8/24 Powell's WWE Raw Live Coverage: Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. hosts the first show after SummerSlam just hours after police investigated his car and home following a shooting

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Las Vegas, Nev.

[Q1] The show opened with video footage of "the fan" who attacked referee Scott Armstrong during the Randy Orton vs. John Cena match at SummerSlam...

In the building, Orton cut a promo while Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase stood by. Orton said the fan wasn't actually a fan. Ted said it was actually his younger brother Brett DiBiase, who walked into the picture. Ted said his brother was overzealous. Randy said Brett's actions were inexcusable and would not be tolerated again.

Orton assured viewers that Brett would not interfere in any future matches. Brett apologized. Cody chimed in and said Randy would have won the match regardless. Randy said he is and will remain the WWE Champion...

Powell's POV: An interesting way of revealing that Brett was the mystery man. I assumed they would reveal it, but I figured they'd have Cena uncover it somehow. My guess is that Cena comes up with some way of proving that Orton put Brett up to interfering in the match...

Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler introduced the show. Lawler ran through Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s boxing credentials and hyped that he was hosting the show...

Lilian Garcia introduced Vince McMahon, who came to the ring to a big reaction. He said Mayweather is one of the greatest fighters of all time. Floyd's name received more boos than cheers. Vince addressed the WWE Title match and said the referee's decision is final, and therefore Orton is still champion.

Vince announced that Cena would get his rematch. The fans cheered because they thought it would be taking place during this show. Vince said it would take place at the Breaking Point pay-per-view. He told them to calm down because they never knew what might happen on this show. Vince hyped that Orton vs. Cena will be an "I Quit" match at the pay-per-view. He also said that Orton will be stripped of the title if anyone interferes on his behalf during the match.

Vince tried to say goodnight and bow out, but the DX entrance music played. Triple H and Shawn Michaels headed to the ring to a big ovation. Hunter said people were probably expecting them to role out on a big tank again, but he cited the economy as the reason they did not. Funny.

Hunter said he doesn't like good guy Vince McMahon. He said it's like Michael Vick appearing at a PETA convention. Hunter said there must be a reason Vince is in such a good mood. Vince said he thought he knew where this was going. HBK cut him off and said that it's August 24. "I think somebody's got a birthday," Shawn said.

Hunter asked if it was Dave Chapelle. Shawn told him to think a lot whiter and crazier. Hunter asked if it was Marlee Matlin. Shawn said he should think a lot older and a lot more incoherent. Hunter thought and said, "That's it, it's Vincent Kennedy McMahon's 84th birthday!"

The fans chanted "84." Funny. Hunter corrected himself and said it was Vince's 74th birthday. Hunter corrected himself again and said Vince is 70. Vince got pissed and said, "I'm 64!" Shawn laughed and pointed out that Vince said how old he is. Hunter said he was surprised Vince admitted that.

Hunter said Vince doesn't have many birthdays left, especially in Vegas. Shawn put his arm around Vince and said that it's okay if Vince doesn't want to have a happy birthday. He said they've had a lot of differences over the years. He said Vince is a pioneer. Hunter said he was a pioneer with wagons back in the day. Shawn said he's a genius and the reason we watch WWE television.

Shawn introduced a video that featured picturs and video footage of Vince from personal and WWE footage set to Kenny Rogers's "Through the Years." The nice video stoppe and broke into Vince singing "Stand Back." Funny. There were a long series of Vince's most embarrassing moments, many involving DX.

Back live, Vince said he wouldn't forget about it. "Actually, at your age, I'm pretty sure you will forget about it," Hunter quipped. Hunter said Vince wouldn't forget "this." He pointed to the stage. He said it again when nothing happened. Finally, four production hands wheeled out a big birthday cake.

[Q2] Hunter and Shawn started to sing to Vince, but Hunter stopped and said something wasn't quite right. Hunter said they were in Vegas. Hunter said that even if Vince sent out a memo that said you can't celebrate his birthday on live television, they'll do it anyway. Shawn said he was roped into it. Shawn said you couldn't have a birthday in Vegas without showgirls.

Six handful of showgirls came to the ring and kissed Vince on the cheek. "How long is this going to go on?" Vince asked. Hunter said just another minute. He called for Cirque du Soleil. A couple of performers came out and did some bouncing bit, which Hunter mocked. "Are we done?" Vince asked again.

