By Jason Powell

Dot Net Members will be listening to my audio review of WWE Raw later tonight. They are already listening to the 68-minute audio review of the ROH "Best in the World" iPPV that Chris Shore recorded on Sunday night, and my 71-minute Q&A audio show from Monday. Join us on the ad-free version of the website by signing up for membership now via Prowrestling.net/amember/signup.php. You are also encouraged to download our free iPhone, Android, and Kindle Fire apps.

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Fort Wayne, Indiana

The opening video focussed on the C.M. Punk, Daniel Bryan, Kane, and A.J. drama...

Backstage, A.J. was shown practicing what she was going to say to each man. She said that in order for her and Daniel Bryan to grow as people, they need to drift apart. She said Kane isn't a man, he's a monster. She said she sees C.M. Punk as her soulmate. She concluded by saying that she thinks it's best if they all go separate ways. The camera spun around to show she was talking into a mirror rather than to the men...

Powell's POV: It's nice to see them focussing on this situation to start the show rather than whatever John Cena and his pay-per-view opponent of the month are doing.

The opening video aired and pyro shot off on the stage. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler checked in from ringside. Cole hyped that it was episode 996 and there were only four weeks until the historic episode 1,000. Lawler narrated footage of Big Show roughing up Brodus Clay a month ago. Lawler said Clay was returning to Raw for the first time for a match with Show. Cole hyped a big announcement from John Cena...

Vickie Guerrero did the "Excuse Me" routine from the stage and boasted about being the interim general manager of both brands for the week. She hyped that the first match would be a three-way elimination match...

1. C.M. Punk vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane in a non-title, three-way elimination match. A.J. was shown watching the match on a backstage monitor. Punk got an early near fall on Bryan, but then he teased going for the suicide dive only to take a punch from Kane from the floor. Bryan dove toward Kane, who caught him and slammed him into the barricade.

Powell's POV: The popular Twitter email questions are (a) isn't Brodus Clay exclusive to Raw? (b) Shouldn't Vickie book Dolph in a WWE Championship match? Banning Clay to Smackdown was a Big Johnny move and can be blown off now that he's out of the picture. WWE can and should explain that. As for Dolph, maybe she'll book him in a World Title match against Sheamus or show some other type of favoritism. If not, they could always have her character explain that she wants the permanent GM job and had to seem unbiased.

[Q2] [C] After the break, Kane was knocked down, giving Bryan and Kane and chance to work. Kane recovered and knocked Bryan down. He charged at Punk, who pulled the top rope down. Kane tumbled to the floor and then Bryan backdropped Bryan onto Kane. Punk smiled as he looked into the camera and then performed a suicide dive onto both opponents. Cole once again noted that Punk has the fourth longest title reign in 15 years.

At 8:40, Punk set up Bryan for the GTS, but Kane caught him with a big boot to the face. Kane followed up with a clothesline from the top rope. A.J. skipped to ringside, which distracted Kane. Punk caught Kane with the GTS and pinned him at 9:55 to eliminate him from the match. Bryan followed up with a kick to Punk's head and pinned him to win the match...

Daniel Bryan defeated C.M. Punk and Kane in a three-way elimination match in 10:10.

Powell's POV: I wish these matches and angles were getting main event and overrun love, but this definitely got the show off to a hot start. It's nice to see Bryan get the win because he's lost his share of televised matches lately.

Backstage, Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez entered Vickie Guerrero's office. Del Rio sucked up to Vickie by giving her flowers. Dolph Ziggler entered the room and said he's the No. 1 contender to the World Hvt. Championship, not Del Rio. Vickie booked the two of them in a pole match with the No. 1 contenders contract on the line. She said the winner will face Sheamus for the World Hvt. Championship on Smackdown. Ricardo handed Vickie her flowers in a vase. Ziggler threw them against the wall...

Cole hyped Big Show vs. Brodus Clay after the break... [C]

Powell's POV: Vickie mentioned that she made the No. 1 contenders match to be fair and unbiased. What she didn't say is that she or the creative team are currently possessed by Vince Russo, who made them book the pole match.

