By Jason Powell

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Taped earlier today in Liverpool, England

[Q1] The opening montage was shown and then Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler checked in on commentary... John Cena's music played and he was greeted by more boos than cheers. He walked onto the stage, which had a phone booth and a black cab car.

Cena headed to the ring and acknowledged the crowd by calling them a "lively, lively bunch." He thanked them for the warm welcome and held up the crowd for the mix of boos and cheers. Cena said a lot has been going on in WWE. He stated that WrestleMania tickets went on sale on Saturday.

"The Rock...couldn't make it tonight," Cena said. However, he noted that Rock accepted his invitation to team at Survivor Series. Cena said he's angry because the WWE Universe isn't talking about tonight's Raw. Rather, they are talking about The Rock returning on next week's show.

Cena said he thinks they should be talking about "tonight." He said it's a very important show, and said it was the first time that Liverpool has hosted WWE Raw. He said they should make magic and move mountains. Cena said he would be facing R-Truth and The Miz, and said he would be teaming with a future WWE Hall of Famer.

The Miz and R-Truth interrupted Cena on the stage. They mocked the idea of Cena teaming with a future WWE Hall of Famer. Miz boasted that he pinned Cena at WrestleMania 27. The Miz said last week is the last time that Cena will ever embarrass them. Miz said they will leave Cena with a lasting impression that he will never forget.

R-Truth questioned whether Cena knew what it was like to have all the little Jimmies laughing at him. The crowd gave him the "What" treatment, and he responded by telling them not to. Truth said Cena and his partner would not be laughing tonight.

Cena mocked the way R-Truth talks. He spoke about his partner catching fire and labeled him the fifth Beatle among other things. The Miz used Rock's phrase by saying, "It doesn't matter who you're teaming up with." Miz said Cena's time is up. They entered the ring.

Zack Ryder's music played. Miz and Truth attacked Cena. Ryder hit the ring and helped Cena clear the heels from the ring. Cena and Ryder did the "Woo, woo, woo" routine and did a handshake...

The announcers hyped Kevin Nash appearing, and then a shot of Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero walking backstage was shown... [C] A commercial for the three-hour Raw was shown...

Powell's POV: The Miz and R-Truth want to be taken seriously this week, so they are scripted to be cleared from the ring by Cena and Ryder without much of a fight? At least they didn't just stop in their tracks when Ryder's entrance music played. Babyface entrance music is hypnotizing for most heels. They'll have the numbers advantage, but as soon as the music starts they just freeze. I'm surprised some university hasn't wasted a bunch of government money to research the effect of babyface entrance music on heels. Anyway, I'd love to see Ryder turn on Cena and hook up with Miz and R-Truth. Of course, I know what happens, but I'm not giving away spoilers, just my reaction to the segment.

[Q2] A shot aired of a place the Beatles played in their early days...

1. John Morrison defeated Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) in a non-title match in 13:05. Lawler plugged Ryder's petition to get a title match against Ziggler. The announcers also acknowledged Morrison's losing streak. The crowd was very quiet as the wrestlers traded offense heading into the break. [C]

Ziggler took control of the offense after the break. He hit a neckbreaker and kicked himself back to his feet in HBK style. Morrison came back with some flashy offense, including a DDT for a near fall.

[Q3] Morrison ended up pinning Ziggler, and the announcers said Morrison won for the first time in nearly three months. Lawler said the losing streak continues for Ziggler...

Powell's POV: As I've said many times before, it's usually a good sign for a wrestler when the announcers acknowledge his/her losing streak. It's when they don't care enough to tell a losing streak story that the wrestler should worry. Unfortunately, WWE never bothered to tell the losing streak story on TV until tonight, so it didn't pack much of a punch when he won. Meanwhile, Ziggler continues to play the vulnerable heel champion role that every heel champion not named Mark Henry has played in recent years. Tough crowd for the quality match.

The announcers plugged the tag team main event... [C]

Powell's POV: They aired a commercial for Cena's movie "The Reunion." It's already available on DVD tomorrow at Walmart. Let's just say I won't be making a special trip to Wally World tomorrow. In other commercial news, USA is advertising that they will be airing the "uncut" version of the movie "Elf." You know, because they normally cut a ton of nudity and cussing from Christmas movies.

The announcers hyped the Team Orton vs. Team Barrett match for Survivor Series... Cole set up a Mason Ryan video package...

2. Mason Ryan defeated JTG in 2:25. No introduction for JTG. He was just standing in the ring and they rang the bell to start the squash. Ryan press slammed JTG and then locked him in a Full Nelson, which led to a Full Nelson Slam for the win...

