By Rich Twilling

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Toledo, Ohio

[Q1] Highlights from Sunday's Over the Limit match between John Cena and Batista was shown. Cena retained his championship and was attacked by Sheamus as the PPV went off the air...

The opening video aired and Batista was not included in it. Fireworks lit up the stage. Michael Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler welcomed us to the show. Justin Roberts introduced Batista and with a sling on his left arm, Batista was aided to the ring by two referees...

Twill's Two Cents: Well, I didn't think we would see him tonight and he leads of the show. Go figure.

Batista gingerly had a seat in a wheel chair in the middle of the ring. He kicked the referees out and demanded his spotlight. "I said it. I said it. Last night Batista said two words I never thought would come out of my mouth. 'I quit.' I did it because my life was being threatened.

He said he was contemplating filing suit against John Cena, the WWE, and every fan in the WWE Universe for supporting for happened to him. Good luck with that Big Dave. He said he could have stooped to Cena's level, but he believed in honor. The crowd chanted "You suck!"

Twill's Two Cents: Maybe Batista, Michael Cole, and Drew McIntyre can get together and file a huge ass lawsuit.

Batista said due to the injuries sustained at the hands of John Cena, he would be out for weeks, months, or maybe years, but when he came back, he wanted a rematch from Cena. He said he deserved a rematch...

Twill's Two Cents: If Batista comes back in a few years, Cena will probably be WWE Champion at that time.

Roberts interrupted and said he was instructed to introduce the new general manager of Raw, Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Bret came out to the ring and said there was a new sheriff in town. Bret mentioned the Fatal Four Way pay-per-view next month.

He said Cena would defend the title against three challengers that would be determined in qualifying matches tonight. He said if Batista wanted Cena, he would get his chance by facing Randy Orton tonight in a qualifying match.

Batista said he was hurt. Hart said Orton was hurt too. Batista said if Bret forced him to wrestle, he would quit. He refused to wrestle. Therefore, Bret announced that Randy Orton won the match by forfeit...

1. Randy Orton defeated Batista by forfeit to qualify for the Fatal Four Way main event.

Bret's music hit and he went to the back. Batista went apeshit and finally screamed, "I quit!" He struggled his way to his wheelchair and bickered with the fans as he left. The crowd sang the Goodbye song to him.

[Q2] Roberts announced, "Let's hear it for Batista." He was met with a chorus of boos. Cole and King reiterated that Batista just quit WWE... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: Okay, so they gave him one last segment. I'm glad they went with Bret Hart because it was rumored Abraham Washington was going to get the gig. Bret doesn't have to appear every week and can give the show some additional star power when he does appear.

In case you just tuned in, footage was shown of "Moments Ago" with Batista quitting the company. King said he heard in his earpiece that Batista is being escorted out of the building. Cole said again that Bret Hart booked three qualifying matches and the next one was up now...

2. Sheamus defeated Mark Henry to qualify for the Fatal Four Way main event in 4:02. Henry threw Sheamus over the top and to the floor with one hand. Cole mentioned Henry's shoulder issues at the hands of Batista and Sheamus began to work on that shoulder.

Henry fought back but Sheamus hit a single arm DDT. He then locked in an arm breaker. Henry turned the tides and scored a nearfall with a splash. Henry picked up Sheamus for a gorilla press slam but his shoulder gave way. Sheamus hit a bicycle kick for the win...

Twill's Two Cents: Solid match that showed Sheamus can work with someone bigger like Henry. He was impressive in focusing on the injured body part and really neutralized Henry's strength advantage.

A graphic showing Cena, Orton, and Sheamus was shown on the screen, with a question mark for the fourth man in the match...

Cole announced Bret Hart relinquished the United States Championship and booked a match between The Miz and R-Truth for the title tonight... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: Well, that's not exactly making it a meaningful thing to win the belt like a tournament would have. It is what it is I guess.

[Q3] Did you know? Raw was the number entertainment show on cable TV last week...

Jon Lovitz was hyped as the guest host and will be hosting a Superstar Search tonight. We will see the hidden talents of the WWE Raw wrestlers tonight...

Lovitz was backstage talking to Vince McMahon on the phone. He asked Vince to pay him in stock or just give him 10% of the company. He said if Vince didn't, he would "flip him." Maryse entered and Lovitz asked if she was the masseuse.

He said he taught Santino Marella a new titty twister finishing move. They bickered for a moment and then Lovitz impressed her by saying some things to her in French. She said she might be interested in whatever he had to say to her. He said that he wasn't and took off...

