WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from San Antonio, TX

[Q1] The opening video aired and fireworks lit up the stage. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler introduced the show. King explained that the winners of interpromotional matches would win a random draft pick for their brand. Michael Cole, Mick Foley, Mike Adamle, and Tazz are on hand for the show as well…

Twill’s Two Cents: This format never made sense to me. Why would anyone want more competition on their show?

1. Triple H defeated Mark Henry in a non-title match in 5:19. Jim Ross and Mick Foley were the announcers for this match. Triple H gave Henry a crotch chop before they locked up. Henry overpowered the champion early and scored a nearfall at 1:46. Henry continued a slow and plodding pace as H sold for him big time.

JR called a Vader Bomb, scoring another nearfall for Henry at about 3:15. Triple H slowly gained the advantage and finally knocked Henry down with a high knee. He went for a Pedigree but Henry countered it into the World’s Strongest Slam. Henry tried and missed a splash, allowing Triple H to hit the Pedigree for the win…

They showed multiple superstar photographs flashing very quickly, just like last time. The first draft pick was Rey Mysterio, coming from Smackdown to Raw. Mysterio came out and shook hands with Triple H…

King plugged Vince giving away some money after the break… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Triple H sold a lot for Henry but scored the predictable victory. I like Mysterio moving over to Raw. I believe this is his first time ever being exclusively on Raw.

[Q2] Vince McMahon came out to his normal theme music. He said five people would win $100,000 and one person would win $500,000. Nice. He called out Kelly Kelly to help him give away the first prize. She was wearing a bright yellow dress that resembled a towel.

Kelly dialed for Vince. Crystal from New York won the money. She gave the password, which is Night of Champions. Vince called her a loser at first, but Kelly corrected him. Kelly then danced for a minute as Vince looked on…

Backstage, Triple H told Rey Mysterio he has always wanted to work with him and welcomed him to the show. John Cena came in, shook hands with Rey, and locked in on Triple H. H said he has never gotten over his loss to Cena at Wrestlemania 22. Cena said if Triple H wanted to be the man, he had to beat the man. H held the belt up and told Cena until he wins the title, he is nothing… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Well, Kelly Kelly is a huge step up from Charlie Haas and Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Rey Mysterio vs. John Cena and Rey Mysterio vs. Triple H are two possible new feuds. I believe that is what people are looking for with the draft.

[Q3] 2. Finlay and Hornswoggle defeated Santino Marella and Carlito in 2:15. Cole and King drew this match. Hornswoggle hit a Stunner on Santino for a one count. Finlay tagged in and tried to use the shillegleh, but Santino took it away. The referee stopped him from using it. The distraction allowed Finlay to hit the Celtic Cross and tag Hornswoggle, who hit the tadpole splash for the win…

After the match, the second draft pick of the night was revealed to be Jeff Hardy, who moves from Raw to Smackdown. As Hardy posed on the stage, Randy Orton, in a sling, watched in disgust backstage… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: I love this pick. With Hardy moving to Smackdown, I could definitely see Batista coming back to Raw now. Jeff Hardy vs. Edge could be a fantastic long-term program.

Vince McMahon introduced Randy Orton to help him with the next call. Orton gave a promo saying Triple H and John Cena better hope he is drafted tonight because he will once again become WWE Champion. Orton apologized to Vince and walked away because he was not in the mood to give away $100,000.

Before Vince made the call, he made tonight’s main event of John Cena vs. Edge. Samira answered the call but he could not even remember his name. He did win the money though…

JR plugged the John Cena vs. Edge match. King promoted a fifteen man, tri-branded battle royale, with the winner securing two draft picks for his brand… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Glad to see Randy Orton back although his promo skills are about the same. I like the main event tonight and like even more that JR referred to their past rivalry.

[Q4] 3. Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes defeated Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely in a non-title match in 2:04. Ted Dibiase joined Mike Adamle and King on commentary for this match. Dibiase put Holly and Rhodes over, but then said unlike them, he is priceless. After two minutes of serviceable action, Holly hit the Alabama Slam on Chavo for the win…

After the match, the third draft pick of the night was C.M. Punk, moving from ECW to Raw. Chris Jericho made his way through the back to address the crowd in the ring… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: I expected Punk to move, but I was thinking he would go to Smackdown. I like this move although it seems as if he will be holding onto that briefcase for a lot longer.

