By Jason Powell

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Pittsburgh, Pa.

[Q1] Justin Roberts opened the show by introducing Jim Ross as the voice of WWE. The Oklahoma fight song played. Michael Cole walked onto the stage dressed like Ross with padding above the belt line. He held up a bottle of JR's Original BBQ sauce (which is damn good by the way). Cole had padding around his ankle and yelled about "Cole and Swagger" breaking his ankle.

Cole made his way to the announcers' table. He threw his hat at Lawler and then ducked inside the Cole Mine. Two security members closed the door behind him and stood in front of the Cole Mine, as Lawler said he'd like to punch Cole's lights out. A loud "Jerry" chant broke out. Josh Mathews is also on commentary.

Powell's POV: It looked like Cole had cotton balls in his cheek, but that's as far as they went with the facial paralysis mocking. This one didn't offend me like the Oklahoma character did back in the WCW days. They're putting heat on Cole, whose character has an issue with Ross, whereas the WCW character felt mean spirited.

Triple H's music played and made his entrance and the announcers hyped his WrestleMania match with Undertaker. Hunter said he's been wrestling 20 years and he wondered if this is the last time he would stand in the ring in the building in Pittsburgh. He said WrestleMania will be the defining moment of his and Undertaker's career.

Hunter said he sees the signs for 19-0 and 18-1. He said everyone is talking about the match. He assured that neither made would be the same. "This is the biggest match of my life," Hunter said. "That streak of 18 years is bigger than every championship. Hell, it might be bigger than all of the championships I've held in my life, and ending it will be a career defining moment."

Triple H said he wants Undertaker to come to Raw next week so that he can look him in the eye and tell him that he's going to lose at WrestleMania. "I will end The Streak," Hunter said. "The thing is when it dies, so does the Undertaker. If I can't do it, I promise you I will die trying."

Hunter said he wants one final opportunity to stand face to face with him. He recalled the words to Taker's new theme song and said, "When I end The Streak, that's it, it's done." Hunter said Taker will go 18-1 at WrestleMania. Hunter, who had been looking down, looked right into the camera and said, "Undertaker, at WrestleMania, you will rest in peace."

Triple H's theme music played, but it was cut off by Ted DiBiase, who said he was a fast rising star in WWE at this time last year. "Now this year I'm just an afterthought," DiBiase said. He asked what would happen if he took out Triple H two weeks before WrestleMania.

Ted started to climb inside the ring, but Hunter cut him off. Triple H followed him to ringside where they exchanged punches. Ted got the better of it momentarily, but Hunter came back and roughed him up on the floor. Hunter whipped DiBiase into the ring steps and then slammed his head down on the bottom section of the steps.

Hunter eventually hit the Pedigree on the announcers' table. Hunter pointed at the WrestleMania sign and then made the throat slashing gesture...

Powell's POV: Let the bitching about Hunter destroying DiBiase begin. I don't like the position Ted is in this year, but I have less of a problem with this beatdown than the one on Sheamus simply because DiBiase has been established as an undercard wrestler. He has nothing happening at WrestleMania, whereas Hunter is in arguably the biggest match on the show. No harm done. DiBiase has to be rebuilt after WrestleMania anyways.

[Q2] The announcers hyped that John Cena would comment on being attacked by The Miz "live via satellite from his home." Plus, The Miz "rewrites Miz-Tory"... [C]

Powell's POV: Cena appearing via satellite has to be a setup for him saying he appears live every week, right?

1. Sheamus defeated Evan Bourne in 1:25. Cole said he is tweeting during the show because he has things he can't say on Raw. At 1:10, Bourne went for his Air Bourne finisher, but Sheamus moved. Sheamus came right back with the Brough Kick and scored the clean pin.

After the match, Sheamus boasted that he is now "your new champion of the United States of America." Daniel Bryan's music played. Bryan walked to the ring and confronted Sheamus. He said one of the great things about this country is that everyone gets an opportunity regardless of where they are from.

Bryan said he would like to invoke his rematch clause at WrestleMania. Sheamus threw the belt at Bryan, who caught it, only to eat a a Brough Kick. Sheamus left the ring and yelled to the fans about being champion of the United States of America...

Powell's POV: I wish someone would bring back the "I am your champion" bit that Gino Hernandez taunted World Class fans with back in the day. Sheamus's bit reminds me of that somewhat, but not nearly as much as I wish it did. They didn't officially announce Sheamus vs. Bryan for WrestleMania, but I think it's safe to pencil that one in if you hadn't already.

