By Jason Powell

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WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Fresno, Calif.

[Q1] The show opened with the 2-21-11 graphic with a countdown clock that will expire just before the start of the second hour... The opening video aired... Michael Cole checked in on commentary briefly...

Powell's POV: Awesome teaser for the 2-21-11 graphic. Did anyone else noticed that if you subtract 17 from the number countdown clock started with, multiply it by four, and then divide it by 18 that the numbers have nothing to do with Sting or Chris Jericho?

John Cena's music played and he headed to the ring for a promo as Cole and Josh Mathews introduced the show from ringside. Cena received more boos than cheers and a "Rocky" chant broke out briefly. Cena looked surprised and said, "What a crowd." Cena paused to let the crowd do their thing.

Cena pointed out that he won the Elimination Chamber last night and will be going to WrestleMania 27 to face The Miz for the WWE Championship. He said that he hasn't been hearing about Miz or the Elimination Chamber. Rather, he's been hearing about "some alleged comments made by The Rock."

Cena said he doesn't know what to say about The Rock's comments. "I was going to let him slide," Cena said. "He's The Rock." Cena said they should look at the footage one more time and then figure out what to do. Footage aired from last week of The Rock ripping Cena.

Cena said he was surprised to see The Rock last week, but he thinks Rock was making fun of him. "I should probably say something about that, right?" Cena asked. He said he only knows one way to call someone out. He said he hasn't done it in a long time. "I still have a degree in Thuganomics," Cena said.

Cena said that if he doesn't end it tonight, the only thing he'll hear about is Rocky. He said he's going to do it once. He warmed up his voice with some "yo's." He said he had a Fresno state of mind and was ready to do it.

Cena's rap opened with a line about Rock not being specific. He took jabs at him for leaving WWE hanging while he made the Tooth Fairy. He said he's like a pinwheel and said Rock should "go ahead in blow me." He said Rock has to tell his family that he just got schooled by Barney's turd.

Cena told Rock not to race to Witch Mountain because his mountain is "brokeback." He also delivered a rhyme about "polishing my balls." He said that for seven years, Rock couldn't see him. Cena said Rock wouldn't whip his candy ass. "I'll make sure you kiss it," Cena said.

Cena concluded his rap by saying: "You're the WrestleMania host, Rock, that's your role, know it. You tell these people that you love 'em, I'm here every week to show it. That's called a first round knockout and now you know I'm not playing. Run your mouth all you want, dude, it doesn't matter what you're saying." Cena put the mic down and left the ring...

At ringside, Cole said he would let bygones be bygones when he interviewed Jerry Lawler later in the show. They also discussed the Elimination Chamber, and hyped John Morrison vs. C.M. Punk for after the break... The countdown for the 2-21-11 video was at 45:55...

Powell's POV: It was nice to see Cena show a little more edge than usual. For that matter, it's nice to see WWE cross the PG barrier. Cena gave his fans something to hang their hats on, but they're going to have to tone down The Rock if he makes more appearances before WrestleMania, because he'll eat Cena alive on the mic.

[Q2] [C] Highlights aired of Punk spraying a can in Morrison's face...

1. C.M. Punk defeated John Morrison in 2:50. Morrison limped to the ring to sell the knee injury he suffered in the Elimination Chamber match. Punk also walked gingerly to the ring. The countdown graphic popped up briefly during the match and featured the same style of font that is used in the 2-21-11 videos.

Punk targeted the knee consistently through the match. Morrison showed some signs of life late, but Punk kicked the knee and then hit the GTS for the clean pin. The announcers praised Morrison's effort and said he couldn't use the Parkour style due to the knee injury.

After the match, Punk remained in the ring and called out "Randall" Orton. Punk said he was standing in the middle of the ring and has decided to give New Nexus the night off. "I promise you this is not a setup," Punk said. He added that Orton should just walk away because he doesn't deserve to be at WrestleMania.

Punk said Orton has a choice. He said he will either be too crippled to compete or Orton could decide that he cares about his physical well being. "Just walk away," Punk repeated. He said that if Orton shows up next week, he will tear him apart. The crowd cheered.

