WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Calgary, Alb.

[Q1] The show opened with a shot of the dark arena. Lilian Garcia introduced WWE Champion Randy Orton. The lights came on and revealed that Orton was already standing in the ring. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler checked in on commentary. Lawler reminded viewers they were in "Bizarro Land" (a/ka/ Calgary).

Orton said he's been hearing rumors that people feel he's worried about facing John Cena at SummerSlam. He said the same people accuse him of bullying Jeremy Piven to do his dirty work. He said he bullied Piven last week because he can. "I do not answer to you people," Orton said. "All of you are beneath me. Your opinions do not matter to me."

Randy vowed that he will beat Cena at SummerSlam. "That is not a rumor," he said. "That is fact. I guarantee at SummerSlam that I will..." Cena's music interrupted Orton and he came to the ring with an intense look on his face and glared at Orton while pacing around the ring.

Cena said Orton talks about rumors and facts every week. He said Orton making the areas gray makes him angry. He said Orton knows about anger and how it keeps bothering you until you're ready to snap. Cena took his hat off and said, "Take a good luck because I'm right there."

Cena said he's tired of Orton walking around and acting like the business owes him something. He said he's also tired of Orton saying he bullies people because he can. "Alright, bully, you want to bully somebody?," Cena asked. "You bully me." Cena said they have a match in two weeks, but Orton is staring at 250 pounds of problem that is ready to rip him in half.

"Are you gonna talk about it or are you gonna do something about it," Cena asked. Cena and Orton went forehead-to-forehead for an intense stare. Randy backed off and mouthed the words, "Not tonight." Chris Jericho and Big Show's combo entrance theme played and they came to the ring wearing suits.

Show took the mic and said it was amusing to see Orton and Cena attempt to intimidate each other. He said they know nothing about intimidation. He was interrupted by "Y2J" chants from the Canadian crowd. Although Show stopped, Jericho never flinched. Show said he breathes in someone's face and they're intimidated. Cena said that's because his breath smells like Shaquille O'Neal's jock strap.

Jericho said the show is in his country of Canada. The crowd cheered louder and chanted his name. He said he grew up in Canada and trained to be a wrestler there. Cena cut him off and said Jericho chose to leave Canada to migrate to the United States. Jericho told him not to change the subject.

Jericho said he had a meeting with Sgt. Slaughter before the show and is now booked to face Cena in a singles match later in the show. Jericho said that for the first time ever, he was going to beat Cena. Orton said he might come out after the match and make a statement by punting Cena in the skull.

Show said there was something Randy should know. He said Jericho got his match tonight because Show was standing next to him. He said he wanted more than just beating up the U.S. Champion. "That's why tonight, Randy, I'm facing you," Show said. The crowd cheered and the announcers recapped the announcement of the matches...

A shot aired of Sgt. Slaughter standing backstage. He delivered a "Ten-Hut" and went back to staring off into space... The announcers hyped Triple H's search for Shawn Michaels as a graphic showed the two of them together as DX... [C]

Powell's POV: Good intensity from Cena and Orton. My only complaint is that Cena kept complaining about things Orton said during his promo as if he says those lines every week. The Calgary crowd was predictable, yet fun when it came to their support of Jericho. I'm happy they didn't have him deliver the anti-Canada promo in an attempt to turn the Calgary fans against him because I don't think it would have worked.

[Q2] The announcers hyped a WWE website trivia question...

1. Gail Kim defeated Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, and Beth Phoenix in 4:10 to earn a future shot at the WWE Divas Championship. Cole reminded us that the Divas are smart, sexy, and powerful. Ugh. Gail was knocked to ringside early. She came back a short time later with a great missile dropkick on Fox.

Beth picked up Kelly and Gail on the same shoulder. She stood there and waited for an eternity for Alicia to get in place to take her knee out. Great visual, too bad Alicia botched it. Beth did the cartwheel flip into the corner and nailed Beth with an elbow, but Beth no-sold it. In the end, Gail pulled Alicia into her foot and pinned her...

Powell's POV: A really fun women's match. Alicia was out of position for the Beth spot, but it was still a lot of fun. Everyone worked hard and it's cool to know that Gail is getting a title shot soon.

Sgt. Slaughter walked onto the stage and said it's an honor and a privilege to stand in front of all the Canadian fans. He said he respects his neighbors to the north. Therefore, his first act as special guest host was to lead them all in a salute to the Canadian flag. The flag appeared on TitanTron. Suddenly, the flag was crossed out (think of the Ghostbusters logo).