Chris Jericho came to the ring wearing a very boy band looking shirt. Jericho tried to heel the San Antonio crowd, but many of them were sitting on their hands. The mention of Shawn Michaels barely garnered any response. Jericho said Michaels would turn on the fans just like he turned on his friends.

Jericho showed a video of Michaels turning on Marty Jannetty (in the infamous Barber Shop segment), Diesel, Hulk Hogan, and John Cena over various times in his career. The video ended with Michaels faking a knee injury to defeat Batista. Jericho finally mocked the crowd enough to get them to chant HBK.

Jericho said he was a good person and the fans were not allowed to cheer for him anymore. He said there was only one person like him and his name is Lance Cade. Cade and Jericho made reference to Cade’s graduation from the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy. Cade said that while Michaels helped him get to WWE, he soon turned his back on him, like he does everyone.

[Q5] Jericho said he does not have an opponent for the PPV. He then showed the video from when he injured Michaels. Michaels’ music hit and he came out to a mild pop. Michaels ran down the ring and brawled with Jericho to the floor. Jericho hit a drop toehold, causing Michaels to go face first in the corner of the announce table.

Jericho look over him wondering if he was faking again. Michaels sold it as if his eyeball was hanging out of the socket. The medical staff tried to calm him down… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Jericho was solid here and I love how he continues to prove his point with factual information. He is completely correct. Cade playing off his training history with Michaels is a solid way to go as well. By the way, JR called this a sellout but this crowd is very tame, even for the hometown boy Michaels.

JR and King recapped the Jericho and Michaels footage. Michael Cole and Tazz ran down the three draft picks so far. WWE.com will have interviews with the draftees throughout the evening…

4. The Miz and John Morrison defeated Matt and Jeff Hardy in a non-title match in 8:15. Miz and Morrison are billed from ECW for draft purposes. Vickie Guerrero came out with Zach Ryder and Curt Hawkins. She said Edge’s boys were her original choice to face the tag team champions, but recent developments caused her to change her mind. Matt Hardy’s music hit and he came out and revealed his partner to be his brother Jeff, the newest member of the Smackdown roster.

Matt and Miz started the match. Jeff tagged in and hit the Poetry in Motion before grounding Miz with an extended headlock. Miz and Morrison hit the slingshot/springboard elbow double team move. Morrison kept Jeff grounded.

[Q6] With Jeff on the apron, both Miz and Morrison got their shots in. Miz scored a nearfall after a big closeline to Jeff in the corner. The champions used multiple tags and double team moves to keep Jeff on the receiving end of the offense. Jeff hit the Whisper in the Wind on Miz and both men tried to get to their corners.

Matt received the hot tag. He hit a combination bulldog/closeline on both tag team champions. Hardy went to the top but Morrison stopped him. Hardy pushed him off and hit a leg drop, but Morrison used a distraction to cover Matt, grab the tights, and score the pin…

After the match, Matt Hardy was revealed to the fourth draft pick, moving from Smackdown to ECW… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Good match. As soon as the Hardy’s teamed together, I thought Matt might be the next to move. He takes the United States Championship with him and the young talent in ECW could learn an awful lot from Matt.

Vince McMahon stood on the stage and introduced Ric Flair to help him give out the next monetary prize. Flair shook hands with Vince. King said Flair has given away a lot of money (to his ex wives). JR said he once bought 117 kamikazes in one night. Funny. Donna won the money and Flair gave her a “Whoooooooo.”…

Mickie James and Melina made their way through the backstage area in preparation for their match… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: It is always great to see Flair and always weird to see Mickie and Melina friendly toward one another.

[Q7] Justin Roberts announced that the only people eligible to be drafted after the match were announcers and backstage interviewers…

5. Mickie James and Melina vs. Victoria and Natalya ended in a double disqualification in 2:58. Natalya scored the first nearfall with a powerslam at :48. Cole and King were supposed to call the match but every announcer talked about the possible shakeup.

