WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Little Rock, Ark.

[Q1] The show opened with a shot of The Bella Twins exiting a limo backstage. Cedric The Entertainer, two other men, a coach, some football players, and an older woman, a rabbi with a baby, and a farmer with a goat all exited the limo...

Powell's POV: Wow, that wasn't funny. They made it worse by airing obnoxious sound effects with a crying baby and goat noises. For some reason, the goat was saying, "Twiiiiiiiilling." Hey, one bad joke deserves another.

The opening montage aired... Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler introduced the show...

DX came to the ring to a big ovation. Hunter asked if the fans were ready. He told them they should be because Hell in a Cell is only two weeks away. Hunter asked Shawn was in the very first Hell in a Cell match. "Me," Shawn responded. Hunter asked who won the very first HIAC match. "Me," Shawn responded again.

Shawn asked who has won the most HIAC matches. "Me," Hunter reasoned. Shawn asked him how many. "Five," Triple H said. Shawn and Hunter pointed out that Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes have never competed in a HIAC match and have no idea how brutal the match can be. They also pointed out that Vince McMahon was left lying the last time they competed in a HIAC match. "And we actually like him," Shawn said.

Hunter said Cody Rhodes was about to come out and take a beating, but in two weeks he was going to get destruction, carnage, and the beating of his life. "At Hell in a Cell, this whole thing with Legacy and DX comes to an end," Hunter said...

1. Triple H (w/Shawn Michaels) defeated Cody Rhodes (w/Ted DiBiase) by DQ in 10:00. Hunter controlled the first two minutes of action. Cody bailed to ringside. Hunter dropkicked Cody through the ropes into Ted as the show went to break. [C]

[Q2] After the break, Cody was in control. Lawler said he was surprised that Cody was doing so well. Cody hit a neckbreaker and maintained offense. DiBiase reached in and punched Hunter while the ref was distracted. Hunter backdropped Cody to ringside. Cody stood up and slapped Shawn, who then chased him.

Legacy double teamed Shawn at ringside and left him lying. Cody entered the ring and took a kick the gut from Hunter, who set him up for the Pedigree. Ted entered the ring with a chair and laid out Hunter with it for the DQ. DiBiase hit Dream Street on Hunter. Shawn pulled a sledgehammer out from underneath the ring and swung cleared the heels from the ring...

Powell's POV: They just had to establish that the almighty Triple H would have won the match had it not been for DiBiase interfering. They made Cody and Ted look like threats when they beat up Shawn, but having Hunter show his dominance was totally unnecessary. A good angle that could have been better.

The announcers hyped Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger for the U.S. Title, a contract signing between John Cena and Randy Orton for Hell in a Cell, and Cedric The Entertainer... [C]

[Q3] Lilian Garcia introduced Cedric The Entertainer, who came out and danced on the stage with the Bella Twins. Cedric said Big Show drives a Prius. He said it took him three minutes to get one leg out. He said he noticed there's a lot of second and third generation stars including the son of "Cowboy Bob Thorton." He quickly corrected himself and graphics appeared on the screen.

He said Show was the son of Andre The Giant and King Kong Bundy. They had a graphic. He said Mark Henry is the son of the Kool-Aid man, and The Miz is the son of a jackass. Yes, they had graphics for each, including one with Miz sporting donkey ears.

Santino Marella came out and said he couldn't believe he was standing in front of one of the Original Kings of Comedy. He referred to him as Frederick The Entertainer. Cedric corrected him, so Santino said he would call him Fred. Santino, who brought out Ced's latest DVD, said he wants to be a standup comedian.

Cedric gave Santino a chance to do standup and introduced him as the Milan Miracle, which one of the announcers didn't seem to recall. Santino delivered a couple of corny jokes. Cedric cut him off and said Beyonce made the best video of all time. Funny. Chavo Guerrero came out. Cedric asked how a grown man could lose to a leprechaun. Chavo said it's because "punk guest hosts like you" always put him in a no-win situation.

Chavo said he was tired of the guest hosts and said the concept is pathetic. Cedric said the only pathetic thing is Chavo getting karate chopped by Bob Barker. Chavo challenged Cedric to a match. Cedric said he doesn't wrestle. He said he's in his own battle right now. He plugged a website and asked people to go vote for something involving a movie he's making.

Chavo cut him off and turned the attention back to the match. Santino accepted the match on behalf of Cedric. He wasn't happy and said he doesn't wear the tight pants. Santino says he has a tailor. Cedric said it was cool...

The announcers narrated highlights of Swagger pinning Kofi in a tag match last week...

Backstage, Josh Matthews interviewed The Miz, who was carrying Kofi's title belt. He said he deserves to be the champion because he was born in Cleveland and didn't float over to the United States on a raft. Kofi entered the scene and struck Miz from behind. He grabbed his title belt, said, "What's up?" to Josh, and exited the scene... [C]

Powell's POV: I'm not digging Cedric thus far. He still has time to win me over. Short and effective backstage segment. At least Kofi and The Miz care about the U.S. Title even if WWE hasn't given viewers many reasons to feel the same over the last few months.

