WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Charlotte, NC

[Q1]Michael Cole and Jerry “The King” Lawler opened the show by announcing that Mr. McMahon was there tonight. Cole said it was to name a replacement GM for Vickie Guerrero. Lawler said he heard it was for something else…A video recapped the events of last weeks Raw with Batista, Orton, and Triple H…

The opening video aired, followed by the pyro, and Cole and Lawler officially welcomed us to Raw. They hyped the Fatal Fourway for the WWE Title. Josh Matthews and Matt Striker plugged the ECW title match between Christian and Tommy Dreamer, and Jim Ross and Todd Grisham hyped the World Heavyweight Title Triple Threat Match between CM Punk, Edge, and Jeff Hardy…

Shore’s Slant: Do not adjust your computer monitors or check your calendars. Since Smackdown is so prominently featured tonight, I thought I would sit in for coverage. Thanks for reading.

Chris Jericho made his entrance. He cut a promo about how since he went to Smackdown, Raw had gone into the toilet. He said the GM quit, the championship is vacant, and the fans are still garbage. He put over how big of a loss it was for Raw to lose him. He said someday Rey Mysterio would see the truth; his mask will be his downfall, and only Chris Jericho can be his savior and set his spirit free. Mysterio came out to a big pop.

1. Chris Jericho defeated Rey Mysterio to retain the Intercontinental Championship at 9:38. Mysterio tackled Jericho at the bell and worked quick offense. He clotheslined Jericho out of the ring and then kicked him when he tried to get back in. He hit a springboard leg drop and covered for one. A “Countdown to WWE title match” appeared and it will be in about 32 minutes. Jericho tried to hit his springboard drop kick on Mysterio on the apron, but Mysterio hit his own drop kick, sending Jericho to the floor. He tried a plancha, but Jericho caught him and slammed him into the announce table. Both men recovered into the break…[C]

[Q2]Back from commercial and Jericho reversed a move into a back breaker and tried to remove the mask. Rey escaped and reset the mask. Back in the ring, they ran the ropes and Rey hit a hurricanranna. He hit his springboard sit down splash and covered for two. Both men sold being hurt/tired. Jericho reversed a whip to the corner and tried for the bulldog, but Rey pushed him off and Jericho landed on the second turnbuckle. He hit a drop kick to spill Jericho to the floor and then dove through the second rope onto Jericho.

He rolled Jericho back in the ring and went to the top, but Jericho kicked the feet out. Mysterio hit a Sunset Flip/Power bomb combo for two. Rey hit a drop toe hold, setting Jericho up for 619. Chris moved and hit a drop kick on a running Mysterio’s leg, setting Rey up for 619. Jericho hit the opposite rope Rey hit a springboard moonsault for two. Rey hit a hurricanranna to and then 619. He tried for the West Coast Pop, but Jericho grabbed the mask. Rey dropped down and Jericho hit the Code Breaker for the win. Post match, Jericho celebrated up the ramp as Mysterio recovered…Mr. McMahin was shown backstage getting ready for his interview next…[C]

Shore’s Slant: That’s the best opening Raw has had in weeks. Too bad it was by Smackdown wrestlers. Yet another solid match from these two. If you’re not watching Smackdown, we get this every week. Look for a Mask vs. Title match at The Bash, leading to a Mysterio loss.

Backstage, Josh Matthews interviewed Randy Orton. He pointed out that Orton was about to win the title when Hunter showed up. Orton said everybody saw what happened. He said he had put Batista, Hunter, and Flair out over the past six weeks. He said Hunter used the sledgehammer because he knew he couldn’t handle Orton on his own. Orton said he was going to win the title and no one would remember Hunter. Cena showed up and took the mic from Matthews. He acted like an announcer and punked Orton. He said he was there to remind Orton that he and Bog Show were in the match too, so he better watch out…

Ringside, Cole and Lawler introduced a video that showed Vickie Guerrero quitting last week. After the video, they cut to Mr. McMahon and asked him who was the new GM. He said he was there to announce the new GM for Raw, the flagship show of WWE. He said he wasn’t going to announce the new GM, he was going to let someone else announce the new GM. He said he had received an offer he couldn’t refuse and he was selling WWE Raw. The announce team asked who and he said he would make the announcement after the WWE Title match.