Slaughter said he realized that if it wasn't for Uncle Sam that all the Canadians would be speaking Russian and French. He said most of the fans do already. He said it's embarrassing. He said the "maggots" take the protection of the President and the United States for granted. The crowd serenaded him with an "asshole" chant.

Sarge told the fans to stand up out of their chairs, place their right hands over their hearts, and pay their respect to the greatest country in the world. He read the Pledge of Allegiance while the American flag appeared on the big screen. The Canadian fans booed. "You're dismissed," Slaughter said... [C]

Powell's POV: Tremendous! Old school heel Sgt. Slaughter, and I'm not talking about the Iraqi sympathizer crap. That was fun and the live crowd ate it up. By the way, Dot Net reader Agahzi pointed out that Lilian Garcia introduced Alicia Fox as Alicia Keys. I just checked and he's right. Man, Lilian seems to have checked out early.

[Q3] The announcers recapped Triple H's loss to Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, and Hunter's promo after the match. At ringside, Cole and Lawler said it appears Shawn Michaels has found a new profession and they'd have more details later... The announcers recapped the Evan Bourne vs. Jack Swagger feud...

2. Jack Swagger pinned Evan Bourne in 2:45. There was a fun sequence early with Bourne going for a head scissors, Swagger catching him and teasing a slam, only to have Bourne roll him up for a good near fall. Moments later, Swagger hit the gut-wrench powerbomb for the win.

After the match, Swagger headed to ringside and grabbed a mic. He sang his own praises for a few seconds and then MVP walked out wearing street clothes. MVP said the only people who care less than he does about Swagger being a two-time All American are the Canadian fans.

MVP entered the ring and said the fans are booing Swagger because he's an idiot with a pronounced lisp. MVP challenged Swagger to a match during the show. Swagger said maybe next week. MVP pushed Swagger onto his ass. The live crowd chanted MVP's name. Swagger rolled out of the ring and headed backstage... [C]

Powell's POV: I wish they would have given Swagger and Bourne more time, but I think I've written that three weeks in a row. Good segment with MVP and Swagger, though. The live crowd helped make it feel hot. It's cool that WWE has taken their time building up to the MVP vs. Swagger match over the last couple of weeks. Here's hoping they give them more than three minutes.

[Q4] A shot aired of an office building. The camera went inside the building and showed a group of people eating in a cafeteria. Triple H walked into the picture and left Shawn Micahels phone message saying he was at the building he said he'd meet him at. He spotted someone wearing a wig that he thought was HBK.

Hunter called the man sexy boy. The man turned around and told Hunter he gets off at seven. "I bet you do," Hunter said before telling him to enjoy his wieners. Ugh. In another part of the cafeteria, a little girl was ringing a bell and demanding the burger she ordered.

An annoyed Shawn Michaels popped into the picture wearing a chef outfit and and told the girl that she had to let him cook the burger on both sides. He told her to go to her table and shove some tater tots down her pie hole and he'd call her. "Bring your daughter to work day," Shawn said. "Brilliant idea." He turned made eye contact with a surprised Triple H. "Hey, Hunter," Shawn said before walking off...

Back at ringside, the announcers acted surprised to see HBK flipping burgers. Cole was trying to act like the segment was funny as he plugged Triple H's appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon for Tuesday...

Powell's POV: Good lord was the DX skit lame. Just awful. Shawn's first appearance on Raw in months was a flop. Major letdown.

Sarge walked onto the stage and said he had lined up someone to sing the Canadian national anthem. He introduced Celine Dion. The fans booed. He said couldn't get Celine, so he introduced someone else. Jillian Hall came out and sang "God Bless America"... [C]

Powell's POV: I know I can't be the only person who was happier to hear Hall sing rather than Celine Dion. By the way, a commercial aired with Vince McMahon, Eve Torres, and Great Khali hyping USA Network's "Monk."

3. Calgary Kid defeated Eugene in a contract on a pole match. The Kid came out wearing a Flames jersey and a mask and trunks with Maple Leafs. Cole said there was an old TV show with the Calgary Kid. Eugene hit a Rock Bottom early. The Kid climbed the pole and grabbed the contract. After the match, he helped Eugene up, put him in a Full Nelson, and slammed him on his face. The Calgary Kid removed his mask to reveal himself as The Miz... [C]

Powell's POV: All the fuss over where Miz would end up and that was the big plan? Most of the fans seemed surprised. By the way, the presence of a pole will add more fuel to the fire of conspiracy theorists who believe Vince Russo is secretly booking Raw.

