WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Washington, D.C.

[Q1] Lillian Garcia introduced Jerry "The King" Lawler, who stood in the middle of the ring. Lawler said it was his honor to introduce tonight's guest host. He called Shaq a "fifteen time NBA MVP." Oops. He introduced Shaq, who came out in black slacks and a black shirt...

Shaq said hello to Washington D.C. and said his new teammate Lebron James did the same. They booed Lebron. Shaq said there would be a "Beat the Clock" challenge to determine Randy Orton's opponent at SummerSlam. The five men involved will be Triple H, MVP, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, and John Cena.

Chris Jericho's music hit and he came out to the ring. He walked up to Shaq and stared into his eyes from about his chest level. "When I heard the most dominate player in NBA history was hosting Raw, I automatically assumed it was Kobe Bryant." Awesome! Jericho said the most dominant duo in sports was not Lebron and Shaq, it was Jericho and ... "Hold up, hold up," interrupted Shaq.

Shaq referred to Jericho as "Christina" and kissed him on the forehead. Jericho said he was the biggest star in the company and demanded to be catered to. If he wasn't, there would be some huge problems. Shaq got in Jericho's face and shoved him. Jericho introduced him to the Big Show. Show came out in a suit.

Show stood eye to eye with Shaq and Shaq may have had a half inch in height advantage over Show. "You would have a better chance of making two free throws in a row than intimidate me." Again, great line. Shaq challenged Show to a match. Show refused because he didn't want to incur the wrath of NBA Commissioner David Stern and what will amount to a lot of legal fees.

Jericho stood up and said he wouldn't fight Shaq either. Shaq said he knew "the girls" would not fight him, so he hired two people they would fight. Cryme Tyme came out to the ring. Jericho and Show took off. Shaq said he would be the special enforcer tonight. He then tried to start a "Christina" chant, but it didn't really take off... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: Average segment. King was off on the mic and Shaq took a few moments to settle in. I didn't like that Jericho was made to look like a joke if he were to actually fight Shaq, because if he did fight him, he'd do the same thing to him he did to Bill Goldberg. I wish Jericho would have lost the tag titles last night so he could be in main event picture.

[Q2] Did you know? WWE airs on television in a lot of countries and in a lot of languages...

1. Mark Henry defeated Carlito in a Beat the Clock Challenge match in 6:49. Carlito immediately went to the floor. Henry went to get him. Carlito springboarded over the top, but Henry caught him and pressed him over the top rope back into the ring. Henry hit an avalanche at the three minute mark and followed up with a kick to the head for a two count.

Henry went for multiple covers. He tried a midring bonzai splash and missed. Carlito took momentary control and scored a nearfall with a springboard dropkick. Carlito locked in a sleeper. He went for the backstabber but Henry shrugged it off. Henry won with the World's Strongest Slam. I had it at 6:48, but the official time was 6:49.

Twill's Two Cents: Good match. I assumed it would be a glorified squash and although the match finishes tonight will probably not be in doubt, Carlito had a nice showing in defeat here. Despite the size and style differences, these two worked well together tonight.

Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, and Gail Kim made their way to the ring for a six woman tag team match... [C]

[Q3] 2. Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, and Gail Kim defeated Beth Phoenix, Rosa Mendes, and Alicia Fox in 3:34. I had a computer issue; my apologies. Mickie cleaned house after receiving a hot tag before tagging in Gail. Gail hit a missile dropkick on Alicia for the win...

Twill's Two Cents: Enjoyable for what it was, but the best part of the match was the fact that it looks like Beth Phoenix is back in the title picture, which is a very good thing.

Backstage in Shaq's office, full of gear from all of his teams and a hoop, Cole asked him what else he had in store for tonight. Way to ask the hard hitting questions Cole. Hornswoggle came in. Shaq hugged him. "We went to high school together." Funny. Horny tried to dunk a basketball but was unsuccessful. Cole said what happened was "Shaq-a-licious." He held up his fist for a bump, but Shaq blew him off... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: Man, they made Cole look like such a dork there. We knew we were going to get a Shaq and Hornswoggle visual. The high school line was funny.

[Q4] 3. MVP vs. Chris Masters ended in a double countout in a Beat the Clock Challenge match in 3:35. Masters made his surprise return and looked to be in good shape. Back and forth action with Masters going for the Master Lock and MVP going for covers. The finish came with Masters locking in the Master Lock on the floor and the referee counting both men out...

