By Jason Powell

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Portland, Ore.

[Q1] The show opened with the Randy "Macho Man" Savage graphic that was shown at the start of the "Over The Limit" pay-per-view... The opening video aired... Josh Mathews welcomed viewers to the show hyped that the show would feature the fallout from Over The Limit...

Jerry Lawler was introduced and he headed to the ring with his crown in hand. Once in the ring, Lawler spoke about how he finally took care of Michael Cole. "I had an ace up my sleeve," Lawler said. "Actually, I hard a Hart up my sleeve." Lawler introduced Bret Hart.

Bret Hart headed to the ring to a strong ovation from the live crowd. Hart's promo was interrupted by R-Truth's entrance line "The Truth shall set you free." R-Truth headed to the ring and acted like he was honored to be in the same building with Hart. Once in the ring, Truth told the booing fans to shut up.

Truth said he hasn't been in any WWE Championship matches. He said it might be because he doesn't care about the little Jimmy's or give them anything like Bret did. He took Hart's shades and headed to ringside in search of "Little Jimmy." Truth gave his shades to a young fan in the front row. "This means I should be next in line for a WWE Championship match, right?" Truth asked. He took the shades back from the kid.

Truth headed back to the ring and spoke about taking out John Morrison and beating Rey Mysterio at the pay-per-view. Truth said actions speak louder than words. He questioned whether beating up a WWE Hall of Famer would get him a title shot. Bret told him to take his best shot.

"The reason you're not getting championship matches is because you're a freaking lunatic," Hart said. Truth questioned the line and then said he wouldn't stand there and be disrespected. Truth went to leave the ring, but he was stopped in his tracks by the entrance music of John Cena.

John Cena walked gingerly to the ring while selling(?) the beating he took at the pay-per-view. Cena called for Truth to join him in the ring, and Truth complied. Cena said he was beat up, but noted that he was excited that Hart was back in a WWE ring. He asked Bret how he was and then said it was time to go back to the lunatic.

Cena said he and Truth used to be cool. "Used to is a rooster from Brewster," Truth said. He said Cena doesn't know anything about cool or him. Truth said he never liked Cena. He said Cena and Hart are just propaganda tools to make the people feel good. "I don't care about people and I don't care how they feel," Truth said. "It's about me, me, me."

Cena said he was a little broken up from last night, but it was time for someone to knock some sense into Truth. The anonymous general manager's email chime sounded.

[Q2] Josh Mathews stood at the podium and announced that the GM was impressed by Truth, but he needs to see more before giving him a championship match. The GM booked Cena and Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth and C.M. Punk with Bret Hart as the special referee. Hart gave the same kid at ringside the shades that Truth took away...

Backstage, Big Show was sitting on a car while talking with Kane. Ricardo Rodriguez approached them and spoke in Spanish until one of them pushed him down. An angry Alberto Del Rio entered the picture and told them off in Spanish. The tag champs eventually walked away... [C]

Powell's POV: A good opening segment. It was nice to see R-Truth get rub from Bret Hart. Truth is developing the edge that his character was missing. Laying out Bret would have been perfect, but Bret has physical limitations due to his health. I like the slow build to Truth's eventual title match. I have no idea what Del Rio said or why Show and Kane didn't destroy him, but I am curious if he was more concerned about Ricardo or the car.

1. David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty (w/C.M. Punk, Mason Ryan) defeated Big Show and Kane to win the WWE Tag Titles in 8:55. Punk joined Mathews and Lawler on commentary. Punk claimed he had a 120 degree fever on Sunday when he and Ryan failed to capture the tag titles. Kane and Show dominated the first 2:25 and the show went to break. [C]

[Q3] Punk said he would be happy if Otunga and McGillicutty succeeded in capturing the tag titles even though he and Ryan came up short because it would mean gold for Nexus. Late in the match, Ryan tried to interfere, but the ref stopped him. Show was going for a double chokeslam, but Punk kicked him from behind while the ref was distracted, which led to McGillicutty pinning Show...

The announcers hyped the tag team main event match...

Powell's POV: Remember when tag title changes felt important? This was not one of them. It's hard to get excited about the New Nexus underlings taking the tag straps. Punk was very good on commentary, though.

Jerry Lawler showed the Capitol Punishment cartoon with Barack Obama, John Cena, and Rey Mysterio. The announcers acted like it was hilarious... A video showed Randy Orton signing copies of "That's What I Am" at a DVD signing...

Powell's POV: Randy is so much happier since he grew the beard. Maybe that's why Grizzly Adams never seemed crabby even though he never got laid and his companions were and old man and a jackass. Wait, you don't think they... Never mind.

The announcers recapped the tag title change...

