By Jason Powell

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Lafayette, La.

[Q1] The cameras panned the crowd as Michael Cole introduced the show. He noted that Jerry Lawler was still recovering from Mark Henry's attack, so he was joined by Jim Ross and Booker T on commentary. Ross hyped the 12-man tag team main event...

1. Randy Orton pinned Drew McIntyre in 5:25. Cole hyped that they would show "exclusive footage of the melee" that ensued at the end of the Hell in a Cell main event. McIntyre got a little offense in early, but then Orton took over. They went to ringside and Orton ran McIntyre into the guardrail.

McIntyre made a comeback and suplexed Orton for a near fall that no one took seriously. However, the fans did start a "Randy" chant. The announcers spoke about there being "a unique vibe" amongst the wrestlers following Hell in a Cell. In the end, Orton hit the RKO and scored the pin.

After the match, Orton played to the live crowd while standing on the ropes. He looked back at McIntyre and then walked over and dropped him with another RKO. Orton went back to celebrating, only to have Mark Henry's music play.

Powell's POV: I like the way they shook things up by not opening the show with the seemingly obligatory 15-minute talking segment. I assumed the match would be a squash given that Orton lost last night, but McIntyre got more offense than I expected even though no one took his offense seriously due to the way he's been positioned as a scrub. For what it's worth, the WWE Insider Twitter page stated that R-Truth and The Miz are pressing charges against Triple H.

Mark Henry walked to ringside and held the World Heavyweight Championship title belt above his head. Orton responded to the gloating by heading to ringside and attacking Henry. John Laurinaitis led security to the ring in hopes of keeping them part. Orton pulled away and got some shots in at Henry. He broke away a second time and threw him over the guardrail... [C]

Powell's POV: "Did you see that?" was Booker's call for Orton dumping Henry over the guardrail. Um, yeah, Booker, it's television, not radio. Ross and Cole did a nice job of selling the brawl. The show is off to a fast start with two major players. My only complaint is that Hell in a Cell should be a blowoff match, not just another match in a feud. Creative knows when the pay-per-view is. There's no reason Vince McMahon and company couldn't book the feuds in a way so that they climax at Hell in a Cell. TNA done a better job of that with most of the Lockdown (all cage) matches than WWE has with HIAC lately.

[Q2] Henry was still standing in the ring and his music was playing. A Henry video was shown... The announcers hyped that Big Show will make his return on Friday's Smackdown television show...

Powell's POV: I like the way they actually hyped something for Smackdown, but it appears that my theory of Big Show being involved with Kevin Nash, The Miz, and R-Truth in an NWO or NWO-like faction just took a big hit. The announcers played up Big Show coming back for revenge on Henry for putting him out of action.

2. Mark Henry pinned John Morrison in a non-title match in 2:00. Cole tried to sell the match as an opportunity for Morrison on his birthday. Booker scoffed at Morrison's chances of beating Henry. Morrison jumped out with a flurry of offense and even hit Starship Pain, but Henry kicked out. Henry came back and hit the World's Strongest Slam for the pin.

Ross said it only takes one World's Strongest Slam to beat any man alive. Henry picked up Morrison after the match and hit him with a second World's Strongest Slam. Booker said that's the thing about Henry that he doesn't like. Ross once again hyped Big Show for Smackdown.

Henry took the mic and said Morrison now knows what it's like to be in the ring with a beast. Henry said he defended his title and he's done with Orton. Henry said he just saw that someone (Big Show) is looking for him. He said he's not hard to find because he'll be the guy holding the title belt. Henry said Big Show will have the shortest return in WWE history. He said Show is once again entering the Hall of Pain...

Powell's POV: I really like the pacing of the show so far. They showcased Henry and Orton in two quick matches. Morrison looked good in defeat. The fans were fired up about his offensive flurry and the near fall. WWE is doing a very good job of building up Big Show's return and thus hyping Smackdown simultaneously...

Booker T hyped the 12-man tag main event... Backstage, John Laurinaitis told the heels in the main event and Vickie Guerrero that Triple H sent him to find out whether David Otunga had anything to do with the lawsuit that The Miz and R-Truth filed this morning. "So what if I did," Otunga said. Vickie said they were going to the ring to air their grievances. Laurinaitis started texting once they left the room... [C]

Christian's music played and a group of heels were in the ring. Alberto Del Rio was introduced as the WWE Champion and he entered via the stage. Ross said Alberto didn't look celebratory despite the fact that he regained the WWE Championship. Booker congratulated Del Rio for doing a hell of a job and Cole agreed.