Shawn said you couldn't have a birthday in Vegas without The King of Rock-n-Roll. Out came an Elvis impersonator. Vince smiled. He said the impersonator was the skinniest impersonator he's every seen. The impersonator put his shades on Vince and asked him to swivel his hips. He led the fans in singing happy birthday. The fans clapped afterward.

Vince wanted to get out of the ring, but Hunter and Shawn told him to check out his cake because it wasn't a typical cake. Vince walked toward the cake and out popped Big Dick Johnson, who entered the ring and danced. Vince grabbed him and threw him out of the ring.

"Enough of this birthday crap," Vince said. Hunter and Shawn took the mic back and asked the various performers to leave. Shawn stressed again that he had nothing to do with this. Vince kept looking at his watch. "This is your show, what do you care?" Hunter asked. He said he and Shawn pooled their money together and said he would love it. They moved him into position and looked up, but Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase ran out and attacked them.

Cody and Ted ended up leaving the ring and Orton came out to greet them on the stage. Hunter said that "since Floyd Mayweather isn't here yet" he was making a match. He said it would be Rhodes, DiBiase, and Orton vs. DX and Vince McMahon. DX said the match would be a no DQ match. "I've always wanted to do this part," Vince said. "And if you're not down with that, we've got two words for you..." The crowd filled in the rest as Vince put a DX hat on...

A Floyd Mayweather video aired...

Powell's POV: Damn, 26 minutes without a commercial. Fun stuff, though. Sure, we could get all stuffy and bitch about how there was no wrestling in that segment, but this is presumably something the masses couldn't turn away from. The main event could be fun, but I hope comedy doesn't undo the good they did last night with Cody and Ted.

[Q3] 1. The Miz pinned Santino Marella in 2:05. Santino got in some comedy with some cute chops, but then missed a big splash attempt. Miz came right back with the Skull Crushing Finale. Miz said he would beat Kofi Kingston and become the new United States Champion. Cole said Kofi would be in action later tonight...

A shot aired of Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, and Gail Kim wearing pink and black boxing gear and heading to the ring for a six-diva tag... [C]

Powell's POV: Okay, now I'm starting to wonder whether Floyd Mayweather Jr. is there. They didn't need to bring him out at the start of the show, but you'd think they would have had him book the boxing themed Divas match. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Did You Know? Over one million more viewers watched Raw than the preseason NFL game on ESPN last week...

2. Beth Phoenix, Alicia Fox, and Rosa Mendes defeated Gail Kim, Kelly Kelly, and Mickie James in a Money Mayweather Melee in 2:40. Cole said Mayweather would arrive at the building shortly. All the women were dressed in boxing themed attire and MMA-style gloves. Mickie threw a series of punches at Alicia and then hit a neckbreaker a couple minutes in. However, Alicia came back and hit a Fameasser on Mickie for the upset win... [C]

Powell's POV: Cole said a couple times during the match that Mayweather was scheduled to arrive in a matter of minutes. Surprising finish. They must be setting up a match between Mickie and Fox. I suppose it's possible Mickie is being punished for the lousy match she had with Gail last week.

[Q4] Backstage, Hunter and Shawn were checking out "The Rise and Fall of WCW" DVD and talking about Legacy. Suddenly, there was a bunch of noise in the background. They acknowledged the noise and jokingly yelled over it and then plugged their own merchandise.

Shawn said they needed to get Vince angry, which wouldn't be easy because he has such a good life.The noise stopped. Hunter asked why he was yelling. He spoke in a normal voice and said he came up with an idea that should be coming to fruition "right about now."

Inside Vince's office, Jillian Hall was singing "Happy Birthday" while dressed up like Marilyn Monroe. Vince yelled at her to get out. Lawler said she looked a lot like Monroe - the former U.S. President...

Powell's POV: How many lame jokes about dead U.S. Presidents does The King have?

Big Show and Chris Jericho came to the ring as highlights aired of Show and Mayweather's past. Show mentioned Mayweather. The fans booed. "Exactly," Show responded. He said it looked like Mayweather was hiding from him. He said that was the right thing to do because he would hurt him if he saw him.