Backstage, Scott Stanford played spittoon for an angry Big Show, who bitched about losing the tag titles. Alberto Del Rio showed up and slapped Show. Del Rio took off and an angry Show followed. The camera feed conveniently cut out, and the next shot featured Big Show lying on the ground selling a knee injury that was supposedly caused by Ricardo driving the car into it... [C]

Powell's POV: Show's screaming in pain must have been inspired by Kelly Kelly's performance against Brie Bella on Sunday night. WWE car angles suck and this one was no exception. Oddly enough, Kane was compassionate and stayed with Big Show rather than go after Del Rio and Ricardo.

[Q4] After the break, Kane and a bunch of medical personnel were tending to Show. They put a brace on his knee and he ignored their pleas to stay down. Show stood up and limped badly. He leaned against something and had Kane helping him stand up...

Powell's POV: Compassionate Kane sucks. It's like he grew a beard or something.

2. Jack Swagger beat Evan Bourne in 2:05. Bourne scored a good near fall early, but Swagger came back and slammed him into the mat with a nasty powerbomb for the win. After the match, Swagger was taking his victory lap around the ring when Bourne caught him with a kick that knocked him down. Bourne went to the stage and laughed while Swagger threw a tantrum...

A shot aired of Michael Cole walking backstage. Instant heat. He walked by a bunch of the Divas, including Eve. He tried to shake her hand, but she stuck her foot up and Beth Phoenix held it in position instead. Cole walked away with his head down... [C]

Powell's POV: The crowd got a kick out of the Eve bit. It was nice to see Beth Phoenix again. Somehow, that's not what I envisioned for her return to Raw TV.

Lawler told foot jokes to Mathews at the announcers' table. Josh congratulated The Rock on "Fast Five" making $506 million million at the box office worldwide...

Powell's POV: Rock was the best thing in the movie. His badass character seemed to have the potential to spin off into its own movie if they want to go that way.

Justin Roberts introduced Michael Cole, who walked to ringside with his head down. The fans chanted, "You sucked toes." Cole started to deliver the "Can I have your attention" line, but he stopped and said he doesn't deserve the attention of the fans. Cole said it's not about him anymore and it never should have been.

Cole stood in front of Lawler and said he was there to apologize. He apologized to Lawler, Mathews, Justin Roberts, the timekeeper, the fans in Portland, and everyone watching at home for "my reprehensible behavior the last couple of months." Cole said he wants to come back home, sit next to Lawler, and just do commentary.

Powell's POV: I won't accept his apology until he mentions the years and years of underwhelming play-by-play calls.

Cole said there would be no more Cole Mine or matches between him and Lawler. "I am begging you all to please accept my apology," Cole said. "I really, really, really mean it." The fans booed. Lawler stood up and said that all sounds good to him. He thanked Cole for apologizing and being professional.

[Q5] Lawler also thanked Cole for giving him a picture that will be on his Christmas card. A shot of Cole with Lawler's toes in his mouth was shown on the screen. Lawler presented Cole with a pack of breath mints. "I deserve that," Cole said. Cole took his seat next to Mathews on commentary.

The Miz's music played and he headed to the ring with Alex Riley. Miz said the only reason he isn't the WWE Champion is Riley. Miz ran through Riley's recent mistakes. Miz called for the anonymous general manager to give him a rematch since it was Riley's fault that he's not the champion. Miz said he wouldn't leave the ring until the GM chimes in.

The GM chime sounded. Josh went to the podium and announced on behalf of the GM that Miz's request for another WWE Championship match was denied. The reasoning is that Miz lost at the pay-per-view, and is done with the WWE Championship. An angry Miz turned his attention back to Riley.

"This is all your fault," Miz said to Riley. Miz asked Riley if he had an explanation. "Miz, it wasn't like I was the one who said I quit," Riley said. The fans chanted "You quit." Miz got upset and pie-faced Riley. When Riley tried to reply, Miz told him to shut his mouth. He said Riley would be nothing without him and is a disappointment.

Miz said he's sick of Riley and then fired him. Riley looked disgusted. Miz pie-faced him again, but this time Riley bounced off the ropes and punched Miz. Riley pounced on Miz and punched him repeatedly. They went to ringside and Riley continued to beat the hell out of The Miz while yelling, "After all I did for you."

Riley threw Miz over the announcers' table and then back inside the ring. The fans chanted "Riley." Riley eventually left Miz lying in the ring... [C]

Powell's POV: Very nicely done. I was skeptical that they could pull it off because Riley has been made out to be such a goof lately, but the live crowd loved it. Miz set it up perfectly with his mic work, and Riley showed good fire when he finally snapped on Miz. Was this the setup for a feud or will Riley return to Smackdown since he technically can't be on Raw now that he's not under a personal services contract to Miz? It looked like the beginning of a feud to me. Perhaps Miz will hide behind that rule for a bit to make the fans want the match more.

