By Jason Powell

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Cleveland, Ohio

[Q1] The opening video played to open the show... Michael Cole introduced the show. Jerry Lawler hyped that Hugh Jackman is the guest star of the show. Jim Ross was also on commentary...

C.M. Punk's music played and he limped to the ring to a strong crowd reaction. Punk limped to the ring, and Ross put over how much Punk and Triple H were ailing after Night of Champions. Punk spoke about being beat up in the past, and spoke about how much he was hurting. He said he couldn't turn his head either way.

Punk said the thing that hurts most is his pride. "I have to admit that R-Truth and The Miz are right," Punk said. "There is a conspiracy here in World Wrestling Entertainment. It's not the conspiracy that R-Truth and Miz are talking about." Punk was about to elaborate, but Triple H's entrance music interrupted him.

Triple H headed to the ring wearing a suit, which Cole said means he is still COO following his match with Punk. Triple H said he's just as beat up as Punk, and said he can barely move today. He said the fact remains that he is still the COO of WWE.

Hunter spoke about John Cena winning the WWE Championship. He said Alberto Del Rio has a rematch coming, and so does Punk based on the fact that he never got one after he lost the title. Triple H announced that it will be Cena vs. Punk vs. Del Rio in a Triple Threat Hell in a Cell match.

Triple H took offense to Punk's conspiracy talk. He took his jacket and tie off while saying that they could throw down if Punk doesn't believe he and Nash are in cahoots. Punk told him to put his tie back on because he was about to say that there is a conspiracy and it doesn't involve Triple H.

Punk said the conspiracy involves someone higher on the ladder who is playing both of them. John "Super Dave" Laurinaitis came out and told Punk that "this has gone too far." He said Punk is in the middle of the conspiracy. He said Hunter shouldn't believe anything that Punk has to say.

Punk accused Laurinaitis of sending R-Truth and The Miz to the ring and other recent activities because he wanted to swoop in and become COO if Hunter lost the match. Laurinaitis said he won't be disrespected. The fans got restless, but Hunter got them back by getting in Marty Funkhouser's face and reminding him that he works for him. Hunter said he's going to get to the bottom of it.

Laurinaitis said he was wishing Punk the best in his future endeavors. "You're fired," Laurainaitis yelled. Triple H quickly said Punk isn't fired. He said he's responsible for the firing. Hunter said that he's going to get to the bottom of it and someone would be fired by the end of the night...

Ross hyped that Mark Henry was the new World Hvt. Champion. He said he would be interviewing Henry in the ring later in the show... Cole hyped Evan Bourne, Kofi Kingston, Sheamus, and Justin Gabriel vs. Christian, Wade Barrett, David Otunga, and Michael McGillicutty in an eight-man tag match...

Powell's POV: Please let it be the Laurainaitis character who gets fired, as it appears to be heading. He's completely void of charisma, and the fans just don't seem to care one way or another about his character. Hunter teasing that someone will be fired is a good hook for the rest of the show. One of the perks of the SuperShow is that the Raw announcers actually get to talk about the World Hvt. Championship changing hands. Prior to the SuperShow concept, that would have been crappy Smackdown commercial fodder.

[Q2] [C] 1. Evan Bourne, Kofi Kingston, Sheamus, and Justin Gabriel beat Christian, Wade Barrett, David Otunga, and Michael McGillicutty in an eight-man tag match in 4:40. In the end, Sheamus hoisted up Otunga for the Celtic Cross, glared at Christian, and hit the move before scoring the pin...

Powell's POV: A crowd pleasing tag match. It's nice to see Gabriel get some Raw time and get some rub from his teammates.

Backstage, a referee told Triple H that he and the other referees are worried about their safety due to The Miz and R-Truth. Hunter told him to tell the duo that he wants to see them as soon as they arrive. After the ref left, Alberto Del Rio entered the room and complained about the Triple Threat match. He said he prays that Vince McMahon will return. Hunter told him he's been inside Hell in a Cell, and Del Rio needs all the prayers he can take... [C]

Ricardo Rodriguez introduced Alberto Del Rio, who drove another sports car into the building and then headed to the ring with a scowl on his face...

