WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Jacksonville, Fl

[Q1] Justin Roberts introduced tonight’s guest host, Snoop Dogg, and listed a bunch of his career achievements. Snoop came out in a pink Cadillac. I guess he was a top Mary Kay seller. He exited the car with the Bella Twins and Eve Torres. Snoop’s new single played and Michael Cole dropped two “shizzles.”

Snoop danced with the girls and took the mic. He said he was thrilled to be hosting the show and that Raw would embarrass Smackdown on Sunday. He announced Triple H vs. John Cena, Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase, and Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho. He asked the crowd if they were ready. He asked again and introduced DX. Triple H and Shawn Michaels came out to the ring...

Twill’s Two Cents: Michaels vs. Jericho? Nice. Snoop did a nice job on the mic, where of course, he is very good and comfortable.

Hunter gave Snoop another intro and said whenever Snoop is around, white guys have to make fools of themselves trying to speak his language. They dropped a bunch of “shizzles” and “nizzles.” Then they got serious and put a picture of the Smackdown team up. They zeroed in on each individual guy and put him down one by one.

They started with Jericho and said they both beat him soundly at separate WrestleManias. They poked fun at the Katie Vick angle when talking about Kane. Hunter called her boring, “a real stiff.” They said Cryme Tyme sells tickets outside of the arenas. They didn’t know who Drew McIntyre and Eric Escobar were. Shawn then said he knew McIntyre but not Escobar. They figured out he was sleeping with Vickie Guerrero and joked about sleeping their way to the top, because Triple H knows.

DX introduced their team and they all came out and lined up. Michaels walked to each guy and pointed out their strengths, until he got to Cody Rhodes. Rhodes then cut a promo about being the real team captain and beating Smackdown all by himself. Big Show said he was going to lead the team. Mark Henry got in his face and said he had a problem.

[Q2] Swagger said he should be the guy wrestling. Kofi tried to get the team back on the same page. Hunter said he had a problem and asked Kofi what happened to his Jamaican accent. Everyone jumped on that. Shawn said he and Hunter anticipated this problem, so they booked a five-on-five match. If one of the current Raw team members lost, the person who pinned him would take his place on the team. MVP, Chavo, Masters, Primo, and Evan Bourne came out to face them... [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Are we in the overrun yet? That segment went forever. I like how Michaels put over the guys on his team. For Kofi and Swagger, they probably have not received as big of a rub in their entire time in WWE as they just did. Long, but enjoyable segment. They are building this seven-on-seven match to be something special, although if it is not an elimination match, it will just be a long ass tag match.

1. Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes, Big Show, Mark Henry, and Kofi Kingston defeated Chris Masters, Primo, Evan Bourne, MVP, and Chavo Guerrero in approximately 3:02. The match was joined in progress. Everyone did not tag in. The finishing came when Cody hit Cross Rhodes, but Swagger tagged himself in to score the pinfall. After the match, the Raw team beat each other up. Big Show speared Mark Henry and left to his music playing. DX watched disappointingly from the back...

Twill’s Two Cents: I honestly thought someone was going to lose and there would a new member on the team. That seemed like a waste, to be honest.

Footage was shown of Ted DiBiase pinning Randy Orton last week. Backstage, Josh Matthews interviewed DiBiase. Ted said Orton would have done the exact same thing he did last week. He said Orton never returned any of his calls. Orton approached Ted and told him he would not lift a finger and if he wanted to stay in Legacy, he would finally show Ted the respect he deserved during their “match.” Ted looked upset... [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Good segment. This reminds me of the Batista vs. Triple H program around WrestleMania 21 when both men were in Evolution. I hope the crowd gets behind DiBiase the same way they got behind Batista at that time.

[Q3] A WrestleMania commercial aired. Tickets go on sale in a few weeks...

Ted DiBiase was shown in the ring with a pondering look on his face. I wonder where Cody stands in all of this and if they are separating Legacy. Orton came out and neither man took their eyes off of each other...

2. Randy Orton defeated Ted DiBiase in a non-title match in 4:36. They stared at each other and Orton towered above DiBiase. I never noticed that size difference before. DiBiase allowed Orton to kick his ass, but he shook like Bobby Boucher. Orton taunted Ted by asking him, “Do you want to hit me?” I say hell yeah! Hit him! You might get a title shot.

Ted stood up to Randy and the crowd cheered. Randy pie faced Ted a few times. Ted shoved Randy to the mat and the crowd popped loudly. Even Jerry Lawler cheered DiBiase on. The crowd chanted “Teddy.” Orton stood up and walked slowly towards Ted. Ted looked remorseful and hung his head. Orton lifted his chin, looked at him, and hit the uncontested RKO for the win...