The announcers plugged the contract signing...

[Q4] 2. The Miz pinned Evan Bourne in 5:20. Miz grounded Bourne and controlled the first four minutes of offense. Bourne came back with a huracanrana off the ropes. He went for the Shooting Star Press, but Miz rolled out of the way. Bourne landed on his feet, but Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale and scored the pin...

Powell's POV: Is there any reason to think Swagger is going to win the title when there's been so much talk about Kofi vs. The Miz? An intentional swerve? Probably not.

Backstage, Randy Orton told Ted and Cody he could see they were on the verge of ending DX. He gave them the night off and said he would be fine flying solo at the contract signing... [C]

Jerry Lawler stood in the ring in front of a table and chairs that were set up for the contract signing. He called out Randy Orton first. John Cena was out next. Both men sat down on opposite sides of the table. Lawler remained standing. He said there was a no physicality rule in effect because the contract signings usually don't go civilly.

[Q5] Lawler said Orton had the option of facing Cena or giving up his right to an automatic title rematch. Orton signed the contract and slid it over to Cena. "Now get out of this ring," Orton said to Lawler, who obliged. Orton slid forward and addressed Cena. He said Cena is wrong if he things he has him at his lowest point or at his weakest.

Orton stood up and said he's more dangerous than ever because he'll do anything to get his title back. He added that Cena has never been in a HIAC match before, but he has. Wait, that sounds familiar. Randy said he's been in an HIAC and knows what it takes to win one. He said Cena would never be the same afterward.

Cena stood up and destroyed whatever intensity there was by saying, "I'm sorry, we're you saying something because I really wasn't listening." Cena aired footage of Orton repeatedly saying, "I quit." Cena said he told everyone last week that Orton would say and do everything he's done tonight. He also mocked the silly faces Orton would be.

Cena said he took Orton's punishment at in their pay-per-view match and so he's not afraid of him. He pretended to be afraid because he's never been in an HIAC match. He laughed and said, "That's ridiculous." Cena signed the contract and said the funny part is that the match will happen. Cena said that if Orton doesn't win the match at HIAC, he doesn't get anymore rematches for the championship.

Cena said that without the WWE Title, Orton is just a dude who hangs out in his underwear with two other dudes who hang out in their underwear. Cena got serious and said he knows exactly what Orton his capable of. He said Orton should be concerned because he has no idea what Cena is capable of. He vowed to destroy Randy Orton inside the HIAC.

Orton said he would love to reach over and destroy Cena, but legally he can't do that. He said he found a few individuals who have no problem putting Cena through hell right now. JeriShow's music played and they both came to the ring. Orton left the ring and stood on the announcers' table while Big Show and Chris Jericho entered the ring.

Show hurled the table over the top rope to the floor. Cena tried to attack the heels, but they quickly beat him down. Mark Henry and MVP ran out for the save and cleared the heels from the ring. Cedric appeared on the big screen and told them all to settle down. He booked the main event of Cena, MVP, and Henry vs. Orton, Show, and Jericho in a six-man tag... [C]

Powell's POV: Too much clowning around. Orton's intensity was great, but Cena was too busy being a comedian. He tried to crank it up at the end, but it didn't click with this viewer. By the way, I think Lawler blew the explanation. I'm guessing he was supposed to establish that Orton wouldn't have another rematch if he lost at HIAC, but instead he said Orton could give up the HIAC and forfeit his rematch clause. That's just a guess, but it would explain why Orton looked at Lawler like he was nuts. By the way, we're roughly 85 minutes into the show and we've had two matches so far.

[Q6] An ad hyped Christian vs. Zack Ryder for the ECW Title for tomorrow night's ECW show... Highlights aired of Alicia Fox pinning Gail Kim to become No. 1 contender last week...

3. Beth Phoenix pinned Mickie James in a non-title match in 1:10. Alicia Fox sat at ringside. Mickie hit a Thesz press off the top rope less than a minute into the match. Mickie went after Alicia, who ran away. Beth grabbed Mickie and rammed her back into the ring post. Beth hit the Glam Slam and scored the pin. Alicia entered the ring and dropped a leg on the back of Mickie's head...

The announcers hyped the U.S. Title match for after the break...

Powell's POV: A fan in the front row actually got a "Sit On My Face" sign on camera. By the way, the ads for the "Zombie Land" movie are airing on Raw. My guess is we get Woody Harrelson, who was mentioned as a likely guest, the week after Al Sharpton since the movie comes out on Oct. 2. Just a guess though.

4. Kofi Kingston beat Jack Swagger by an apparent countout in a United States Title match in 1:35. Swagger caught Kingston with a boot to the face early. Less than a minute into the match, Miz ran out and stole the title belt. Swagger spotted him and ran after him. Swagger clotheslined Miz from behind, took the belt, and headed backstage...

