WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Wilkes-Barre, Pa

[Q1] The opening video aired and fireworks lit up the stage. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler welcomed us to the show. Ben Roethlisberger came out to the old Monday Night Football music and a mild pop. He wore a shirt that said “Cash.” Ben acknowledged the Eagles and Steelers fans, but he said they are all WWE fans. Ben announced the “Diva Bowl.”

Twill’s Two Cents: Minnesota’s own Jason Powell is enjoying the Vikings vs. Packers game in person tonight. Staying in that part of the country, I also want to say hello to Nebraska’s own and my very good friend Karen.

The babyfaces came out in Steeler uniforms. The heels came out in generic practice tops. Gail Kim was the referee. The match started with all of them getting in a stance and running at each other. Gail blew her whistle and threw a flag. Cole called it the “first annual Diva Bowl.” I guess we have this to look forward to next year. Actually, wouldn’t something have to be in its second year to be considered annual?

1. The babyface divas defeated the heel divas in the Diva Bowl in 3:01. Once the match started, literally every girl hit their finisher or a big move. It was like a dance recital because it was so choreographed. Mickie pinned Alicia after a victory roll...

Twill’s Two Cents: The heel girls could have worn Oakland Raider jerseys and would have immediately become the second worst franchise in the NFL.

Randy Orton’s music hit and he walked ever so slowly to the ramp... [C]

Back from commercial, Orton was in the ring and said he defeated John Cena last night. The crowd cheered. Orton predicted Cena would interrupt him, come out, and ask for a rematch. He called Cena out. Cena obliged.

[Q2] Cena congratulated Orton on his win and called the match brutal and physically punishing. He said Cena vs. Orton was not only a rivalry; it was the rivalry. He challenged Orton to an Ironman match. He said it would end the feud. No more chances and no more rematches. Orton wondered why he would agree to something where he would not receive a rematch.

He did agree with Cena that the feud needed to end. Twilling note: Everybody agrees with that. Orton added the stipulation that if Cena wins, he would become the WWE Championship. If Orton won, Cena would leave Raw. Orton wanted a no disqualification match as well. They shook hands to seal the deal...

Twill’s Two Cents: Can these guys go an hour? Does anyone want to see them go an hour? Well, let’s put it this way; Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart was overrated. Triple H vs. The Rock, who people questioned whether or not they could go the hour, was a much better Ironman match.

A commercial for the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation aired...

Jack grabbed the mic and said he looks and smells like a winner. How do you smell like a winner? He said he was not pinned last night and that he would go undefeated for the next year. I noticed the camera filmed him from the side. Newsflash guys; you can still see his lisp from there. Swagger is good on the mic; just let him talk...

Cole announced Cena vs. Orton for the WWE Championship in a no disqualification Ironman match for the Bragging Rights pay-per-view...

[Q3] 2. Jack Swagger defeated Primo in 3:24. Primo tried to use his quickness to his advantage, but fell prey to a kick in the stomach while trying a springboard move. Swagger hit the gutwrench powerbomb for the win...

Twill’s Two Cents: It was just sort of there. Decent three minute match to get Swagger’s push going, and it wasn’t much more than that.

Chris Jericho and Big Show were talking backstage...

An ad aired for the new DX book... [C]

Did you know? People have viewed last week’s Smackdown videos over a million times on WWE.com...

Backstage, the divas were screaming about something. Santino Marella approached them dressed as a referee. He mocked an encroachment call by echoing the end of each word. Fyi Santino, encroachment is a five yard penalty; not a ten yard penalty. He asked Alicia Fox and Mickie James to kiss and make up. Alicia slapped Santino and the girls started arguing again...

Cole and King said the Bragging Rights pay-per-view would have a Raw vs. Smackdown theme. The winners of the Raw matches would team up to face the winners of the Smackdown matches in a tag match. Cole jizzed in his pants a little bit when explaining how great the show would be...

In Ben’s “office,” he had a bunch of memorabilia on the wall, including a Joe Montana jersey. The Miz came in and said he was awesome seven days a week while been has only been awesome on two Sunday’s. Actually, Ben was not so good in Super Bowl XL (even though he won). He asked for a U.S. Title match. Ben agreed, but if Miz loses, he has to take the mic and say, “I’m the Miz, and I’m awful.” ... [C]

[Q4] Chavo Guerrero and Chris “It’s cool for my partner for me to punch me in the mouth” Masters came out to the ring. They explained last week by saying Chavo thought Masters said to punch him in the mouth...

3. Mark Henry and MVP defeated Chris Masters and Chavo Guerrero in 2:59. Henry hit a huge splash and hurt his knee. MVP tagged in. Chavo looked impressive against MVP. Porter came back and hit the Ballin’ Elbow. Henry took out Masters and MVP pinned Chavo. Henry’s knee looked seriously hurt although he limped out on his own...