Orton emerged from the crowd and attack Punk in the ring. The brawl didn't last long, as Orton went for the RKO, but Punk slipped away. The rest of Nexus came out and joined Punk on the stage as the fans chanted "Randy"... [C]

Powell's POV: I thought WWE might go out of their way to keep Morrison's momentum going tonight, but instead they had him drop the match to Punk. Fortunately, they gave Morrison an out due to the knee injury. Punk is as over as any heel in the company, but the rest of Nexus feel like nobodies now more than ever.

[Q3] Ricardo Rodriguez introduced Alberto Del Rio, who made his usual entrance on the side of the stage. Del Rio climbed onto the ramp and was heading to the ring when Kofi Kingston ran out and attacked him from behind. Del Rio made a quick recovery and beat up Kingston at ringside.

Del Rio targeted Kofi's arm, which had a wrap on it. He put Kofi's arm behind his back and drove it into the guardrail. Del Rio applied the cross armbreaker on the floor. He eventually stood and smiled as the crowd booed. Cole said people need to stop messing with Del Rio because he's a dangerous man.

A referee and a trainer tended to Kingston. They got him to his feet and then Del Rio ran back down and rammed Kingston into the ring post. Kofi screamed in pain while selling the attack on his arm...

A shot aired of The Miz and Alex Riley walking backstage. Cole said we'd hear from Miz next... The 2-21-11 countdown graphic was shown... [C]

Powell's POV: I love the way Del Rio continues to be pushed as a legitimate in-ring threat and a vicious heel. It would have been easy to cast him as yet another chickenshit heel, but they've actually built him up as a guy who can beat babyfaces clean. Here's hoping we're going to get a meaningful run with Kofi challenging Del Rio as champion at some point.

The Miz and Riley walked onto the stage for a promo. Miz said he waited to see what line The Rock would use on him last week. He recalled The Rock saying that he absolutely sucks. "Really?" Miz asked. He asked the crowd if they agree. He said the fans love Rock and Cena because they are pop culture icons.

Miz borrowed a line from The Rock and said it doesn't matter what the people think. After The Miz concluded, the anonymous general manager's email chime sounded. Cole stood up and announced for that the Rock-n-Sock Connection was a formidable tag team. Thus, the WWE Tag Titles will be defended against The Miz and John Cena later tonight...

Mathews hyped the tag match, and Cole's interview with The King...

Powell's POV: Nice of them to not even mention the names of the new WWE Tag Champions. I'm not sure what the Rock-n-Sock Connection really has to do with this match. Was it supposed to lead to the crowd popping in anticipation of a Rock and Mick Foley appearance? If so, mission failed. Sadly, you know it's WrestleMania time when the champion and the challenger are thrust into the usual reluctant tag partner roles.

[Q4] [C] Cole and Mathews narrated footage of George Washington battling Abraham Lincoln in the WWE All-Stars video game. John Cena beat Washington. Yes, really. The announcers also took a jab at Jim Ross by saying he's the voice of the game and is old enough to have called a Washington vs. Lincoln match...

2. The Bellas defeated Gail Kim and Eve in 2:25. The women were in the ring and the bell sounded abruptly to start the match. The match concluded when one Bella replaced the other while the referee was distracted. One of the Bellas ended up pinning Eve...

Powell's POV: Remember when Eve cried after winning the Divas Championship for the second time? Maybe she was having a psychic moment. Gee, that Bellas finish never gets old, does it? Ugh.

The 2-21-11 video counted down to 3:00... [C]

After the break, the countdown clock counted down and the fans in the building counted down along with it. The video showed the door to the cain opening. The Undertaker walked out of the cabin. The Johnny Cash song played as the video cut out and Undertaker was shown standing on the stage. Undertaker walked to the ring and his pyro went off behind him.

[Q5] Taker stopped on the ring steps and did his usual bit to turn up the lights. A giant Taker symbol was hanging above the ring. A reader pointed out earlier that he spotted the symbol above the ring earlier in the show. When Taker removed his hat, his own music stopped.

Triple H's music played and he walked onto the stage with a leather jacket on. Wait, no, it's Sting!!! Okay, not really. Hunter took off the jacket and headed to the ring wearing a t-shirt and jeans and with a bottle of water in his hands as Motorhead's "The Game" played. The crowd was loving it, and Taker glared at Hunter as he did his water spitting routine on the ring apron.

