WWE TV Reports 2/18 WWE Raw Live Coverage: Mayweather, Big Show, Triple H, John Cena, Randy Orton By Jason Powell Feb 18, 2008 - 08:00 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing WWE Raw on the USA Network Live from Anaheim, Calif. [Q1] Triple H’s music played and he walked to the ring wearing street clothes. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler introduced the show and noted that Hunter won the Elimination Chamber match. Hunter said last year at this time he had to sit back and watch WrestleMania form the sidelines. “After last night... I can tell you this, The Game is back, back where I belong, back at the Granddaddy of them all, WrestleMania.” Hunter predicted that he would become a 12-time World Champion. Randy Orton’s music interrupted Triple H. Orton walked to the ring wearing a t-shirt and his ring gear while the announcers ran him down for getting himself disqualified at No Way Out. Orton said he was happy to hear Hunter proclaim victory because that makes him just like everyone else he’s defeated. John Cena’s music played and he walked to the ring wearing a t-shirt and shorts. More boos than cheers for Cena from this crowd. Cena said Orton was the first champion “to lose his way into WrestleMania. Cena challenged Orton to a rematch for the WWE Title on Raw. Orton asked Hunter if he was going to let Cena get away with interrupting what they have going on. Hunter said he didn’t care who was champion because he would defeat whomever it is. William Regal walked onto the stage. He said Orton’s actions don’t reflect well on him or the Raw brand. Regal booked Orton vs. Cena in a non-title match with the stipulation that if Cena wins the title match at WrestleMania will be a three-way between him, Orton, and Hunter. When Triple H protested, Regal named him the special referee of the Orton vs. Cena main event... Powell’s POV: No surprises here. Am I alone in hoping that we don’t get a three-way for the WrestleMania main event? I don’t mind three-way matches, but I’d much rather see singles match in the main event of the biggest pay-per-view of the year. [Q2] [C] Ross narrated slow-motion footage of Floyd Mayweather punching Big Show at the No Way Out pay-per-view... Lawler hyped the upcoming Vince McMahon vs. Hornswoggle cage match... 1. Jeff Hardy defeated Snitsky at 10:27 in a Money in the Bank qualifying match. Hardy came out to a new theme song. Ross and Lawler pointed out the band Endeverandafter sitting in the front row and blamed them, er, noted that are responsible for the new theme. It sucks for entrance music. Hardy walked around gingerly before the match and sold his Elimination Chamber injuries. Snitsky took advantage of Jeff’s physical condition early. [C] Snitsky continued to dominate the action for a couple minutes after the break, but Hardy went for a Whisper in the Wind. It completely missed the mark, but Snitsky sold it. Later, Hardy hit the Twist of Fate and followed up with the Swanton for the win. Did I mention how much that new song sucks? [C] Powell’s POV: The announcers hyped the Money in the Bank match during Hardy’s match and stressed that the winner can challenge for the WWE Title anytime. Let the speculation begin that Hardy will win the Money in the Bank match and cash in to make himself part of the WWE Title match at WrestleMania. If they aren’t going with a singles match, then I’d be fine with that call. Hardy winning the WWE Title at WrestleMania would be a huge surprise, but the downside is company wouldn’t be able to hype his title challenge in advance. [Q3] The mobile question this week is whether Maria should pose for Playboy... The announcers hyped the Mayweather footage again. A backstage camera showed Floyd and Rey Mysterio hanging out... [C] A video recapped the No Way Out pay-per-view and hyped the replay... Mike Adamle introduced Shawn Michaels for a special Hall of Fame announcement. Come on, make it his old AWA adversary “Playboy” Buddy Rose, who wrestled as The Executioner in the opening match of the first WrestleMania. OK, probably not. Michaels said he’s idolized this man for his entire career. “He’s the reason I got into this line of work,” Michaels said. “I don’t care what anybody says, he’s the best wrestler of all-time. More importantly, he’s my friend.” A Ric Flair video aired. Back in the ring, Michaels said, “Nobody deserves this more than that man.” He led the crowd in a “Woooooo!”... The announcers hyped the Raw main event... [Q4] [C] Ross and Lawler noted that the Top-10 moments in Slammy Awards history will air on WWE.com at 7:00 (EST)... 2. Paul Burchill (w/Katie Lea) pinned Super Crazy at 1:57. Before the match, a pre-taped promo aired with Burchill jealously talking about how guys look at his sister. She chalked it up to family genes. Ross uncomfortably asked Lawler if he could remember a brother and sister tandem. Lawler quickly pointed out Shane and Stephanie McMahon. Ross was silent for about 20 seconds. Hilarious. The match was all Burchill, who picked up Crazy’s arms from behind and stomped his face into the mat for the win. Not much reaction from the live crowd this week... The steel cage lowered around the ring... A backstage shot aired of Shane McMahon talking with Big Show, who was wearing a bandage of his broken nose... [C] Backstage, Orton interrupted Triple H while he was talking on the phone in his locker room. Orton tried to talk Hunter into calling the match “the right way.” Hunter asked if Randy was trying to play mind games. “Who taught you how to play those games, Randy?” Triple H replied. He added that if he favors anyone it will be himself... Ross and Lawler recapped the Mayweather and Big Show angle from No Way Out... [Q5] Big Show walked to the ring for a promo. “I was asked tonight to come to the ring and apologize for my actions at last night’s No Way Out pay-per-view,” Show said. He said he may have gotten a bit overzealous in his return, but he also thought Mayweather took it too far. Show called Mayweather to the ring. Mayweather