[Q6] 3. Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim, Eve, and Beth Phoenix fought The Bellas, Melina, and Maryse to a non-finish in an eight-Diva tag in 0:20. Cole spoke about how he has the utmost respect for the Divas and said he's always enjoyed watching them. 20 seconds into the match, Kharma's music played.

Kharma walked onto the stage with a smirk on her face and headed to the ring. The action in the ring stopped completely. Kharma looked at all eight Divas and still entered the ring. The Divas formed a circle around Kharma once she entered the ring. Kharma started to shake her hands. Suddenly, she dropped down on her knees and acted like she was crying. Kharma's crying turned to all out sobbing. She started talking to herself and then the show went to break... [C]

Powell's POV: Crying?!? I feel like I'm watching Tough Enough all over again. Actually, that was an unexpected twist. I have no idea where they are going with that one. This better not lead to a bit where she wants to be a pretty Diva and they all give her a stupid makeover. Okay, so I doubt that's the plan. The angle was unexpected and intriguing, but am I the only one who thinks it's odd that the show just goes to break while Kharma is in the middle of a breakdown?

After the break, Lawler said it looked like Kharma was having an emotional breakdown...

Powell's POV: Hey, isn't that how she got out of her TNA contract?

Highlights aired of Kofi Kingston beating Sheamus in a tables match at Extreme Rules...

4. Kofi Kingston pinned Drew McIntyre in 4:25. McIntyre had pyro added to his entrance. He locked Kofi in the figure four around the ring post early in the match and then continued to target Kingston's knee. Kofi made his comeback while limping to sell the knee injury.

[Q7] Kofi performed the Boom Drop, but he clutched his knee while setting up for his finishing kick. McIntyre went for a couple of near falls and was unable to put Kingston away. Kingston came back with an innovative finisher and scored the pin. Kofi continued to sell the knee while celebrating with the title belt after the match...

Powell's POV: A good match. McIntyre looked ruthless for going after Kingston, and Kofi looked resilient in coming back to win the match, particularly by using a move that he normally doesn't perform as his finisher...

The announcers set up the Capitol Punishment press conference skit with real clips of Barack Obama made to look like he was answering their fake reporter questions. As usual, the announcers were laughing 25 times harder than anyone in the building... [C]

The announcers recapped footage of the Big Show angle... Backstage, Alberto Del Rio blamed Ricardo Rodriguez for Show's injury. Del Rio blamed Ricardo and called him an idiot, and then said it wasn't his fault...

At ringside, Jerry Lawler addressed the death of Randy Savage. "He will always be a Hall of Famer no matter what," Lawler said. They played a video that started with still shots and a voiceover, and then footage of Savage was shown...

Powell's POV: That's more like it. The Hall of Famer line from Lawler was an interesting choice of words. The tribute video lasted over three-and-a-half minutes, and concluded with the "In Memory Of" banner on Titan Tron, which was followed by a standing ovation from the fans. A classy tribute.

[Q8] [C] A graphic touted that the WrestleMania 27 DVD has been a top 10 seller since it was released...

Bret Hart's music played and he headed to the ring wearing a referee shirt and shorts. At ringside, Lawler said he and Hart have never been on the same page, but Bret graciously accepted his invitation to be at the pay-per-view. Cole sat with his head hung low and then complained about the disgusting taste of Lawler's foot...

5. John Cena and Rey Mysterio beat R-Truth and C.M. Punk with Bret Hart as special referee in 9:40. Punk wore Randy Savage themed trunks and colors for the match. Cena quickly whipped Truth to the floor and the show went to break a little over 30 seconds into the match. [C]

An ad for Friday's WWE Smackdown questioned whether Randy Orton or Christian left the pay-per-view as the champion, which feels like code for "the show isn't written yet." Back to the match, Punk hid behind Hart at one point and then spun around and took a cheap shot at Cena.

Punk was all over Hart for his slow counts. In fairness to Punk, Hart was only a half-count ahead of Bronco Lubich (look it up, kids). Late in the match, Punk went for the GTS, but Mysterio flipped out of it and ended up hitting a 619. Bret punched Punk and applied the Sharpshooter. Mysterio performed a springboard legdrop while Punk was in the Sharpshooter. Mysterio covered Punk, and Hart counted the pin...

Powell's POV: A crowd-pleasing main event. Cena's post-match leap into the air was right up there with Randy Orton's odd jump for joy on Smackdown. Did the babyface wrestlers get a memo from Vince about jumping? Anyway, the fans really were hot for the main event.

We didn't really get an indication as to where they are going with the WWE Championship match at the Capitol Punishment. There was plenty going on tonight, so no one can accuse them of just going through the motions. It was nice to be given a chance to breathe after the pay-per-view last night before the hype for the next pay-per-view really kicks in next week. Obviously, the Randy Savage tribute was the highlight of the show. Very well done. Thanks for watching along with me tonight.

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE: