By Jason Powell

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Kansas City, Mo.

[Q1] The opening video played, and then Michael Cole introduced the show and noted that we were less than a week away. Jim Ross hyped the Alberto Del Rio vs. C.M. Punk match. Booker T was also on commentary, as Jerry Lawler had the night off to sell the Mark Henry attack. Cole pointed out the Hell in a Cell structure hanging above the ring...

Powell's POV: Drink whenever Booker says "whoa" or "awwwww."

Triple H came to the ring for a promo. A video recapped Triple H firing The Miz and R-Truth last week. Cole complained about the firings and said it was a knee jerk reaction. Triple H said firing Miz and Truth wasn't due to his ego or a conspiracy theory, they were fired "because of this."

A video showed the duo talking after Night of Champions as highlights aired of them attacking referees and interfering in the Triple H vs. C.M. Punk match, and then apologizing the next night on Raw. Back live, Triple H said Miz and Truth were fired because they savagely attacked an official and were full of crap when they delivered their weak apologies.

Triple H said he knew he was going to fire them when he fined them $250,000. He said he used them to get one more main event. Triple H said Mark Henry will now pay a $250,000 fine for putting his hands on Jim Ross and attacking Jerry Lawler. Triple H said that no one man is bigger than WWE. Hunter also spoke about firing Kevin Nash despite their friendship.

"Excuse me," Vickie Guerrero belted out before walking to the ring with Dolph Ziggler. Dolph asked Hunter what he was going to do for him. He recalled Hugh Jackman punching him last week. "Hugh Jackman fractured my jaw," Ziggler said. He said it was all over the news and all over the world. He pointed to a graphic on the big screen that noted how TMZ and other mainstream news outlets covered the story.

Ziggler said he can still compete, but he can't eat solid food. He asked Hunter what he plans to do about it. Triple H said he didn't know what Ziggler asked him to do. Hunter said Jackman was a guest on the show and Ziggler picked a fight and then took a punch to his glass jaw. "I'll get some security and they can surround you when The Muppets are here next month," Triple H cracked.

Cody Rhodes walked out wearing his face mask. He said Randy Orton maliciously bashed the ring bell into his skull. He showed off the nine staples in his head that were used to close the wound. Cody questioned why Orton wasn't fined or punished. Hunter said he wished they had stapled Cody's mouth.

Triple H recalled Orton handcuffing him and attacking his wife. He said he didn't cry about it. Rather, he went and beat his ass on his front lawn. "This ain't the Boy Scouts," Triple H said before telling him to man up. Christian interrupted over another microphone. He complained about Sheamus costing him the World Hvt. Championship.

Christian made his latest plea for one more match. Triple H said he would do just that. He said he was giving Christian one more match against Sheamus at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. Hunter also booked Christian in a match against Randy Orton for Friday's Smackdown show. He then booked Christian vs. John Cena for Raw.

[Q2] Christian threw a fit and left. Dolph said he assumed Hunter wasn't going to do the right thing. Triple H announced that Ziggler will now defend the U.S. Title against the man who beat him last week, Zack Ryder. "Woo woo woo, you know it," Hunter said. Yes, really. Ziggler and Vickie stormed away. Triple H was going to give Cody the night off, but he got mouthy. Triple H booked Cody to defend the Intercontinental Title in a 10-man battle royal after the break... [C]

Powell's POV: Triple H gets the better of all the mid-card heels. He outsmarts, outwits, and outplays like a freaking Survivor contestant. The fans liked it, but I didn't think any of the mid-card heels came out of it looking good.

1. Cody Rhodes won a 10-man Battle Royal to retain the Intercontinental Title in 4:40. Cody had to defend against Sin Cara, John Morrison, Justin Gabriel, Alex Riley, Daniel Bryan, Ted DiBiase, Drew McIntyre, Ezekiel Jackson, and Sheamus. Cody immediately bowed out to ringside when the bell rang to start the match.

McIntyre was eliminated in the first 20 seconds. Fake Sin Cara came out and pulled the real Sin Cara to ringside. Daniel Bryan threw the second Sin Cara out. The original Sin Cara tried to return, but the referees wouldn't allow it. Sheamus eliminated Riley and Gabriel at 2:00.

Zeke eliminated Morrison and Bryan simultaneously. It came down to Sheamus, Zeke, DiBiase, and Rhodes. Cody eliminated Ted by shoving him off the top rope. Zeke charged at Cody, who pulled the top rope down and watched Zeke tumble over the top for the elimination.

Christian came out and distracted Sheamus, and Cody eventually eliminated Sheamus from the match. After the match, Christian attacked Sheamus and asked him how it felt to not win a title...

