WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from San Jose, Calif.

[Q1] Lillian Garcia opened the show by introducing Vince McMahon. He walked onto the stage wearing a blue jacket that only Ted Knight could love. Vince immediately brought up Donald Trump and said he would give the fans their money back if he were at the show. Vince asked if the fans if they wanted him to do the same. Vince said he can't do the commercial-free stuff, but he could refund their money. The fans cheered. "But I'm not going to," Vince said. The fans booed.

Vince said Trump made a 15-man trade between Raw, Smackdown, and ECW. Vince said Trump got rid of general managers on Raw and instituted the celebrity guest host idea. Vince said he was going to shake things up "VKM style." Vince introduced special guest host Batista. The announcers acted giddy. "Is this for real?" Lawler asked.

Batista walked onto the stage wearing a suit. He wore a protective brace over his surgically repaired left arm. Cole pointed it out and said he would be out the next couple months with a torn triceps. "Yes!" Batista yelled once he entered the ring. The fans chanted his name.

"We're going to have some fun tonight," Batista said. He said there would be a four-man tournament to determine the No. 1 contender for Randy Orton's title at the Night of Champions pay-per-view. He said the tournament matches would be The Miz vs. John Cena, and MVP vs. Triple H. "Yes, sir, we're going to have some fun!" Batista said. He said he initially turned down Vince's request to be the guest host because he's a fighter.

Randy Orton's entrance music played and he walked onto the stage with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase at his side. "You shouldn't have come back, Batista," Orton said. He asked what was stopping them from coming to the ring and tearing him apart. "Nothing, I guess," Batista said. "Except that if you even look at me the wrong way, I'm going to fire all three of you."

Batista said Vince gave him unlimited power, meaning he can make Orton's life a living nightmare. Orton said his life already is a nightmare because he was hit with a sledgehammer. Batista mocked him for whining. He said he wasn't going to make him defend the title. However, he said he should be worried about the trade Trump made.

Batista announced Orton would face three of the new draftees in a three-on-one gauntlet match. He explained that he knows how much Orton enjoys three-on-one scenarios, so he wanted him to be on the wrong end of one. Batista's music played to wrap up the segment while Cole and Lawler questioned who the three men would be and then put over the tournament... [C]

Powell's POV: Strong opening segment. I like the fact that they're working MVP and Miz into the tournament. My guess is that one of them wins since I don't think they'll give away Hunter vs. Cena on free television. The 15-man trade is an interesting hook for the show and is definitely an indirect concession that Raw was left weaker via the draft. The only thing I don't like is the ridiculous notion that Vince would have to stick with the celebrity guests every week just because Trump announced it. It's his show again so can't he do whatever he wants?

[Q2] Still shot photos aired of Orton vs. Hunter from The Bash...

1. Triple H defeated MVP in a tournament match in 4:35 to determine the No. 1 contender at Night of Champions. The winner of the match faces the winner of the John Cena vs. The Miz match. The announcers narrated footage of MVP attending the BET Awards with Sherri Shepherd of The View.

Triple H's knee was wrapped again. MVP went right after it to start the match. Hunter came back with punches and was cheered by the crowd, but MVP clipped the leg again. MVP locked in the figure four and received the obligatory reaction from the crowd. Hunter eventually broke the hold by punching MVP a couple times.

Hunter went for the Pedigree at 3:10, but MVP clipped the knee again. MVP did the Ballin' spot. He received some boos and some people said it along with him. Hunter went for the Pedigree again at 3:45, but MVP backdropped him. MVP followed up with a Drive By Kick for a solid near fall. MVP went for his finisher, but Hunter fought out of it, kicked MVP in the gut, and hit the Pedigree for the clean win...

Lawler said he doesn't think Hunter can get past Cena or Miz due to his knee injury and then hyped the tag title rematch... [C]

Powell's POV: Decent while it lasted. MVP got plenty of offense by targeting the knee. The result just screams nothing has changed. I hope they send a different message later in the show by having Miz beat Cena, but it's not like Hunter won't just plow through Miz. Maybe they will give away Cena vs. Hunter after all.

[Q3] Still shots aired from The Bash of Edge and Chris Jericho winning the tag titles...

Ring introductions for the tag title match took place. Lawler said viewers shouldn't adjust their television sets because Jericho was really back on Raw. Once the heels were in the ring, Jericho said he was back in front of the hypocrites again.

Edge interrupted Jericho to say that he approached Jericho last night and said they should form an alliance and dominate WWE. He reminded viewers they can appear on any WWE show as the Unified Tag Champs...

Powell's POV: Lawler's line would have been more effective if Jericho hadn't appeared on Raw the last two weeks.

