11/9 Powell's WWE Raw Live Coverage: Pro boxer Ricky Hatton hosts the show headlined by DX vs. Big Show and Chris Jericho, additional hype for Survivor Series

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Taped earlier on Monday in Sheffield, England.

[Q1] The show opened with a video package that recapped Chris Jericho beating John Cena and Big Show in a Triple Threat match, plus the post-match beatdown on DX... The opening video aired... Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler introduced the show and hyped Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry...

Powell's POV: It's the end of an era. They are retiring the current theme song and introducing the new Nickelback theme next week. I'm sure it's an emotional moment for all of you.

Ring announcer Justin Roberts introduced Ricky Hatton, who came to the ring with the usual celebrity whore The Bella Twins. Hatton received a big ovation from the live crowd. He said he accepted the invitation to host the show in a split second. Highlights aired of Hatton beating an opponent with a big knockout punch in a fight that took place in Sheffield.

Hatton said it was a beautiful people and he wanted to make some more memories tonight. Big Show and Chris Jericho's music interrupted the guest host. They headed to the ring dressed in suits. Jericho was taller than Hatton, so Show really dwarfed him. Show said he had an English breakfast that was bigger than Hatton.

Show asked Hatton to get out of their ring before they made a memory that Hatton would never forget. "Why do you have to be like that?" Hatton asked. He said he's a big fan of WWE and Big Show. He said he loved it when Show was knocked out at WrestleMania 24.

"Since you loved that moment so much, I'm going to give you the same shot I gave Floyd Mayweather," Show said. He said he would give Hatton one shot, and then he would knock him out afterward. Show stuck his chin out and waited for the punch. Hatton said he was up for the challenge, but needed a ladder.

Show got down on both knees. Hatton wound up and went in for the big punch, but Jericho stepped in at the last second. Jericho said he wasn't going to let Show get embarrassed by a "low life boxer again." Jericho said Show had enough problems worrying about John Cena and him in the Triple Threat match.

Show took offense to Jericho's comments. Jericho took credit for helping Smackdown win at Bragging Rights. He also took credit for winning last week. He said he would beat Taker on Smackdown, and would beat him again at Survivor Series. Show referred to Jericho as Napoleon.

Hatton interrupted the squabbling to remind Jericho and Show that he was the host of the show. He booked them in a match against Shawn Michaels and Triple H for later in the show. Jericho ripped on Hatton and compared him to the "hypocrite" fans. Hatton said they were in England and asked him to "speak our language." Funny. Hatton said Jericho is a man with a bad haircut and told him to get out of his face.

The heels surrounded Hatton, but DX's music played. Shawn Michaels and Triple H came to the ring to a huge pop. Hunter mocked Jericho and Show's past follies with boxers and celebrity guest hosts. Shawn said they could have their fight now. He took a swing at Jericho and knocked him out of the ring. Show teased fighting DX and Hatton, but bailed instead...

Powell's POV: Hatton isn't the most charismatic guest host, but the live crowd loved him. He also had a couple of witty lines. Overall, it was a good opening segment with some fun teases for Hatton fighting. Most importantly, they did a nice job of setting up the main event.

They announced the Survivor Series match of Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim, Eve Torres, and Melina vs. Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, Alicia Fox, and Layla...

Cole announced that Melina will defend the WWE Divas Championship against Alicia Fox at the MSG Raw next week...

[Q2] [C] 1. Alicia Fox (w/Jillian Hall) pinned Kelly Kelly (w/Gail Kim). There was a really awkward spot where Kelly hit the Rocker Dropper and went for a cover. She hooked a leg and appeared to pull Alicia out of the pin. Moments later, Alicia came back and got the win...

Powell's POV: I'm not sure which one of the women screwed up when Kelly hooked the leg, but it looked really bad for them to screw up such a basic thing.

A video hyped that WrestleMania 26 tickets are on sale...

Backstage, Ricky Hatton walked with his son and shook hands with a bunch of people backstage. They eventually encountered John Cena, who praised him for the job he did in the ring. He also asked why he left him out of the show. Hatton said he would have included him in the main event if he had a tag partner. Cena was all smiles as Hatton and his son walked away... [C]

[Q3] Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler recapped Sheamus's attack on Jamie Noble from last week. They said Noble had neck and shoulder injuries, and was contemplating retirement...

Powell's POV: Man up, Jamie! Seriously, I'm happy they're following up on it and putting the angle over.

Cole hyped the Team Morrison vs. Team Miz match for Survivor Series...