Melina went to the top but Victoria threw her to the floor. Mickie checked on Melina as she clutched her ankle. All four women brawled on the floor. The referee called for the bell and ruled the match a double disqualification. As a result, both Raw and Smackdown received a draft pick.

In the first jaw dropping move of the evening, Jim Ross went from Raw to Smackdown and Michael Cole went from Smackdown to Raw. Both men switched chairs. Ross looked pissed but he said he could not grieve forever and plugged tonight’s main event… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Melina looked legitimately hurt. Wow. I hope Vince did this for the shock factor and changes them back. I fear this is his latest attempt to replace JR. Also, the whole “random” selection thing lost a lot of credibility here when both play by play guys were drafted.

[Q8] The announcers sold the shock of the move. JR sent it up to Vince, who introduced The Great Khali. Vince said Khali was starring in “Get Smart.” Khali briefly plugged the movie. Vince said another star of the movie was Dwayne Johnson, known to the fans as The Rock. He plugged The Rock’s DVD.

Some kid answered the call and said it was a wrong number. Khali cut a promo on the phone and was close to kicking the phone’s ass. The second caller gave the phone to someone else in the house, who gave the password and won the money. Khali continued to badmouth the phone…

Edge made his entrance for his match. JR called Lillian’s introduction of him the longest in the history of WWE. JR is going smartass on all of us!... [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Khali could be hilarious if they made him an angry face. He already sucks but at least they could make him funny.

6. John Cena defeated Edge by countout in a non-title match in 7:44. JR continued to make comments regarding his displeasure. The crowd finally woke up and cheered Edge pretty loudly. Both men kept up a very quick pace early on, resulting in nearfalls for both men.

[Q9] At 4:30, Cena hit two shoulderblocks, a belly to back suplex, and the you can’t see me punch to the face. He went for the FU twice but Edge countered the second one into the Impaler DDT for a very nearfall. Edge went for the spear but Cena countered with a drop toehold and the STFU. Edge was able to get to the ropes.

Edge went to the top rope but Cena positioned him for the FU. Edge avoided it for a third time by pushing Cena to the floor. Edge followed him out but Cena picked him up for the FU. He acted as though he was going to walk Edge into the ring but he dropped him and jumped back into the ring for the countout victory…

Edge retreated to the back but Batista attacked him. Edge got away and Batista entered the ring. Predictably, the next draft pick was revealed to be Batista, who comes to Raw from Smackdown. Cena and Batista stared each other down inside the ring as Edge waved goodbye to The Animal… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: I called that one. On top of that, Edge should be happy that he lost and Batista is leaving the show. The fans should be happy so far; the potential for some great and fresh new programs is there.

Backstage, Edge and Vickie Guerrero celebrated the departure of Batista. Vince McMahon entered and reminded them Edge would still defend the title this Sunday against Batista. Vince wondered what would happen if Edge was drafted. Vickie cried at the thought…

7. MVP defeated Tommy Dreamer (with Colin Delaney) in 2:38. Mike Adamle and Mick Foley called the match. Foley said he has been through some amazingly tough challenges but calling a match with Adamle is at the top of the list. Adamle said ECW has been shut out so far. Tazz reminded him that they did get Matt Hardy in the draft.

Foley and Adamle talked about some 1982 Playboy model, but Tazz reminded them a match was going on. MVP hit the big running kick on Dreamer for the victory…

[Q10] After the match, Umaga was randomly selected to go from Raw to Smackdown. Adamle called him the “Samoan Bulldog.” Tazz corrected him and seemed genuinely pissed. Adamle said he deserved all the ribbing he was receiving. Umaga came down and laid out both Dreamer and Delaney… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Thanks for coming MVP. Wow, he was in and out of there without much fanfare. As for Adamle, he seems horribly nervous. I would not be surprised if he pissed his pants. Umaga moving is no surprise but if they push him again, he could be a great sleeper addition for Smackdown.