[Q3] Del Rio boasted that he regained the WWE Championship by beating Cena and Punk, but he said that he couldn't celebrate because he was jumped and attacked by two men (The Miz and R-Truth). Del Rio said it happened because Triple H doesn't know how to run the company.

Del Rio complained about the Hell in a Cell structure being raised and lowered to aid the attackers. He alleged that Triple H is the only person in the company with the power to make that happen. Christian took his turn on the mic and complained that Raw has become an unsafe place to work since Triple H took over. Christian said he and the others won't take it anymore.

Cody Rhodes took his turn on the mic and said everyone in the ring has been a victim of Hunter's actions. He said it's all due to Triple H's ego. Dolph stepped up and said that they were going to take action into their own hands. He passed the mic to Jack Swagger, who said his friends and family are concerned for him when he gets in the ring on Raw now.

Vickie Guerrero took the mic and the crowd heat kicked up a thousand notches. She had to yell over the top of the fans before handing the mic to Otunga, who said they could do things individually or get together and take legal action.

Triple H's music played and he walked onto the stage. Hunter asked what happened to WWE. He said there was a time when men stood in the ring and fought no matter what happened. He said they didn't stand there, whine, and cry like kids. He said they didn't threaten lawsuits, they fought like men.

Triple H brought up the 12-man tag main event and ran through the names of all of the babyfaces the heels will be facing with the exception of Mason Ryan. He said he doesn't want the heels to whine and complain, he wants them to do what the people paid to see them do - shut up and fight. Once Hunter headed backstage, Cole complained that nothing was settled because Triple H didn't address the concerns of the wrestlers...

The announcers narrated brief footage of R-Truth and The Miz's attack at Hell in a Cell. He said they also explained their actions via Twitter, and said they would have more later in the show... [C]

Powell's POV: The heels whining about their treatment does nothing for me. As a viewer, I just don't give a damn whether Triple H keeps this COO position or not. The heels should be working Smackdown into their promos too since Hunter isn't just the Raw general manager. Hunter's response basically justified C.M. Punk's complaints about WWE not being cool anymore, as he spent all that time talking about how good things used to be. Why do they insist upon repeatedly telling viewers that the current product sucks ass compared to the good old days?

Beth Phoenix winning the WWE Divas Championship was recapped...

3. Beth Phoenix and Natalya fought Kelly Kelly and Eve to an apparent no contest in 0:35. Beth threw Kelly to ringside early. Kelly then ran Beth into the announcers' table and screamed as she roughed up Beth on the floor. She was the loudest person in the building. Ross said we were seeing a side of Kelly that he didn't know existed...

Powell's POV: Wow, Kelly is a screamer. Just when I didn't think it could get worse than yet another tag match between these teams, I had to watch Kelly spaz out and beat the hell out of the once dominant Diva.

[Q4] Backstage, John Laurinaitis apologized for his actions at the pay-per-view, and then said he wouldn't mind an apology in return from Hunter, who knocked him down during the post main event angle. Laurinaitis said Hunter should look every talent in the eye and seek a vote of confidence.

Hunter grabbed Laurinaitis by the tie and said that he's afraid the guy who is working closest with him is the guy who is undermining everything he does. He said that if Laurinaitis wants a vote of no confidence, he should get everyone in the ring. He told Laurinaitis to make sure he's there too... [C]

Powell's POV: Congratulations to the Cerebral Assassin for finally coming to the same conclusion regarding Laurinaitis that viewers did several weeks ago. No, he didn't call him Marty Funkhouser or Super Dave, but he has apparently finally figured out that Laurinaitis is up to no good.

An extended preview of "Fast Five" was shown to promote the DVD release...

Jinder Mahal cut a promo in his native tongue before he was interrupted by Santino Marella's entrance music. Santino came out with a Cobra sleeve and minus his unibrow. Santino mocked Jinder by speaking in gibberish. This led to a match between the two...

4. Santino Marella defeated Jinder Mahal in 0:35. Santino hit The Cobra and scored the quick pin...

The announcers hyped Triple H's vote of confidence segment, and the 12-man tag match, which is coming up after the break... [C] An ad for Smackdown questioned whether Randy Orton and Mark Henry will ever be the same following their Hell in a Cell match...

Powell's POV: Considering they've both wrestled and won their matches, I assume they will both be the same. Good lord.

A video package hyped Brodus Clay, but did not give an indication as to when he'll appear on Raw or Smackdown...

The announcers spoke at ringside about The Miz and R-Truth attack. They set up footage of attack from Hell in a Cell. Ross said viewers would see footage they will have a hard time believing happened.

[Q5] They played the footage of the attack through Hunter flipping out at ringside...

Powell's POV: Cena was hit with countless pipe shots, yet he's still wrestling tonight, so I guess we can cross "pipe" off the long list of weapons that WWE has killed. That list on the backside of the list of gimmick matches that they've killed off such as "cage match" and Hell in a Cell. If this sets up R-Truth and Miz against super heroes such as Triple H and John Cena, is there any reason the fans should take them as legitimate threats? After all, they've both played the bitch role to Cena so many times in the past. Miz wore the WWE Championship, but he was a chickenshit heel, not a bad ass who pushed Cena to the limit.

Cole set up footage of The Miz and R-Truth talking on Youtube about what happened at the pay-per-view. They were apologetic and said they just want their jobs back. They blamed Triple H for what happened. They said Triple H would have done the same thing if he was in their position.

After the video, Cole was about to go off on a tirade, but he was interrupted by C.M. Punk's music. John Cena made his entrance after Punk. Cole snuck in another plug for "Fast Five" on DVD as Cena was playing to the crowd... [C] After the break, they played footage from last week of Mason Ryan turning on Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler...

5. John Cena, C.M. Punk, Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, and Mason Ryan beat Alberto Del Rio, Christian, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, and David Otunga (w/Vickie Guerrero) in a 12-man tag match in 26:35. Everyone else was in the ring, meaning their introductions were not shown on television. Ryan was given a moment early where Cena tagged him in and he press slammed Ziggler onto Swagger.

[Q6] Punk picked up Cody for the GTS, but noticed one of the heels was about to enter. All of the wrestlers entered the ring and the ref stood between them as the show cut to commercial. [C] Kingston spent a good stretch selling for the heel team and eventually made a hot tag to Evan Bourne, who kept the crowd hot with some kicks and flashy offense, including a Shooting Star Press on Swagger.

Bourne had Swagger pinned following the SSP, but Vickie Guerrero reached inside the ring and put Swagger's foot on the ropes to break the ref's count. The referee saw her and ordered her to return to the backstage area. She threw a shit fit as the show cut to commercial. [C]

Powell's POV: As green as Ryan is, the live crowd reacted to him being tagged in by Cena and his press slam. Cena tagging him into the match in the manner he did was a nice way of having Cena essentially endorse him as a babyface. I'm not endorsing WWE's decision to push "Red Flag" like they are, but I can still appreciate the small details.

[Q7] Christian was working over Bourne after the commercial break. Eventually, Cena took a hot tag and the crowd came to life, mostly with cheers although he did get some boos too. Cena's flurry didn't last long. He was cut off by Del Rio and then other heels took turns working him over.

Cena made a hot tag to Sheamus at 25:00. Sheamus dominated Ziggler and went to the top rope. He fought off Christian, but Del Rio shoved him down. Sheamus remained down in the corner while the other wrestlers took turns hitting big moves and rolling to ringside. Punk hit the GTS on Del Rio, but Otunga caught Punk with a neckbreaker.

Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment on Otunga. Dolph hit the Zig Zag on Cena. Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick on Ziggler and pinned him. The babyface team lined up in a row and raised their hands after the match...

The announcers teased Triple H's vote of confidence segment for after the break... [C]

Powell's POV: Wow, they gave that match a lot of time and it was entertaining. The finishing sequence is used in almost every big tag match that WWE does. They always have that sequence where the guys take turns hitting their finishers. I could see it coming as soon as Sheamus stayed down in the corner even though he was the legal man. Nevertheless, the sequence is usually entertaining and is certainly live crowd pleasing. I had no expectations for the 12-man tag match going into Raw, so this was a very pleasant surprise.

An ad for Smackdown hyped Big Show's return, which was much better than that Henry and Orton commercial they aired earlier in the show...

[Q8] Various groups of wrestlers came to the ring. They broke them into groups with brand heels and faces, Divas, and referees. Jerry Lawler's music played and he walked out carrying his crown. Jim Ross said he didn't know that Lawler was going to be there. [C]

Powell's POV: They even rolled out Tyler Reks and the heroes of WWE NXT. In case you didn't know, Triple H is very important. I don't believe Cena, Punk, or Orton made the journey to ringside unless I missed them, but both World Champions were there.

The almighty Triple H made his entrance and entered the ring while the peasants looked up to him from ringside. Hunter said before they get to the vote of confidence, he had to say that the job is harder than he thought it would be. He said he didn't ask for the job, it was given to him. He said he's old school and likes to see guys get beat up. He said he doesn't work for them, he works for the fans.

Triple H asked the talent what they thought. Wade Barrett said he was nominated to speak on behalf of some of his co-workers. He spoke about the unsafe work environment. Hunter reminded everyone that Barrett led the Nexus and is only upset with the chaos because he's not the one causing it.

Referee Mike Chioda said he can't recall the referees taking so much abuse during his time with the company. Triple H said he fired the two guys that roughed them up. Chioda pointed out that Miz and R-Truth got into the building.

Beth Phoenix said the Divas are worried that one of them could be hurt with all of the bedlam that's been going on lately. Hunter asked for an example. "I'm just saying it could happen," Beth said. Um, okay.

Jerry Lawler entered the ring and said that he doesn't agree with everything that's been said, but he does agree that the show is spiraling out of control. He said the part that he disagrees with is that he doesn't believe it's Triple H's fault. Lawler said he thinks someone is behind the scenes pulling the strings and trying to sabotage Triple H.

Lawler said Hunter has to know that someone doesn't want him running the company. Lawler said he's afraid that things are only going to get worse as long as Triple H is in charge.

[Overrun] Christian spoke up and said it was time for a vote. He said he and his colleagues voted no confidence. Chioda represented the referees and also delivered the no confidence line. Lawler stood in the ring and issued another vote of no confidence on behalf of him and, um, well, I don't know. Lawler said he was reluctantly walking out. Wait, take Booker T with you!!!

The various factions of wrestlers and referees followed Lawler in walking out. A brief "Triple H" chant started. We know now that dark Sin Cara is the heel because he stood next to Wade Barrett. Even the seven-man group of babyfaces walked out. Michael Cole followed. Booker also left. Long live Triple H!!!

Even the damn ring announcer left along with production members. Even the last remaining cameraman put his camera down and left. Well, except for the guy working the camera on the stage. He's loyal. Oh, and the hard camera guy. He's also loyal.

Jim Ross was the only person left. He slowly removed his headset and walked off to some boos from the crowd. I haven't seen this many people leave a building since Michael Richards tried to be a standup comedian.

Triple H was the last remaining man and the fans were cheering him. John Laurinaitis walked onto the stage and shook his head in disgust. The fans chanted "you suck." Laurinaitis walked to the back. Hunter looked to the fans and held his arms out. He said something off mic to the fans and the show went off the air...

Powell's POV: What in the f--- was that? The good news for WWE is that the fans rallied behind Hunter. The bad news is that most of the wrestlers look like pussies, as none of them had logical arguments. The segment certainly held my interest and it makes for a good cliffhanger for next week (you know there won't be a substantial followup on Smackdown), but Hunter was the only person who came off looking good here.

Lawler looked like a total pushover. He believes that someone else is pulling the strings, yet rather than stand by Hunter, he leads the walkout to save his own ass? Again, it made for interesting viewing and it could lead to a decent rating if people tune in to see the followup next week, but I can't help but think that it was all ridiculous from the standpoint that they kept talking about how chaotic Raw has been even though it really hasn't been any more chaotic than usual (unless we're talking about the writing of the show). Thanks for watching along with me tonight. I'll have more to say on Tuesday in Dot Net Audio and in the WWE Raw Hitlist.

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