Powell's POV: I was just about to complain about Christian costing himself a shot at the Intercontinental Title by preventing Sheamus from winning it, but the logic that Christian wanted Sheamus to know how it feels to have someone cost you a title works for me.

[Q3] [C] The announcers spoke about Jerry Lawler. Ross said he's been in touch with him and he hopes that Lawler will be back on Raw next Monday. Cole said with a straight face that Lawler has bruised ribs and anal bleeding...

Powell's POV: Yes, he really said anal bleeding. Vince McMahon and Brian Gewirtz are giggling like school girls right now.

Backstage, David Otunga was wearing a bow tie while reminding John Laurinaitis that he has a law degree from Harvard. He complained about Triple H's actions. Laurinaitis said that it's not time to take the legal route, but perhaps it's time for him to assert his authority as the head of talent relations. Laurinaitis started texting as soon as Otunga walked away...

A backstage shot aired of Natalya and Beth Phoenix... The announcers set up a Kelly Kelly video package... Kelly and Eve made their entrance for a tag match with Beth and Natalya... [C] Ross narrated highlights of last week's match...

2. Beth Phoenix and Natalya beat Kelly Kelly and Eve in 3:20. Cole boasted that seven Raw topics are trending on Twitter. In related news, who gives a shit? In other who gives a shit news, Eve's hair miraculously grew a lot since last week. Kelly entered the match and did some damage, but Beth put her away with the Glam Slam...

Powell's POV: For those keeping score at home, Kelly did not learn how to run the ropes since last week. Ross said he thinks it's only a matter of time before Beth or Natalya are Divas Champion. It was cool that there wasn't much time between the end of the Divas match and the Henry introduction. That came out of nowhere.

Mark Henry's music played and he walked onto the stage and then headed to the ring for a match...

[Q4] The announcers said Henry would be facing The Great Khali after the break... [C]

Mark Henry and The Great Khali's match never got started. The match never got started. Henry slammed his title belt into Khali's head and then hit him with the World's Strongest Slam. Henry yelled at the fans as he walked up the stage...

A backstage shot aired of John Cena walking with the WWE Championship draped over his shoulder. Ross said he was coming out next... [C]

Powell's POV: Please tell me they didn't avoid having Khali lose the match so that they can come back to that matchup at some point. Henry continues to be an awesome monster heel. It's such a refreshing change from the long list of chickenshit heels that WWE has on its roster.

A generic ad for Smackdown was shown... The announcers hyped the U.S. Title match, and the WWE website...

John Cena made his entrance. He pointed to the Hell in a Cell structure that was hanging over the ring and said, "We must be getting close to Hell in a Cell." Well, thank you, Captain Obvious. Cena received the usual mixed reaction. He held up the mic and let the fans cheer or boo him, and then he held up the title belt to get a big reaction.

Cena said that he's going to hell on Sunday. He pointed to the screen, which showed the Hell in a Cell poster with his face surrounded by flames. He hyped that this will be the first ever Triple Threat match inside a Hell in a Cell structure. Cena said the championship is surrounded by controversy.

[Q5] Cena put over the structure. He said he will run into the devil's playground, stare Satan in the face, and question whether that's all he has. Cena said he's going to hell and he's already been through it, which is why he holds the WWE Championship. He said there's no way in hell that he'll lose the belt on Sunday.

Alberto Del Rio's music played and he walked from the back to ringside. C.M. Punk's music played. He wore a jacket over his usual gear. Cole said Punk was wearing his announcers' jacket. Booker had no idea what he was talking about. Cole said Booker would know if he actually followed the product. Zing!

Powell's POV: Good for Cole. I think that one came out too quickly to have been fed to him by Vince.

3. John Cena fought Christian to an apparent no-contest in a non-title match in 3:25. Punk and Del Rio were on commentary for the match. Cena and Christian ended up at ringside. Cena sent Christian over the announcers' table, and Punk took exception. Del Rio took a cheap shot at Punk.

Back inside the ring, Cena had Christian up for his finisher, but Del Rio ran in and kicked Cena for the non-finish (no finish was announced). Del Rio went to the stage and took the mic. He spoke about regaining the WWE Championship, and said once he does all the people can go to hell. Cena and Punk stood in the ring, but kept their distance from one another...

Cole hyped Punk vs. Del Rio for later in the show... [C] A WWE Network commercial was shown...

Powell's POV: Maybe I've seen too many Hell in a Cell matches that didn't live up to expectations in recent years, but Cena's serious promo wasn't enough to get me excited about the match or the pay-per-view. There hasn't been enough time between pay-per-views, and it probably doesn't help that they haven't built up to any potential title changes. Rather, both World Titles just changed hands eight days ago.