Each announce team ran down the draft picks for their respective brands. JR and Adamle attempted to sound excited about their situations…

8. JBL defeated Kofi Kingston in 5:01. Mike Adamle tried to make a self deprecating joke where he was going to say something about Kofi, but he talked over the ring announcer and stopped. Cole said, “If you keep talking over the ring announcer, you will get your pink slip.” Ouch, Adamle is taking a beating tonight.

Kofi was able to utilize his quickness to ground JBL, but JBL hit a huge boot to the face to change the tide of the match. JBL hit a fallaway slam for a two count at the three minute mark. Kofi tried a high crossbody, but JBL sidestepped him and hit the Closeline from Hell for the win…

[Q11] After the match, the next draft pick was revealed to be the ECW Champion, Kane, who comes over to Raw from ECW. Cole plugged the battle royale for later in the show… [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Oddly enough, Kofi and JBL worked pretty well together. They both used their offensive strengths and looked well in doing so. I am guessing Kane will lose the ECW Championship on Sunday and become another midcard Raw guy.

The next winner of the money was live in attendance. Her ringback tone was Stone Cold’s music. They got the camera on her pretty damn quickly…

Cole and King ran down the PPV card one more time…

The ring introductions for the battle royale took place. Raw was represented by Triple H, John Cena, Batista, C.M. Punk, and Kane. ECW was represented by Matt Hardy, The Miz, John Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, and Chavo Guerrero. Smackdown was represented by Big Show, MVP, Jeff Hardy, Edge, and The Great Khali. Each group wore the shirt of their brand… [C]

9. Edge won a tri-branded battle royale that included Big Show, MVP, Jeff Hardy, Great Khali, Triple H, John Cena, Batista, C.M. Punk, Kane, Matt Hardy, The Miz, John Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, and Chavo Guerrero in 18:19. The match was in progress coming back from commercial. Khali was the first guy eliminated as all of the Raw and ECW guys pushed him over the top. They all went for Big Show next but they could not eliminate him.

[Q12] Miz had Edge teetering over the top rope but Edge was able to fight his way back into the ring. Matt Hardy and Triple H traded near eliminations, as did C.M. Punk and MVP. Batista eliminated both Miz and Morrison. Show and MVP nearly eliminated Punk.

Edge speared Batista, Cena, Triple H, Matt Hardy, and Jeff Hardy as the show went to commercial… [C]

During the break, Big Show eliminated Punk. Jeff Hardy eliminated Chavo Guerrero, leaving ECW with just Matt Hardy. Show splashed Triple H and dominated Cena in the corner. MVP tried the corner kick on Matt Hardy, but Matt moved and eliminated him.

Matt and Jeff went face to face and realized they were on different shows. Jeff almost eliminated Matt, but then mule kicked him to finish the job. In a scary spot, Edge and Batista tried to spear each other but they hit heads, causing Batista to bleed the hard way. Batista recovered in the corner for many minutes.

Triple H eliminated Jeff Hardy. Batista speared Edge out of his boots. Show eliminated Batista and Kane. The final four were Show, Edge, Cena, and Triple H. Edge recovered slowly.

[Overrun] Cena and Triple H worked together to put out Show. Edge then pushed Cena into H, causing him to be eliminated. Edge then eliminated Cena to earn the victory…

After the match, Mr. Kennedy and Triple H were both drafted over to Smackdown. Vince McMahon came out to hand out the big prize of $500,000. After the gentleman won the money, part of the set fell from the top of the titantron to the stage.

Vince looked on in shock as the area around him began to spark. Then the set around him gave out and he fell through the floor. He tried to stand but the scaffolding fell near him as well. As he laid there, Triple H, John Cena, and Edge all rushed to his aide. They tried to lift the scaffolding. The medical staff put Vince on the board as Triple H could be heard encouraging Vince that he would be okay…

Twill’s Two Cents: I am sure Vince has wanted to do something like this since his limousine blew up. While the show tonight did not really sell PPVs, it did produce a lot of shocking moves and even an interesting angle with him involved. All in all, this show was a huge thumbs up for me and I hope the creative team runs with the ball.

I enjoyed the show; did you? Please let me know. Rich Twilling can be reached at dotnetrich@gmail.com.

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