[Q3] 2. Alberto Del Rio beat John Morrison in 0:50. The announcers acknowledged the WWE website video of Del Rio bitch slapping poor Ricardo. Del Rio applied the Cross Arm Breaker, and Morrison tapped out...

Powell's POV: I never would have guessed that Del Rio would emasculate Morrison more in this match than he did Ricardo Rodriguez in the Ike and Tina-like video that WWE posted after Night of Champions. What's love got to do with it, Ricardo? Just walk away.

Justin Roberts introduced Hugh Jackman as the guest star of the show. Cole said Jackman blew him off when he tried to get a picture. Jackman slapped hands with the fans on his way to the ring and then ran the ropes once inside. Jackman took the mic and spoke about how excited he was to be on Raw.

"Hosting The Oscars is cool, but The Oscars isn't in front of 15,000 screaming fans in Cleveland," he said. Um, I'm pretty sure he meant that as a compliment to WWE. Jackman pimped his movie and talked about robots going at each other from start to finish. Vickie Guerrero interrupted Jackman with a few "excuse me" lines. "The Cougar meets The Wolverine," Cole said.

Once in the ring, Vickie sized up Jackman and said she's his biggest fan. Vickie was in heat as she flirted with Jackman while an angry Dolph watched on. Vickie said she's sure Jackman will agree that she's the hottest Diva in WWE. Vickie introduced a frustrated Ziggler to Jackman, who said he doesn't appreciate Jackman stealing his time.

Dolph boasted that he proved that he's the best U.S. Champion the business has ever seen by beating three other superstars at Night of Champions. Dolph said Cleveland is the home of the underdog. He said Jackman coaches an underdog in his movie and turns him into a winner. I guess we can all skip that one.

Dolph said underdog is just another word for loser. Jackman said Dolph insulted an entire city. Jackman said he loves underdogs so much that he's going to the back to find an underdog and bring him out so that he can embarrass Ziggler. A "We Want Ryder" chant broke out.

Jackman acknowledged the chants and asked the fans if that's who they want. He ran to ringside and grabbed a "Ryder > Wolverine" sign and held it up. Jackman headed backstage, while Dolph seethed in the ring...

A shot aired of The Miz and R-Truth arriving at the building together. Laurinaitis greeted them and said Triple H wants to see them immediately. A humble Miz apologized to Laurinaitis for their actions at the pay-per-view...

Powell's POV: I assume Ryder was the plan given the way Jackman acknowledged the chants and found the fan sign at ringside. If not, the underdog is going to be hearing a lot of boos from the Ryder friendly crowd.

[Q4] [C] Highlights aired of real Sin Cara going face-to-face with fake Sin Cara on Smackdown...

Sin Cara came out for a non-title match against Cody Rhodes. The announcers debated which Sin Cara was in the ring. Cody had guys hanging out bags at ringside as part of his entrance. The Sin Cara music played again and the other Sin Cara showed up. The smaller Sin Cara had blonde hair sticking out the back of his mask.

Cody Rhodes disappeared as the real and fake Sin Cara squared off. Fake Sin Cara (taller) attacked Real Sin Cara. Real Sin Cara cleared fake Sin Cara from the ring with a dropkick. Lawler said it appeared "The Original Sin Cara" got rid of the impostor. Ross questioned which one was which...

Powell's POV: The fans cheered when the original Sin Cara put his hands up, and booed the fake Sin Cara. However, they were flat once they started fighting.

Backstage, R-Truth and The Miz apologized to Triple H for putting their hands on a referee at the pay-per-view. They both acted humble and remorseful. "Fine, I accept your apology," Hunter said. "Since you decided to put your hands on an official, I've decided to fine you each $250,000 each." Hunter said he wanted the check on his desk by Monday. He then booked them in a tag match against John Cena and C.M. Punk... [C]

An ad for Smackdown focussed on Mark Henry... Back live, the announcers put over Mark Henry's title win as still shot photos of the match were shown...