2. Edge and Chris Jericho defeated Primo and Carlito to retain the WWE Unified Tag Titles in 10:40. The Colons dominated the first 90 seconds of the match. Jericho and Edge were lying at ringside when the show cut to commercial. [C] Back from the break, the heels were in control and took turns working over Primo.

Carlito took a hot tag from his brother and hit a missile dropkick that caught Jericho in the gut. Jericho missed a Lionsault. Carlito came right back with a springboard flip onto Jericho for a nice near fall. He followed up with a cross body block for a really good near fall that the crowd counted along with.

Carlito hit the Backstabber on Edge and had the pin, but Jericho broke it up. Carlito went for another springboard off the middle rope, but was tripped up by Jericho from the outside. Edge came back with a spear on Carlito and scored the 1-2-3 to retain the tag titles...

Powell's POV: A really fun match down the stretch. Very good near falls that the live crowd bought into. That's the best reaction the Colons have received on Raw. Of course, it's no coincidence that they're working with two of the best heels in the business. By the way, here's hoping MVP lost his match because he's on his way back to Friday nights.

[Q4] The announcers hyped Cena vs. Miz, and the three-on-one gauntlet match with Orton for later in the show... [C] Cole pimped the WWE website...

Backstage, Orton bitched to Cody and Ted about Batista booking him in the gauntlet match. Batista entered the room and said he'd fire Cody and Ted if they got involved in the gauntlet match...

Powell's POV: By the way, I forgot to mention that it's ridiculous that Batista wouldn't stack the deck against Orton by forcing him to defend the title in this match. A simple explanation for not forcing him to defend the belt would have been that Batista has too much respect for the title, but they didn't give us one. That said, strong show so far.

A long Cena vs. Miz video aired... A shot aired of Cena walking backstage. The announcers said his match was coming up next... [C] An ad for ECW questioned whether Tommy Dreamer was still the ECW Champion... An ad for WWE Superstars hyped C.M. Punk vs. Edge...

[Q5] 3. John Cena beat The Miz in a tournament match in 13:50 to determine the No. 1 contender at Night of Champions. The announcers acknowledged Miz's loss to Cena from the night before and questioned whether he learned anything from it.

Miz went on the offensive early. The announcers said he looked more aggressive and clearly learned something last night. Of course, Cena took control of the offense seconds later. At 4:20, Cena went for a bulldog, but Miz pushed him off and received a pop from the vocal minority of fans who were cheering him. [C]

At 10:15, Cena caught Miz on the ropes and set him up or the Attitude Adjustment. Miz slipped out and hit the electric chair drop on Cena, which the announcers put over in a big way. Miz caught Cena in a sleeper at 12:00. Cena sold the hold, but then stood up and backed Miz into the corner. Cena took control of the match and hit some of his signature spots. He finished off Miz with a top rope leg drop and the STF for the submission win...

Powell's POV: They gave Miz a lot more offense tonight than they did last night and it was a much better match. Unfortunately, we're left with Orton defending against Hunter or Cena again. They just refuse to shake things up. Cena vs. Hunter could pop a rating next week, but there are a lot of us who are frustrated to see the same old guys in the title picture.

[Q6] Cole hyped Orton's gauntlet match for later in the show... [C] The announcers hyped Triple H vs. Cena for next week. Lawler said he can't remember a bigger main event on Raw...

Backstage, Ted DiBiase calmed down Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. DiBiase said his father just informed him by telephone that he was going to be the special guest host on next week's Raw. Orton asked how that helped him and then he left the room...

Powell's POV: They've yet to acknowledge the tension between Orton and DiBiase that took place last night. It's as if it never happened.

Lillian Garcia announced that the winner of a four-way match would face Maryse at Night of Champions. Mickie James and Kelly Kelly made their entrances for the four-way. Maryse came out... [C]

Powell's POV: A DirecTV ad for The Bash replayed hyped Triple H facing Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match. Obviously, WWE changed plans at some point since they went with the Last Man Standing match on last week's Raw and then a Three Stages of Hell match at the pay-per-view.

[Q7] 4. Mickie James defeated Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, Rosa Mendes at 6:05. Maryse sat in on commentary and said The Miz is in love with her. They asked how she feels about him. She laughed and said she'd keep that to herself. In the ring, Mickie and Kelly hooked up for a brutal double dropkick on Rosa. Ugh.

Beth was roughing up Mickie with a flurry of punches. Rosa walked toward Beth, who saw her out of the corner of her eye. Beth shot Rosa a look from hell and Rosa backed off in an apologetic manner. The women hooked up in a four chinlock chain. In the end, Mickie DDT'd Rosa for the clean win.