Twill's Two Cents: Hmmm, does anyone else see Jack Swagger or Mark Henry winning this thing? Nice return for Masters as he spoiled MVP's chance to main event SummerSlam and reestablished his finishing move.

A graphic promoting Triple H vs. Cody Rhodes was shown... [C]

4. Kofi Kingston defeated The Brian Kendrick in :10. Kendrick badmouthed Jerry Lawler on the mic and the referee rang the bell. Kofi hit Trouble in Paradise for the quick win...

Twill's Two Cents: I hope TBK is not working by the hour.

Triple H was shown making his way through the backstage area. Ted DiBiase attacked him in the back of the leg with what looked like a pipe. He wished him luck. Cole wondered if the attack would affect Triple H's chances of beating the clock... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: No Cole, everybody has someone hit them in the back of the leg with a pipe before any big match. Triple H just forgot and asked Ted to do it for him.

The SummerSlam ad aired and once again, Shawn Michaels was not featured. Still shots were shown of Randy Orton retaining the WWE Championship last night, despite tapping out during the match. Just try to explain that one to me and make sense of it. Not going to happen.

[Q5] 5. Triple H vs. Cody Rhodes in a Beat the Clock Challenge match ended in a no contest in 6:50. Rhodes was out by himself. H favored the leg that was injured right before the match. Chain wrestling sequences early with Hunter using a side headlock and Cody countering. Hunter hit the big knee at the 1:35 mark and locked in the side headlock again.

Cody enjoyed an offensive advantage while working on the injured leg of Triple H. Cody had the decided advantage as the clock ticked down under three minutes (they are starting the clock from the previous lowest time and running it down). Hunter came back but Cody dropkicked him in the knee.

Rhodes attempted a top rope double axe handle, but Hunter countered with a Pedigree attempt. Cody countered that and locked in a figure four leg lock, and the crowd responded with "Wooooo." Hunter hit a spinebuster with just :30 left. DiBiase hit the apron and begged Hunter to punch him. Hunter threw Rhodes into him and hit the Pedigree, but the time expired...

Twill's Two Cents: Why would Hunter get disqualified if he hit Ted Dibiase? How stupid was that? I like that Triple H never even had the spot to begin with. Very logical match as Randy Orton does not want to face Triple H again, and Legacy succeeded in keeping Hunter out of the title match at SummerSlam. The match itself was slow because of Hunter selling the leg.

Backstage, Shaq was playing Scrabble with Santino Marella. Cryme Tyme came in and did their usual schtick. Santino stepped in and started to rap. It was okay but the overall segment was reaching for laughs... [C]

[Q6] 6. Hornswoggle defeated a blindfolded Chavo Guerrero in 3:30. I wonder if Jake Roberts is giving Rick Martel a call right now. Chavo peeked and hit a bad looking dropkick. He then tried a frogsplash, but Horny had long since rose to his feet. Horny hit the tadpole splash for the win...

Twill's Two Cents: I am still not amused.

Backstage, Jack Swagger approached Randy Orton. He had good and bad news. The good news was that Triple H did not beat the clock, but the bad new is that he will. "Am I supposed to be scared?" asked Orton. "Considering I'm bigger, stronger, and younger, yes." Swagger walked away and Mark Henry entered. He smiled at Orton and then got real serious. Orton walked away... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: This was one of those little things that serve to go a long way. Nice segment.

[Q7] Did you know? Military personnel get free tickets to live WWE events. Members of the United States military were shown at ringside...

7. Evan Bourne defeated Jack Swagger in a Beat the Clock Challenge match in 3:39. Swagger tried to take Bourne out at the legs early on. Bourne's quickness reigned supreme within the first minute. Swagger caught Bourne though and hit a reverse flapjack for a two count. Swagger hit a nice Northern Lights suplex and even hooked a leg for a two count.

Bourne hit a spinning reverse kick. Jack rolled into position for the SSP. Bourne went to the top rope, but Swagger threw him off. He hit the springboard second rope corner splash for the win. Swagger went for the gutwrench powerbomb and Bourne countered it into a small package for the surprise win...