walked out with his entourage and high-fived the fans at ringside. He entered the ring and said, “Anaheim, what’s up?” More boos than cheers. Floyd said he loves publicity. And when someone calls him out, he has to respond. “I’m the best fighter in the world!” The crowd booed. Show said he was just trying to get a little publicity. “I want to tell you man to man, face to face, I am sorry,” Show said. Show stood out his hand and the crowd booed. Mayweather reluctantly shook Show’s hand and backed out of the ring to meet his entourage at ringside and headed up the ramp. Show called him back. He said he said what he was supposed to say, but he had something to get off his chest. Show said the only way Mayweather was able to hurt him is because he was on his knees. “Why don’t you find out the truth, Floyd Mayweather? Why don’t you take me on one-on-one. The greatest fighter in the world against the largest athlete in the world. You want publicity? Come take on The Big Show.” Floyd’s entourage tried to calm him down, but Mayweather charged the ring. Once there, he stopped and his entourage got in the ring behind him. The crowd booed. Show stood in boxer’s pose. Mayweather approached him and said, “I accept.” Show laughed. Mayweather looked down and then cocked his fist. Show flinched. Mayweather pounded his own chest. Show smiled. Mayweather left the ring. “I can’t believe this,” Ross said on commentary... [C] Powell’s POV: What a difference a night makes. Or should I say what a difference a city makes? Is Anaheim a pro-Oscar De La Hoya crowd? Solid, but unspectacular followup to the hot pay-per-view. Mayweather needs to abandon the entourage if he’s going for cheers. Perhaps WWE expected the boos since they didn’t bother to send Rey Mysterio out with him. At ringside, Ross and Lawler questioned what type of match Big Show and Mayweather will have... The announcers introduced a Money in the Bank ladder match video... [Q6] 3. Mr. Kennedy beat Val Venis at 2:30 in a Money in the Bank qualifying match. Kennedy came out to new entrance music, but the announcers didn’t even acknowledge it. Slow match without much heat. Kennedy hit the Mic Check for the win. After the match, Kennedy pointed to the WrestleMania sign... The announcers hyped Orton vs. Cena. The cage lowered and the announcers hyped that the cage match was up next... [C] The Vince McMahon vs. Hornswoggle cage match never took place. Vince entered the cage. Finlay and Horny came out together and Finlay pleaded with Vince. “This is wrong,” he said. JBL appeared out of nowhere and slammed the cage door into his back. JBL entered the ring and handcuffed one of Finlay’s arms to one of the ropes. Vince removed his belt and struck Horny’s backside with it repeatedly. Vince left the ring. JBL rammed Horny’s head into the cage. Finlay protested. JBL kicked Horny and then gave him the fallaway slam into the cage while Finlay begged him to stop. [Q7] “That’s enough, John, that’s enough,” Vince said from ringside. Vince asked for help and insincerely said, “I’m sorry son.” Finlay screamed that Vince and JBL would pay for that they’ve done... [C] An ad noted that Ric Flair will appear on ECW tomorrow night... Powell’s POV: Finlay was really good here. He looked and sounded like he was desperate to escape the handcuffs and get his hands on Vince and JBL. A somber Ross said the highlights would speak for themselves prior to a video recap of the previous angle. New footage filmed during the break showed Finlay carrying Honry to the back. The announcers used their “tragedy voices” to express their concern for Horny. Oh boy... 94 percent of text voters believe Maria will pose for Playboy.... Santino Marella and Maria came out. Santino held up a contract and enthusiastically announced that Maria would pose for Playboy. Santino then informed her that she should be competing against Beth Phoenix. He then informed her that the small print in the contract stated that she could only pose for Playboy if she beat Beth Phoenix... 4. Maria (w/Santino Marella) defeated Beth Phoenix at 1:57. In the end, Candice Michelle walked to ringside and distracted the Glamazon. Maria rolled up Beth for the win. Afterward, Santino pretended to be to be excited for Maria. Funny... The No Way Out encore ad aired... [C] [Q8] 5. John Cena pinned Randy Orton at 14:04 in a match with Triple H as the special referee. At 1:30, Orton bumped Cena off the ring apron and he crashed into the announcers’ table at ringside. [C] Both men scored nearfalls after the break and Triple H counted both at the same pace. The first nine minutes of the match were very slow with Orton dominating the bulk of the offense. [Overrun] Cena picked up the pace of the match when he started his comeback. There was the usual mix of cheers and boos for his offense. At 12:30, Orton went for the RKO, but Cena pushed him off and hooked him in the STFU shortly thereafter. Orton grabbed the ropes to break the hold. Cena didn’t seem happy about Hunter telling him to break the hold. They had a brief staredown. Orton charged at Cena, who looked away from Hunter and hit the FU for the win. Cena stood up to celebrate and was greeted with a kick in the gut from Hunter, who followed up with the Pedigree. Hunter retrieved the belt, stared at Orton, and dropped it on the mat beside him as he struggled to get to his feet. Hunter grabbed Orton and Pedigree’d him. He picked up the belt and mugged for the crowd while Ross hyped Orton vs. Hunter vs. Cena as the WrestleMania main event to close the show... Powell’s POV: Two entrance music changes tonight, but Orton still has that lousy song he’s been stuck with for what feels like an eternity. This was not one of Cena and Orton’s better matches. The live crowd seemed to be just waiting for the finishing sequence because everything that led up to it was so slow. Overall, this was not a strong followup to the hot No Way Out pay-per-view. Check back Tuesday morning for the Raw Hitlist. 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