and Alicia end up alone in the ring and Gail hits the modified Codebreaker for the win. Gail looked strong throughout and she earns a title match with Mickie James with that win. Gail d. Alicia, Kelly and Beth when she pins Alicia with the Eat Defeat; Grade: 1.5

- As the ladies clear out we are joined by Sgt. Slaughter and the crowd is not impressed. He is honored and privileged to stand in front of Canada as the guest host. He respects Canada and that is why his first assignment is to salute the Canadian flag. And the maple leaf pops up on the Tron on cue. And the flag is quickly covered by a circle with a line through it. Sarge says if it wasn’t for Uncle Sam, the Canadians would all be speaking Russian and French right now. He rags on Canadians for taking the US President and protection for granted. The crowd is chanting “asshole”. He demands the fans to stand and pay respects to the US. He recites the Pledge of Allegiance as the crowd intermittently boos. And that is that as we head to break. Sarge did a solid job but it really doesn’t make sense to do a heel turn.

- We are back and heading back to last week when Hunter rambled on about making a phone call to a good friend after his loss to Rhodes & DiBiase. Cole tells us that Hunter traveled to Texas to track down Shawn Michaels. Shawn has apparently found a new profession and we will check that out later tonight. We now head to the ring for our next match.

2) Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne

Swagger makes his way out for the rubber match with Evan Bourne. They have split their bouts over the past two weeks. Swagger controls early but Bourne trips him up and nails him with a nice one footed dropkick. Swagger bails and Bourne comes off the apron and onto Swagger with both knees. Swagger drills Bourne with a knee as he came back in and starts to pick Bourne apart. Evan comes back with a quick attack and gets a near fall. These two just really mesh well together and are quite fluid. Swagger catches Bourne and goes for a powerbomb, but Evan rolls through for a near fall. Swagger dodges Bourne in the corner and crushes him with the gutwrench powerbomb for the win. Another good TV match but I am dying to see these two get more time. Swagger d. Bourne with a gutwrench powerbomb; Grade: 1.5

- Swagger has the mic but he is quickly interrupted by MVP. He says that the Canadians couldn’t care less about Swagger’s All American championships. He rags on Swagger a bit and the crowd is kind of waking up. MVP lays down a challenge to Swagger for a match tonight. Swagger says maybe they can fight next week. MVP shoves him down MVP got a decent pop, but this crowd has been rather flat so far. Cole runs down our double main events as we head to break.

- We are back and checking out some footage from earlier today. Triple H is wandering around an office building cafeteria. He is leaving a message for Shawn, saying he hasn’t seen him anywhere and is on a wild goose chase. He sees a guy from behind that looks like Shawn and Triple H gives him the business. The guy comes on to Hunter and we get some awkward conversation. We cut to the kitchen where some random little girl is banging a bell and screaming for a hamburger. Shawn pops in and stops her from banging the bell. He yells at her to calm down and let him cook the burger. He rips on “Bring Your Daughter to Work Day” as Hunter is just staring at him with his mouth agape. Shawn walks off as we cut back to Cole and King. And we are again joined by Sarge. He says he was just playing before, but the fans will really like this. He went out and got someone special to sing the Canadian National Anthem: Celine Dion! The crowd goes mild. Sarge says he couldn’t find her so he got someone even better. And it is Jillian dressed as Apollo Creed. She sings “Oh, Canada” and dances a bit as Sarge salutes. This is dying a slow painful death. We head to break.

- We are back for a Contract on a Pole match. The winner will become the newest member of the Raw roster.

3) Eugene vs. Calgary Kid in a Contract on a Pole match

Eugene is back in the house and looking to get back onto Raw. His opponent is the masked and mysterious Calgary Kid. They battle a bit before Eugene nails a Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow. Eugene climbs up but Kid fights him off. Cole slips up and calls him Karate Kid but King corrects him. OK, I admit it…I missed Eugene. Kid knocks Eugene off the top rope and grabs the contract to win the job on Raw. Calgary Kid d. Eugene; Grade: .5

- Kid helps Eugene up and then plants him with a facebreaker. He unmasks and…it’s the Miz. He tells us he is back on Raw and he is awesome. Miz outsmarts everyone and earns his job back. Backstage, Orton is walking as we head to break.

- The 7-11 Rewind takes us back to last week when Big Show dominated Kofi Kingston but lost by DQ.

4) Randy Orton vs. Big Show in a non title match

Back to the ring and we are being joined by Randy Orton for some non title action. Show makes his way out next as Orton looks on confidently. Maybe he will actually get a win this week. Show stares down Orton and he backs off a bit before flailing at him. Show blocks it, drills a headbutt and takes over. He slowly wears down Orton with a front facelock and headbutts. Orton’s selling is great as always. The crowd is getting restless as Show tosses the Champ around. I don’t get why you have your top heel Champion get tossed around by another heel two weeks before the second biggest show of the year. Orton thumbs Show in the eye to turn things around for a second and gets a near fall. Orton hits the Garvin stomp but Show counters the RKO. Show drops him with a Chokeslam for a near fall as Orton gets his foot on the rope. Show lines up a big right hand but Orton bails and takes the lame countout. Could they make Orton look like anymore of a pussy? Show d. Orton by countout; Grade: 1

- Cole sends up back to Texas where Hunter is trying to understand what Shawn is doing. Shawn says he is a chef, not a cook. They just don’t give the shirt and hat to anybody. Shawn says everything was over after Wrestlemania and he didn’t feel the need to do it anymore. He tells Hunter that he doesn’t understand. The corporate nimrods are his brothers and he is part of something there. He likes it and more importantly, he is respected. The little girl comes up and tells Shawn his tater tots suck and calls him a monkey. She tosses the tots in his face and says it is a virtual paradise as his voice cracks up. Hunter says Legacy is out of control and he needs Shawn. Shawn says everyone needs him. He doesn’t want to hear it and he isn’t listening. He is happy now and more importantly, he is really good at what he does. We see a grease fire blow up in the background and Hunter calls him “Chef Boyardee”. Shawn runs over and puts out the fire and emerges covered in black smoke as we go to break. OK, that was kind of funny, I will admit it.