[Q3]He said if he had been asked last week if he would sell Raw to this person, he would have said “there was no chance in hell.” He swallowed hard and looked sad as the show broke for commercial…[C]

Shore’s Slant: I will withhold judgment until I see what is going on, but what in the hell can be the play out to this?

Back from commercial, a video replay showed Mr. McMahon’s announcement that he was selling Raw. Cole and Lawler used their “hurt wrestler” voices to try and sell the shock…Christian made his entrance as Matthews and Striker took over commentary. Tommy Dreamer was out next…

2. Tommy Dreamer defeated Christian to retain the ECW Championship at 3:24. The crowd was dead to start. Dreamer whipped Christian to the corner. Christian slipped through the ropes. Dreamer blocked the kick and hit a reverse neck breaker for one. Christian punched Dreamer and came off the second rope with a flying elbow for one. Christian spilled Dreamer to the floor and hit a springboard plancha. Back in the ring, Dreamer took control and hit several moves, including a reverse DDT for two.

Dreamer whipped Christian to the corner and Christian hit his pendulum kick for two. Christian went to the top and jumped over a charging Dreamer and immediately grabbed his ankle. He went for the kill switch, but Dreamer countered into a belly to back that Christian flipped out of. When he landed on the mat, he grabbed his ankle again. Dreamer rolled up a small package for the win. A video replayed the ending of the match. The announce team hyped the Fatal Four Way for next…[C]

Shore’s Slant: I was going to kill WWE for putting the stupid countdown up again because it’s the equivalent of saying they know when the matches will end (which they do, but that shouldn’t be announced on TV). However, the Christian injury looks real. God I hope not because the angle with him, Dreamer, and Swagger is super hot right now. If it is real, they cut that match short which also screws up the countdown. It will be interesting to see how this affects the rest of the show.

[Q4]Back from commercial, the Bellas and Kelly Kelly were backstage wondering who bought Raw. They mentioned Oprah and Obama. Unreal…The exact same Orton video that opened the show was played again…Lawler and Cole are back on commentary. They showed pictures of Batista’s surgery…Randy Orton made his entrance. Cole asked if Orton was invincible and showed the latest WWE The Magazine cover which asked the same question…

Shore’s Slant: Did anybody in the company see the end of last week’s Raw? I’m just sayin.

Big Show was out next, followed by Cena. The cheers sounded piped in as they started before the music. The power chord hit and the fans went nuts for Hunter…

3. Randy Orton defeated Big Show, John Cena, and Triple H to win the WWE Championship at 11:15. Show and Cena squared off and Hunter and Orton did too. Show tossed Cena out of the ring when he tried for a bulldog, and Hunter chased Orton to the floor and tossed him over the security rail. Hunter and Show faced off in the ring into commercial…[C]

Back at 3:34 and the original pairs were at it again with both heels in charge. Hunter dodged a Orton knee drop and he rolled out of the ring. Cena kicked Show in the corner and he and Show worked on Show and tossed him to the floor together.

[Q5]Cena and Hunter locked up and Hunter won the shoulder tackle first, but Cena hit two flying tackles and hyped the Five Knuckle Shuffle. He came off the ropes and Hunter hit the Spine buster. He hooked the Pedigree, but Cena picked him up in an Attitude Adjustment tease. Show ran in and clotheslined them both. Orton drug Hunter to the floor and worked on him while Show worked on Cena in the ring. Cena picked up Show, but fell. Orton kicked Show to break up the count. Show stalked Orton who ran to the floor.