Show said he wouldn't leave the ring until Mayweather arrived because no one could make him. "Nobody can make me either," Jericho said. A shot aired of Mayweather walking backstage with his posse... [C]

Powell's POV: Did they put off Mayweather's appearance to create some mystery regarding his status given the police incident earlier in the day? Either way, he's there now and this is the segment that anyone who saw WrestleMania 24 knew was coming. Should be fun.

After the break, Show and Jericho were still standing in the ring. Lilian introduced Mayweather as the special guest host of the show and labeled him the "Quarter-Billion Dollar Man." He walked out onto the stage dressed in white with a big posse behind him and a big wad of cash under his wrist watch. Mayweather slapped hands with some of the fans at ringside. His posse wore shirts that promoted his Sept. 19 pay-per-view boxing match.

Lawler said Floyd is large and in charge. Sigh. Mayweather entered the ring and looked at Show and Jericho. "Monday Night Raw," he said. "That's right, the money day." Mayweather addressed Show by saying, "You know what I did to you last year at WrestleMania, and I would do it again tonight, but I have a September 19 pay-per-view bout that's more important."

[Q5] Jericho got in Mayweather's face. Mayweather lifted his own shades and stared back at Jericho, who said he disagrees with the label of Mayweather being the greatest fighter in the world. Jericho said he's a great self-promoter, but he doesn't think he's a very good boxer.

Jericho referred to Mayweather as "Little Man" and predicted that Mayweather's opponent would knock him out on Sept. 19. Show said that after Juan Manuel Marquez cleans Mayweather's clock, he and Jericho will finish what's left. MVP's music played and he walked onto the stage.

MVP said he doesn't appreciate Jericho and Show talking to his boy that way. He said he's made a lot of money on Mayweather over the years. MVP called Jericho "Christina" and said Show has no friends. Jericho took offense, but MVP told him to shut up. He said every week Jericho comes out and runs his mouth even though no one wants to hear it. "Shut up!" MVP said.

MVP pointed out that the only reason Jericho is on Raw is because he holds one of the tag titles. He said that if someone beat Jericho and Show for the titles, Jericho would have to go back to Smackdown and no one on Raw would have to listen to him anymore. MVP turned his attention to Floyd. He said if he found a partner, he'd like a chance to beat JeriShow to earn a title match at the pay-per-view.

Mayweather said he liked the idea and said they could have the match tonight. He asked if MVP had someone in mind. "As a matter of fact, I do," MVP said. Mark Henry's music played and he came out to join MVP... [C]

Powell's POV: Interesting to see MVP and Mayweather together in this segment. The idea of the two of them teaming together at WrestleMania 24 was pitched at one time. It's hard to say whether it's a title match tonight or not. Mayweather seemed to indicate it would be, but guest hosts have been known to botch a few lines. Hell, the ring announcer on Raw has been botching lines and stipulation explanations lately.

An ad for ECW questioned whether Christian survived his ECW Title match...

3. MVP and Mark Henry defeated Chris Jericho and Big Show in 14:30 to earn a tag title match at Breaking Point. Mayweather and his posse were at ringside for the match. Cole clarified that M&M must win the match to earn a title shot at the Breaking Point pay-per-view. Show and Jericho worked over MVP early on. "You next, Jericho," Mayweather yelled from ringside.

Cole clarified that Big Show would still be part of the Raw roster if he and Jericho lose the tag titles. The heels continued to work over MVP until they cut to commercial around 7:30.

Powell's POV: This match is dragging. Maybe Hunter and Shawn didn't kill enough time at the top of the show. Yes, that was a weak attempt at humor.

[Q6] [C] The pace picked up after the break with MVP scoring a nice near fall on Jericho. However, Jericho quickly regained control and then smirked at the live crowd. Jericho went for the Lionsault and missed. MVP made the tag to Henry. Jericho went for a Codebreaker on Henry, but Henry caught him. Mark went for his finisher, but Jericho slipped out and turned it into a DDT for a really good near fall.

MVP tagged back into the match and hit the Ballin' elbow drop on Jericho for another near fall. Mayweather continued to cheer the babyfaces from ringside. Henry came in and knocked Show off the ring apron. While the ref was scolding Henry, Mayweather stood up and handed MVP a pair of brass knuckles. MVP stood up and hit Jericho with the brass knuckles and then tossed them back to Mayweather.

After the match, Mayweather climbed inside the ring and posed with MVP and Mark Henry. Show carried Jericho to the back...