Highlights aired of Big Show beating up Brodus Clay on a past edition of Raw... Brodus Clay and the dancers made their entrance. Cole explained that Vickie Guerrero overturned Big Johnny's ruling that Clay was exclusive to Smackdown...

[Q3] 2. Big Show vs. Brodus Clay (w/Cameron, Naomi). Show targeted Clay's injured knee early on. Later, Clay attempted to bodyslam Show, but the knee gave out and Show pinned him. A trainer checked on Clay, who continued to sell his injured knee after the match...

Big Show defeated Brodus Clay in 2:30.

Lawler hyped the John Cena announcement for later in the show. Lawler and Cole questioned what Cena could possibly do that would be historic. Cole put over Cena's accomplishments, including his rap album... A video showcased John Cena granting his 300th wish for Make-A-Wish... [C]

Powell's POV: Clay was protected in his loss because the established the knee injury as a weakness going into the match and the cause for his loss. Meanwhile, is there a reason Cole included Cena's nearly forgotten rap album amongst his list of accomplishments?

The 1,000th edition of Raw flashback featured Bob Barker discussing his stint as host of the show. Barker said he will give Chavo Guerrero a rematch on the 2,000th episode of Raw...

Highlights aired of Brodus Clay behind helped to the back. Big Show showed up and hit him with the knockout punch...

The announcers set up footage of Triple H challenging Brock Lesnar to a match at SummerSlam, and of the Paul Heyman segment from Raw...

Brock Lesnar will answer Triple H on next week's Raw, according to an onscreen graphic and a statement by Cole...

[Q4] Backstage, Kane told A.J. that he's not in touch with his feelings, but she makes him feel things he didn't think were possible. He said he's not boyfriend material. She said she's not exactly looking for a boyfriend. Kane said he doesn't do relationships. He said he is a monster "and even I find you mentally unstable." He said he thinks it's best if they stay away from each other. She looked like she was going to cry and then she laughed... [C]

A graphic noted that if you watched every episode of Raw 24 hours per day, it would take you over 75 days to watch them all...

Powell's POV: So what they're saying is that some of us have wasted 75 days of our life just watching Raw?

3. Santino Marella vs. Jack Swagger for the U.S. Title. Cole noted that Santino beat Swagger for the title back in January. He also teased a clip on the WWE website that shows what Swagger had to do just to convince Vickie to give him the match. Santino won clean with The Cobra...

Santino Marella defeated Jack Swagger to retain the U.S. Title in 2:40.

The announcers hyped a Divas battle royal and a graphic showed Kaitlyne, Maxine, Aksana, Tamina, Beth Phoenix, Natalya, A.J., Alicia Fox, and Layla as participants...

Backstage, John Cena found a "People Power" t-shirt. Zack Ryder showed up, took the t-shirt, and threw it in the trash. Cena and Ryder bumped fists... [C]

Powell's POV: Well, at least they didn't dance like Garett Bischoff and Devon did on TNA television recently. Meanwhile, there's a story about the "celebrity social media ambassador" for the 1,000th Raw on the main page.

An ad for Smackdown touted Vickie Guerrero as guest general manager, and questioned whether Sheamus will continue his reign as World Hvt. Champion...

[Q5] John Cena made his entrance and received a mix of cheers and boos. Cena used Star Wars references while talking about his No Way Out win over Big Show. He compared Vince McMahon to Yoda and John Laurinaitis to The Emperor. Cena used a Yoda voice while saying, "No chance in hell have you." Funny.

Cena said that brings him to his historic announcement. Chris Jericho's music played and interrupted Cena. Jericho walked onto the stage wearing a flashy jacket, a t-shirt, and jeans. Cole said Jericho was back from performing a tour with his heavy metal band Fozzy. Footage played of Fozzy at the massive Download Festival, and Cole hyped the new CD for August 14. There was a loud "Y2J" chant.

Jericho asked Cena what the hell he was talking about. He told him to make his historic announcement, shut the hell up, and get out of his ring. "This is my night tonight," Jericho said. Cena recalled Big Show saying that he is entering the Money in the Bank match. Cena said there's no champion that can stop Show once he wins.

Cena said his historic announcement is that he's entering the Money in the Bank match for the first time ever. "So you think you're going to..." Jericho said. Cena interrupted and explained that he's out to stop Show. He also noted that it's been nearly a year since he's been WWE Champion. "I'm not just out to stop Big Show," Cena said. "At Money in the Bank, I'm going to win the whole fudging thing."

Jericho questioned Cena's use of the word fudging and asked if he is nine. "It's a PG show," Cena said. "Most of our viewers are around that age." Jericho cited Cena's arrogance for thinking he could walk in and win. Jericho said he created the match and has been in three MITB matches. Cena said Jericho hasn't won any of them.

Jericho said Cena is always so smug. He said MITB isn't a joke. He said if Cena is looking for fun, he should do another Star Wars promo. Jericho said that was fun and then rolled his eyes. Jericho said the MITB match is a career ender. "Instead of worry about stopping Big Show, maybe you need to worry about stopping me," Jericho said. "Because as of right now, I'm entering myself into the Money in the Bank match as well."

Vickie Guerrero interrupted from the stage. She said there will be two MITB matches, one for the WWE Championship and one for the World Hvt. Championship. Vickie got upset with Jericho for interrupting her. "What are you going to do, suspend me?" Jericho asked. Funny.

Vickie announced that only former champions will be in the MITB match per the Board of Directors orders. She said it will be Kane, Big Show, Chris Jericho, and John Cena. Cena said it's a great idea and she's not so bad as the GM. He said she only needs to take orders from the Board of Directors and not make any decisions of her own. She said this is her show and she will make the main event. Vickie said it's been nearly two years, "so for the first time ever" Cena will face Jericho...

Cole hyped the returning stars segment leading into episode 1,000. He noted that Vader, Mick Foley, and Roddy Piper returned. He said another returning star who hasn't been on Raw in over 15 years would be up next...

Powell's POV: A strong segment once Jericho came out. The Cena segment mostly bombed, but his Yoda impression was comical. Jericho was more snarky and less over the top in his reactions. Are they really going with four wrestlers in MITB or did I misunderstand them?

[Q6] Heath Slater came to the ring and cut a promo. He said he's the One Man Band and he doesn't care what Vader, Roddy Piper, or Cyndi Lauper says about him. He said he's one of the top superstars on Raw. "I am Heath Slater and I rule the world." Sycho Sid's (Sid Vicious) music played and he headed to the ring.

4. Sycho Sid vs. Heath Slater. Cole said the last time Sid was on Raw was June 9, 1997. Sid played to the crowd and was cheered before the match. He worked the match in jeans and boots with kneepads on the outside of the jeans. Slater got some elbows in, but Sid no-sold them and powerbombed Slater for the win...

Sycho Sid defeated Heath Slater in 1:30.

The announcers hyped the Divas battle royal and Cena vs. Jericho... [C]

Powell's POV: I guess we know that Monday isn't Sid's softball night. Look it up, kids. WWE gave this away on their own Twitter page about a minute before Sid came out. Keep that in mind the next time they try to say that spoilers hurt the Smackdown ratings.

The announcers spoke at ringside about Raw 1,000 and then directed viewers to check out the WWE website for details about the first celebrity social media ambassador (Charlie Sheen)...

[Q7] 5. Alberto Del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) vs. Dolph Ziggler in a pole match for a World Hvt. Championship match on Smackdown. Vickie Guerrero did not accompany Ziggler to ringside. There were some "Let's Go Ziggler" chants that grew just after the first minute of the match.

Both men made plays for the contract. Later, Del Rio was going for the contract while standing on the second rope. Ziggler tried to climb over Del Rio's back, but Del Rio gave him a Samoan Drop off the second rope. They both went for the contract and it fell down to the mat. They scrambled after it and took turns playing hot potato with the contract as Cole said the winner has to control it.