- We are back and heading back to the ring for our next match.

5) MVP vs. Chris Masters

MVP makes his way out for a second time tonight as he will battle Chris Masters. The Masterpiece is out and with him and Eugene on the show tonight, we have moved to August 2005. Masters stomps away on MVP as he dominates early in the contest. Masters has been showing some nice aggression since returning. I am glad he is back to solidify the lower mid card. MVP comes back with a nice throw to turn the tables. MVP drops the Ballin’ Elbow, which gets one of the few pops of the night. Masters dodges the Drive By and goes for the Masterlock, which MVP counters. He hits the Playmaker and picks up the win. That was another sub par match in a series of them tonight. MVP d. Masters with the Playmaker; Grade: 1.5

- Now Swagger walks out and stares down MVP. Masters comes from behind and locks MVP in the Masterlock as Swagger taunts him. Masters releases and Swagger drops him with the gutwrench powerbomb. Swagger stands tall over MVP and we head to a video package highlighting Jeremy Piven’s guest spot last week and subsequent media coverage. Cole and King chat a bit and we take a break.

- I may have to watch “White Collar” just for the return to TV of Valerie Malone…um, I mean Kelly Kapowski…or, Tiffani Thiessen.

- We are back from break and back in Texas. Hunter is behind the grill with Shawn and is still trying to convince him to quit and come back to WWE. Hunter helps him flip burgers while he pumps up Shawn’s ego. He makes Hunter put on the apron and hat and he kind of digs it. Hunter drops a burger, dusts it off and puts it back on the grill. Shawn makes a Summerfest joke which was funny. Shawn’s boss comes in and calls him “Hickenbottom” and Hunter says it is a stupid name. Shawn said he had to keep his anonymity. The boss yells at Shawn and calls Hunter an idiot. The boss says he can find guys like Shawn anywhere and Shawn drills him with a Superkick. He smacks Hunter playfully and says he is in. They have two words for you…and an old lady yells “Suck It!” We hear the little girl complaining some more and Shawn walks over and stares at her. The camera pans over to Shawn and he unleashes a Superkick, presumably on the little girl. He walks over and he and Hunter torch the chef gear and he officially quits.

Back in the arena, Cole reveals the answer to out trivia question: the Ultimate Warrior. 51% of the fans got it right, but King got it wrong and Cole mocks him. Sarge is back out again for more fun. He thanks all the fans for being great sports and says the WWE Universe encompasses all countries. As a token of his appreciation, he wants to bring out a special guest. Being in Calgary, it is a great time to bring back…the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be…and Bret Hart’s music fires up. But it quickly ends as Hacksaw Jim Duggan stomps out instead. Poor Calgary fans, they get mocked every August. Sarge chants “USA” as Duggan stomps to the ring and we go to break.

- The AutoZone Slam of the Week brings us clips of Mark Henry beating down Chavo Guerrero last week. Back live, Hornswoggle and his cousin, Markswoggle, head out in their matching hats. Cole tells us that Horny was hanging out with Bob Uecker at a Brewers game last week. I say that is awesome. Chavo heads out but he has street clothes on. His injuries from last week haven’t healed so he can’t compete tonight. But he has enlisted a replacement tag team: Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes.

6) Hornswoggle & Mark Henry vs. Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes

DiBiase & Rhodes head out to see if they can keep their roll going. Ted and Henry start things off and Mark uses his power to dominate. Ted quickly tags out but Cody doesn’t have much more luck. Henry is aces in this role. He should be the one to finally unseat Orton. Ted and Cody are able to take over and quick tag to keep control. It is short lived as Henry hits a nice double suplex on both men. Henry crushes DiBiase with the World’s Strongest Slam and then tags in Horny. He tries for the Tadpole Splash but Ted rolls out of the way. Cody takes out Henry and Ted drops Horny with a sweet Dream Street for the win. And here I was ready to bitch about Legacy jobbing again. The match was only saved by Henry’s smiles and the great quick tagging by the heels. DiBiase & Rhodes d. Hornswoggle & Henry when DiBiase pins Hornswoggle with Dream Street; Grade: 1

- DiBiase has a mic and they are ready to face DX at Summerslam. It will be the shortest comeback in WWE history. Cody tells us they have two words for us if we aren’t down with it: Too Bad. Backstage, Josh Matthews is with Chris Jericho. He will beat Cena for the first time ever in the city in which he lived and trained for seven years. He dedicates his victory tonight to Calgary. Show butts in and complains about Orton running, but Jericho soothes him. The people will boo Cena and cheer for him because they are easy to manipulate. He isn’t even Canadian, he was born in America. He rags on Canadians until Matthews tells him they are still on the air. Jericho realizes his faux pas as we go to break. Thank God for Jericho.