[Q5] Teddy Long was shown walking to the backstage area. Inside the ring, Jim Ross announced that he had just been informed that Randy Orton was invoking his rematch clause and the match will be held inside Hell in a Cell. Ross introduced Henry as the new World Heavyweight Champion. Lawler expressed concern for Ross over having to interview Henry.

Ross asked Henry how it felt to prove the naysayers wrong by becoming champion. Henry said Ross is one of them. Henry said he's never been in a Hell in a Cell match, but he knows that he gave Orton hell on Sunday. The fans did the "What?" shit while Henry was talking.

Henry said Ross wasn't very high on him and wanted Vince McMahon to fire him. Henry held up the title belt in Ross's face. He said everything that needs to be said is right there. He said he was giving Ross the opportunity to apologize. "Mark, uh, I apologize," Ross said nervously.

"I hate ass kissers," Henry responded. Henry grabbed Ross by the tie and put him down on his knees. "You're hurting me," Ross yelled repeatedly. Jerry Lawler ran in and tried to get Henry to calm down. Henry eventually told Lawler that he would take Ross's place.

Lawler threw a punch at Henry, who then dropped him with a shot and hit him with the World's Strongest Slam. Henry kicked him to ringside and followed. Henry tore the announcers' table apart (the general manager podium is still at ringside). Henry whipped Lawler over the table and then picked him up and performed the World's Strongest Slam through the table... [C]

Powell's POV: Raise your hand if you expected Ross to take the beating from Henry. If you don't have your hand up, then raise it if you're a goddamn liar. Okay, now that everyone has their hands up, that was another strong segment for Henry. He stumbled on the mic a bit at one point, but he's a believable badass, monster heel champion. Sadly, beating up Ross or Lawler is the best way to get sympathy in WWE since wrestler beatdowns are so routine.

After the break, Cole narrated highlights of the Henry attack on Lawler. Josh Mathews was with Cole on commentary, and they said they'd pass along an update on Lawler as soon as they could...

Powell's POV: I mentioned in Dot Net Members' audio last night that I would have saved Josh interviewing Henry for tonight's show and then had Henry beat the hell out of him, so I guess I wasn't too far off on this one.

[Q6] 3. Kelly Kelly and Eve beat Beth Phoenix and Natalya in 1:50. Beth roughed up Kelly to start, but Kelly quickly went on the offensive and then tagged in Eve. In the end, Eve rolled up Natalya and got the pin. The announcers played up the idea that Kelly and Eve are on a roll in their feud with Beth and Natalya...

Backstage, Hugh Jackman told Zack Ryder that he's out of his mind, delusional, pathetic, and perfect. Ryder didn't take offense. Instead, they headed off to the ring together, but not before Jackman flashed a concerned look at the camera... The announcers hyped the Cena and Punk vs. Miz and Truth tag match... [C]

Powell's POV: I assume they are going somewhere with the Beth and Natalya losses given the way the announcers were talking about their frustration, etc. By the way, kudos to the Twitter follower who wrote that Hugh Jackman runs the ropes better than Kelly. Follow me via @prowrestlingnet - just know that I do write about more than pro wrestling and I don't give two shits about your precious timeline. Hey, at least I'm honest.

Cole set up a preview of Jackman's movie "Real Steel"...

4. Zack Ryder (w/Hugh Jackman) beat Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) in a non-title match in 3:00. Mathews said Ryder's catchphrase is so popular that it trended worldwide on Twitter. I'll bet he doesn't care about your stupid timeline either. Vickie slapped Ryder. The referee ordered Vickie to leave ringside.

Meanwhile, Jackman hit Ziggler behind the ref's back. Ryder hit the Rough Ryder and scored the pin. Cole said it was a "real steal" for Ryder. Get it? Ugh...