Powell's POV: Yes, a four chin lock chain. Well, one of them looked more like a sleeper than a chin lock. Either way, Randy Orton had to be touching himself backstage. The match had some cool spots and some clunkers. I'm just happy they're actually going to have a Raw singles match between the divas at the pay-per-view. These multi-Diva matches are tired.

A shot aired of Big Show walking backstage. Cole said he would be facing "the exciting United States Champion Kofi Kingston" after the break... [C]

A shot aired from outside the HP Pavilion... A video showcased the "SummerSlam Reading Jam," which is WWE's charity event to encourage kids to read...

Powell's POV: But if they teach them to read, then they won't grow up and remain pro wrestling fans! Sorry, just beating the mainstream media to the punch.

5. Big Show fought Kofi Kingston to a double countout in a non-title match in 3:40. Lawler said Show's favorite book is "Little Women." He really needs a new joke book. Damn. A nice "Let's go Kofi" chant broke out as Show was roughing him up in the opening minute.

[Q8] Kofi came back with some kicks, including a nice missile dropkick. Kofi ran from one corner and leapt onto Big Show and put himself in position for a powerbomb. Show dumped him over the top rope instead.

Show followed Kofi to ringside while the referee counted. Show pressed Kofi, who slipped out and shoved Show into the ring post. Kofi struggled to get back in the ring, but couldn't beat the referee's count so both men were counted out. Show stormed backstage after the match...

Powell's POV: I could see Show leaving Raw via the trade. His feud with Cena bombed and it doesn't look like they have much planned for him on the Monday night show. Plus, you'd think he would have beat the hell out of Kofi afterward if they were trying to set up a program between the two. By the way, I forgot to mention that I love the idea of The Million Dollar Man hosting next week's show.

The announcers hyped the three-on-one gauntlet match for after the break... [C]

A graphic hyped "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase as the guest host for next week's WWE Raw, which will actually be taped tonight in San Jose after this show concludes...

6. Mark Henry, Jack Swagger, and Evan Bourne defeated Randy Orton in a gauntlet match. Orton walked gingerly onto the stage to sell the sledgehammer beating he took on Sunday night. The first opponent (and new addition to Raw via the trade) was Evan Bourne. "What a trade!" Cole exclaimed. For all Cole knows, they traded Cena, Hunter, and Orton straight up for Bourne, yet he put it over as a great trade. Moron.

Bourne dominated the first three minutes of the match and hit the awesome top rope knee driver onto Orton. However, he tried to follow up with another top rope move, but Orton cut him off and hit the RKO for the clean pin at 3:20.

Lilian introduced Jack Swagger as Orton's second opponent and the newest member of the Raw roster. Sweet! Swagger grabbed Orton by the legs and then slammed him onto the mat. Swagger crawled between the ropes and stood on the ring apron and let the referee count him out. He took a mic and said he's always liked Orton and wanted to make a lasting impression on his first night on Raw.

[Overrun] Mark Henry was introduced as Orton's final opponent and the newest member of the Raw roster. Wow, is anyone left on the Tuesday night show? Henry took the mic and said he's always liked Orton and has a lot of respect for him. He said he came to make an impression on his first night on Raw "and it's going to be a good one."

Henry dropped the mic and locked up with Orton. Henry shoved Orton to the mat. Henry climbed between the ropes and stood on the ring apron. The referee started to count him out while the live crowd booed. The ref's count got to five and then Henry reached up and stopped the count. Henry laughed and waved his finger at Orton, who slunk down in the corner.

Orton got down on his knees in the middle of the ring to beg for mercy. Henry grabbed him by the throat and threw him across the ring. Henry beat his chest in a play to the crowd, but they actually quieted down. A short time later, Henry hit the World's Strongest Slam on Orton and scored the pin. The fans cheered for the finish.

After the match, Batista walked onto the stage and Henry clapped for him. The announcers put over Batista's performance as the guest host and then hyped Ted DiBiase as the guest host for next week, plus the Triple H vs. John Cena match as the main event of said show...

Powell's POV: No sign of Tony Atlas in Henry's corner. The live crowd didn't get behind Henry as much as WWE officials probably thought they would. They counted along with the pin, but it wasn't like a star was born. It looks like Henry is a babyface given the way he was playing to the crowd and smiling.

Henry is solid, but it really is a shame they never gave MVP a big win like that for the two weeks it looked like they were on the verge of pushing him. No word on the rest of the trade yet. Thanks for following along with me tonight. I'll have much more to say about the show in Dot Net Audio.

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