By Jason Powell

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Omaha, Nebraska.

[Q1] The show opened with a video that dedicated the show to those who gave their lives serving in the United States Armed Forces. An excellent Memorial Day piece...

The screen went black and they went to a shot of R-Truth throwing John Cena merchandise at a merch stand. There was no audio. A "Technical Difficulties" graphic appeared on the screen briefly, and then it was back to R-Truth minus sound. He eventually trashed the merchandise stand.

Truth walked past a concession stand and knocked over a bunch of WWE-themed collector's cups. The audio came on as Truth made his way toward the ring. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler checked in from ringside and noted that they were experiencing technical difficulties. The screen flickered a couple of times.

Truth made his way toward the ring by walking down the steps of the lower bowl of the arena. He complained about people wearing John Cena t-shirts. The audio cut out again, but it returned minus Truth's mic. He found a couple of kids with their father and they were all wearing Cena shirts. More audio issues.

The audio played ahead of the video as Truth scolded the father of the boys. The man eventually said, "What's up?" Truth said it's not about that anymore. He headed to the ring and told the fans to boo themselves. Cena's music played, and the audio was still way ahead of the video.

Cena said everyone gets it. He said Truth is very mad, thinks The Man is out to get him, considers everything a conspiracy, and thinks everyone is named Jimmy. Cena said Truth is living in a fantasy world. "What's wrong with you?" Cena asked. The audio and video matched as Truth said everyone is conspiring to keep him down. He said no one likes him now that he stopped rapping and dancing.

Cena said that if R-Truth wants a match, he has no problem knocking some sense back into him. "That's exactly what I want," R-Truth said. Truth said all the Little Jimmy's of the world need to watch as he beats Cena down.

The anonymous general manager's email chime sounded. Cole stood up and went to the podium. The GM made the match official with the main event being R-Truth vs. John Cena. "However, there will be no Little Jimmy's allowed at ringside," the general manager ruled. Truth said Cena was going to get got and left the ring...

Cole mentioned the Kharma breakdown from last week and said she will speak for the first time on Raw. Lawler hyped Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler for after the break...

Powell's POV: Wow, it's rare to see WWE have so many technical issues. They could easily have Truth claim it's part of the conspiracy against him. I'm surprised they're going with Cena vs. Truth so soon. I was enjoying the "conspiracy" against Truth and was hoping they'd wait a little longer. Ultimately, I'm fine with it if the match sets up something bigger between the two.

[Q2] [C] 1. Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) beat Kofi Kingston in a non-title match in 10:50. Dolph's blonde hair is back. He actually had it last week in a brief backstage segment. During the ring introductions, Cole thanked Lawler for accepting his apology and allowing him to be there.

Cole put over the importance of a non-title match by saying it could put Dolph in line for a title match. He actually acknowledged the feud between Kingston and Dolph that played out on Smackdown. The fans were very quiet early, and a lot of the fans in the first few rows looked uninterested. Kingston was sent flying to ringside at 3:30. [C]

After the break, Kofi went back on the offensive and hit the Boom Drop. He played to the crowd only to miss the Trouble in Paradise kick. Dolph locked in a sleeper, but Kofi fought out of it, kicked Dolph, and then missed a high cross body block attempt. Dolph hit the Fameasser for a near fall. In the end, Dolph avoided the SOS and hit the Zig Zag for the clean pin.

Powell's POV: Vickie wore a tight red skirt that she couldn't have worn a few months ago. That didn't stop Lawler from cracking jokes at her expense, only to have the heel-leaning Cole defend her. Cole isn't over the top in his heel fandom, but he's not as obnoxious as he was prior to the pay-per-view. Kingston and Ziggler won the fans over by the end of the match.

[Q3] Cole hyped that he will get Alex Riley to apologize to The Miz tonight. Lawler plugged the Cena vs. Truth match as the main event of the show... [C]

Ricardo Rodriguez introduced Alberto Del Rio, who drove another expensive car. Cole boasted that he and Del Rio are buddies and then talked about the car. Del Rio set up a video package that recapped the story of Big Show being run down by Ricardo in the car last week.

Back live, Del Rio said it was an accident while smiling. Ricardo offered his side of the story in Spanish. Del Rio said he's going to have Ricardo send Big Show a bill for the damage his car suffered. "And Big Show, one more thing, get well soon," Del Rio said with a smile and a wink to close out the promo...

Powell's POV: Fun promo. I loved the line about wanting Show to pay for for the car damage, and the big smile and wink at the end. That said, I'm having a hard time getting excited about a Del Rio vs. Show feud. That said, I'll be cool with the feud if it somehow elevates Del Rio heading into the eventual feud with Cena.

The announcers hyped Mysterio vs. Punk for after the break... Backstage, Eve and Kelly Kelly were shown stretching out. Lawler said they would face The Bellas in a tag match... [C] A commercial for WWE Smackdown hyped the Randy Orton vs. Sheamus title match...

[Q4] 2. Eve and Kelly Kelly beat The Bella Twins in 3:00. Cole hyped that Kelly made the Maxim Top 100 list. Kelly lost her belt, which Lawler labeled a wardrobe malfunction. Kelly ended up pinning one of the Bella Twins...

Powell's POV: I already miss the Kharma attacks. The babyface Divas actually received a nice reaction when they were shown backstage and again during their ring entrance, so that's encouraging.

The announcers teased the Kharma segment, and Cole pushing Riley to apologize to The Miz for later in the show... [C] Weird family picnic photos aired of random people. They went to a shot of a buncho f guys grilling outside the building...

Powell's POV: Were those members of the production crew? If so, maybe that explains the mishaps early in the show.

Michael Cole stood in the ring and delivered his usual "may I have your attention, please" line. He compared Alex Riley to Judas and Sammy "The Bull" Gravano. Highlights aired of the Riley and Miz segment from last week.

[Q5] Riley made his entrance wearing a suit and came out to his own music. He didn't get a strong reaction. Cole said there's never been an act of such treachery or backstabbing in WWE. "Alex Riley, how could you?" Cole asked. Cole said Miz was like a father to him. He went on to say that Miz thought of Riley as a brother.

Cole said his only question for Riley was how could he justify his actions. Riley said he's never felt better in his life. Cole said Riley has no idea what Miz is capable of and what type of punishment he can inflict on him. Riley told Cole to shut up. He said Cole has a big mouth, is arrogant, and is starting to get annoying "just like The Miz."

Cole referred to Riley as a "bastard." Riley shoved Cole down to the mat and then picked him up by the collars. The Miz hit the ring and tackled Riley. Miz threw punches at Riley and eventually put the boots to him while yelling, "I made you." Miz went for a kick, but Riley tackled him.

Miz fled the ring and Riley followed. Riley got the better of The Miz at ringside and threw him into the timekeeper's area. Riley leapt over the guardrail and dove onto Miz, and then threw him over the announcers' table. Miz ran away through the crowd... The announcers hyped Mysterio vs. Punk... [C]

Powell's POV: The time will come when Riley will have to have to deliver a money promo, but the brawls with The Miz the last two weeks have been highly entertaining. The crowd was pretty quiet when he came out. The fans were into the brawl, but it remains to be seen just how much they're into Riley. That said, I'm enjoying his singles push thus far.

3. C.M. Punk (w/Mason Ryan) pinned Rey Mysterio in 9:00. Cole noted that an American Idol contestant wore a Nexus shirt on last week's show. He left out the part about Hulk Hogan appearing on the show a while back.

[Q6] Ryan reached up and ran Mysterio's back into the ring post while the ref was busy with Punk. Rey fell to the floor. [C] At 7:00, Mysterio hit a big dive between the ropes onto Punk on the floor. Back inside the ring, Mysterio performed some of his signature offense for a couple of good near falls.

Mysterio got Punk in position for the 619. Ryan tried to interfere, but Mysterio knocked him off the ring apron. Punk caught Mysterio from behind and eventually caught him with a kick to the side of the head. Punk covered Mysterio and got the win...

Powell's POV: A good television match that helped make up for the lack of in-ring action in the first hour. I kinda feel like it's Smackdown flashback night with this match and the Dolph vs. Kofi matches, but they've been entertaining so I can't complain.

Cole noted that Jeremiah was sent home on Tough Enough, and then set up a video that recapped Steve Austin's appearance on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon"... Lawler hyped John Cena vs. R-Truth for later in the show, and Cole said Kharma was up next. "She's gonna talk?" Lawler asked... [C]

[Q7] Highlights aired of the Kharma segment from last week...

Kharma stood in the ring with a somber look on her face. She spoke about her childhood dreams and said one of them was becoming a WWE Superstar. She said she tried out for season two of WWE Tough Enough, but Jim Ross said she was too fat. She said she went to Japan and spoke about working all over until she was finally hired by WWE.

"And I will because I am currently with child," Kharma said. "Unfortunately for me, this is a high-risk pregnancy, and I cannot compete or do anything physical and risk losing my child," Kharma said. She thanked the fans for letting her share her dream, and said she would be back.

The Bella Twins music played. They walked down the ramp and said they thought Kharma was just fat. They said Jim Ross was right. They congratulated her for finding a guy to hook up with. Once in the ring, one of the Bella Twins asked if it bothered her that she couldn't beat them up.

The Bellas were about to tell a "your momma is so fat" joke when Kharma lunged toward them, and both Bellas backed away. "I really hope that in one year, when I come back, that you two will still be here," Kharma said. "Because now I've got a new dream." Kharma's entrance music played and she left the ring. She stopped and glared at The Bellas from the stage...

Powell's POV: Kharma is now a babyface. She was much better on the mic than I expected her to be, but I'm disappointed that we won't get to see her original storyline play out. Don't get me wrong, motherhood is much more important. I just wish WWE would have found a way to keep that version of her character alive rather than turning her into the sympathetic mother. Perhaps they planned for or simply felt that her domination of the Divas would cause her to become a babyface anyway.

The announcers spoke about the Capitol Punishment pay-per-view. They did the same "What if President Obama had a press conference" for WWE Capitol Punishment again. A new video aired... Back at ringside, the announcers claimed the guest list includes members of the President's cabinet, the Pentagon, the House of Representatives, etc... [C]

Powell's POV: There were some laughs in the audience for the end of the video, but the loudest laughs came from the announcers, as usual.

More random family photos were shown, and the guys from the BBQ were playing volleyball in a parking lot...

Powell's POV: What the hell is up with those corny photos and the 50-plus, all-male BBQ and volleyball game?

[Q8] Highlights aired of the Jack Swagger and Evan Bourne match from last week...

4. Evan Bourne beat Jack Swagger in 3:15. Bourne, who lost in two minutes last week, was all smiles as he came out. Swagger was pissed because Bourne kicked him. They took a hard tumble over the ropes and then Swagger drove Bourne into the ring before throwing him back inside. Swagger dominated the match, but Bourne ended up getting the win, which Cole labeled a huge upset...

Powell's POV: Good action. I hope the company gets behind the feud. I may have missed it, but I don't think they did anything to hype that match in advance.

A shot aired of R-Truth standing in the back parking area talking to himself. The audio was out for a second. A shot aired of John Cena bumping firsts with Zack Ryder again... [C] The Smackdown commercial aired again... An ad aired for the Tough Enough finale...

R-Truth made his entrance, and the announcers set up the previous footage of Truth flipping out about merchandise earlier in the show. John Cena made his entrance...

Powell's POV: It's a shame they had the production problems, because it looked like more strong mic work from Truth. I assume the family in the audience was planted given that Truth had him repeat the "What's Up" line when he said it too quietly. If so, great plant. The guy played it perfectly.

[Overrun] 5. R-Truth beat John Cena by countout in a non-title match in 4:05. Truth headed to ringside when Cena got the better of him. He bickered with the fans at ringside after bowing out following the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena went after him and they fought into the crowd. Truth caught Cena with a punch and made it back inside the ring before the ref's ten count, so Cena was counted out.

After the match, Truth approached the father with his sons. The father was giving Truth the thumbs down sign. Truth took one of the boys' sodas and took a swig. The father stood up and asked what he was doing. Truth threw the drink in the father's face. Truth ran backstage. Cena walked over and checked on the family. The kid behind the father, presumably his older son, was smiling. Back live, Cena put an armband on the father...

Powell's POV: Hey, African Americans, it's cool to like Cena and boo R-Truth! Honestly, I enjoyed the angle with the family, but it seemed like that's what they were going for as much as anything. Truth came across like a jerk, and Cena was the ultra nice guy babyface, so everyone wins.

I still have mixed feelings on the Kharma angle, but I can't stress enough that she did a much better job on the mic than I expected. I just don't like the way they've humanized the monster. Overall, the show got off to a rough start with the technical issues, but they did a good job of showcasing each of the existing feuds. Are they ever going to announce a Raw match for the Capitol Punishment pay-per-view? If they think those Coors wannabe commercials with President Obama are enough, they're wrong.

I'll be back on Tuesday with the WWE Raw Hitlist, and an All Access audio review of WWE Raw.

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