- We are back and King tells us big time fan and former creative team member Freddie Prinze, Jr. will be the guest host next week from St. Louis. They then run down the Summerslam card before we hit the ring for our main event.

7) John Cena vs. Chris Jericho

Cena gets a mixed pop again and Jericho is mainly cheered, so his antics before the break were for naught. Well, I guess it turned some of the fans on him. Jericho hits the ring as we take our final break. When we return, the bell sounds and we get underway. The two get off to a quick start with Jericho mainly outmaneuvering Cena. The crowd is waking up a bit, pretty much split down the middle. Cena fights his way back and locks in a side headlock. Cena misses a flying shoulderblock and Jericho knocks him to the floor. Cole reminds us that Jericho has never beaten Cena. Jericho hooks a modified rear chinlock but Cena powers out. These two always have good matches, but this one feels like they are going through the motions for the most part. Even then, it is solid enough. Cena hits his shoulderblocks but Jericho gets a roll up to block the Five Knuckle Shuffle. He reverses an AA with an elbow and follows with a faceplant. The crowd is so weird right now. They are kind of popping here and there, but it’s mainly booing. Cena catches Jericho and goes for the AA, but Jericho slips free and hooks the Walls. Cena can’t get to the ropes as Jericho drags him to the middle of the ring. Cena reverses the hold and locks in the STF. Orton hops in the ring and lines up the Punt, drawing a super lame DQ. Cena d. Jericho by disqualification; Grade: 1.5

- Orton’s distraction allows Jericho to drop Cena with a Codebreaker. Jericho attacks Orton but Orton dumps him to the floor. Show comes out and plants Orton with a Chokeslam. Sarge comes out and calls them all maggots, which is funny. He makes a tag match for next week: Show & Jericho vs. Cena & Orton. Cena and Orton dump Show and Cena hoists Jericho on his shoulders. Orton comes over and drops Jericho with an RKO off Cena’s shoulders. They stare each other down as we fade out. This show was just rough from start to finish. The matches were all weak, the crowd was flat and Sarge bombed for the most part. Let’s hope they go home strong next week. See you in St. Louis!

Final Grade: D+

MVP: Chris Jericho
Runner Up: Shawn Michaels & Triple H
Non MVP: The Booking
Runner Up: Sgt. Slaughter

Monday Night Raw 8/3/09

Mohegan Sun Arena

Uncasville, CT

Announcers: Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler

- We open up this week’s show inside the Mohegan Sun Arena where Lillian Garcia brings out this week’s guest host…Ari F’N Gold! Jeremy Piven drives out into the aisle and looks to be very fired up right out of the gate. He starts to head to the ring, but realizes he forgot something and runs back to the car. He pops the trunk and Dr. Ken Jeong pops out, dressed like a pimp. He tosses money to the crowd and the two hit the ring. Jeong is rocking some bad ass pimp clothes, including a half shirt. They scream a bit and Piven fires up the crowd. Dr. Ken drops some knowledge on us and pimps Piven’s resume. Piven returns the favor and introduces us to Dr. Ken. Piven has always wanted to do this, but there is something else he always wanted to do. He runs onto the ramp and some pyro fires off for him. He hits the ring and Piven says it will be like July 4^th all night long. He runs down the Triple H/Legacy handicap match…but is quickly interrupted by the Miz. I saw someone driving in front of me today and their license plate was simply “Miz”. I thought that was badass. Miz wants to know if Piven is having fun making a mockery of Raw. Piven and Ken say they are having fun. Miz says he is an acclaimed TV star too. Piven and Ken laugh that one off and sneak in a movie plug. He makes fun of the Real World and says that every fan here has the goods but Miz does not. Ken keeps speaking gibberish as Miz tries to talk and Miz finally tells him to shut up. He calls Ken “Lloyd” and Piven tells Miz to go easy on the Entourage stuff. Piven puts a pacifier in Ken’s mouth. Miz wants Cena, not Piven, and he is ordering him to make it happen. Before Piven can even answer, Cena makes his way out to a huge pop. Cena hits the ring and Piven and Ken flank him. Cena thanks Ken for the prescription to clear up his rash. Cena says the WWE Universe has seen this and they know Miz isn’t very good and is quite pathetic. We get some more movie plugs as Cena trashes Miz some more. Cena wants Piven to make things interesting. Piven makes the match official…Cena vs. Miz in a Lumberjack match. This way Miz can’t run or hide. If Miz loses, he is banned from Summerslam in Los Angeles. Well, Piven said Summerfest, but I will forgive him because he laughed it off to cover. He goes even further and says if Miz loses…he is banned from the Staples Center altogether. Apparently Piven runs LA. I can dig it. Piven adds even more to it…if Miz loses tonight…he is permanently banned from Raw for all of eternity. Well, those are some lofty stipulations. Ken, Cena and Piven sing the “Goodbye Song” as Miz angrily takes off and we head to break. Outside of the Summerfest flub and Ken being annoying, that was a good opening segment. I am really digging these Guest Host spots. I hope they let it run for a while.

- The Boost Mobile Rewind takes us back to last week when Evan Bourne stole a win on Jack Swagger. We then head back inside the arena for our opening match.

1) Evan Bourne vs. Jack Swagger

Bourne makes his way out as Cole and King put over his big win from last week. He will get a chance to prove that last week wasn’t a fluke as Swagger heads out. Bourne ducks, dodges and strikes to start, but Swagger grounds him to take control. Bourne recovers but eats knees on a nice standing moonsault. Bourne gets a near fall but Swagger kills him with an Oklahoma Stampede. Cole doesn’t even reference it. If JR were here, he would have been flipping out. Swagger crushes him with the Gutwrench Powerbomb and picks up the easy win. Well, I don’t quite get that as they basically squashed Bourne. I guess they wanted to Swagger’s heat back. Swagger d. Bourne with a Gutwrench Powerbomb; Grade: 1

- Swagger hits a pair of suped up running Vader Bombs and is looking for more until MVP makes the save. Swagger heads off as we go to break.

- We are back and checking out the inside of the casino before taking a look at some of the press WWE and Shaq got for last week’s guest spot, including a recap of Shaq’s antics from throughout the night. Back live, Cole and King talk a bit more about Shaq and then implore us to vote on WWE.com. The question is who would win a match between Big Show and Shaq. Backstage, Piven is chatting up the Divas. Ken comes in and freaks out and Piven calms him down a bit and tells him to change is persona up a bit. He gives him an Asian gimmick and some racist overtones and then slickly puts him in a match with Show. Ken rags on Show a bunch until Show pops up behind him. Show wants Shaq back here tonight so he can get even for last week. Piven busts on Show’s weight and then pumps him up a bit and says they want to take him to the top. He thankfully shoves the pacifier in Ken’s mouth again. Show wants a match with Piven, but Piven gives him a US title match with Kofi Kingston instead. Show likes it and heads off and Ken starts ripping on him again. They head off and we head back to the ring.

2) Mickie James & Gail Kim vs. Beth Phoenix & Jillian Hall

Mickie and Gail hit the ring as we hit a quick break. After a quick The Goods preview, we head back to the ring for our Diva tag match. Jillian and Beth make their way out and we can now officially put those pregnancy rumors to bed. Mickie and Beth kick things off and I think we are really starting to see the Women’s division get into good shape here. After an opening flurry by Mickie, Beth overpowers her and beats her down. Jillian comes in and works Mickie over a bit. Mickie is able to fight her off and tag in Gail. The crowd has flattened out here. Gail hits a sweet missile dropkick and then knocks Beth to the floor. I like the pigtails on Gail. Beth tags herself in after Jillian misses a handspring elbow. She drills Gail from behind and drops her with the Glamazon Bomb for the win. Gail looked good in there but it looks like Beth is back in line for the next title shot. Beth & Jillian d. Gail & Mickie when Beth pins Gail with the Glamazon Bomb; Grade: 1

- We get some highlights of Triple H losing his Beat the Clock match with Cody Rhodes last week. Hunter looks for revenge later tonight. But…he is walking right now because the handicap match is next!

3) Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase vs. Triple H in a Handicap Match

The beginning of this new Rhodes & DiBiase song sounds like the opening riff of the old Radicalz song. Anyway, we are back from break and 2/3 of Legacy heads to the ring for our next contest. The Game is out next and the Mohegan Sun faithful are excited to see him. Hunter gets in his whole entrance and posing and all that before we finally get underway. Rhodes starts things off but Hunter controls him to start. DiBiase tags in and he has some better luck, but it is short lived. Rhodes comes in to help, but Hunter fights them both off and dumps them to the floor as we take a break. When we return, Cody has a neck vise on Hunter as Legacy took advantage during the break. Legacy works a nice bling tag but mis-time the double team a bit. I almost forgot how fun DiBiase & Rhodes are to watch when they work the heel tag style since we don’t get to see them in regular tag matches much anymore. Legacy quick tags and wear Hunter down, picking up some near falls. They work such a crisp heel tag offense and it builds nice heat. I love the old school stuff. Cole and Lawler keep talking about how much Rhodes and DiBiase are starting to look like Orton in the ring. Hunter fires back but Cody drops him with a quick DDT for two. Rhodes misses a beautiful moonsault and both men are down for a eight count. Hunter pops up and knocks Ted to the floor. He follows him out and runs him into the barricade to take him out. Hunter heads back and assaults Cody with the usual. Hunter is all fired up and attempts the Pedigree, but Ted comes back in and drops Hunter with Dream Street. Rhodes gets a near fall off that. He pulls Hunter up and drops him with the Crossrhodes for the…win? Wow! Rhodes and DiBiase actually take advantage of the numbers game and pick up a huge win. That was a solid match that was made by the finish. Rhodes & DiBiase d. Triple H when Rhodes beats Triple with the Crossrhodes; Grade: 2

- Hunter has a mic and says that the match hurt and that this didn’t go as planned. He asks if Legacy is just that good because they beat him every way he turns. They may be too much for the Game. He used to be pretty good at gang warfare and wonders if he should start another group. Or maybe he will just bring one back? Maybe he should bring back Evolution…the crowd doesn’t like that one. Hunter says Randy is a jerk, Batista is always hurt and Flair is signing autographs at the VFW. So, maybe he should just make one phone call. And if we aren’t down with that…he has two words for us. The VFW line was funny. Hunter pulls himself up as we go to break.

- We are back as Piven, Ken and the Divas are watching a The Goods promo. Chavo Guerrero comes in and plays up that he is nervous to meet Piven, but confuses him with Joe Rogan and then Jon Favreau. Piven recaps Chavo’s recent issues with Hornswoggle. Piven gives him a one-on-one match and then he and Chavo hug it out. Chavo confuses Ken with the dude from Heroes before scurrying off. Piven tells Ken he has a plan for Chavo as we head back to the ring.

4) Carlito vs. Primo

Carlito is in the ring as Cole takes us back to last month when the Colons lost a tag team title match to Jericho & Edge. The brothers will throw down here tonight, though. Primo heads out and he is all business. Primo uses his aerial wiles to keep Carlito off balance to start. Carlito catches him with a boot but Primo comes back with a nice flying clothesline. Primo hits a suicide dive as King tells us Primo asked for this match. If you haven’t seen last week’s Superstars, head over to Hulu and check out Primo’s match with Randy Orton. Carlito turns the tables with a hanging STO. King talks about Carlos Colon watching at home as Carlito gets a near fall. Primo comes back with his high flying attack but the crowd is just ice cold here. Carlito avoids a charge and sets up the Backstabber, but Primo rolls through and gets a near fall. Carlito recovers and nails the Backstabber on a second attempt and scores the win. Carlito is so much better as a heel and he has a hell of a look going right now. Carlito d. Primo with the Backstabber; Grade: 1.5

- Carlito stands tall as we head to commercial.

5) Chavo Guerrero vs. Mark Henry

We are back and Chavo is going to give it another go here tonight. Piven and Ken show up on the Tron and Piven tells Chavo that Horny is out with Adult Chicken Pox. Instead, Horny’s cousin Markswoggle will be taking his place. And with that Mark Henry heads to the ring with one of Horny’s hats on. Oh, somebody is going to get their wings clipped for sure. Henry’s tights are bright red and are retina burning. Henry tosses Chavo around with ease before crushing him with the World’s Strongest Slam for the quick win. Henry got some love from the crowd there. Henry d. Guerrero with the World’s Strongest Slam; Grade: .5

- Outside the ring, Henry looks to the crowd, smiles, and pulls up the ring apron. Horny pops out and scampers around ringside. Henry puts him up into the ring and then hops in and drags Chavo across the ring. Horny heads up top and drops the Tadpole Splash. Henry is loving it and he and Horny celebrate as Chavo rolls to the floor. Henry is going to get over with this role and I hope they are ready for it. Kofi and Big Show tussle next…well, after this break.

- We are back and Piven is complimenting Ken on his robe. Randy Orton comes in and Piven names Orton the guest ring announcer for the main event. Orton shits on him, but Piven still gets in a movie plug. Orton smacks Ken and tells them he will kick them in the skull like he did to Vince McMahon. Orton walks off as Piven and Ken mumble to each other. Ken doesn’t think this is fun anymore but Piven says they will figure it all out.

6) Kofi Kingston vs. Big Show for the United States Championship

Back to the ring as it is time for our weekly Cup of Kofi. The US Champ hits the ring and I will be stuck with his song in my head for yet another week. Show heads out next and we find out that 83% of WWE fans think Shaq would win. Jericho joins Cole and Lawler and craps on the fan poll. Show puts down Kofi to start and works the ankle. Jericho gushes over his partner on commentary as Show just whips Kofi around. Jericho is pimp in that suit, putting over himself and Show. He really is the best in the business right now. Show keeps hammering on Kofi, cutting off any comeback attempts. Kofi tries to get back into it, but Show catches him and plants him hard on the mat. Show heads to the middle rope and drops down with a Vader Bomb but Kofi gets his foot on the rope to break up the pin. Jericho tells us that he and Show have won over 40 titles combined. He asks Lawler how many titles he has won and King says quite a few. Jericho tells him that Bowling Alley Championships don’t count. He name drops Charles Robinson but quickly corrects himself and says “the referee”. Kofi makes another comeback after some more Show mauling. Kofi lands the TIP and then heads up top. He hits a huge double legdrop off the top but Show kicks out with authority. Show greets him with a huge spear and then slugs away with some kidney punches. Show keeps pounding Kofi in the corner and the referee calls for the DQ because he won’t break. I liked the underdog story but the finish was weak. I love that moment when Kofi hit a big move but Show popped out. It is a classic “what else can I do” moment for Kofi and the fans. Kingston d. Show by disqualification; Grade: 1.5

- Jericho hops in the ring and they beat down Kofi while talking some smack. The beating continues as we go to break.

- We are back and Cole recaps the Handicap match from earlier. Backstage, Hunter is on the phone and makes a proposition to the other person to come back to work. Whoever he is talking to isn’t watching the show and didn’t see what happened earlier. The other person is busy but Hunter say he didn’t think he ever did jobs. He needs this person more than ever and needs to know if he is ready. There is no response as he the other person hung up while he was talking. Hunter seems downtrodden as we head back inside the arena. We get another The Goods clip before Lillian sets up our main event.