Taker stood frozen in the ring while Triple H did his usual entrance routine by playing to the live crowd on the ropes. Hunter looked back while standing on the ropes and saw that Taker was staring a hole through him. The crowd erupted when Hunter's music played an a "Triple H" chant broke out.

Triple H approached Taker and stood face to face with him. Hunter looked up at the WrestleMania 27 sign. Taker then turned and looked at the sign as well. Their eyes met again and Taker flashed a half smile. Taker put his hat on and started to walk toward the ropes. He stopped.

Taker got back in Hunter's face and made the throat slashing gesture. Hunter backed up a step and did the DX crotch chop. Taker looked like he was fuming as Hunter stared intently into his eyes and the show went to break... [C]

Powell's POV: Wait, I thought the writers had to write a whole bunch of dialogue? Honestly, a very cool segment. I thought they might tease Hunter for next week to keep the run of surprises going, but this was very nicely done. The live crowd knew Taker was there due to local advertising and the symbol hanging, but Triple H was a big surprise, so it's no surprise that the fans seemed to be rallying behind Hunter. We'll see if that continues to be the case in future weeks. I'm also curious to see whether Shawn Michaels is the special referee for the match. Sorry, Sting fans. No, I don't want emails about how the Taker symbol is similar to the "T" in Sting.

A WrestleMania 27 video noted that the show is 41 days away... After the break, Cole recapped the previous segment. He said it was one of the most earth shattering confrontations there has ever been on Raw...

[Q6] 3. Mark Henry defeated Sheamus in 3:45. Sheamus controlled the offense during the first couple of minutes. Henry came back around 2:35 with a brief flurry. Sheamus tore the turnbuckle pad off only to have Henry splash him in the corner. Henry followed up with the World's Strongest Slam and scored the pin...

Powell's POV: I felt bad for these two because I figured the crowd would be coming down from Taker and Hunter, but the fans were actually receptive to the match and popped for the finish.

The announcers hyped Miz and Cena vs. Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater... [C] Cole hyped that Miss USA will be part of Tough Enough...

Backstage, Daniel Bryan was talking with Gail Kim when Sheamus showed up in a pissed off mood. Sheamus didn't like that Bryan was in a good mood. He said what would really be funny is if he ripped off Bryan's head in front of his girlfriend. Bryan asked him what his problem was. Sheamus stormed off...

The announcers sat at ringside and said the frustration is building for Sheamus. They hyped that Shawn Michaels was the first inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011...

The second inductee in the 2011 Hall of Fame is Jim Duggan. A highlight package was shown, and then it was announced that "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase would induct Duggan...

Powell's POV: First, it's good to see that they are talking about Sheamus being frustrated rather than just shrugging off another win. Second, I'm all for Duggan entering the Hall of Fame, and DiBiase handling the induction is a great perk.

Michael Cole stood in the ring to set up his interview with Jerry Lawler. He said people who expected them to fight were wrong. He reminded them that Lawler would be fired by the general manager if he laid a hand on him. Cole put himself over as being better than Gordon Solie, Gorilla Monsoon, Jim Ross, and Lawler... [C]

Powell's POV: Good heel mic work from Cole. The more they mention Jim Ross, the more hope I have that he will end up calling some matches once Lawler takes out Cole at WrestleMania 27.

[Q7] Cole told the fans to welcome Jerry Lawler. The King came out to some "Jerry" chants from the live crowd. Cole condescendingly asked how Lawler felt going into his match with The Miz. Lawler stared at Cole and didn't respond. Cole asked how Lawler felt when he realized that his dreams were going to be shattered.

Cole asked whether Lawler thought that he is right in saying that he should retire. "Did you think that at all last night after you lost?" Cole asked. Lawler again said nothing. Cole brought up King looking at the lights while being pinned and said his deceased mother had the best view. Ugh.

Cole asked Lawler what he felt when he realized that he let his mother down. Lawler grabbed Cole by the collar. "Michael Cole, if you ever mention my mother again, it will be the last thing you ever say," Lawler said. The King said he sat around for weeks while Cole bashed him and praised his friends.