Show grabbed Cena for a chokeslam and then Hunter with the other hand. They kicked Show and hit a double suplex. Orton tried to punt Show, but Show caught his foot and layed out Orton. Show continued to destroy everyone. He clotheslined Orton over the top and then slammed Cena and went to the second rope. He hit the reverse splash and covered, and Orton broke the count again. Show tossed Orton to the floor and turned around to spear Hunter. He set show in the corner and tried the splash again, but Hunter moved. Orton tried to RKO Show, but Show pushed him off.

Hunter hit the Pedigree on Show and tried to cover. Cena scooped up Hunter and hit the Attitude Adjustment on Hunter. He covered Show, but Show kicked out. Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment on Show and covered, but Orton broke it up and tossed Cena into the post. Orton hit the RKO on Show for the win. Post match, Orton grabbed the belt and ran to the stage and held it up. Hunter and Cena looked pissed outside the ring while Show recovered in the ring. A video replayed the end of the match…Mr. McMahon was shown backstage heading towards the ring. His announcement for who has bought Raw is next…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Here I was, all ready to kill this match, and yet I was entertained. Orton had to go over for this not to have been a disaster, which he did. The four worked well together and there were no ugly spots that I saw. I’m still tired of these four, but they did put on a great match. Can we get someone else to feud with Orton now? Can the new owner help us out? Please?

Back from commercial, a video replayed the end of the WWE title match…Mr. McMahon came out to a dead crowd. Vince said he came to us with a heavy heart. He said after many discussions, it was financially the best decision to sell Raw. He said it would be run by a man with which he has history, but he was compensated very well. He introduced the new owner of Monday Night Raw: Donald Trump!

[Q6]Trump said McMahon had taken advantage of the fans and he was going to give to the fans. McMahon defended himself as giving to the fans all the time. Trump said he was going to do something unheard of. Next week’s Raw is going to be live on the USA Network, commercial free. He also said he would be at next week’s Raw to run things the way he wants. He said McMahon looked better bald and had a blast shaving his head. Vince yelled for him to be cut off and he was. He said he wanted to say his goodbye, but he was too emotional right now and would do it next week. He announced that there would be a ten man battle royale tonight to determine Orton’s opponent at The Bash. He said he was going to do something Trump didn’t believe in, send the show to commercial…The announce team hyped the World Heavyweight Championship match…[C]

Shore’s Slant: This is what you have been waiting for…Are you f-ing kidding me? He sold the show to Donald Trump? Who came up with this shit? How is this supposed to keep Raw from sucking? Trump is shitty on his own show. Hey Vince, did you notice how every fan in the building went mute suddenly? This isn’t a conference for the deaf, it’s a wrestling show. With fans. WHO JUST OFFICIALLY QUIT! Can this get any worse? Oh no. Vince is coming to Smackdown. No! Stay away. You ruin everything you touch recently. You’re not King Midas any more, you’re King Feces. Stay the hell away from Smackdown.

Back from commercial, a video recapped Vince’s turd…uh…announcement…Mickie James made her entrance…The WWE Rewind video was the Diva’s battle royale last month that Kellie Kellie won via Maryse’s interference. Rosa Mendez made her entrance. Beth Phoenix came out with her and then went backstage. Maryse came out to sit in ringside…

4. Mickie James defeated Rosa Mendez at 2:49. Mickie hit two quick strikes that sent Rosa to the floor. Mickie tried to bring her back in, but Rosa hit a Hangman on the top rope. Rosa worked her offense and Charlotte went back to sleep. Mickie hit some quick shots and covered for two. Rosa tried a neck breaker, but Mickie pushed her off. She kicked Rosa and hit the DDT for the win. Post match, Maryse teased getting in the ring. She climbed to the apron and did her hair flip. Mickie charged her and Maryse escaped…The announce team hyped the ten man battle royale for later…

Shore’s Slant: That match was only slightly more exciting than Rich Twilling’s love life. Seriously, the match sucked, but at least there is a story for the women on Raw. That’s the one thing Smackdown gets wrong. I hope we get Micke and Maryse at The Bash.