7) John Cena vs. Miz in a Lumberjack Match

Cena is out first as we take our final break of the night. We are back and Cole tells us that Sgt. Slaughter will be next week’s guest host! Commissioner Slaughter is back! Miz is in the ring but Piven and Ken are out before we start. Piven has a confession to make…he is really excited about this match and is a fan of Cena. But, he is a big fan of Randy Orton and that is why he has handpicked every single lumberjack himself. Dr. Ken heels it up and rags on the fans as he and Piven head to the ring. Piven would make a great heel manager as his heel turn bumped this whole thing up a notch for me. Orton comes out and he is joined by Legacy, Chavo, Swagger, Masters and Carlito. They surround the ring as the bell sounds. Miz hammers away to start but Cena turns things around. Cena clotheslines Miz to the floor where he is gingerly helped up and into the ring. Legacy distracts Cena and Miz knocks him to the floor. Masters locks in a Masterlock on Cena and he starts to fade. Masters wrenches it in until Cena passes out on the floor. They roll him back in and Miz gets a near fall but Cena gets the ropes. Miz lands a nice clothesline for another near fall. Ken is very animated at ringside as Miz works Cena over. Cena comes back with some shoulderblocks and the spinning slam. It is short lived as Cena ends up on the floor and Orton works him over. Ken hands Miz his pimp stick, but Cena ducks it and drops Miz with the AA for the win! Oh, come on now. Miz couldn’t win that one? It looks like he is gone from Raw after jobbing to Cena again. Cena d. Miz with the Attitude Adjustment; Grade: 1.5

- As Cena is distracted by Legacy, Piven ascends the top rope and dives off. Cena catches him in mid air and uses him to fight off the heels. Ken comes in and hits Cena with his cane, but Cena just stares at him. He tosses Piven aside as Ken starts freaking out and pretending he is friends with Cena. Ken drops to his knees and begs off Cena finally turns on Ken and press slams him down to the floor and into some of the lumberjacks. Ken smacked the shit out his head on the ramp. Cena stares down Legacy as we fade out. See you next week!

Final Grade: C

MVP: Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes
Runner Up: Jeremy Piven
Non MVP: Miz
Runner Up: Dr. Ken

Monday Night Raw 9/28/09
Times Union Center
Albany, NY

Announcers: Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler

- We open this week’s show with our animation and then head inside the Times Union Center where we are live and in high definition. Michael Cole welcomes us to Raw as we are just six days away from the Hell in a Cell PPV. We then head to the ring where new announcer Justin Roberts sends us to the VIP Lounge. Mark Henry is chilling on the couch as MVP welcomes us to his show. He is about to bring out tonight’s guest host, but he is interrupted by Big Show and Chris Jericho before he can do so. Show and Jericho will defend the belts against Batista and Rey Mysterio on Sunday. The champs hit the ring and Jericho grabs the mic. Jericho thinks the guest host deserves a much more reverent introduction. MVP and Jericho both go on to verbally blow Reverend Al Sharpton, trading compliments. They finally finish and MVP officially introduces the Reverend. He comes out to Living in America by James Brown and thus has already won me over. He needs Apollo Creed dancing with him though. Al enjoyed the introduction but the crowd is already booing him. He acknowledges it and then starts discussing his education reform tour. The crowd is all over him here. He and MVP talk more about the project before MVP turns the attention to tonight’s show. MVP wants some reform regarding the tag team championships and asks for title match here tonight. Jericho interrupts and rips on the fans before telling Al that they are already competing in a gauntlet match tonight. Plus, MVP & Henry have already blown their championship shot and don’t deserve a second chance. He says that the fans don’t deserve to be educated or have the right to vote because they are already too far gone. They don’t deserve to be in the presence of the greatness of Jericho & Show either. Sharpton says that everyone deserves an opportunity. So, he wants to empower the people by asking if they want to see a championship match here tonight. The fans like Al now. He makes it official: tag team title match is up next! Cue up James Brown! MVP and Henry are all smiles as we hit a break.

1) Chris Jericho & Big Show vs. MVP & Mark Henry for the Unified Tag Team Championship

When we return, Jericho has MVP clamped in a side headlock. MVP works free and clubs Jericho down. He hammers away but Jericho catches him with a Northern Lights suplex for two. MVP gets a backslide and a two count. He clotheslines Jericho down and tags in Henry. Henry plants Jericho with a right hand and then stands on his chest. Jericho is able to survive the assault and tag in Show. They lock up and Henry shoves him back. Show comes back with some big right hands the gut. He charges Henry in the corner, but Henry catches him to block the splash. He puts Show down and tags in MVP. MVP hammers on Show and then hits a facebreaker. He charges but Show meets him with a big clothesline. He starts burying the right hands to MVP’s gut and then tags in Jericho. Chris mares MVP over and ratchets in a chinlock. MVP elbows free and nails Jericho with a clothesline for two. Jericho fights MVP off and then chokes him on the middle rope. Jericho tags in Show who hooks a big side headlock. He takes him down and grinds on it as the crowd tries to rally MVP. Show releases the hold and tags in Jericho. Chris playfully kicks around MVP, but MVP fires back at him. Chris puts him down with an elbow but comes up empty on the Lionsault. MVP crawls over and tags in Henry. He drills Jericho with some clotheslines and a headbutt. Henry picks Jericho up and press slams him onto Show, who was standing on the floor. Jericho tries to recover as we head to break. When we come back, Henry is covering Jericho and gets a two count. Henry puts Jericho down with a body block but Show blind tags and comes in and crushes Henry with a spear. He drops some elbows and follows with a big splash for two. Show puts Henry back down with a headbutt. He follows with a stiff clothesline and gets two. Show lands a punch and then starts to work the arm. The crowd gets behind Henry as they are quite into the match here. Henry powers out but Show stops him cold with a pair of headbutts and a DDT. Show gets a near fall. He tags in Jericho who comes in and hooks a sleeper. Jericho lets go and works Henry over in the corner before tagging Show back in. He whips Henry into the ropes and both men wipe each other out with a double clothesline. Both men crawl over and tag their partners and MVP comes in all fired up. He hammers away and nails Jericho with a big boot for two. MVP plants Jericho and drops the Ballin elbow for two. He sets up the Playmaker, but Show breaks it up. Henry charges in and takes out Show with a shoulderbreaker. Jericho knocks Henry to the floor and MVP sneaks up and rolls him up for a close near fall. MVP hits a DDT and gets two again. Show reaches up and nails MVP and he falls back into a Codebreaker. Jericho covers and that is that. That was a great long opener and they had the crowd hooked all the way through. Jericho & Show d. MVP & Henry when Jericho pins MVP with the Codebreaker; Grade: 3.5