After the break, a video replayed Randy Orton punt kicking Madson Ryan last week... A shot aired of Orton arriving at the building in his tour bus. Scott Stanford approached him and asked him about seeing the world in his tour bus. Orton started talking about how great the bus is and how it allows him to take his family on the road.

Orton said he watched the birth of Nexus on the bus. He said he wants to take out Nexus one punt at a time. He said that if C.M. Punk thinks he knows what sick and twisted is, he has no idea...

Powell's POV: Tour busses of the stars? What the hell was that? I expected Punk to show up and beat the hell out of Orton. Maybe he'll trash the bus instead. It just seemed out of place for Orton's character. No harm done or anything, but I assume they must be setting up something.

[Q3] 2. Eve beat Maryse in 1:20. Lawler said Cole is sickening. Cole promised to deliver another "worldwide exclusive." Maryse slammed Eve's head into the mat a few times early on. Eve could be heard yelling louder than anyone in the entire arena as she sold Maryse's offense. Maryse missed a running knee and held her hamstring.

Cole stood up and asked over the house mic, "Can we get this over, please?" He said he had another worldwide exclusive to deliver. Lawler told him to shut up because there's a match going on. Eve came back and hit a neckbreaker to get the win...

After the match, Cole said over the house mic that thank goodness the match was over. Eve went to the Cole Mine, but security stood in front of her. She took one swing at Cole, who was standing up and asking her if she "wants some of his." She eventually left... Mathews hyped the Miz segment... [C]

Powell's POV: I guess this means Eve and perhaps other Divas will get to take their shots at Cole after he gets gets roughed up by Lawler and Steve Austin at WrestleMania. Will this be the week that Cole brings out Jimmy Hart as another name from Lawler's past? I'm hoping for Austin Idol and Bill Dundee, but I won't hold my breath waiting for those two to appear on WWE television.

The Corre stood in the ring wearing their bad t-shirts as highlights aired of their attack on Big Show and Kane that aired on Smackdown...

3. Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater (w/Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson) beat Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov in 1:55. Santino teased The Cobra on Slater early, but Gabriel tagged Santino with a kick. Kozlov tagged in and was distracted by Barrett. Slater hit him with a move and then Gabriel hit his finisher for the win.

After the match, The Corre members roughed up Santino and Kozlov. Big Show's music started and then Kane's music played. Show and Kane headed to the ring and beat the hell out of The Corre. Kane had his ribs taped, which was the most selling they did during this massacre, which concluded with a double chokeslam on Jackson...

Powell's POV: The Nexus and The Corre mean nothing these days. Perhaps it's time for Punk and Barrett to consider a merger. Wait, Punk doesn't have any sidekicks. Better yet, it's time for WWE creative to do a better job with the two factions. The video package made The Corre look strong, but two minutes later they looked weaker than ever. Tune in to WrestleMania to see the babyfaces get their revenge? Wait, never mind.

[Q4] A shot aired of John Cena being mic'd up for his interview by some dude who looks a little like Turtle from Entourage... [C] The announcers hyped that Rock will be live on Raw in Chicago next week... A video recapped Miz attacking John Cena last week...

Mathews interviewed Cena "via satellite." He said next week will be "epic." He said he won't be telling jokes about breakfast cereal or rapping. He said he will be face-to-face with The Rock. He said that if they have a problem, it will be settled.

Lawler checked in and asked if all the attention he's given The Rock has caused him to underestimate The Miz. Cena admitted that he has and said that's why Miz has been able to attack him the last four weeks. Cena said that's why he wasn't in the building. Cena, who was very serious throughout the segment, spoke about how The Miz has proven why he's the WWE Champion...

After the Cena interview concluded, Cole stood up and said that while The Rock and Cena are appearing via satellite, he's live and in person. He told Lawler that he has another worldwide exclusive for Lawler coming up after the break... [C]

Powell's POV: Cena has to be showing up to ambush The Miz tonight, right? All this talk about how he's there every week and Rock appears via satellite means he has to appear tonight. The Cena promo was effective, but the "Cena sucks" chants from the crowd were a bit distracting at the wrong time. That said, it was nice to see Cena take the serious approach rather than clown around again.

After the break, Cole and Jack Swagger were running around the ring. They headed to ringside to confront Lawler. Cole boasted about bringing in Brian Christopher last week.