Ricardo entered the ring and grabbed the contract, but Ziggler kicked him and the contract flew to ringside. The both tried to go after it, but they ended up tumbling through the ropes on the other side of the ring. Sheamus's music played and he walked onto the stage with a mic in hands.

"Ladies, there's no need to keep fighting," Sheamus said. He said he spoke to Ziggler's "granny" and she booked a Triple Threat match for the World Hvt. Championship. Sheamus said the match won't be about showing off or destiny, he said it will be about him kicking both their asses. Lawler said he couldn't understand why Sheamus is so happy. Cole said it's because he likes to fight because he's Irish...

Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler fought to an apparent no-contest.

Cole revealed the results of an A.J. Poll. 51 percent want her to be with Punk, 27 percent with Kane, 14 percent with all of them, and only 8 percent with Daniel Bryan...

Powell's POV: Is this the first ever no-contest in a pole match in pro wrestling history? Vince Russo loved that match, but I'm not even sure if he went there. Actually, I don't want to know because it can only bring back horrible memories of pole matches from the past. Honestly, spare me the email. Knowing might be half the battle, but I'm totally willing to lose this battle.

The announcers stated that C.M. Punk will defend the WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan at MITB. They said the match is a result of Bryan winning the elimination match that opened the show...

Powell's POV: Two MITB matches and a Punk vs. Bryan match? This has the potential to be a strong pay-per-view.

Backstage, A.J. put her hands over Punk's eyes and asked him to guess who. He guessed King Kong Bundy. She said things didn't go how he wanted them to earlier, so she wants to make it up to him. She said she is dedicating her battle royal win to him. He said they should sit down and have a serious conversation afterwards. She said she's open to taking things to the next level... [C]

The Divas were preparing for the bikini battle royal when they were interrupted by Vickie's music. She came out wearing a robe and named herself an entrant. She removed the robe in the ring to reveal a one-piece bathing suit...

[Q8] 5. Divas battle royal They got down to A.J., Layla, and Vickie in roughly a minute. A.J. tried to throw Layla through the ropes, but she held on. Beth came over and Layla was distracted, so A.J. was able to push her out. Vickie tried to dump A.J., but she held on. When Vickie turned around, A.J. was smiling. A.J. eliminated Vickie to win. She led the crowd in "Yes!" chants afterwards...

A.J. won a Divas bikini battle royal.

The announcers hyped John Cena vs. Chris Jericho for after the break... [C] An ad hyped The Great American Bash. Don't get excited, it's just the live edition of WWE Smackdown that airs on Syfy on July 3... A graphic hyped that Smackdown was the No. 1 show on basic cable on Friday night...

The announcers hyped the Smackdown main event of Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler for the World Hvt. Championship as the Smackdown main event...

6. John Cena vs. Chris Jericho. Jericho wore one of the light bright jackets as part of his entrance. Cena went for an early Attitude Adjustment, but Jericho slid out of it and headed to ringside. [C]

[Overrun] Cena went for an Attitude Adjustment, but Jericho avoided it. A short time later, Big Show's music played and he walked to the ring. Jericho used the distraction to put Cena in the Walls of Jericho. Big Show entered the ring and performed a legdrop on Cena. Jericho looked upset when the ref called for the bell, but then motioned for Big Show to have his way with Cena.

Jericho left the ring and then Big Show chokeslammed Cena. Cole noted that it took over five men to help Cena win at No Way Out. Show locked Cena in what Cole referred to as the Colossal Clutch, which is a lazy version of the Camel Clutch (only one arm around the knee). Show pulled back on the move and eventually released it. Show stared at the referee to end the show...

John Cena defeated Chris Jericho by DQ in 7:35.

Powell's POV: The angle with Show kept his feud with Cena alive, but it didn't really forward anything. It will be interesting to see whether the way his interference cost Jericho the match is something that comes up again or if there was nothing more to it. Overall, this was a good and newsworthy edition of Raw. There was plenty of news regarding the pay-per-view. Vickie Guerrero got more heat tonight than she's had in a long time and did a good job as the guest general manager. I'll have more to say about the show in Dot Net Members' audio tonight, and in the WWE Raw Hitlist on Tuesday.

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