WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from St. Louis, Mo.

[Q1] The opening montage aired to start the show... Fireworks exploded on the stage... Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler introduced the show and hyped that we're only six days away from SummerSlam. They hyped the Randy Orton and John Cena vs. Big Show and Chris Jericho match, and a live DX appearance...

In the ring, Lilian Garcia introduced Freddie Prinze Jr. as the special guest host. A few women screamed, but he didn't get much of a reaction. Prinze came out and slapped hands with the fans on his way to the ring. Once in the ring, he hugged Lilian and took the mic from her. Prinze let out a big "Whooo."

Prinze said he's on Raw for one reason. "Because just like all of you, I'm a lifelong WWE fan," he said. He recalled the ice cream bars "that made you vomit when you ate them, but you ate them anyway." Prinze said this show isn't about him, it's about the fans and what they want.

Freddie said he wanted to start SummerSlam tonight. He said the WWE Divas Championship and the U.S. Championship would be defended. He said the show would also mark the return of Degeneration X.

Villainous music played. Someone dressed like the killer from "I Know What You Did Last Summer" walked to the ring. Prinze smiled uncomfortably. The mystery person approached Prinze and said they know what he did last summer. "And I know what you're going to do this summer," the man said before removing his mask and revealing himself as Santino Marella. "You're going to put me in your new movie!"

Santino said he can be evil, but he doesn't need to be in a horror movie. He said he could be in a romantic comedy. He took the leather outfit off, put on a wig and some glasses. "Look at me, I have glasses and baggy clothes," he said. "I am obviously a nerd." He took out of the outfit and said he's now a hot guy ("She's All That" spoof). Freddie laughed.

Santino asked Freddie what he thought. Freddie said it was good, but he needs a little help. Santino pitched the idea of being Prinze's partner on "24." He went to ringside and pointed his finger gun at Lilian and demanded to know where the bomb is. Freddie told Santino to go backstage and practice for two hours. An excited Santino grabbed his clothes and obliged.

"Well, at least it wasn't a Scooby Doo joke," Prinze said with a smile. Prinze said he wasn't going to make the viewers wait for the main event. However, he was cut off by Randy Orton's entrance music. Orton came out and walked to the ring in front of his hometown fans.

Orton mentioned that he's teaming with John Cena tonight and facing him on Sunday. Randy said he doesn't feel like competing since SummerSlam is only six days away. Prinze said he could understand Orton not wanting to team with Cena, but he said Randy is in his hometown. "You don't wanna work?" Prinze asked. "What do you think, I'm going to disappoint all these people."

Orton said Prinze must be confusing him with someone who cares. Orton said he has nothing in common with the fans. "This is all about me," Randy said. Randy said he wasn't going to ask Prinze again. Orton stood face to face with Prinze. "Now take me out of this match," Orton said.

Freddie stared at Orton and said, "You know I respect you, but do I look like Seth Green to you?" Prinze asked. "Do I look like Jeremy Piven? Don't even try to bully me. Sgt. Slaughter made a match last week and I am not going to change it. You will compete here tonight. You will team up with John Cena. And you will face Jericho and the Big Show. Sorry."

[Q2] Prinze started to walk away, but Orton grabbed him and stretched him over his back before falling to the mat. Prinze writhed on the mat in pain. "Orton has gone completely mad," Lawler said. The fans chanted for an RKO. Two referees and trainers ran to help Prinze while Orton slowly left the ring. The fans booed Orton... [C]

Powell's POV: Prinze was great. He was confident on the mic and came across like a very likable guy. Orton attacking Prinze was a nice surprise. it's good to establish that the celebrities are at risk if they mess with the heels. Santino was very funny. Sure, they spoofed movies that feel ancient, but he did a great job.

Highlights aired from during the break of Prinze being helped backstage... At ringside, Lawler apologized to Prinze on behalf of WWE. He said Orton has gone "completely mad." Cole said Prinze was taken to a nearby medical facility and promised updates on his condition...

Powell's POV: The WWE Superstars spoilers were just posted on the main page. Two matches were taped for Thursday's show. By the way, I assume Prinze saying SummerSlam starts tonight and then plugging two title matches means the U.S. and Divas Titles won't be defended on the pay-per-view.

1. Kofi Kingston pinned Carlito (w/Rosa Mendes) in 8:00 to retain the U.S. Title. The announcers made a big fuss over Carlito pinning Kofi on Superstars. Carlito dumped Kofi to ringside one minute in and they cut to commercial. [C]

[Q3] Very good action after the break with Kofi hitting some flash offense. He hit a nice cross body that Carlito rolled through for a strong near fall. Carlito scored another near fall and then went for the Backstabber, but Kofi avoided it and hit the Trouble in Paradise kick for the 1-2-3... [C]

Powell's POV: Fun match. It was cool to see them get a fair amount of time. I like the Carlito and Rosa pairing. WWE never followed up on her stalker storyline once she got with Beth and Santino, so she basically just stood there in Beth's corner and served no purpose.

Cole and Lawler introduced a video that chronicled "DX's Greatest Hits." The video clip focussed on Triple H and Shawn Michaels, but they also included shots of Chyna, Rick Rude, Mike Tyson, X-Pac, Billy Gunn, and Road Dogg...

Powell's POV: A fun stroll down memory lane.

At ringside, Cole and Lawler laughed at the video. Lawler said he hopes DX gives Cole another wedgie. Cole said he's prepared and learned to stay away from DX. They also pimped this week's poll question regarding which team will win the main event...

Highlights aired of The Calgary Kid (a/k/a The Miz) beating Eugene last week...

The Miz came to the ring wearing new ring gear. He took the mic and said he was banned from Raw two weeks ago. He said he has a new attitude and is a new man with a new look, but the same mouth. Miz said he is on a quest to become the new United States Champion. Lawler said Miz will face Evan Bourne after the break...

Powell's POV: Miz's new look is solid. He looks more major league than he did in the shorts.

[Q4] [C] 2. The Miz beat Evan Bourne in 4:10. Miz hit a great clothesline early in the match. Bourne hit some of his usual flashy offense, including a great standing moonsault for a near fall. In the end, Bourne went for a move off Miz's shoulders, but Miz turned it into the Skull Crushing Finale for the win... [C]

Powell's POV: Fun match. Bourne also debuted a look, as he has darker hair. Here's hoping we haven't seen the last of these two working together. Very entertaining.

The announcers introduced a video that recapped the way the DX reunion came to fruition...

[Q5] A shot aired of a limo pulling into the arena with DX spray painted all over it. Triple H exited the limo. He turned around and called for Shawn, who finally got out and play slapped with Hunter while telling him to get off of him. They ran into Alicia Fox and Jillian Hall, who was flipping out while singing the DX song. Hunter grabbed the trash can that just happened to be behind her and put it over her head.

Hunter said "this place" never changes. He said every time you think it can't get any worse it does. He said there's always some idiot ready to jump out. Santino jumped out and pointed his finger gun at Shawn while practicing his "24" routine. Shawn greeted Santino with Sweet Chin Music...

In the arena, the DX theme song played. The fans popped big as Hunter and Shawn came out with the green glow sticks in their hands. They threw the sticks into the crowd while walking to the ring. "They're back," Lawler said on commentary as Hunter and Shawn played to the crowd in the ring. They did the chops as the pyro went off behind them. "This place is electric," Lawler said.

"Wow," Hunter said in response to the live crowd's reaction. He asked Shawn if it was good to be back. "God help me, I love this stuff," Michaels said. Hunter followed up by saying, "So with that said, there's one important thing that we need to know." He asked the crowd if they are ready.

Suddenly, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase hit the ring and attacked Hunter and Shawn. They tossed Hunter to ringside and then put the boots to Shawn. Hunter recovered and fought them off briefly with punches, only to have his knee taken out from behind by Rhodes.

Cody pulled HBK's boot off and struck Hunter with it while DiBiase held him in place. Cody used the boot on HBK, and then struck Hunter again. The crowd showered the young heels with boos. "To answer your question, yes, we are ready," DiBiase said over the house mic. They each delivered another kick to the heads of Hunter and Shawn before leaving the ring... [C]

Powell's POV: Great segment. This was so necessary. There was zero heat on Cody and Ted before this segment. This made the match about revenge rather than another DX comedy show. The live crowd was really hot for this attack. Great stuff. So simple, yet totally effective.

[Q6] A commercial aired for NBC's WrestleMania 25 special, which airs Aug. 29 at 8 p.m. CT... The announcers recapped the Cody and Ted attack on DX...

Powell's POV: I always love the Empire Strikes Back editions of Raw where the heels get major heat heading into a pay-per-view. We've only had two matches so far, but they were both good and the hype for SummerSlam has been solid.

3. Mickie James defeated Gail Kim to retain the WWE Divas Championship in 3:25. Cole promised an update on Prinze's condition would be coming up shortly. Both women went for a dropkick at the same time within the first 30 seconds. Good fast-paced action. There was a fun spot where they rolled through repeated pin attempts.

The match really fell apart about three minutes in. Mickie went for her DDT, but Kim didn't take it. The announcers said she blocked the hold, but it looked like there was some miscommunication. Mickie stood up, punched Kim, and pinned her. Mickie helped Gail to her feet and then raised her hand.

Powell's POV: What just happened? Those two should have torn the house down. Granted, the live crowd didn't care much going in because Gail hasn't been given a real character, but I thought the match would have been good enough to win over the fans. Did Gail get hurt or was the match just that bad? Very awkward.

Highlights aired of the Freddie Prinze Jr. and Randy Orton segment from earlier in the show... At ringside, Cole said Prinze had back problems and a possible neck injury, but he had returned to the building...

Backstage, Josh Matthews interviewed John Cena, who said Orton has a problem acting like a grown man when things don't go his way. Cena said we all have problems. He pointed to a blemish on his face and he said he has a problem with a zit on his face. Cena said the rest of us deal with problems.

Cena pretended to whine while saying he's afraid Big Show will eat him, he can't team with Orton because he wears too much baby oil, and he can't face Chris Jericho because he never learned to read. Funny. He said he and Orton could take care of their problem tonight and then face off on Sunday.

Cena said on Sunday it will be, "The Champ is here." Chris Jericho entered the picture and talked smack. Big Show entered from the other side and told Cena that he might not make it to SummerSlam. The heels smiled and walked away while Cena showed some concern...

[Q7] [C] The Vince McMahon, Eve Torres, and Great Khali commercial for "Monk" aired... Highlights aired from last week's Jack Swagger and MVP altercation...

4. MVP defeated Jack Swagger by DQ in 1:30. They cut right to the match and didn't show their ring entrances. Swagger was DQ'd early for apparently ignoring the referee. The crowd booed the finish. MVP attacked Swagger afterward. They rolled around the ring until Swagger slipped out and headed backstage...

Powell's POV: It was intense while it lasted, but the DQ finish was lame. I guess I need to stop complaining about Swagger matches getting three minutes because they cut his time in half this week.

Backstage, a trainer helped Freddie Prinze Jr. walk through the backstage area. Prinze insisted he was going into the arena... [C] Cole hyped that People magazine features an article on the Raw celebrity guest hosts. The article featured photos of Jeremy Piven jumping off the top rope onto John Cena...

5. Hornswoggle vs. Chavo Guerrero in a falls count anywhere match. The bell rang and Horny immediately headed under the ring. Chavo followed. The fans amused themselves by mugging for the hard camera. Chavo came out under the other side of the ring with a toilet seat. Horny popped up on the original side of the ring.

Horny ran backstage and Chavo followed. Backstage, Chavo asked Primo where Horny went. Horny took Primo's advice. No one backstage was watching the show because the people Chavo asked didn't seem to know why Chavo was after Horny. The live crowd chanted, "Let's go Blues" to amuse themselves.

Chavo opened a door and a bucket swung down and hit him. Hornswoggle emerged from the door across the hall and covered the knocked out Chavo for the win. Afterward, Mark Henry emerged from the bucket door and laughed. Chavo said it must have been Henry, but Mark said it wasn't him. Suddenly, Macaulay Culkin came through the doorway and said, "It's not funny." Culkin walked away...

[Q8] In the ring, the announcers said Chavo is seeing stars. Get it? They ran through the top SummerSlam matches and then hyped the Raw main event... [C]

Powell's POV: Fun and unexpected cameo. They never mentioned Culkin by name. It's strange that the announcers didn't run through the entire SummerSlam lineup.

A video hyped Floyd Mayweather as the special guest host of next week's Raw in Las Vegas...

Powell's POV: So much for The Godfather rumors. It will be fun to see Mayweather on Raw again. He was great at WrestleMania 24. Obviously, he'll be promoting his boxing pay-per-view.

76 percent of WWE poll voters said Cena and Orton can beat Jericho and Show... Ring introductions for the main event took place...

Freddie Prinze walked onto the stage and said he was taking a page out of Ortn's book by making it a lumberjack match. He said the lumberjacks don't like Orton very much. The lumberjacks will be Mark Henry, MVP, Jamie Noble, Primo, Kofi Kingston, and Evan Bourne... [C]

6. Randy Orton and John Cena defeated Big Show and Chris Jericho in 7:30. The match was joined in progress after the break. They showed highlights of Cena being thrown out of the ring only to have the lumberjacks turn around and leave him alone.

[Overrun] Show tossed Orton to ringside. Henry pressed Orton over his head and threw him back inside the ring. Later, Orton hit the Attitude Adjustment on Jericho and scored the clean pin. Cena stood up to celebrate, but Orton immediately caught him with an RKO.

Mark Henry ran in to help Cena, causing Orton to leave the ring and head up to the top of the stage. Jericho and Show beat up Cena. The lumberjacks tried to help Cena, but Show and Jericho tossed them all to ringside. Cena recovered and cleared JeriShow from the ring on his own. Orton looked surprised, then raised the WWE Championship belt over his head to close the show...

Powell's POV: The live crowd was really hot for everything Cena did during the main event. Prinze was really good in the two segments he appeared in. A fun show. There were some frustratingly short matches, but there were also some strong moments, particularly the Cody and Ted attack on DX. I'll have more to say in the Dot Net Member Exclusive audio recap later tonight. Plus, Rich Twilling's audio recap of the Ring of Honor debut on HDNet will be going up exclusively for members as well. You can gain access to all Dot Net Audio and all the perks of membership by using the link below.

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