[Q7][C]Back from commercial and Horndust was in the ring, shooting T-Shirts to the fans. How sad is it that the crowd pops more for this than the last two segments combined. The Miz’s music hit and he made his way to the ring. Horndust retreated to the corner and Miz acted like he didn’t even see them. Miz said he had a message for the new owner: if he wanted to do something unprecedented, then the new face of Raw is The Miz!

He said Cena was the face of the past. He said last week he proved what a sham Cena was when he left him unconscious in the middle of the ring. He said tonight he would toss Cena over the top rope and go on to beat Orton at The Bash. He said he didn’t want to stop there, he wanted it all, the merchandise, the magazine covers, the movies. He said he wanted to see them begging for more. He yelled at Horndust to leave the ring.

Goldust said he was tired of watching Miz run his mouth to get in Cena’s head. He said it wasn’t working. He said the Miz should change his name to The Whiz because that’s what everybody did when He started talking. Horny said something and Goldust translated that Miz was a loser. Miz called Horny a freak and turned on Goldust. He said Goldust was a joke in 2009. He said he was going to show Trump that he wasn’t afraid to take a chance. He punched Goldust and then hit a DDT. He made Horny get on his knees and then shot him with the T-Shirt gun. The fans booed crazily as Miz celebrated…The announce team hyped the Triple Threat match for next…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Miz is so over now it’s sick. Plus he’s fresh, funny, and talented in the ring. Which means he’s about to be buried. I hope to God I am wrong, but that’s been the MO for Raw. My boys are next. Smackdown is about to tear the house down folks. You heard it here first.

[Q8]Back from commercial, a still photo video showed Punk’s cashing in MITB at Extreme Rules. Backstage, Matthews asked Punk about cashing in on Jeff. Punk said last year when he cashed in on Edge, he won a Slammy. He said if Edge would have won the Ladder Match, he assumes he would have returned to Raw as the conquering hero. He said because it was Jeff, he was supposed to have some sort of moral dilemma. He said he put his body on the line at Mania to win the right to do what he did. Matt Hardy walked up and said he wanted to congratulate Punk for what he did, because if it had been him, he would have done the same thing.

Punk said that would have been hard to do since Hardy had never won MITB or been world champion. He said Hardy was nothing like him. He said Hardy was driven by jealousy and bitterness while he had worked for everything he ever got. Punk walked off and Hardy mocked him…

Back ringside, JR and Grisham introduced a video that showed Edge’s verbal assault on Vickie last week…Edge made his entrance, followed by Jeff Hardy who came out to a giant pop from the “home” crowd. Hardy’s wearing his stupid makeup again. He posed for the crowd as the show went to commercial…[C]

Back from commercial, CM Punk made his entrance and intros were done. Punk got a mixed reaction from the crowd and the crowd is crazy hot for Hardy…

[Q9]5. CM Punk defeated Edge and Jeff Hardy to retain the World Heavyweight Championship at 15:40. Lots of quick roll up one counts to start. Punk clotheslined Edge over the top rope after dropping Hardy in the corner. He hit a suicide plancha on Edge and drug him back towards the ring. Hardy hit a plancha on both men. He tossed Punk back in the ring and covered for two. He whipped Punk to the corner and got kicked when he ran in. Punk hit a clothesline for two. Punk scooped Hardy for a slam and then hit an elbow drop for two. Punk locked in a chin lock on Hardy. Edge started to get back in the ring and Punk charged him. Edge leveled Punk and then Hardy. He tossed Hardy from the ring and covered Punk for two.

