WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Orlando, Fla.

[Q1] The show opened with a video recap of Ric Flair losing his WrestleMania 24 match to Shawn Michaels... The opening video aired... Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler introduced the show from ringside and hyped that Flair would deliver his farewell address after 36 years in the industry. An audio clip aired of Flair saying, "The Four Horsemen, we are the studs in professional wrestling"...

John Cena's entrance music played briefly and stopped. Triple H's music played and stopped. Finally, Randy Orton's music (that same awful song) played and he walked out with the WWE Title draped around over his shoulder. "Expecting someone else," Orton said. He ran through the list of people he's defeated and said, "We're not living in the age of Orton."

JBL's music played and he walked to the ring wearing a suit. He said Hunter and Cena don't deserve title matches, but he does. He said Orton's entire title reign has been based on luck. "You can't beat me," JBL said. "You never will be able to beat me. I am declaring right now my candidacy for the WWE Championship. They say I passed the torch. I want my damn torch back." JBL said the fans would hate him as champion and left the ring.

Orton demanded that JBL return to the ring. He continued yelling at Orton when Matt Hardy ran in through the crowd and attacked him from behind. Several referees ran out and pulled Hardy off Orton, who then took advantage of the situation by taking a cheap shot at Hardy while he was being held down... [C]

Powell's POV: For a minute there I thought they were going to have JBL come and use his mic skills to put Orton over since Randy is limited on the mic. Rather, he bascially called his WrestleMania win and his entire title reign a fluke, which isn't the message to send coming off such a big win for Orton. The Hardy attack was solid. In case you forgot the story line, Orton attacked Matt after he had his appendix removed to further his feud with Jeff Hardy.

[Q2] Backstage, William Regal scolded Matt for attacking his champion. Hardy said Orton cost him three months of his career and said he wanted Orton in the ring. Regal said he's have to think about it...

Powell's POV: Not a very good exchange. This was not Matt's finest moment on the mic and Regal sounded silly when he got all worked up while asking Matt if he wanted to face Orton only to say, "I'll have to think about it."

1. Cryme Time defeated Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch at 2:53. Ross reminded viewers that the last time we say Cryme time, they stole Cade's hat and tried to sell it only to give it away. In the end, JTG rolled up Murdoch for the win.

Powell's POV: Same old Cryme Time based on this match. I didn't like their gimmick last time, so I really hope they shake it up and give them an edge.

A shot aired of Shawn Michaels walking backstage and Ross said he had it on good authority that HBK would pour his heart out after the break... Footage aired of Flair defeating Harley Race to win the NWA Title... [C] At ringside, Lawler showed viewers WWE.com...

HBK walked to the ring wearing street clothes. "I'm feeling a lot of emotions right now and none of them are very good." He stopped and turned around and the crowd cheered briefly. It was hard to tell whether he was bothered by something someone said or if he was trying to look disoriented, but he turned back around and faced the camera again.

[Q3] He said he has to carry around the burden of being the man who retired the greatest wrestler that ever lived for the rest of his llife. "Lucky me." Michaels started to leave the ring with a mic, but stopped, turned around, and placed it on the other side of the ring before leaving... The announcers hyped Chris Jericho vs. C.M. Punk, and announced that Orton vs. Matt Hardy would take place later in the show... [C]

Powell's POV: I'm not sure where they're going with HBK, but I'm intrigued.

Backstage, Michaels paced back and forth. Regal approached him and said: "Look, you did what you had to do. I think it's something that had to be done a long time ago." Regal walked away and the camera pulled back to show Batista (wearing street clothes) staring at Michaels. HBK looked at Batista and neither one of them changed their expressions. HBK walked away and Batista remained motionless, but his eyes followed Michaels...

2. Brian Kendrick and Paul London beat Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly in a non-title match at 3:35. Ross recalled the story line of Kendrick abandoning London during their match against Umaga a couple weeks back. He said they had worked through their differences. Late in the match, London dumped Holly to ringside only to join him following a clothesline from Cody. Kendrick rolled up Cody from behind for the pin...

Highlights aired of a Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat match. Ross said that match took place in 1989 and said it was hard to believe that Flair would be delivering his farewell address on Raw...

[Q4] [C] Lawler thanked the band Rev Theory for performing the WrestleMania theme song and pointed out that the band was seated behind him and Ross... Highlights aired from WrestleMania... Ross hyped Jericho vs. Punk for after the break... [C]

Powell's POV: They actually found just enough footage to make the Batista vs. Umaga match look good.

3. Chris Jericho defeated C.M. Punk in a non-title match at 5:56. Ross explained that there was no title or briefcase on the line. Rather, he said pride is on the line and he believes Jericho's took a hit at WrestleMania. They traded offense and a few quick nearfalls early.

[Q5] The crowd was split in their chants for both wrestlers. There were some really good counters late in the match, but Jericho hit the Codebreaker and scored the clean pin...

Powell's POV: It's not fair to compare this match to the two recent matches Jericho had with Jeff Hardy, but I know some people will. The reason it's not fair is because these guys had less than six minutes to work with and didn't have enough time to tell a story like Jericho did with Hardy. This was really good for the time they had to work with.

Highlights aired of Flair winning the 1992 Royal Rumble... [C] Ross and Lawler announced Santino Marella and Maria would be facing off in a singles match later in the show...

Big Show walked to the ring with a make up bruise on his face. He congratulated Floyd Mayweather, his manager, and six bodyguards for beating him at WrestleMania. He recalled Flair saying he's the best big man he's ever seen at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. He was choked up while he talked about it. He continued to talk, but Great Khali's entrance music interrupted him.

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