Powell's POV: The match was a lot of fun after the commercial break. Am I the only person excited to see the brass knuckles return? Here's hoping the dreaded foreign object is next.

Backstage, Ted, Cody, and Brett were talking when Randy Orton entered the room. Orton asked Brett to excuse them. Brett walked away. Randy said he could shut down the old man on his birthday, and Cody and Ted could redeem themselves. Orton said Vince wouldn't come back if he punted him in the head. He said the "I Quit" match would be the last match that Vince ever made... [C]

Highlights aired of last week's Hornswoggle and Chavo Guerrero skit... In the ring, Lilian Garica announced that the following match was ordered by Mayweather. It looked like it was going to be a normal boxing match between Horswoggle and Chavo, but the referee stopped at the last second and ordered Chavo to put on a pair of oversized gloves, which drew some laughs from the live crowd...

[Q7] 4. Hornswoggle beat Chavo Guerrero by DQ in a boxing match in 1:06. Hornswoggle was controlling the action when Chavo took off his gloves and bodyslammed him for the DQ. Chavo climbed up top for a Frogsplash, but Evan Bourne ran out, fought Chavo, and hit the Shooting Star Press. "Get your cameras out," Lawler yelled right before he hit the move. Nice call... [C]

Powell's POV: That was the basic finish of the WrestleMania 2 match between Mr. T and Roddy Piper. Only it was Lou Duva who hit the Shooting Star Press. Okay, so I made up the Duva part. Gotta love the way the live crowd stood up and anticipated Bourne's Shooting Star Press.

At ringside, Cole and Lawler spoke about SummerSlam weekend... A video aired featuring several WWE performers and various celebrities, including Verne Troyer, at a charity function...

Powell's POV: Sure, there were other celebrities there, but Mini-Me dwarfs them all. Get it? Wow, it's been a long day.

Backstage, Vince was boxing while Floyd Mayweather held the punch pads. Vince asked who would win in a match between him and Muhammad Ali. Mayweather said Vince would win because he has more money. Carlito entered the room and bitched that he didn't get a rematch against Kofi Kingston.

DX walked in behind Mayweather. Hunter said Floyd is doing a great job as host. Vince said they were busy. Hunter said he was just getting busy with Vince's daughter. Vince swung at the pad Mayweather held next to Carlito's head and ended up knocking out Carlito. "Now that was cool," Shawn said... [C]

Powell's POV: Cute skit. I'm sure Vince has been waiting to clock malcontent Carlito for a long time. Vince vs. Muhammad Ali? Puh-lease! By the way, I forgot to mention that an ad for Friday's Smackdown plugged Jeff Hardy challenging C.M. Punk in a steel cage match.

[Q8] DX came out first, followed by Vince McMahon for the main event. Legacy came out next. Triple H backdropped Shawn Michaels onto the heels at ringside before the opening bell...

5. DX and Vince McMahon defeated Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase in 13:50. They cut to commercial a little over a minute into the match as the heels regrouped at ringside. [C] After the break, Shawn checked into the match and worked over the heels. He got DiBiase down and then hit a top rope elbow drop. However, Cody recovered and bulldogged Shawn. Cool spot. The heels took turns working over HBK.

[Overrun] At 10:00, Orton locked in the dreaded chinlock of doom and brought down the hot crowd. They picked up again when Shawn fought out of the hold. He eventually made the hot tag to Hunter, who worked over Cody. He teased tagging Vince, but Cody stood up. Hunter hit the Pedigree on Cody and then tagged Vince into the match.

Vince immediately covered Cody, but Randy Orton ran in and broke up the pin. Orton set up Vince for the RKO, but Shawn cut him off. Orton left the ring and headed up the ramp, but John Cena's music played. Cena came out, punched Orton, and slid him back inside the ring. Cena followed and hit the Attitude Adjustment on Orton. Vince covered Orton and scored the 1-2-3. Afterward, Vince, Shawn, Hunter, and Cena raised their arms in mid-ring to close the show...

Powell's POV: The 64 year-old owner of the company just pinned the WWE Champion. Well, at least Vince never got in any real offense and it was all Cena. It fit the theme of the show, but I am really tired of watching Orton portrayed as a guy who has to cheat to win. I'll have much more to say about Raw in tonight's Dot Net Members' Audio, and in Tuesday's WWE Raw Hitlist. You can gain instant access to all the perks of membership by visiting the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.