Edge worked strikes on Punk. He set him on the top turnbuckle and climbed to the second rope. Hardy ran in and pulled Edge from the rope. He tried for a superplex, but Edge came and lifted Hardy in an Electric Chair setup. Punk tried to hit a Doomsday on Hardy, but Hardy ducked down and rolled up Edge for two. Punk recovered and clotheslined both men. All three men recovered in the ring into commercial…[C]

Back at 7:54, Punk was hitting elbows on Edge while Hardy recovered on the floor. Punk hit a drop kick on Edge. Hardy came back in the ring and Punk hit the high knee in the corner on him. He did the same to Edge on the opposite corner. He hit the bulldog on Edge and dropkicked Hardy at the same time. He covered Jeff for two. Punk picked up Hardy for GTS, but Edge hit chop block on Punk. Edge locked in a Sharpshooter on Punk, and Hardy locked in a sleeper on Edge. Edge broke and Hardy covered, but Punk broke it up. Edge whipped Hardy to the corner, and then whipped Punk into the same corner. Punk hit a sunset flip on Edge who tried to fight it, but Hardy hit a clothesline on him and then a sit down drop kick on Punk to break the count.

Punk scooped up Edge for GTS, but Edge slipped out and pushed Punk into Hardy. Hardy tried for Twist of Fate, but Punk countered into a GTS lift. Hardy pushed off and Edge hit a spear on Hardy. All three men where on the mat. Punk ran to the corner and jumped to the top. Edge ran up and pushed him off onto the stairs. Punk hit his knee hard and trainers ran out to check on him. In the ring, Jeff hit Twist of Fate and covered, but Punk pulled Jeff off and slid back out of the ring. Jeff kicked the crap out of the injured knee and went back in the ring. He hit Whisper in the Wind and then the Swanton. He covered Edge, but Punk pulled him out of the ring and drove Hardy’s back into the stairs. Punk slid in the ring and covered Edge for the win.

[Q10]Post match, Punk celebrated in the ring and sold the knee injury. Teddy Long’s music hit and he came out and said Punk would defend the title at The Bash against Jeff Hardy. Hardy pointed at Long to thank him and Edge looked pissed…The Raw announce team took over and replayed the end of the Fatal Fourway match. They hyped the ten man battle royale for later…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Spectacular match from these three. As expected, Smackdown has stolen the show tonight with its two matches. The slow Punk heel turn continues. This feud will continue to be great so if you’re not watching Smackdown, now’s a good week to start. What the hell is wrong with this crowd? I thought we were in Charlotte, not Pittsburgh. There were several hot spots in the last match that they just stared at like it was the opera. They only barely cheered Jeff Hardy. Could it be that the Trump announcement sucked the heat out of the room? No, that couldn’t be it because McMahon came up with that idea himself and he has his finger on the pulse of wrestling fans.

Back from commercial, Legacy/Priceless joined the announce team. The Hart Dynasty made their entrance as DiBiase said that Lawler and Cole made them look “more better.” Vince must have screamed at him because everybody laid out. The Colons came out next and it was announced that the Colons would defend against Legacy at The Bash…

6. The Colons defeated The Hart Dynasty w/Natalya by disqualification at 2:22. Primo botched a hurricanranna early and could have broke his neck. All four men were in the ring. Primo tossed Kidd and then hit a plancha on him. Carlito hit the Backstabber on Smith, but before the ref could count three, Legacy ran in and attacked Carlito. They destroyed both Colons and tossed them both from the ring. Legacy celebrated in the ring…Backstage, Hunter was shown heading towards the ring. The battle royale is next…[C]

Shore’s Slant: We’d like to thank the Harts for coming in a day early for that. Way to showcase some new stars. Looks like Legacy finally gets a rub at The Bash. About time. Speaking of destroyed colons, I had fajitas earlier tonight. I’m just sayin.

[Q11]A video package showed highlights from the European tour. They got to wrestle in the Coliseum in Rome. Yeah, that Coliseum. Now that’s cool…A video recapped the Trump announcement…Backstage, Santino was in the office with Mr. McMahon. He asked if everyone still had jobs, including his sister. Vince said that knowing Trump, he would be attracted to Santina. Vince said he didn’t know what would happen, Trump would do what he wanted.