Powell's POV Swagger looks like a tool for leaving a title match he was in control of just to steal a belt he could have won. The only person who looks like a bigger tool is the referee, who didn't bother to countout Swagger. They just stopped the match when Swagger left the ring. WTF was that?

At ringside, the announcers talked about how much fun Cedric The Entertainer has been as the guest host. They actually replayed a portion of the silly opening segment with everyone exiting the limo...

[Q7] [C] 5. Cedric The Entertainer beat Chavo Guerrero in 4:10. Santino Marella was the special guest referee. Cole said Cedric should be known as "Cedrick The Sports Entertainer." Cedric came out wearing an intentionally corny outfit with crowns all over it because he's one of the Kings of Comedy. He wore a cape (that read "Cedhammer") and a hat, and put a lucha mask on right before the opening bell.

Chavo removed Cedric's hat and stomped it. Cedric got upset and went to ringside. Cedric rolled under the ring. Chavo tiptoed to the other side of the ring to wait for Cedric to come out. A bigger and badder man in a mask emerged from the other side. Chavo noticed the difference and tried to shake the guy's hand, only to slap him across the face.

Back inside the ring, Chavo told Santino it wasn't Cedric under the mask, but Santino acted like he didn't know the difference. The masked man roughed up Chavo, ran the ropes for no reason, and slid under the ring. Suddenly, a masked Hornswoggle emerged and hit the Tadpole Splash. He crawled under the ring and the real Cedric emerged to pin Chavo.

After the match, Ced pulled his mask off. Hornswoggle entered the ring and did the same. The big man came in and danced with Cedric and Horny, but never pulled his mask off...

Powell's POV: I wonder if Chavo will point out on his Twitter page that this segment was good because it scored him an appearance on "The Soup" or some other show that draws lower ratings than Raw. Wow, this show sucks.

A commercial hyped that SummerSlam is available on DVD on Tuesday... [C]

[Q8] The announcers hyped that Reverend Al Sharpton is the guest host for Raw next week... Cole and Lawler hyped DX vs. Legacy in a Hell in a Cell match, Kofi vs. Swagger vs. Miz in a U.S. Title match, and Cena vs. Orton for the WWE Title in a Hell in a Cell match...

Powell's POV: They had the Hell in a Cell graphic listed for the triple threat match, but it may have been just the pay-per-view graphic and not for an actual Hell in a Cell match.

Backstage, Cedric was bragging to Kelly Kelly about his win. Chris Jericho approached Cedric and said they needed to talk. Cedric blew him off and went back to Kelly. He was tapped on the shoulder again and this time Show was standing behind him. Show said they needed to talk. Cedric looked petrified and sheepishly said, "Okay." Funny...

Lawler announced that it was Lilian Garcia's final show. She teared up in the ring and brought up the highlights of singing after 9/11, performing for the troops, and said it's been an honor to announce some of the great matches in WWE history. She said the biggest honor has been having the fans love and support her. She said she will miss the fans and her heart will always be in the ring. She said she loved and thanked the fans... [C]

Powell's POV: Very nice, emotional speech. Easily the highlight of the show so far. Here's hoping they bring her back to serve as the guest host for an upcoming show.

An ad for Smackdown hyped the main event of Batista vs. Big Show...

After the break, Orton, Jericho, and Show stood in the ring. Jericho had the mic in his hand. He told Orton that they dislike Cena as much as Orton does. Jericho said they upped the ante in their discussion with Cedric. They said that if they lost the match, Orton would be forced to face Cena, Henry, and MVP in a gauntlet match next week. Show calmed Orton down and said if they win, Cena will be forced to face the three of them in a handicap match next week.

Cena made his entrance... [C]

Powell's POV: Great, a handicap gauntlet match main event no matter who wins. Gee, I can't wait. By the way, they aired the Subway commercial during the break where the three construction workers sing the song. I hope I never go inside any building they worked on because they held their hands about three feet apart while singing the "foot long" part of the song. Here's hoping they use measuring tape on the job.

[Overrun]

6. Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, and Big Show defeated John Cena, Mark Henry, and MVP in 8:15. Henry and MVP were already in the ring when they show came back from commercial. The heels got the better of Cena for a few minutes. He tagged in MVP, who hit some crowd-pleasing offense on Jericho. The Ballin' Elbow was over big in Little Rock.

The heels eventually regained control of the match and roughed up MVP. He eventually tagged in Henry, who cleaned house momentarily. He picked up Orton for his finisher, but Jericho clipped his leg. Orton hit the RKO and scored the pin to win the match for his team. The announcers made a big fuss out of Cena being forced to run the gauntlet next week...

Powell's POV: Fortunately, the WWE website does not list the U.S. Title match as an actual HIAC match. It's on the card, but not inside the HIAC structure. This show sucked. This was one of those episodes that just couldn't end soon enough. Sharpton will be an interesting host, but I can't say I'm excited about Cena run the gauntlet, even though I can see the appeal for Cena fans. Thanks for suffering, er, watching along with me tonight. Check back on Tuesday morning for the WWE Raw Hitlist.

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