2. Sheamus defeated an English wrestler in 2:00. Sheamus said he was going to do like the Irish always do by plowing through the English wrestler and make him look like a fool. Sheamus squashed the opponent and finished him off with a crucifix slam... [C]

Powell's POV: I didn't care for the "somber voices" the announcers used while calling the match. It's one thing to use them while talking about Noble, but they could have done a much better job of putting over Sheamus's offense. Cool finisher.

The announcers plugged the Hatton Health and Fitness center...

Powell's POV: Based on his gut, I don't think Ricky has spent much time inside his gym.

Backstage, The Bella Twins pretended to care about what Hatton has been up to lately. Santino entered the room wearing a fat suit and boxing gear. He was "Ricky Fatton." Chavo Guerrero entered the room and accused them all of sucking up to the guest host. This somehow led to Hatton and Chavo throwing darts. Chavo threw a lousy shot. Hatton hit the center of the board. Chavo challenged Santino to a match. Hatton said he would face Chavo instead...

Powell's POV: The Bellas are so annoying in these backstage segments. They just come across totally insincere.

Backstage, Josh Matthews interviewed The Miz, who said he was the only Raw wrester who won at Bragging Rights. He said his team consists of the young stars of WWE.

[Q4] Jack Swagger interrupted Miz. He brought up his ongoing storyline of going undefeated for the rest of 2009. He told Miz to watch his match with Evan Bourne... [C]

Powell's POV: Swagger and Miz bickered and talked over one another. Miz has a purpose and comes across like a star, whereas Swagger just comes off like a one dimensional character with nothing special to talk about.

Cole hyped Hatton vs. Chavo in a boxer vs. wrestler match...

3. Evan Bourne defeated Jack Swagger in 3:40. Swagger was in control of the offense for the bulk of the match with Evan getting only a couple of hope spots. The Miz came to ringside. Swagger tried to pick up Bourne for a suplex, but Evan hit him with a couple of knees to break it up. Bourne followed up with a kick and a Shooting Star Press for the win.

Miz took the mic and said he's the captain at Survivor Series because he's The Miz and he's awesome...

Powell's POV: A fun match with a rare win for Bourne. They took all the attention off him right after the match by having Miz talking at ringside. In other words, this was more about Swagger losing than it was about Bourne winning.

A shot aired of MVP and Mark Henry walking backstage. Lawler hyped the VIP Lounge for after the break... [C] An ad for ECW hyped Christian vs. William Regal for the ECW Title...

A video package showcased Kyle Busch winning the race in Texas over the weekend and featured clips of him and Joey Logano on Raw... Cole hyped Team Kofi vs. Team Orton for Smackdown...

[Q5] MVP and Mark Henry were standing inside the ring with the VIP Lounge set. The crowd was silent until MVP went for the cheap heat by saying the name of the town they were in. Henry introduced Kofi Kingston as the captain of their Survivor Series team.

Kofi came out and that's when Cole delivered the usual line about Raw being the longest running weekly episodic television show. Blah, blah, blah. MVP and Henry put over Kofi's recent accomplishments by showing video clips. They were all about to drink champagne together, but Randy Orton's music interrupted them.

Orton, Ted DiBiase, and Cody Rhodes walked to ringside. Orton glared at the security guy who mans the ropes at ringside for the VIP Lounge segment. MVP gave the man the nod, so he let them inside the ropes. Orton did the bulk of the talking, but Cody and Ted also took a couple of shots at the babyfaces.

"The only place that you belong is in the hood that you came from," Orton told Kofi, Henry, and MVP. Kofi slapped Orton across the face. Orton fumed as Kofi glared at him... [C]

Powell's POV: The white guy just told the three black guys to go back to the hood where they came from? Cheap heat and hardly "PG programming."

[Q6] 4. Randy Orton (w/Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes) pinned Mark Henry (w/MVP, Kofi Kingston) in 4:55. The match was joined in progress after the break. Cole plugged MVP vs. DiBiase for Thursday's WWE Superstars. After nearly five minutes of throwaway action, Orton hit the RKO out of nowhere for the clean pin.

Kofi entered the ring after the match and Orton paid him back with a slap to the face. Kofi responded by punching Orton. Cody and Ted ushered an angry Orton backstage while Kofi stood in the ring and challenged him to come back...

Powell's POV: They're trying to drive home the message that Kofi is standing up for himself and won't back down. The fan with the "J.R. is overrated" sign is entitled to his opinion, but you have to wonder how quickly that sign would be confiscated if it said the same thing about Triple H or John Cena.

The announcers hyped the main event... A shot aired of Chavo shadowboxing in preparation for his match with Hatton... [C]

Cole and Lawler hyped that the Nickelback song will be the new Raw theme...