Bret Hart was talking to Edge backstage. Edge offered to face John Cena tonight and if he beat him, he would earn the fourth spot in the Fatal Four Way match. Chris Jericho entered and said he wanted the spot.

Bret booked Cena vs. Edge vs. Jericho. If Edge or Jericho wins, they were in. If Cena wins, neither man gets in and Bret will find someone else. Edge said he was a better champion than Jericho or Bret put together. Jericho warned Bret that taking the job as the Raw general manager might be the worst decision he's ever made... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: I like Bret in this role. No heel BS. No stupid catchphrases, dancing, or sexual harassment. Just a straight shooter laying down the law of the land. Works for me. I wouldn't mind seeing both men get into the match, especially if Orton is not healthy enough to go.

3. Maryse and Alicia Fox defeated Eve Torres and Gail Kim in 2:03. Impressive early set of moves from Gail on Alicia. Maryse tagged in and gained the advantage for her team, but Eve tagged in and the tides were turned. Alicia kicked Eve in the face behind the referee's back. Maryse hit the French Kiss for the win...

Twill's Two Cents: Thanks for coming ladies. At least give them a few more minutes like they did at the PPV. It's hard to care when they give us a two minute tag team match.

[Q4] Footage was shown of Bret Hart winning the United States Championship last week, but he gave the belt up because he took over as the general manager. Miz and Truth were shown split screen walking backstage... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: William Regal was once the Raw general manager and booked himself in an Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania. It is good that Bret gave Miz a shot at the title. It shows he's not going to mess with anyone; he is just going to do his job.

A commercial for NXT aired and another elimination will take place tomorrow night...

4. R-Truth defeated The Miz to win the vacant United States Championship in 10:02. Does Truth rhyme 'simple' with 'pimple' in his entrance song? Am I hearing that correctly? Miz came out and said "What's up is that I am taking what never should have been taken from me." Truth scored a nearfall early and Miz slid out to the floor... [C]

On the floor, Miz worked on the right arm of Truth. Truth tried a somersault plancha during the break but landed on his head. Miz continued to slowly dominate the match. Miz set up Truth in the tree of woe and kick him several times.

[Q5] Miz went to second rope and Truth sat up and hit what amounted to a released German suplex. Truth scored a two count. He scored a few more nearfalls after high impact moves. He hit a high cross body from the top but Miz rolled through for a close nearfall.

Truth tried to hit the axe kick but Miz moved out of the way. Truth was able to recover and hit the Lie Detector (spinning flying forearm) for the win. Truth celebrated with the belt after the match...

Twill's Two Cents: Good television match. Entertaining performances from both men with several believable nearfalls. Truth immediately has DiBiase and Miz he could possibly work title programs with. They could add someone else and put this match on the next pay-per-view.

Highlights were shown of Bret Hart being named the general manager earlier in the show, much to the dismay of Batista...

Josh Mathews interviewed John Cena backstage. He said he felt good when Batista quit. He finally had closure. He said he was on cloud nine and then kicked in the face by someone whiter than cloud nine. Ha ha. Ugh.

He said the WWE Championship was something everyone wanted the chance to have once. If you win it, it is harder to keep it. He said he was sick of accepting challenges and from now on, he was making them. Everyone was on notice. He was done playing nice... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: There was not too much edge or bite to that promo, so I'm curious how he is "done playing nice." Hopefully it began last night when hit the Attitude Adjustment despite the fact he had already won the match. His character needs something; hopefully it has begun.

Did you know? WWE has won a bunch of awards for their service with the United States military...

Jon Lovitz and the Bella Twins (who else?) came out to the ring. The Bellas had to push Jon into the ring underneath the bottom rope. There were three chairs behind a table in the ring with a sign that said "Jon Lovitz's Superstar Search."

[Q6] Lovitz said Brie and Nikki were his new girlfriends. Does he think he is Jeremy Piven? He said he had more power than the announcers, referees, and even Vince McMahon. He brought out the first act, Great Khali and Runjin Singh singing "Putting on the Ritz."

Khali and Singh were in tuxedos with hats and canes. Khali missed his cues every time. Lovitz said the worst thing he has ever seen in show business is when he did "A League of Their Own" and walked in on Rosie O'Donnell naked...

Twill's Two Cents: There we go. That's a funny one liner.

Jillian Hall came out for the second act and Lovitz buzzed her before she could even open her mouth. Funny. Lovitz asked, "I take it you guys don't like her?" He then said he was wasting time trying to find hidden talents in the wrestlers. He decided to find someone in the audience.

The first contestant was a guy named Joe who said he can pull his eye out of his face. Lovitz said he would like to see him pull out something else but this was a PG show. Holy shit he did it. Son of a bitch. He just took his eye out.