[Q5] 4. Big Show beat Randy Orton via countout in a non-title match in 6:05. Apparently, Big Show couldn't intimidate Sarge enough to give him a title match. Show got in Orton's face. Orton backed up and tried to throw a punch, but Show blocked it and headbutted Orton. Show dominated Orton until Randy caught him with a thumb to the eye and DDT'd him while his legs were draped over the second rope. Show kicked out, though.

Randy went for the RKO, but Show threw him away. Show motioned for the chokeslam. He hit the move and went for the cover, but Orton got his foot over the bottom rope to break up the count. Show teased the knockout punch. Orton rolled out of the ring and was intentionally counted out to end the match...

Powell's POV: Fine for what it was.

Additional highlights aired of Triple H speaking to HBK in the cafeteria. Shawn said he's a chef, not a cook. He said he decided after WrestleMania that he doesn't mean it anymore. Hunter said Shawn is doing chef work for corporate nimrods. He saw two guys overhearing the conversation and apologized.

Shawn said the nimrods like his brothers and he's respected. The little girl from earlier showed up again. She yelled at Shawn and threw her dish in his face after saying that her father is a vice president. Shawn said he's in a virtual paradise and questioned why he would leave.

Hunter said DX needs him. Shawn said he's happy now and he's really good at what he does. Suddenly, a fire ignited in the background. Hunter asked if Shawn is so good at what he does why is his grill on fire. Shawn flipped and put it out with a fire extinguisher. He came back into the picture with black marks on his face and said, "All right, I'll listen"... [C]

Powell's POV: Damn, these skits are bad. We're talking GLOW-level awful. I can't believe Hunter and Shawn would sign off on this shit. Are they as out of touch as the guy they work for?

[Q6] Did You Know the DX skits are atrocious? Actually, this week they told us the WWE website got more visitors than a bunch of websites. Oddly enough, they did not mention this website. Maybe next month...

5. MVP pinned Chris Masters in 2:25. MVP hit the Playmaker "out of nowhere" and scored the pin. Too bad there's really no way to hit that move out of nowhere. After the match, Swagger walked to the ring and teased getting in the ring while MVP shadow boxed for him. Masters snuck up behind MVP and applied the Master Lock. Swagger got in the ring and taunted MVP. Masters released the hold and Swagger hit his finisher...

Powell's POV: Cole keeps saying that Swagger fights on his terms. Good hype for their eventual match.

A video recapped Jeremy Piven's appearance on last week's show, and featured clips of Piven appearing on various talk shows. A clip also aired of Dr. Ken appearing on a show... At ringside, Cole said Piven and Ken had a blast... [C]

Powell's POV: Wait, they got tossed around by Cena at the end of the show, but they had a blast? Really? They make it impossible to suspend disbelief.

Back in the cafeteria, Shawn was behind the counter preparing food while Hunter flipped burgers. HBK made Hunter put a chef hat and an apron on. Hunter dropped a burger on the floor, picked it up, blew on it, and put it back on the grill. Hunter said he needs him at SummerSlam. Shawn said he thought it was SummerFest. Cute.

Shawn's supervisor showed up and called him, "Hickenbottom." Hunter smiled. Shawn said he was protecting his anonymity. Cute. The supervisor yelled at Shawn for yelling at the little girl. Shawn snapped and superkicked him. He slapped Hunter on the arm and said he's in. They both looked into the camera and did the "two words" line. The camera pulled back and a woman looked into the camera and said, "Suck it."

[Q7] The little girl was bitching in the background. Shawn approached her and she yelled in his face. The camera focussed on HBK. He made a kicking motion (implying that he superkicked the girl) and lettuce went flying. He said he quits and threw his hat onto the grill...

Powell's POV: They definitely saved the best for last. There were a few fun lines. It wasn't enough to make up for those two awful skits that preceded the last one, but at least the fans got into it.

Sarge came out and said he's had his fun taking shots at Canada, but he said everyone is part of the WWE Universe. The fans continued to mock him. Sarge said he wanted to bring out a special guest to show his appreciation. He said it would be a good time to bring back "the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be..."

Bret Hart's music played and the fans popped big. "The Hitman is back," Cole yelled. Bret's music stopped and Hacksaw Duggan's music played instead. Duggan walked out and waved the American flag. The fans booed. Sarge tried to lead a "USA" chant. Duggan went to the ring and waved the flag... [C]

Powell's POV: Most of the fans fell for it again.