[Q5] Cole set up the video of Brian Christopher ripping his father on last week's show. Back live, Cole unveiled the Lawler Family Photo Album, which he claimed Christopher sent him. Cole showed off photos of Lawler with his father. He said his father must have been thinking that Jerry was a dork. He showed a graduation photo. Cole said it looked like Lawler's father was a midget because Jerry was taller than his father.

Cole brought up braggarts who talk a big game until someone steps up and puts them in their place. He said he's going to put Lawler in his place. Cole said he finally realized that Lawler, his mother, his father, and his son all have one thing in common. "your family is nothing but a bunch of losers," Cole said.

Lawler stood up from the desk and started to head toward the ring. Swagger cut him off briefly, but Lawler knocked him down and headed to the ring. Cole ran to ringside. Lawler followed, but eventually ran into Swagger's clothesline. Cole retreated to the Cole Mine while Swagger roughed up Lawler.

Swagger put Lawler's face against the glass. Cole mocked Jerry from inside the Cole Mine by saying he's nothing more than a loser. Swagger applied the ankle lock on the floor at ringside. Cole left the Cole Mine and took over the ankle lock while Swagger put his knee on Lawler's head to keep him down. Cole yelled for Lawler to tap out. He never did. Swagger put his foot on Lawler's back as he and Swagger raised their hands...

Powell's POV: More heat on Cole. The WrestleMania crowd should go nuts once Lawler finally gets his hands on Cole in 13 days. I was hoping for another surprise appearance, but we got the family photos instead. I wonder if they'll have Lawler and Christopher make peace at WrestleMania now that Cole lumped Christopher in with Lawler's "loser" family. By the way, the WWE website has officially announced that Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan match for WrestleMania 27.

A WrestleMania video noted that there are 13 days until WrestleMania 27... Mathews hyped that there are 16,102 fans in the building... Cole, who was inside the Cole Mine, apologized to fans. He said Lawler keeps pushing his buttons and sometimes it makes him snap. He said he would try to behave himself the rest of the night... A Snooki recap video aired...

[Q6] 4. Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero, LayCool) fought John Morrison (w/Trish Stratus) to a no-contest in 2:30. The announcers hyped that Trish is on the coverage of Oxygen Magazine. They also hyped the season finale of Jersey Shore for Thursday night on MTV. Morrison had that advantage and wanted to perform a move on Dolph, who was on the floor, but LayCool stood in his way. Trish pulled them down.

The anonymous Raw general manager chime sounded. Michael Cole did his usual routine. The GM ruled that everyone at ringside and in the ring would now hold a mixed tag handicap match after the break... [C] A new Tough Enough commercial aired...

Powell's POV: Did I just see Steve Austin ask a crying Michelle Deighton what would happen if her husband wants a divorce? Drama in the Fairplay house? Enquiring minds want to know!

5. Dolph Ziggler, LayCool, and Vickie Guerrero beat John Morrison and Trish Stratus in a mixed tag handicap match in 4:10. The match was joined in progress after the break. In the end, Morrison missed Starship Pain on Ziggler, who tagged in Vickie and let her pin Morrison...

Powell's POV: You had to know the heels were going over in that match to put some heat on the heels heading into the bigger match at WrestleMania. Some Raw viewers were having Lita flashbacks when Trish's pants fell down enough to display the top of her thong. Yes, I notice these things in an effort to bring you the best coverage around. It has nothing to do with being a pig of a man. Okay, so it has everything to do with being a pig of a man.

[Q7] [C] A Sin Cara video was shown. "Boy, that's super cheesy," chimed in my girlfriend as she was strolling through the room... A video aired on the Triple H and Undertaker match. John Cena, Big Show, Arn Anderson, Randy Orton, John Morrison, Jim Ross, Steve Austin, Jerry Lawler, Booker T, Shawn Michaels, Ricky Steamboat, Dusty Rhodes, and Chris Jericho (and maybe others that I missed when I hit the wrong button on the remote control) spoke about the match...

Powell's POV: That's a great video package. However, I feel like the casual fans are more interested in what happens between The Rock, John Cena, and to a lesser extent The Miz at WrestleMania 27.

Randy Orton made his entrance. Meanwhile, Cole narrated highlights of Orton hitting the various Nexus members with the punt kick, leaving C.M. Punk alone at WrestleMania. The announcers hyped Orton vs. Rey Mysterio for after the break... [C]

The announcers recapped Orton's promo from earlier in the show that he delivered while standing in front of the tour bus. The production team dropped the ball, as the audio was off...

[Q8] 6. Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio. After some back and forth action, Orton hit a DDT off the second rope. Punk appeared on the big screen and he was standing in front of the bus. He remarked about how nice the bus was and said he couldn't wait to meet Orton's wife.