Powell's POV: Something tells me the announcers won't be talking about the JTG losing streak.

A video recapped the media coverage of the WrestleMania on sale events. It included some local government official, who looked like the love child of Alberto Del Rio and Hector Guerrero...

Backstage, Zack Ryder approached the celebrity whore Bella Twins. They've lowered their standards, as they did the "woo, woo, woo" routine with Ryder... The announcers hyped Kevin Nash's appearance for after the break... [C]

[Q4] Michael Cole sat at the announcers' desk and announced that his challenge would not take place. Cole said the TSA wouldn't allow Jim Ross to travel with all of the BBQ sauce he carries with him. Cole said Ross could take the challenge next week in Boston. He said Raw won't get Rocked, it will get Coled...

3. Alberto Del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) defeated Kofi Kingston in a non-title match in 2:10. No mention was made of Evan Bourne's suspension, but Cole did hype that WWE is now on Google Plus!!! Um, great. Lawler said this could be Cole's final Raw if Ross wins the challenge next week. Del Rio applied the Cross Arm Breaker for the win.

After the match, Del Rio applied the hold again. C.M. Punk's music played and he came out to a big ovation from the live crowd. Cole asked whether it was time for another C.M. Punk pipe bomb and the show went to break... [C]

Powells POV: WWE has to know that having dorky Michael Cole say the words "pipe bomb" takes away whatever cool factor Punk's label had.

An ad for Smackdown focussed on Mark Henry and Big Show, but advertised nothing in particular for Friday's television show...

After the break, Punk and Del Rio were standing in the middle of the ring. Del Rio complained about the way Punk got the title match. Eventually, Del Rio demanded respect. Punk said he's a tough hombre and a hell of a competitor. However, Punk said he's also one dimensional when he gets the mic in his hand.

[Q5] Punk mocked Del Rio for always using the "it's my destiny" line on the mic. Punk said fans with DVR's fast forward whenever they see Del Rio with a mic in his hand. "And when they fast forward, they don't miss a damn thing," Punk said. Ouch. Punk said Del Rio is a hell of a competitor, but he's going to beat him at Survivor Series and make the WWE Championship interesting again.

Del Rio asked Punk if he was going to cancel their match at Survivor Series. Punk thought about it and boldly said, "no." Del Rio attacked Punk, who fought back. Ricardo entered the ring and ended up taking the GTS from Punk...

Powell's POV: I'm conflicted on that promo, as Punk has to drop "pipe bombs" to keep his fans happy, but I don't think it's a great idea to tell viewers that Del Rio is boring for the same reason I don't care for the way he always tells the audience that today's WWE is boring. Sure, frustrated viewers may feel that way, but is it a good thing to have one of the top faces say that when there are viewers out there who are entertained by the product or may not notice Del Rio's shortcomings on the stick?

A video recapped The Muppets segments from last week's Raw...

Powell's POV: WWE was more effective in putting over The Muppets appearance from last week than they have been in hyping The Rock for next week. The videos and graphics are fine, but it should be a major talking point throughout the show. Rock's return to the ring in less than two weeks still doesn't feel special, which is astonishing.

4. Jack Swagger (w/Vickie Guerrero) beat Santino Marella in 3:05. A serious Swagger was shown complaining about how he lost to a Muppet last week in a pre-taped promo.

[Q6] Swagger dominated the action. The announcers pointed out Swagger's twitching eye and Lawler said he's developed a nervous tick. Swagger applied the ankle lock and got the submission win. Swagger did the victory lap...

A shot aired of Kelly Kelly walking backstage...

Powell's POV: In a scene straight out of the Impact Zone, some of the loudest boos of the night occurred after Swagger's victory lap, yet it didn't look like anyone in the crowd was booing.

Jerry Lawler stood in the ring and announced that Kelly Kelly will be on the cover of Maxim magazine, which comes out next week. He introduced Kelly as his all-time favorite Diva. Kelly said she feels like she's grown up in front of the WWE Universe. She said she's had her ups and downs and giggled.

Beth Phoenix and Natalya interrupted. Beth mocked Kelly by speaking in a high voice. Natalya is incapable of doing that voice, but she joined in on the fun. They mocked her for being a Barbie Doll. Kelly made a joke about Natalya and Beth being on the cover of National Geographic. The crowd groaned and the announcers laughed obnoxiously over them.