Ring introductions took place for the U.S. Title match...

[Q6] The announcers set up a video that recapped the Hugh Jackman segment from last week...

4. Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero, Jack Swagger) beat Zack Ryder to retain the United States Championship in 2:00. Ryder was in control of the offense when Jack Swagger reached up and clotheslined him on the top rope. Dolph hit his finisher and got the win. Ziggler and Swagger shook hands after the match.

After the match, the heels roughed up Ryder until Air Boom made the save. Teddy Long came out and told the heels to find a partner or face the threesome in the ring in a handicap match... [C]

Powell's POV: Are they on the same page or is Swagger's character lulling Ziggler into a false sense of security? This story seems to lead us in a new direction every week, so I've given up trying to figure out where it's all headed.

5. Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, and Zack Ryder beat Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, and Mason Ryan (w/Vickie Guerrero) in a handicap match in 6:30 Cole said this was another example of the anarchy that has ensued since Triple H took control of the company. Cole said the Broski of the week should be renamed loser of the week. I think Jeffrey Ross's job as The Roastmaster General is safe.

Vickie went to the back and came back with Mason Ryan at 4:00. At 5:30, Ryan tagged into the match. He immediately clotheslined Swagger and threw him to ringside. The jacked up rookie grabbed Ziggler and slammed him to the ground. Vickie threw a fit at ringside. Ryan pointed at her and smiled. Ryder hit the Rough Ryder and pinned Ziggler...

[Q7] The babyface trio celebrated, and Swagger helped Ziggler to his feet and then they headed backstage with Vickie... The announcers hyped Punk vs. Del Rio... [C]

Powell's POV: A strong return for Ryan, as the live crowd didn't see it coming and he got a good reaction for roughing up the heels.

A Hell in a Cell video played... The announcers ran through the pay-per-view lineup that features Cena vs. Del Rio vs. Punk for the WWE Championship, Henry vs. Orton for the World Hvt. Championship, Sheamus vs. Christian, and Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix for the Divas Championship...

Powell's POV: Ross said Beth is finally getting her opportunity. I guess he's not paying attention when they don't use him on the pay-per-view shows.

Backstage, lawyer Otunga told Vickie, Christian, Dolph, and Cody that he doesn't know whether a lawsuit is the way to go, but they need to be together if it is. They all agreed...

Ricardo Rodriguez introduced Del Rio, who did the car entrance... [C]

Powell's POV: Clarence Mason should sue David Otunga for gimmick infringement. This show has failed miserably when it comes to getting this viewer excited about Sunday's show. They really need something special in the last 25 minutes. By the way, I wonder how many viewers at home are rolling their eyes at Otunga suddenly playing the lawyer role. His story is legit, but I'll bet a lot of casual viewers don't know that.

[Q8] John Cena made his entrance and sat in on commentary for the main event... C.M. Punk made the final entrance...

6. C.M. Punk beat Alberto Del Rio in 12:00. Early in the match, Punk returned the favor from earlier by whipping Del Rio in Cena's direction at ringside. Punk smirked about it afterward. Later, the show cut to commercial with Punk lying on the floor at ringside. [C]

Del Rio was in control of the offense. Poor Punk couldn't even control his bad hair night. Did he run out of hair product halfway through? Del Rio continued to control the offense and worked over Punk's arm. Punk came back and caught Del Rio with two kicks and pinned him out of nowhere.

[Overrun] After the match, the Hell in a Cell cage started lowering as Ricardo attempted to take cheap shots at Punk. Cena grabbed Ricardo and threw him inside as the cell lowered. Punk hit Ricardo with the GTS, and then Cena followed up with the Attitude Adjustment. Punk tried to GTS Cena, who tried unsuccessfully to counter with the Attitude Adjustment.

Alberto Del Rio broke up the Punk and Cena fighting with chairshots to their backs. He set up the chair in the corner and ran Punk into it. He slammed the chair down viciously over Cena's back, and then blasted Punk with it again. Del Rio held up the chair and played to the crowd. Del Rio's music played to close the show...

Powell's POV: It's official, WWE did not do enough to make me excited about my pay-per-view purchase on Sunday. There wasn't enough time between shows to set things up properly. I can't say there wasn't enough time to set up the Hell in a Cell matches, as they know when the damn show will be held a year out. There's no reason they can't plan their feuds out to peak at Hell in a Cell.

Dot Net Members will be listening to my audio review of Raw later tonight, and have ad-free access to the website, including Sunday's WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view coverage. Join us now by signing up for membership via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

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