- Backstage, Primo is talking up the Reverend when Hornswoggle comes charging in and freaks out. Chavo comes in and tries to calm him down. He introduces himself to Al and brings in Chris Masters, who will be his tag team partner tonight. Now Santino comes in and talks some shit about their tag match tonight. He calls Chris and Chavo the Geico Cavemen. Santino confuses Al for Don King and Isaac Hayes before Al throws everyone out. He chats with Primo a bit more as we head back to ringside. Cole takes back to some clips of last week and we then head backstage again where Josh Matthews is with Randy Orton. Orton takes the usual digs and makes the usual threats with his usual great delivery. Elsewhere, Alicia Fox and Rosa Mendes are walking as we walk to break.

2) Mickie James vs. Rosa Mendes in a non title match

Mickie is out first and we get some clips of Alicia’s beatdown on her from last week. Rosa is out next, being led to the ring by Alicia. Rosa controls Mickie off the bell, but Mickie quickly turns the tables. Mickie snaps her down with a neckbreaker for two. Mickie gets caught with her head down and Rosa spikes her to the mat. She kicks Mickie and gets two. Rosa works Mickie’s back but Mickie catches her with a back elbow. She takes Rosa over with a headscissors and follows with some forearms. Alicia gets on the apron but Mickie pulls on her hair. She shoves Alicia down and then kicks Rosa in the head to get the win in a decent match. Mickie d. Rosa with a kick to the head; Grade: 1

- Mickie taunts Rosa a bit before we see Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase walking backstage and then head to break.

- We are back and the King is thanking Skillet for “Monster”, which is the PPV theme song. We see that the Cell is hanging above the ring here tonight. Now Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase are joining us for a chat. They hit the ring and grab mics. Ted says that nobody expects them to win on Sunday, but they should. Over the past few weeks, they have taken out DX and are primed for the greatest victory of their careers. He then directs us to the Tron for a brief video recap of these recent beatings. Back live, Cody says that all of the moments have one thing in common: nobody expected those things to happen. Michaels and Triple H are two of the greatest stars in the world and Raw has been their sandbox for over a decade. Triple H is a 13 time champion and a surefire Hall of Famer, but after Sunday he can go get his corner office and desk ready at the WWE offices where he can hang out with his family for the rest of his days. He puts over Michaels as well but says the legend will have a tragic conclusion when they leave him in a broken heap. Cody is interrupted mid sentence by the disembodied voice of Shawn Michaels who yells “boring”! The camera finds them up in a luxury box as Triple H rags on them as well. Ted fakes enjoyment at DX’s jokes but warns them not to be fooled and think Legacy is stupid. They know what DX is doing in trying to take the sting out of the beating they got. Hunter laughs that off and says they make fun of Legacy because they are assholes. Well, he says it in a PG way at the behest of Michaels, but that was the implication. Triple H talks about Incredible Hulk, confusing Bruce Banner with Bob Barker. Shawn correcting him is pretty funny. Hunter compares DX to the Hulk but Cody interrupts the convoluted theory. Shawn cuts Cody off and Hunter finishes, saying that DX likes when the monster comes out, unlike Bruce Banner. They decide not to wait until Sunday and head down through the crowd and to the ring. As they hit the ring, Legacy bails through the crowd. Shawn has the mic and isn’t shocked that Legacy bailed after all their tough talk. Hunter wants them to enjoy the distance between them, because when the Cell lowers on Sunday, there will be no running, hiding or joking. This Sunday, it will be pure hell for Legacy. DiBiase and Rhodes storm off as we go to break. That started as a really effective segment until DX came out and emasculated Legacy and forced them to scamper off. I guess the theory is that they look smart for avoiding confrontation, but it isn’t played that way at all.

3) Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne

We are back from break and Jack Swagger is out, stolen US title strapped to his waist. Bourne is out next and we are set for our next match. Swagger takes Bourne down off the bell and then plants him with a backbreaker. He starts to work the knee, locking in a nice submission hold. Bourne reaches the rope and bails to the floor. Bourne gets back in the ring and gets a roll up for two. He kicks Swagger down and follows with a charging clothesline for two. Swagger fights him off and goes for the gutwrench powerbomb but Bourne slips free. He heads up top and dives onto Swagger for two. He heads back up again but Swagger side steps his leap. Bourne lands on his feet, but Swagger is able to catch him and crush him with a powerbomb for the solid win. Swagger d. Bourne with a powerbomb; Grade: 1.5

- Swagger has the mic and guarantees that he will become US Champion on Sunday. Before he can finish, Miz interrupts and heads out to the ring. Miz says that he has made more of an impact on Raw than any other draft pick. He has turned more heads and garnered more attention than anyone and he will be the next US Champion. Miz gets in Swagger’s face, but Jack shoves him off. They brawl on the mat and while they do, Kofi sneaks in the ring and steals his belt back. The brawl continues until Miz sees Kofi and backs off. Jack realizes Kofi grabbed the belt and doesn’t look too happy. They stare each other down as we go to break.