The heels cornered Kelly, but Eve and Alicia Fox ran out for the save. Yes, Alicia actually made it to the ring without walking like a stripper. The heels fled and the faces unveiled a blown up version of Kelly on the cover of Maxim... [C]

Powell's POV: Let the record show that National Geographic was and probably still is as close as one could get to viewing porn in a school library. I wanted to spearhead a fund to send bras to Africa because gravity was such a bitch, but then the women would have been clothed and National Geographic would have served no purpose for sixth grade me.

[Q7] Lawler pimped a Rock and Cena story on the WWE website. It's all about how they make the perfect tag team...

Justin Roberts introduced John Laurinaitis, who walked onto the stage and introduced Kevin Nash as his newest signee. Nash came out to the Immortal, er, NWO music. Nash shook Laurinaitis's hand and then headed to the ring for a promo. Highlights were shown of Nash taking out Triple H with a sledgehammer.

In the ring, Nash thanked Laurinaitis for bringing him back. He said everyone has been asking him why he attacked Hunter. Nash said the only person he owes an explanation to is the guy sitting in Connecticut with a headache. Nash recalled Triple H shadowing Killer Kowalski back in the day and said he should have buried him then.

Nash said Shawn Michaels sat at the backstage monitor and saw something in Triple H, so he let him into The Kliq. Nash said they developed a real friendship and he was honored to be at his wedding. Nash said he got the biggest pop of the night at the Royal Rumble. He said he called Hunter and asked him to put the band back together.

Nash said he didn't get a no or even a response from Triple H. "Without me, you're nothing," Nash said. He added that Triple H is still the measuring stick in WWE. He complained about getting a has been legends contract and said, "I've still got it." Nash said he put himself in a main event match. Nash said he just showed how to play the game...

Powell's POV: A good promo from Nash. He brought up some history and did a good job of explaining his character's motivation for attacking Hunter. Nicely done.

A Brodus Clay video package aired... Backstage, Laurinaitis told David Otunga that Brodus needs to debut in front of a more sophisticated audience. C.M. Punk showed up and mocked Laurinaitis. Otunga piped up, and Punk took him down with a shot. Del Rio showed up, attacked Punk, and left him lying...

The announcers hyped the tag team main event... [C]

[Q8] The announcers recapped footage of the Del Rio attack on Punk...

5. The Miz and R-Truth beat John Cena and Zack Ryder in 17:20. Miz and Truth didn't rap. They just walked to the ring while the instrumental version of Truth's song played. Big improvement, but they need new music altogether. They then got their asses kicked leading into the break. Truth hit hard when Ryder threw him over the top rope and onto the floor heading into the commercial. [C]

[Overrun] With the faces in control, Cena put Ryder's shades on and did the "woo, woo, woo" with a fist pump. The crowd loved it and chanted along with him. Truth took control of Ryder, and the fans chanted, "Let's go Ryder" followed each time by "woo, woo, woo." Cena pumped his fist to encourage the chants.

The dueling pro and con Cena chants started. Cena acknowledged them by looking to the crowd while standing in the corner. After a long grind of Ryder fighting to get to the corner, he finally made the hot tag to Cena. A short time later, they performed a double Five Knuckle Shuffle on the heels.

Miz avoided the AA and hit Cena with a running knee. He covered Cena and Truth held Cena's legs down while the referee made the count. Cena sat in the ring and looked upset, then he started smiling and shaking his head. He looked at Miz and Truth, nodded, and smiled again.

Cole said Awesome Truth is primed and ready to steal one in two weeks at Survivor Series. Cena stood up and said, "That's your one, you don't get two," while jawing with the heels to close the show...

Powell's POV: The good news is that Cena worked hard to get Ryder over by putting on his shades, using his catchphrase, and playing him up to the crowd. The bad news is that while Miz and Truth got the win, it was done in such a way that they really didn't gain anything. Hell, Cena was smiling about it.

The theme the announcers pushed was that Miz and Truth could steal a win at Survivor Series. What if they do? What happens then? There's nothing at stake, so Cena could just sit up and smile again. They made some minor changes with Miz and Truth to make them a little more serious tonight, but they didn't go far enough. It's going to take the greatest beatdown angle in history on next week's show to get viewers excited about seeing Miz and Truth in that match.

Overall, it felt like another filler show, although they did put some good focus on the Del Rio vs. Punk feud heading into Survivor Series, and I really liked Kevin Nash's promo. It just doesn't feel like they are building to the pay-per-view via Raw. Fortunately, they have The Rock appearing on the three-hour show to deliver the final sales pitch, and Survivor Series really needs it. I'll have more to say on Tuesday in Dot Net Member Exclusive Audio, and in the WWE Raw Hitlist.

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