Powell's POV: This is great news for shitty music lovers everywhere!

5. Ricky Hatton beat Chavo Guerrero in 2:15. Hatton wore his boxing gear to the ring. He left his t-shirt on to cover his gut. Justin Roberts referred to this as a "boxer vs. wrestler mixed martial arts match" during the ring introductions. Ricky hit Chavo with a few punches to the gut early. Chavo took him down briefly. Chavo kicked Hatton and tried to take him down, but Hatton blasted him with a right hand for the knockout win...

Powell's POV: The live crowd enjoyed it, but this was completely forgettable. It's too bad they put him in there with Chavo. This may have been fun if the outcome wasn't so damn predictable.

[Q7] [C] A graphic touted that the WWE website had more page views than the MLB website during the baseball playoffs... The announcers ran through the Survivor Series pay-per-view lineup...

Backstage, John Cena told Hornswoggle to hide because DX were entering the room. Sure enough, DX came in. Cena denied Horny was in the room. They all clowned around about their Triple Threat match. Hunter said they get the fact that it's every man for himself, but only one man can leave with the title.

HBK quickly turned the attention back to the more important matter. You know, Hornswoggle, who reemerged wearing Cena gear. Horny did the "You Can't See Me" bit. Cena said DX couldn't see him at Survivor Series. HBK said maybe they could. After DX left the room, Hornswoggle took off his Cena gear to show that he was wearing DX gear underneath... [C]

Powell's POV: More terrible hype for the Triple Threat match at Survivor Series title match. I don't get it. I was intrigued by this match when they announced it. Sadly, the hype has been all comedy and no tension. I'm sure they'll scramble to do something next week, but it better be one hell of an angle because the comedy approach has made the match feel like a joke.

A video recapped the Osbournes hosting Raw last week...

Powell's POV: For the record, they've now spent more time hyping last week's Raw than they have the WWE Championship match for Survivor Series.

[Q8] The announcers revealed that Roddy Piper will be the host of next week's WWE Raw...

Powell's POV: It should be fun to see Hot Rod back at MSG. I'm looking forward to that one.

John Cena came out and joined the announcers on commentary for the main event...

Powell's POV: Both correspondents reported that Cena received tons of boos from the live crowd. It didn't sound that bad, but even Jerry Lawler mentioned that "everything seems different tonight" when Cena sat down. Cena responded, "I would say so." Did they do some post-production work? By the way, isn't it odd that the guest host doesn't like the heels, yet doesn't have them put their tag titles on the line?

6. Triple H and Shawn Michaels defeated Big Show and Chris Jericho in 11:50. Cena said there's no hard feelings between him, Hunter, or HBK. He said they all just want to be WWE Champion. [C]

Powell's POV: Listen closely? Do you hear that? Me neither. The silence you hear is millions of fans not ordering Survivor Series after listening to Cena's nice guy spiel on commentary. They better do something to get people talking about this match.

After the break, Cena said he wondered whether we'd see the real HBK at Survivor Series in that he would go through anyone to get the title. That's better. In the ring, Big Show and Jericho were taking turns working over HBK. Triple H took the tag and got the better of Show briefly, but Show came back with a spear.

The announcers joined Cena in questioning whether DX would implode at Survivor Series. Late in the match, HBK hit a top rope elbow on Jericho. "Vintage Shawn Michaels," yelled numb nuts Cole.

[Overrun] Moments later, Show splashed HBK and Jericho in the corner. He tried to knockout HBK with a punch, but HBK ducked and Show accidentally punched Jericho. Triple H took out Show while HBK pinned Jericho...

After the match, Cena stood on the announcers desk while Justin Roberts announced that next week's Raw main event will feature DX vs. JeriShow vs. Cena and his partner. Cena pointed at the stage. Undertaker's music played and he made his entrance onto the stage. The fans popped huge. Cena smirked while the other wrestlers flashed looks of concern to close the show...

Powell's POV: Cena and the announcers spent more time focussing on the story than the actual match that was taking place in the ring. I'm fine with that under the circumstances. The build for the Triple Threat match has been lousy. Cena's commentary was nothing special, but at least he was serious about the match, which is more than we can say for DX. Overall, another forgettable edition of Raw until Undertaker walked out. The live crowd went nuts for Taker, and it was a fun and unexpected (if you didn't read the spoilers) way to close the show.

Thanks for watching along with me tonight. I'll have much more to say in the members' exclusive audio recap later tonight, and in the WWE Raw Hitlist on Tuesday.