Powell's POV: The live crowd popped big for the finish and was clearly behind Ryder. Jackman's movie looks really bad. I'll bet that Wolverine mofo cheats behind the robot referee's back in the movie too! If there's a sequel (and based on the crappy trailer there will not be), I think this calls for a Vickie Guerrero super robot.

[Q7] [C] A Jack Swagger video package was shown...

Powell's POV: Nice. I want to believe that means they are serious about doing something with Swagger, but it wasn't that long ago that we watched a John Morrison video package.

Backstage, Jack Swagger boasted to Vickie Guerrero about his video. He said it was better than anything Dolph has done tonight, and added that he could introduce her to Hugh Jackman. She said she'd love to have him in her stable. He kissed her hand. Dolph didn't look happy...

Backstage, John Cena approached C.M. Punk and said they are the new Rock-n-Roll Express. Cena implied that they'll be fine tonight, but Punk has to worry about after tonight when they meet in the first ever Triple Threat match inside Hell in a Cell. Cena took a jab by reminding Punk that someone is going to be fired tonight, and said it would be a shame if it were Punk. Punk fired back by saying it would be a shame if Cena was the first ever WWE Champion to be fired...

At ringside, the announcers sat in front of the broken table and set up a Hell in a Cell video...

Powell's POV: I also hope that the Hell in a Cell structure gets a better push than John Morrison has since we saw his video package. Hey, fair is fair.

R-Truth and The Miz rapped their way to ringside while singing their "You Suck" song... [C]

Powell's POV: It wasn't as funny this time around, but it did conclude with Miz saying that his hometown of Cleveland sucks. It will be interesting to see if Miz gets any hometown love during the main event. I wonder if they shot a video for the arena that showed Miz badmouthing the fans in Cleveland. They've done that with other hometown heels in the past.

[Q8] C.M. Punk made his entrance. John Cena was introduced as the new WWE Champion...

Powell's POV: At least WWE has figured out that there's no need for a John Cena championship win celebration on Raw since they'd have to hold one every month or two. My guess is that Kevin Nash interferes or something happens to Punk and Cena that leads them to point the finger at Triple H for setting them up.

5. John Cena and C.M. Punk beat The Miz and R-Truth in 13:05. Cole put over the way Cena respects everyone he gets in the ring with. Wait, I thought he had no respect for Del Rio? The Miz shook hands with the referee. Funny. The Miz DDT'd Cena and got a near fall before the show cut to commercial. [C]

Later, Miz and Truth continued to play up the referee respect by obeying Charles Robinson's every order. They remained in control until Miz missed a move in the corner, and then Ricky made the hot tag to Robert, er, Cena tagged in Punk. In the end, Punk hit the GTS on The Miz and pinned him.

Afterward, Cena raised Punk's hand in the air and pointed at him. Triple H's music played. He walked onto the stage and said he was sorry to interrupt the celebration. "Good match," Hunter said. "Miz, Truth, you're fired." Triple H walked backstage as Miz and Truth looked shocked.

Miz and Truth regained their composure and stormed backstage together. Triple H walked into an area where a group of wrestlers were watching the monitors. Miz and Truth jumped Triple H from behind as Scott Stanford was trying to interview him. The wrestlers pulled Truth and Miz off Hunter, and then he had William Regal, Wade Barrett, Jack Swagger, Brodus Clay, and others throw Miz and Truth out of the building...

Powell's POV: As I keep mentioning in audio, all signs point to the NWO or some type of NWO-like faction. Just as I pointed out with Kevin Nash, you don't have to be fired to be in the NWO and show up on television. Overall, this was an entertaining show. They had to rush into the Hell in a Cell hype, so we didn't get the down time from pay-per-view hype that we normally would. I'll have more to say about the show in Dot Net Members' audio later tonight. You can join us on the ad-free version of the website by signing up via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE: