By Jason Powell

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Taped on Saturday in Mexico City, Mexico

[Q1] The opening video played complete with the chick rock Nickelback theme song... Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler checked in from ringside...

Justin Roberts introduced John Laurinaitis as the interim general manager of Raw. A video recapped the Triple H saga from last week. Laurinaitis stood in the ring and introduced himself and his titles. He teased that Rey Mysterio was returning, but then said Mysterio was returning to his doctor in San Diego for a followup on his knee.

Laurinaitis said he won't let down the board of directors or the Raw fans. He said he made a mistake last week when he fired Jim Ross. He said he received thousands of tweets that were mean spirited, nasty, and weren't good for the PG environment. He said he listened to what the fans had to say.

Laurinaitis introduced Jim Ross. The Oklahoma fight song played. Cole threw a hissy fit on commentary as Lawler expressed his own happiness. Ross slapped the hands of fans at ringside and tipped his hat to the fans. He shook Lawler's hand and was about to take a seat when Laurinaitis asked him to join him in the ring for a public apology.

Ross entered the ring and was greeted with a big, uncomfortable hug from Laurinaitis. Funny. A video recapped Cole and Ricardo Rodriguez trying to lead the crowd in singing the goodbye song. Laurintiais put his arm around Ross and said he'd like to settle the differences between Ross and Cole on Raw.

Laurinaitis announced that the main event of the show will be Jim Ross and John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio and Michael Cole. Ross stood in the ring and pointed at Cole, who flipped out and stood up on the desk to lay up the friction between the two.

Randy Orton's music played and the announcers hyped a six man tag match that Orton would be involved in after the break... [C]

Powell's POV: It's nice to see Jim Ross back on the show, but does anyone else find it odd that they would book the American broadcasters in a match in a show that was taped in Mexico? Laurinaitis is still painful to listen to, but I did get a kick out of the hug he forced on Ross and the way he put his arm around him.

[Q2] Highlights aired from last week of Cody Rhodes getting the better of Randy Orton and then delivering the maniacal (and super sappy) laugh... The announcers hyped that Orton will face Rhodes at the pay-per-view on Sunday...

1. Mark Henry, Cody Rhodes, and Christian beat Randy Orton, Sheamus, and John Morrison in 12:10. Three minutes into the match, Orton got the better of Rhodes and eventually chased him to the back leading into the commercial break. [C]

After the break, the match essentially became a regular tag match since Orton and Rhodes were still nowhere to be found. Morrison hit some offense on Christian, but Henry tagged in and got the better of Morrison.

[Q3] Morrison eventually got some offense in on Henry and went for a tag, but Christian pulled Sheamus off the ring apron. Sheamus chased Christian into the crowd and got the better of him. Once they were out of the picture, Henry threw Morrison into the air, caught him, and then hit the World's Strongest Slam for the win...

The announcers hyped C.M. Punk vs. The Miz, and the main event tag match for later in the show... [C]

Powell's POV: A simple way to showcase two feuds and make Mark Henry look strong. The finish with Henry throwing Morrison into the air and catching him was very cool. Morrison continues to lose more often than the Colts and Rams. Hey, as a Vikings fan, I need someone to look down on and the options are very limited.

A video showcased Brodus Clay. This time he spoke as footage of him destroying opponents was shown... A shot aired of the Palace of Fine Arts, and Cole spoke about the building...

Backstage, John Laurinaitis was on the phone when the celebrity whore Bella Twins entered the room to kiss his ass. Once they left, Ricardo Rodriguez entered. Laurinaitis tried to blow him off, but Alberto Del Rio entered the room and complained about the tag match he's booked in. He said the winner of the match will choose the stipulation for the title match on Sunday...

Cole announced that Beth Phoenix will defend the WWE Divas Championship against Eve at the pay-per-view...

2. Eve (w/Kelly Kelly) vs. Natalya (w/Beth Phoenix). Natalya and Beth are now the Sisters of Salvation. Natalya grabbed control and spanked Eve at one point. Cole questioned whether Jim Ross was having a cigarette to warm up for the tag match. In the end, Eve performed a moonsault on Natalya and pinned her... [C]

Powell's POV: The outcome of that match couldn't have been more obvious once they announced that Eve was getting the title match. I wonder which of Eve's recent losses was enough to earn her the title shot?

[Q4] The announcers hyped Triple H and C.M. Punk vs. The Miz and R-Truth for Vengeance...

C.M. Punk made his entrance for his match. The Miz and R-Truth did the "You Suck" routine while Punk sat in the ring. Miz cut a promo in which he boasted about doing what Punk could never do - having Triple H removed from Raw. Triple H's music played and he came to the ring to a strong ovation from the crowd. [C]

Powell's POV: WWE appears to be pumping in some canned heat for the promo segments. The Truth and Miz really lost something with the way they returned last week. They just don't seem like threats to the Punk and Triple H team in a fair fight. For that matter, that's an ongoing problem for a lot of heels when they work with top talent.

3. C.M. Punk (w/Triple H) pinned The Miz (w/R-Truth) in 16:20. Miz threw Punk to ringside at one point. Truth teased interfering, but Triple H hurried over and Truth backed off.

[Q5] The Miz got in plenty of offense on Punk, including a running clothesline in the corner at 6:20. Miz tossed Punk to ringside again at 8:20. This time, Truth slammed a water bottle over Punk's head. R-Truth ran away from Triple H and headed up the stage.

John Laurinaitis walked out with four Hispanic men in suits and said it had to stop. He said they had an immigration problem. Laurinaitis said the problem involved Triple H, who begrudgingly went along with them, but not before punching a mocking R-Truth in the face. [C]

Highlights aired from during the break of Laurinaitis telling Triple H that they would get things straightened out. Hunter left with the immigration officials (one of them had a mohawk). Laurinaitis sent a text as David Otunga stood by his side.

Back in the ring, Punk went on the offensive. He went to the top rope and delivered an elbow drop. He signaled for the GTS. Truth stood on the ring apron and Punk knocked him down. Punk threw Miz into Truth and then rolled him up for the pin.

After the match, the heels worked Punk over. They left the ring and played to the crowd, but R-Truth ran back to the ring and hit his finisher on Punk. Miz acted like he was playing peacemaker, but he also hit his finisher on Punk when the ref's turned their attention to Truth...

Powell's POV: So I'm supposed to see The Miz and R-Truth as threats when they face C.M. Punk and the almighty Triple H on Sunday when Punk just got the better of them on his own until the post-match beatdown? This would be more effective if Punk didn't take this much punishment on a regular basis. Call me crazy, but if they want to position Triple H as such a big deal, then he should also be the one on the receiving end of a beatdown designed to put heat on the heels.

[Q6] [C] Cole and Lawler announced that "WrestleMania Rewind" won the poll to name the first show on the WWE Network. Cole boasted about how he was going to beat Jim Ross...

Vickie Guerrero came to the ring with Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler. She did the "excuse me" routine and the crowd booed. She announced that her team will challenge Air Boom for the WWE Tag Titles on Sunday. Ziggler took the mic and spoke about what an honor it is for the fans to be watching him.

Ziggler said he knows that so many of those fans wish they could leave Mexico and never return, just like he does. He boasted about the United States of America. Swagger asked the fans to rise so that he could sing the American national anthem. He sang horribly and the crowd booed. Funny...

Powell's POV: Good promo from Ziggler. It wasn't designed to be a money promo or anything, but he showed more poise than usual. The only thing he's missing is consistent mic work and he'll have all the tools to be a main event player. By the way, are the babyfaces allowed to speak on this show?

4. Zack Ryder defeated Jack Swagger (w/Vickie Guerrero, Dolph Ziggler) in 0:35. Swagger went on the offensive, but Ryder caught him with the Rough Ryder and scored the quick pin.

After the match, the heels were about to surround Ryder when "Big Smiley" Mason Ryan came to the rescue. Ryan stood in the ring and Ryder joined him. Cole said Ziggler was supposed to face Ryan, but he was leaving. Ryan took the mic (hey, they do get to talk, but only in small doses) and said they have a match. Cole said the match was coming up after the break... [C]

[Q7] 5. Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero, Jack Swagger) beat Mason Ryan by DQ in a non-title match. Ryan dominated Ziggler, who bumped all over for him. They went to ringside and Dolph hid behind Vickie, who slapped Ryan. Mason got pissed and headed back to the ring to take it out on Dolph. Ryan ignored the ref's orders and was disqualified. Ryan cleared Swagger from the ring and then did a twisting powerslam on Ziggler...