- We are back and checking out WWE.com, which has a story up on Teddy Long, CM Punk and the Undertaker. It is now time for our next bout.

4) Santino Marella & Hornswoggle vs. Chavo Guerrero & Chris Masters

Santino and Hornswoggle are out first and Chavo and Masters are right behind them. Santino and Chavo start off with a little back and forth. Chavo lands a kick and then tags in Masters. Masters works Santino over a bit and then tags Chavo back in. Santino fights back and does some funky little chops on Chavo but Masters comes in and hooks the Masterlock for the win. Guerrero & Masters d. Hornswoggle & Marella when Masters beats Marella with the Masterlock; Grade: .5

- Masters grabs Horny after the bell and locks him in the Masterlock. Chavo comes in the ring and hammers Masters to break the hold. He bails and has a confused look on his face as he heads to the back. Backstage, Jericho, Show and Orton are talking as we head to break.

- We are back and Cole tells us that Ben Roethlisberger will be the guest host next week. He will also have his entire OL as backup. That is a pretty good job to get Ben in there during football season. In the ring, Cole and King run down the PPV card for us. King then sends us backstage to Sharpton. He is thanking us for tonight when Jillian Hall comes in. She wants Al to be her tour manager and sings Living in America for him. Al turns her down because he is on the education tour. Now he is interrupted by the Bella Twins who want to sing and dance with him. Al sings a bit of James Brown and dances as well as we head to break.

- We are back and Michael Cole tells us he will be in Boston for the Smackdown 10^th Anniversary episode this week. We then get a sneak peek of a scene from NBC’s Community. It will re-air on USA after Raw.

5) John Cena vs. Chris Jericho

Back to the ring, it is time for our main event gauntlet match. Cena is out first and gets a warm reception from the Albany fans. Jericho will be his first opponent. He powerwalks to the ring and we are good to go. Cole reminds us that Jericho has never defeated Cena one on one. Just call him Tommy Dreamer. Cena takes Jericho down to start and tries to get a quick pin. The crowd is behind Cena here tonight. Jericho puts him down with a clothesline and then follows with some elbows to the head. He chokes Cena on the ropes and plants him with a back elbow for two. Jericho hooks a rear chinlock as Cole says Jericho has to wrestle all three matches whether he wins or loses. Cena fights up and goes for the AA but Jericho rolls through and hammers away. He slingshots Cena throat first into the bottom rope. Back up, Jericho misses a charge in the corner and Cena nails him with a shoulderblock. The crowd is a bit more split now as Cena drops the Five Knuckle Shuffle. He hoists Jericho up but he slithers free and turns Cena into the Walls. Cena fights to the ropes but Jericho refuses to break and gladly takes the DQ to further damage Cena. He won’t break the hold as Cena is screaming in pain. Cena d. Jericho by disqualification; Grade: 1.5

6) John Cena vs. Big Show

Jericho still has Cena trapped in the Walls as Show heads down to the ring. Show steps in the ring and awaits the bell. Show clubs on Cena as we take our final break. When we return, Show is still pounding on him in the corner and working the back. Show hooks a bear hug and starts to wear Cena down. Show lets go of the hold and goes for the Chokeslam but Cena hits a desperation DDT. Show staggers back and Cena hoists him for the AA but Jericho comes in and nails him to draw another DQ. The champs beat on Cena, who was just crushed by Show when Jericho pushed them over. Cena d. Show by disqualification; Grade: 1

7) John Cena vs. Randy Orton

Show hooks Cena in the colossal clutch as Randy Orton makes his way to the ring. Cena fights to his feet as the Cell starts to lower. He takes Orton down and tries to hook the STF but Orton is squirming desperately. Orton is trying to escape before the Cell touches down but he can’t make it in time. Orton stares at Cena from the floor as the crowd is chanting for the champ. Cena notices that the door is open, as is Orton, who is on the opposite side of the ring. Orton slowly starts to walk towards the door and then makes a dash for it, but Cena beats him to it and blocks him. Orton attacks, but Cena fires back and knocks him through the door. Cena hoists Orton up onto his shoulders, but Orton slips off and climbs up the Cell. Cena follows behind him but Orton makes it up first. As Cena reaches the top, Orton looks off the edge. They both stand and stare down on top of the Cell. They start to slug away at each other but Cena is able to hoist Orton up and drop him with the AA. Now that was a cool looking spot. Cena and Orton wrestle to a no contest; Grade: 1.5

- Cena stands tall on top of the Cell as we fade out. This was a surprisingly solid go home show for HIAC. They kept the Sharpton segments to a minimum which was a nice change and focused on building to the PPV. There was also a lot of focus on in ring action with a really good opener. The final spot on top of the Cell was pretty neat looking as well and the crowd was pretty hot all night too. That is it from Albany. Enjoy the PPV and we will see you next week!

Final Grade: B-