Ted DiBiase and Virgil came out to the ring. Lovitz had no idea who they were. He said, "Oh look, he has a belt. He looks like a business man to me." Ted said he wanted the eyeball. Joe said he couldn't sell it. Ted said if he couldn't buy it, he would beat him up and take it. Virgil took out some cash.

Santino Marella came out to the ring. Santino said he was practicing the move Lovitz taught him. He threatened to do it to DiBiase. He knocked out Virgil and was unsuccessful with DiBiase. DiBiase hit Dream Street on Santino. Lovitz said he won the talent competition. Lovitz plugged his comedy club... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: I've seen some things in my lifetime, but never again do I need to see someone take their eyeball out. I didn't mind the segment because I am a Jon Lovitz fan and he is genuinely a good guy. I can't say I'm too excited about a DiBiase vs. Santino feud. Maybe Santino will be the fourth guy in the United States Championship match.

[Q7] 5. The Hart Dynasty (with Natalya) defeated William Regal and Vladimir Kozlov in a non-title match in 1:19. Regal tagged in and did not even take a move before Smith picked him up for the Hart Attack. Kidd hit the move for the win...

The Dynasty were immediately attacked by Jimmy and Jules Uso, along with Tamina from Florida Championship Wrestling. All three hit top rope splashes on their counterparts from the Hart Dynasty...

Twill's Two Cents: Well, that answers my question as to who will face The Hart Dynasty next for the belts.

The main event triple threat match was hyped... [C]

Josh Mathews interviewed the four remaining NXT rookies. Justin Gabriel and Wade Barrett said Heath Slater should be eliminated. Slater went with David Otunga. Otunga also said Slater and the two of them agreed to go out back and fight about it...

Jerry Lawler wanted to talk about Daniel Bryan's altercation with Michael Cole last week. Cole didn't, but Lawler ran the footage anyway. Cole said he has been trying to do his job but he has suffered physical and emotional trauma. He spoke with his lawyers and tomorrow night, he will demand an apology from Bryan or sue him for everything he owns...

Twill's Two Cents: Is that right Michael? So someone attacks you (and it wasn't unprovoked) and you are suing him for everything he owns? That would be comical right there because no judge in their right mind would ever grant Cole a penny. Why is everyone playing the lawyer card tonight? Man up bitches. By the way, nice hype for NXT.

Backstage, Edge was approached by Chris Jericho. Jericho said they were both going to go after Cena but he was going to pin him first. Edge told Jericho to be quick. He then said he may not pin Cena at all; he might just beat Jericho instead... [C]

[Q8] Cole and King hyped Ashton Kutcher as next week's guest host. Kutcher has to be the most "A-List" guest host they've had...

John Cena made his entrance for the main event. Edge and then Chris Jericho followed suit...

6. Edge defeated Chris Jericho and John Cena in a triple threat non-title match to become the final challenger for the main event at Fatal Four Way in 10:23. Both men attacked Cena early on but Cena got the best of them as the show went to commercial... [C]

Edge tried to pin Jericho but Jericho was able to backdrop him to the floor. Jericho then went to work on Cena. Cena briefly had Jericho up for the Attitude Adjustment, but Jericho hit a DDT for another nearfall.

Twill's Two Cents: By the way, WWE needs to do a better job of making their extreme matches mean more by having the participants sell the match for at least a week. Cena should not be wrestling tonight.

Edge hit a weak spear on Jericho with Jericho in the corner. Cena locked in the STF on Edge. Jericho then applied the Walls on Cena while he still had the STF applied to Edge. Edge wiggled out and Jericho released Cena to lock it in on Edge.

[Overrun] Cena picked up Jericho for the Attitude Adjustment but Edge recovered in time to hit a spear on Cena. With all three men down, Edge covered Cena but Cena kicked out. All three men got to their feet. Edge pushed Cena into Jericho, who hit a Codebreaker. Edge then speared Jericho for the win...

After the match, Sheamus' music hit and he walked out halfway down the stage. Edge was between Sheamus and Cena standing in the ring. Randy Orton's music hit and he came out to the stage. From the ring camera, Cena from behind, Edge, Sheamus, and Orton all stood looking at each other...

Twill's Two Cents: The crowd popped louder for Edge winning here than at anytime during his babyface run. Solid triple threat television main event between three of WWE's top guys. Jericho is unfortunately the odd man out here. Nice visual with all four guys at the end and with Orton appearing, perhaps he is going to be healthy enough to go.

What did you think of the show? Feel free to let me know by shooting an email to dotnetrich@gmail.com.

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