After the match, Masters wondered how in the hell Chavo could get pinned by the Ballin’ elbow. He locked in the Masterlock, but Hornswoggle broke it up. Chavo and Horny shared a moment and Horny did the DX chop for some reason...

Twill’s Two Cents: I am glad to see MVP and Mark Henry get a win. Where are they going with Horny and Chavo? What could they possibly do as a duo?

Big Ben was shown walking through the backstage area... [C]

[Q5] Big Ben came out to the ring and started to address the crowd. Chris Jericho and Big came out. Roethlisberger called out his offensive line. The “five mediocres” came out to the ring. Jericho said they needed to huddle up and that JeriShow was the most dominate force in sports. They lined up and Show got in a three point stance, but thought twice and backed off.

DX’s music hit and that was the sound of Jericho and Show losing the tag titles to DX, since Hunter does not lose to Jericho. Jericho mockingly promoted DX merchandise. Hunter jokingly talked about Jericho’s hair. Michaels challenged JeriShow. Show told Shawn to heal up and come back another day. Big Ben booked the match for tonight and did the “If you’re not down with that...” line. DX and the Steelers did the DX chop to pyro in the ring...

Twill’s Two Cents: DX vs. JeriShow could potentially be a tag match that main events a pay-per-view, so I am surprised they would give it away tonight. Perhaps it won’t really happen.

Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz was plugged... [C]

[Q6] Various footage from earlier in the night was shown...

4. The Miz defeated Kofi Kingston to win the United States Championship in 10:42. Kofi received absolutely zero reaction when he came out. Kofi took a nasty spill to the floor when he tried to springboard off the second rope, but Miz swept his ankle... [C]

Miz enjoyed the advantage during the break and that trend continued. Miz became very physical and scored a nearfall after a legdrop. Cole tried to drop a joke relating to “The Office,” but he stumbled all over it. Kofi hit TIP but Miz fell to the floor. He rolled Miz’s dead weight into the ring for a two count.

Several nearfalls took place in the final few minutes by both men. Kofi hit the SOS for a nearfall. After Kofi missed a corner move and lost his balance, Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale for the win...

[Q7] Miz grabbed the mic and said he was awesome. He retreated to the back with his newly won belt... [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Good match. I enjoyed the physical style employed by both men, in addition to what they both usually bring to their matches. With Swagger starting his undefeated gimmick, we knew he was out of this picture, so Miz winning the title here made sense. Where does Kofi go from here?

In case you missed it, John Cena will face Randy Orton again at the next pay-per-view...

Hornswoggle was chatting with Big Ben backstage. Santino came in and could not pronounce “Roethlisberger.” Horny slapped him in the face and Santino said it correctly. Funny...

Jericho and Show made their way through the backstage area in preparation for tonight’s main event... [C]

Nancy O’Dell and Maria Menounos will be the co-hosts of next week’s show...

[Q8] 5. Degeneration X (Shawn Michaels and Triple H) defeated Big Show and Chris Jericho in a non-title match in 18:25. Hunter and Jericho began the match together. They had an even exchange before Michaels tagged in. Cole reminded us of the epic rivalry they had in 2008. Show tagged in the cameraman got an awkward shot of the back of his thigh. Hunter tagged in and took his time to face off with Show... [C]

Back from commercial, Show had bearhug applied to Hunter. Show and Jericho handled Triple H in their corner. Eventually, Michaels tagged in and was able to do some damage, but he quickly succumbed to Show and Jericho. He was in the Walls for a long time but Hunter broke it up illegally.

[Overrun] Shawn hit an enziguiri on Show before he was able to tag in Triple H. Jericho tagged in and Hunter hit all of his signature spots. In fact, it was vintage Triple H. Cole said so. Show tried to double chokeslam DX, but he ended up double chokeslamming them instead. Michaels looked like Killer Khan with the green mist that came out of his mouth.

DX was able to get Show to the floor and they closelined him into the crowd. Jericho was alone in the ring with DX and once he realized it, he took off. Ben and the Steelers came out in DX shirts. They forced Jericho back toward the ring. DX rushed him back to the ring. HBK hit SCM and Hunter covered him for the win...

After the match, DX and the Super Bowl Champs celebrated. Cole exclaimed, “It is moments like these that make Raw the greatest show in the history of cable TV.” Wow, ever heard of “The Sopranos?” Cole called Ben, “Raw-lisberger.” Wow. They all did the crotch chop and were given pyro again...

Twill’s Two Cents: You cannot complain about that main event. Three of the best in the WWE and Big Show going for nearly twenty minutes. Granted, that could (and still might) have been built up as a big pay-per-view match, they can build off of this and I feel they didn’t give away too much in order to do it again later. Average show with a fun main event.

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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