A commercial hyped that Christian will be the special guest on Abraham Washington's talk show tomorrow night... The announcers recapped the Markswoggle vs. Chavo Guerrero segment from last week...

Mark Henry came out wearing the green hat and danced with Horny on the stage. Good f'n lord. Chavo came out and said he was looking forward to finding a partner and facing them, but his injuries from last week haven't healed. He introduced a replacement tag team...

Powell's POV: I think the stip is that Sarge let Chavo pick the opponents, but I don't care enough to rewind. I was really hoping we'd get a break from Horny this week.

6. Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase defeated Mark Henry and Hornswoggle in 2:40. Henry suplexed Rhodes and DiBiase simultaneously. Later, Henry hit his finisher on DiBiase and then tagged out. Horny went for the Tadpole Splash, but DiBiase moved out of the way. Ted hit Dream Street and scored the pin...

Powell's POV: Way to build up Rhodes and DiBiase for SummerSlam!!! Yes, that's sarcasm.

[Q8] After the match, Cody and Ted stood on top of the stage. Ted said it looks like DX is back. He said they would have the shortest comeback in WWE history. Cody said that if the fans aren't down with that, they had two works for them. "Too bad"...

Powell's POV: Wow, the writers must have worked on that "too bad" line all week. Ugh.

Backstage, Josh Matthews interviewed Chris Jericho, who spoke about how meaningful it would be to beat Cena in the city where he lived for seven years and trained in Stu Hart's dungeon. He said he dedicates the win to the fans in Calgary.

Big Show entered the picture and complained about Randy Orton running away. Matthews cleared out. Jericho said all the fans in the arena would boo Cena and cheer him. He said he wasn't even born in Canada. He said the worst part about Canadians is that they're not Americans. He said the city smells like a cow pie. Matthews entered the picture again and informed Jericho they were still on the air... [C]

Powell's POV: I didn't hear any boos when Jericho was delivering those lines. I guess we'll find out how well it worked in a minute or two. My guess is 90 percent of the fans still cheer Jericho.

A commercial for Friday's Smackdown hyped C.M. Punk vs. John Morrison...

The announcers hyped Freddie Prinze Jr. as the guest host of next week's Raw. It sounded like there were some boos coming from the crowd. There definitely weren't any cheers... The announcers ran through the SummerSlam lineup and added the DX vs. Cody and Ted match...

Ring introductions for the main event took place. Cena was greeted with a mixture of boos and cheers. They showed fans booing Jericho, but it was tough to tell what the fan reaction was while his music was playing... [C]

7. John Cena beat Chris Jericho by an apparent DQ in 6:45. Lawler actually said Cena and Jericho had never gone one-on-one in a match. Cole quickly corrected him. At least Jeremy Piven was just a guest host. What's Lawler's excuse? Jericho knocked Cena down with a shoulder block and received more cheers than boos. Cena returned the favor and received more boos.

[Overrun] Lawler went back to his bizarro world schtick. He said the fans don't want to cheer Cena because he's an American even though Jericho is as well. Cena hit a move and then looked to the crowd. He went for the "You can't see me" bit, but Jericho rolled him up for a near fall.

Later, Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho. Cena crawled toward the ropes, but Jericho pulled him back to the center of the ring. Cena ended up rolling out of the move and applied the STF. Suddenly, Randy Orton entered the ring and teased delivering a punt kick on Cena. Jericho tapped and Cena released the hold. Cena popped up and jawed with Orton.

Jericho hit the Codebreaker on Cena. Jericho shoved Orton, who responded by kicking him in the gut and throwing him out of the ring. Big Show entered the ring and chokeslammed Orton.

Sarge came out and announced that his final act as guest host of Raw was to name Big Show and Chris Jericho vs. John Cena and Randy Orton. Lawler questioned whether Sarge could do that. Cole said he could do whatever he wanted. Cena and Orton stood up and knocked Show out of the ring. Cena hoisted Jericho onto his shoulders, but Orton beat him to the punch by hitting Jericho with the RKO. Cena and Orton stared at one another to close the show...

Powell's POV: Freddie Prinze Jr. must be really pissed off somewhere because he doesn't even get to book his own main event! All joking aside, I like that they actually advertised the main event a week out. I couldn't believe they didn't advertise anything for this show other than Sarge as the guest host.

Trust me when I say that I'll have a lot to say about this show tonight in Dot Net Members' audio. You can gain instant access to all Dot Net audio and get the first look at TNA turmoil updates for only $5 per month by visiting the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

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