Orton left the ring and raced to the back and to the outside of the building. As he got to the door, Punk showed up and struck the back of Orton's knee with a wrench. Orton's wife looked out from the door and Punk scared her so she headed back inside. Punk said that guarantees that Orton would not be delivering any punt kicks.

Punk kicked Orton's head. "Now ain't that a kick in the head?" Punk asked. Orton's wife stood in the doorway of the bus. Punk looked at her and then blew her a kiss. After Punk left, Orton's wife exited the bus to check on her husband...

Powell's POV: Nice wife. If we're all created equal, then get out there and save your husband! Okay, not really. You had to know they were doing something involving the bus. The setup was a case of going overboard with the foreshadowing. Meanwhile, Dot Net reader Liam Jordan pointed out that John Cena delivered his "via satellite" promo on the same set as a lot of the WWE legends used for their promos in the Undertaker and Triple H video. Maybe Cena just had all those guys over at his house to shoot promos? Yeah, probably not.

The announcers hyped that Undertaker has accepted Triple H's challenge for a face-to-face confrontation next week. They also hyped The Rock appearing live in Chicago next week...

Alex Riley stood in the ring with a podium that contained an object that was covered. Riley introduced The Miz, who came to the ring in a suit. The Miz compared himself to Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan. He said the fans once called him annoying, but now they hang on every word he says.

The Miz said there have been many Rock clones over the years, but the only person who imitated him correctly is "a one of a kind original." Miz said he has more charisma than HBK, is more impressive physically than Andre, and is more intelligent than Cena and Rock combined.

"I am the greatest WWE Champion in history," Miz said. "And in the process, I have become bigger than the entire WWE Universe and every single one of you that's in it." The Miz removed the logo box from the mic and turned it upside down to form an M. "And that M stands for Miz," he said. "The time has now come. Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to rewrite Miz-tory."

[Overrun] A spotlight shined on the object that was covered by the podium as a drum roll played. When the black veil came off, the WWE Championship belt had the WWE logo turned upside down. "This is what the WWE Championship will look like moving forward. It will no longer spin like a toy."

The Miz said he doesn't plan on being a multi-time champion because he doesn't plan on losing the title. "Because I'm The Miz, and I'm awesome," he concluded while looking at the mic box.

John Cena was shown sitting backstage, er, at home. He applauded Miz in a mocking manner for turning the WWE logo upside down. Cena said the WWE Universe knows he can be hurt, and they also know that you should never make him angry. He said he will make history at WrestleMania. Suddenly, a couple guys started taking down the set to show that he was backstage.

Cena said the WWE has been his home and Cole and Riley were in his living room and he's coming to take out the trash. Miz and Riley threw a fit in the ring. Cena's music played and he headed onto the stage. "No via satellite, I'm here," Cena said while looking into the camera as he stood on the stage.

Cena took his shirt off and headed to the ring. The Miz threw the circular table that was used for his speech at Cena, who dodged it easily. Cena went after Miz, but had to fight off both men. A "Rocky" chant could be heard. Cena eventually ran off Miz, who headed backstage. Cena applied the STF on Riley, who tapped out in mid-ring.

Referee Scott Armstrong stepped in and tried to pry Cena off Riley. Armstrong was unsuccessful, but The Miz walked back onto the stage and got Cena's attention. Cena stood up only to apply the hold again. He released it and looked at Miz, who headed backstage again. Cena applied the hold for a third time. Cena stood up and did his hand gestures to the crowd, which applauded him...

Powell's POV: It was easy to see where a couple of the angles were going, but that isn't always a bad thing. I got a kick out of The Miz turning the M upside down on the WWE spinner belt. He didn't introduce a new title, he simply turned the WWE logo upside down. It's clever use of the spinner belt. Whether it's WrestleMania or somewhere down the road, I assume John Cena will be the guy who gets to spin it off the M once he wins the belt.

Overall, solid hype for WrestleMania. This wasn't a particularly newsworthy show so I can see why people would feel letdown after all the strong shows we've had lately, but it sold the bulk of the major Raw stories heading into next week's go-home show for WrestleMania. With the Triple H and Undertaker confrontation, and the live appearance by The Rock, that should be one hell of a show in Chicago.

I'll have more to say about this show in tonight's WWE Raw audio, which is available exclusively for Dot Net Members. You can join them by signing up right now and locking yourself in for WrestleMania and behind by signing up via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

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