Powell's POV: Yes, they're building up Ryan, but they are doing so at the expense of mid-card heels who should be moving up the ladder themselves. If this were an isolated incident than I wouldn't complain. Why can't WWE put some legit heat on anyone other than announcers and general managers?

Backstage, John Cena entered Jim Ross's locker room. Ross called Cole arrogant, smarmy, rodent-like, and a son of a bitch, among other things. Cena said he'd help Ross get his hands on Cole...

At ringside, Cole reacted to the video segment and heeled it up before heading backstage. He told the crowd that his wife is Mexican so they have to cheer for him... A Be a Star video aired... [C]

A graphic listed WWE Raw and WWE Smackdown as the No. 1 and No. 2 shows on the list of the longest running weekly television shows on television...

Josh Mathews (filling in for Cole) and Jerry Lawler ran through the pay-per-view lineup for that show that no one cares about...

Ricardo Rodriguez introduced Alberto Del Rio, who drove into the building in a sports car.

[Q8] [C] An ad for Smackdown hyped Alberto Del Rio facing Big Show from Mexico City... After the break, Rodriguez introduced Michael Cole. Jim Ross and John Cena made their entrances. Cena received a big ovation from the live crowd...

6. John Cena and Jim Ross beat Alberto Del Rio and Michael Cole (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) in 11:30. Ross and Cole started the match. Ross wore a Sooners jersey and jeans, and Cole wore his usual amateur wrestling gear. Cole mouthed off and Ross smacked him upside the head.

Cole tagged in Del Rio, who ran in trying to catch Ross, but he quickly tagged in Cena. Del Rio eventually got the better of Cena, and Cole also snuck in some cheap shorts while Ross stayed in his corner.

[Overrun] Del Rio's lengthy stretch of offense resulted in a lot of cheers. Cena went for the Attitude Adjustment at one point and the crowd booed, but they cheered when Del Rio German suplexed his way out of it (nice move). They also cheered when Del Rio caught Cena with a big kick in the corner.

Cena started his comeback and there were way more boos than cheers. Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle, and Del Rio ran to his corner and tagged in Cole. Cena flipped Cole into the ring and Cole begged off. Cole offered his hand, but Cena picked him up and hit the Attitude Adjustment.

Cena teased locking in an ankle lock, but he stopped and pointed at Ross. Ross applied the ankle lock and Cole immediately tapped out. Cena and Ross celebrated in the ring together. As Ross was leaving, Del Rio reached in and pulled Cena to ringside. Cena quickly recovered and hit the Attitude Adjustment on the floor.

Cena took a mic and started counting as Del Rio struggled to get to his feet. He made it to seven and Del Rio got up, but Cena clotheslined him back down. Cena turned the ring steps over and grabbed the top section, which he then rammed into Del Rio as most of the fans booed. Cena sat down on the steps and counted to ten.

Cena said you don't have to be a genius to figure out why he was counting to ten (but you do need to know English). Cena said he will face Del Rio in a Last Man Standing match at the Vengeance pay-per-view...

Powell's POV: The atmosphere in Mexico didn't add much, as the men booed Cena just like they do elsewhere. It was a bit louder than usual because of Del Rio being from Mexico, but the women and kids still cheered on Cena. Does Cena even want the title back? I don't think we've heard him show any disappointment over losing it, and now he's promoting the Last Man Standing aspect of the match rather than talking about his desire to regain the belt.

This show failed in terms of being a go-home show. I'm no more excited about the latest in the series of overkill pay-per-views than I was going into the show. WWE officials do realize the fans want to hear Jim Ross call matches, not watch him wrestle, right? This felt like another one of those filler shows when they should have been delivering strong final hype for a pay-per-view. I'll have more to say about the show in an All Access Podcast on Tuesday. Thanks for watching along with me.

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