Vince’s music played and it was his ringtone. He answered his phone. It was Trump. He said he wanted to make an announcement after the battle royale. Vince said to tell him and he would make the announcement, but Trump wanted to make it. He hung up on Vince. Vince said he hated billionaires with egos. Santino said he must hate himself. Santino kept saying inappropriate things and then ran off…

Back in the ring, Lillian introduced the participants in the battle royale. The show went to commercial before Cena’s and Hunter’s entrances…[C]

[Q12]Back from commercial, the Smackdown announce team announced Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk and Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho…Hunter came out to The King of Kings. Cena was out last…

7. Triple H defeated Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, MVP, William Regal, Matt Hardy, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Big Show, and John Cena in a battle royale for the number one contendership at 17:39. Orton came out about 40 seconds in and stood at the top of the ramp. Legacy worked together early to try and eliminate Hunter, but he fought out. Hardy clubbed Show with the cast. Show no sold and Hardy slipped out of the ring. Show grabbed Hardy and pulled him back in and then threw him out. MVP tried to sneak eliminate Show, but he got tossed. The Miz got choked slammed by Show and rolled out of the ring. The rest of the group ganged up on Show and eliminated him at 4:29. Orton watched from the ramp as the show went to commercial…[C]

Back at 8:14 and only six men remain. Miz is not in the ring, but he went under the rope so I don’t know what’s going on. Cena almost eliminated Rhodes. Legacy worked on Cena while Kingston and Hunter went at it. Hunter hit the high knee on Kofi and faced off with Legacy again. Hunter was tossed but landed on the apron. Cena took out Legacy for a moment and then Rhodes worked on Cena. DiBiase was in trouble, but Rhodes made the save. Hunter turned around and he and Cena faced off. Hunter mimed the title and attacked Cena. They battled and Hunter tried to toss Cena. Legacy tried to toss them both, but they fought them off and clotheslined each other.

[Overrun]Kingston worked on Legacy, but they tossed him at 13:29. They high fived each other and Regal attacked from behind. He got tossed at 13:56. Cena and Hunter fought with Legacy. Rhodes put Cena down and they double teamed Hunter. They went back to Cena and hit a double flapjack on him. They beat Hunter down and then Cena went crazy on them. He tossed DiBiase and then Rhodes. Rhodes caught the rope and powered back in. Hunter charged at Cena, who ducked, and Hunter clotheslined Rhodes over the top. Hunter hit the Pedigree on Cena. Legacy jumped in the ring and beat down Hunter while Orton pitched a fit.

Refs came in and forced Legacy from the ring. The Miz popped up from the floor and the announce team confirmed he had not been eliminated. He charged at Cena and Hunter who pulled the rope down and he flew out of the ring. Cena looked at Miz and Hunter eliminated him to win. Trump’s music played and he announced that Hunter would not wait until The Bash. He said next week, Orton would face Hunter for the title in a Last Man Standing match. The crowd finally cheered as the show ended…

Shore’s Slant: That was about the snore fest I thought it would be. If Miz had won, you wouldn’t be reading this because I would have completely marked out. Hunter was predictable, but the move to make the match next week was a surprise. I’m not sure what that means for The Bash as next week will be the go home show for the PPV and we’re getting the WWE title match. More shitty booking from Raw. Why am I surprised?

For the show, the Fatal Fourway was the only Raw part that was worth anything. The Smackdown matches stole the show, and I’m not convinced the short ECW match was planned to be that short. I could be wrong, but Christian looked like he might really be hurt. I guess we’ll see tomorrow night on ECW. I can’t believe we are going to get Raw without breaks next week. My prayers and best wishes are with Jason, he’s going to need it. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you Thursday for Superstars.

Questions? Comments? Anyone, anyone? Let me hear from you. Email me at css3238@gmail.com with whatever is on your mind.

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