Twill's Two Cents: I mentioned earlier the match finishes are usually not in doubt in a beat the clock challenge, but WWE has done a nice job tonight. One thing I hate about the BTC is that Bourne should have the time to beat now. If someone beats one of the guys in the challenge, shouldn't they take over the spot?

Cole announced John Cena will face The Miz. That was predictable and logical... [C]

Jeremy Piven was announced as the guest host for next week's show, in case you were not already aware...

Footage was shown of Triple H's match from earlier in the show. Josh Matthews interviewed Triple H backstage. Hunter said he blamed himself because he went after Orton and not the "tail that wags the dog." He said if you cut the tail off the dog, he dies. He challenged Rhodes and DiBiase to a handicapped match next week. Triple H called himself somebody you do not screw with...

The Miz made his entrance with a microphone. He reminded everyone he was a Cleveland Cavaliers fan and he was thrilled to have Shaquille O'Neal on his team. He gave Shaq some advice to stay rested throughout the season. "Just sit out every time you play the Washington Wizards." Nice. He ran down the Redskins too.

He said he did not need to beat John Cena; he just needed to last 6:49. He knew the crowd was asking "Can he do it?" Miz said, "Like someone you people elected, and who is failing miserably, said, 'Yes I can!'" Miz's music hit and the show went to commercial... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: Awesome. Just awesome. 2012 anyone? Miz was the first one to get any decent reaction out of this crowd tonight.

[Q8] WWE Champion Randy Orton made his entrance during the break and sat at the announce table. He was only there to watch...

8. John Cena defeated The Miz in 4:26 to win the Beat the Clock challenge. Miz milked the referee's count from the floor. He jumped back in eight. Miz scored a two count with a belly to back suplex about two and a half minutes in.

Miz knocked Cena to the floor and Cena beat the count at nine. Miz tied Cena in the ropes ala Andre the Giant. He quickly got free and locked in the STF out of nowhere. Miz fought for a few seconds but tapped out. After the match, Cena and Orton stared each other down as Orton gave Cena a good look at the belt...

Twill's Two Cents: I actually thought Henry was getting the spot and Cena would be facing Triple H. I guess we get Cena vs. Hunter at Mania 26. I was disappointed by this because Henry would have been a breath of fresh air. They didn't even milk the clock gimmick by having Cena win closer to the time expiring.

Shaq was shown walking through the backstage area in a referee shirt. I completely forgot about that match as we are approaching the top of the hour. I guess Shaq gets to humiliate Jericho to end the show... [C]

[Q9] DiBiase and Rhodes vs. Triple H was announced for next week...

Twill's Two Cents: Did they have to call Jeremy Piven to okay the match?

Shaq made his entrance to no reaction. Jericho and Show did the same. Cryme Tyme received would could be called a negative reaction. Crickets chirping would have been an improvement...

9. Cryme Tyme defeated Chris Jericho and Big Show by disqualification in a non-title match in 6:39. Jericho and JTG started the match. Show tagged in. Shaq stood on the floor and he looked between the second and top rope. Damn. He cheered on Cryme Tyme and Show slowly worked him over. JTG tried to come back and Show speared him.

With JTG on the floor, Show palmed his head like a basketball and pulled him back in the ring. Jericho tagged in and mocked both Shad and Shaq. Shad finally tagged in and hit a few power moves on Jericho. The crowd was dead. This crowd did not need fifteen extra minutes. Cryme Tyme hit their double team blockbuster finisher. Show broke up the pinfall and did not leave the ring, so the referee disqualified him...

Show stared at Shaq on the floor as he was about to hit chokeslams on both members of Cryme Tyme. He threw them down and called Shaq into the ring. Show put his hand around Shaq's throat for a chokeslam. Shaq did the same. Cryme Tyme kicked Show and Shaq hit a shoulder block on him. Jericho and Show retreated as Shaq and Cryme Tyme celebrated...

Twill's Two Cents: I could have done without any of that. Shaq stopped being of any value to me the day the Lakers traded him away. The Cavs will be worse off with him, just like the Suns. Back to the show, I enjoyed the BTC concept, but was disappointed in Cena winning. Shaq did a nice job in the role of guest host but the show should have ended before that last match. I'll have more to say in my Buy or Sell column tomorrow.

What did you think of the show? Feel free to let me know by shooting an email to dotnetrich@gmail.com.

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