Lawler said he's forgotten more about the business than Cole will ever know. He said Cole things he's out of WrestleMania, but he's wrong. Lawler challenged Cole to a match at WrestleMania 27. He pushed Cole away. Cole said Lawler is a senile old man. "You'll never get me in the ring, ever," Cole said.

Cole headed back to the announcers table. Lawler followed him to ringside and goaded him. He said that Cole could be a man or show everyone that he's a gutless, yellow coward. Cole took his jacket off and threw his water onto Lawler. Cole ran through the production area and headed backstage while the fans chanted Jerry's name.

Powell's POV: Awesome. Sure, I could have done without the mention of Lawler's late mother, but both guys were great here. Cole's work on commentary annoys me, yet I think he's a strong heel. Meanwhile, Lawler is just old school awesome. It will be interesting to see whether they agree to a singles match or if Lawler has to go through Alex Riley and/or Ted DiBiase to get five minutes with Cole. Either way, it's great that Lawler is finally getting his WrestleMania moment.

A shot aired of The Corre walking backstage. Mathews hyped the tag title match... [C]

After the break, Mathews recapped the previous segment. He accused Cole of "running away like a coward, a girl." Lawler was with Mathews on commentary. Jerry said he was going to sit at the announcers table until "that waste of skin comes back if he has any guts at all"...

Ring introductions took place for the tag title match...

[Q8] 4. John Cena and The Miz (w/Alex Riley) defeated Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater (w/Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson) to win the WWE Tag Titles in 3:15. The crowd was hot for the introductions, but they died down quickly when Miz locked up with Slater. Who to cheer? Cena stood in the corner and golf clapped as Miz worked over Slater's arm.

Cena tagged into the match briefly and worked over Justin Gabriel. He tagged Miz back into the match. Miz kicked and punched Gabriel, and then hit him with his running clothesline in the corner. In the end, Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale and scored the clean pin.

Cena looked stunned that they won the match. Miz celebrated with both of his belts. Cena eventually took the other tag belt from the ref and went to the other corner and half-assed celebrated with the tag titles.

Wade Barrett took the mic and said The Corre wanted to invoke their rematch clause immediately. The anonymous general manager's email chime sounded. Mathews stepped up to the podium and said the anonymous general manager said ring the bell... [C]

An ad for Smackdown hyped that viewers should tune in to find out who survived the Elimination Chamber. Yes, really. Um, shouldn't that be considered major news that has to be addressed on Raw? Did they just ignore it during the Alberto Del Rio appearance earlier? Strange...

5. Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater (w/Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson) defeated John Cena and The Miz (w/Alex Riley) vs. to regain WWE Tag Titles. Miz was dumped to ringside early. Jackson and Barrett blocked Riley from helping out while Gabriel put the boots to Miz. The heels worked over Miz and the crowd fired up at one point in anticipation of Cena taking a hot tag.

[Overrun] The challengers continued to work over The Miz, and the live crowd was still amped anytime he showed signs of life. Gabriel went for a springboard move, but ended up eating The Miz's boot. Miz crawled to the corner and the fans popped big when Cena entered the match.

Cena performed his signature spots on Slater, who apparently tagged in. Cena hoisted up Slater for the Attitude Adjustment, but Miz entered the ring and hit Cena with the Skull Crushing Finale. Slater pinned Cena to win the tag titles back for his team. Miz posed on the stage with the title belt and Riley as a dejected Cena watched from the ring to close the show...

Powell's POV: I liked the finish of the main event, but the whole thing felt a little pointless. I didn't think twice about the fans cheering while Miz was in the ring because they were cheering for the hot tag rather than him. It looked to me like they simply wanted Cena in the ring. This match had to be a huge letdown to viewers who tuned in expecting to see The Rock show up late in the show.

Overall, this was a hot show with a rather anticlimactic main event despite the title changes. Taker and Hunter were fantastic, and I loved the setup for whatever Lawler and Cole are going to do at WrestleMania. Cena didn't match Rock's home run promo last week, but he fired back stronger than I expected. I still don't think the fans know what the heel he said to get Rock worked up.

I'll have much more to say about the show later tonight in Dot Net Members' audio. Don't forget that time is running out on our membership sale, so use the link above to sign up while you can. Keep in mind that former members are eligible for the special. Thanks for watching along with me tonight. I'll be back on Tuesday with the WWE Raw Hitlist.

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