Twill’s Two Cents: Very interesting match and development. I liked it. No need to give that away in one night. They proved tonight that the crowd will cheer for DiBiase and if they slowly build to it, which it looks like they are going to do, the crowd is going to erupt when DiBiase turns for good. Ironically, it’ll be great like when Virgil hit Ted Sr. with the Million Dollar Belt.

A long video package, and a very good one, was shown in honor of Captain Lou Albano. For those who are familiar with him, I’m sure they were still impressed with his career. For those who are not, well, you can see how great he was... [C]

[Q4] The Jacksonville Jaguars were shown at ringside. Footage was shown of Snoop’s new video, “Gangsta Luv.” The girls were wearing vampire teeth. Snoop was sitting in his office with the divas. Hornswoggle came in and was Snoop’s buddy. Chavo Guerrero came in and said he wanted to a part of team Raw. Jillian came in and demanded a championship match. She then sang my favorite Snoop song. Santino came in dressed like Charlie Brown. He acknowledged their interaction at WrestleMania XXIV and said they should start fresh.

Snoop told everyone to leave and asked Eve to “get his bag.” He said, “Yes, that bag.” A “Technical Difficulties” graphic aired with crooner music and a picture of Michael Cole with his arm around Hornswoggle. Nice. They came back and a bunch of candles were lit. Snoop said his favorite flavor was “Freshly Cut Grass.” Santino came back and said, “good grief.” ...

John Cena was shown backstage and was preparing for his match with Triple H... [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Is any of this good for Linda McMahon’s campaign? I mean, they are just pissing in the wind here. By the way, did Triple H look worried at all about facing Cena at any time during the show?

Did you know? People look at a lot of diva pictures on WWE.com...

Twill’s Two Cents: I’m sure Jason has a good joke for this one.

Cena made his entrance and shook hands with everyone in the ring. Truthfully, I’m surprised they didn’t make more of this, so I’m guessing Cena wins on Sunday at this point...

[Q5] 3. Triple H defeated John Cena in 20:15. Cole said, “This could be a WrestleMania main event and we have it here, tonight.”

Twill’s Two Cents: Actually Michael, this was a WrestleMania main event, and Hunter wore a silly outfit to the ring.

They started on the mat but had an Irish whip sequence within the first two minutes with Cena scoring a one count after a hip toss. Hunter earned his first nearfall after a closeline busting out of the corner. Hunter literally whipped Cena from pillar to post. Cena reversed one and sent Hunter to the floor... [C]

Back from commercial, Hunter hit a backbreaker for a two count. Both men worked a very slow and deliberate pace, which is probably similar to what we will see on Sunday, for an hour. Cena tried to lock in the STF but failed. He did hit his fisherman’s suplex, but Hunter sent him flying from a bulldog attempt. Hunter tried a Pedigree, but Cena locked in the STF.

Triple H did a great job selling the move and his struggle to get to the ropes. Cena pulled Triple H back to the middle of the ring but Hunter got to the ropes. Hunter immediately hit a Pedigree, but Cena put his foot on the ropes before the referee could reach three. Cole said we were in the midst of a classic... [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Is anyone else enjoying this match? Because I don’t think it’s very good. By the way, too bad WWE couldn’t do like TNA did and set the show up so these big matches were commercial free.

[Q6] Back from commercial, Cole reminded us we were watching a classic. If by “classic,” he means “long,” he is correct. Triple H locked in a Sharpshooter. Whoa. Backstage, Orton was watching on a monitor and it looked like Cena was staring at Orton. Funny. Cena struggled to the ropes.

Cena immediately hit all of his moves, including the “you can’t see me” punch to the head. He went for the Attitude Adjustment, but Hunter fought back and hit his “vintage” moves. Triple H a Pedigree and Cena kicked out. Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment and Hunter kicked out. They then exchanged trying to hit their finishers, but Hunter hit a third Pedigree for the win...

Twill’s Two Cents: I didn’t like it. It was very slow in spots and there was no long term selling. Hunter hit a Pedigree immediately after being in the STF. Cena hit his series of moves immediately after being in the Sharpshooter. They both hit their finishers close to each other, so it was like the finishers were normal moves. I wonder if they just set up Cena going to Smackdown and somehow joining their team on Sunday night. If Cena was really leaving (the entire company), this was the right finish.

After the match, Triple H shook John Cena’s hand. Cena looked around as if he was realizing he was done on Raw. Cena saluted the crowd and walked somberly to the back...

Twill’s Two Cents: The brand thing is legitimate for the talent because it is like working for another company most of the time, so Cena’s emotion was likely real if he does leave. It’s funny how they assume there are two completely different sets of fans. I know different people watch both shows, but most people are WWE fans, not just one show or the other.

Footage was shown of last week’s Dirt Sheet, starring The Miz and John Morrison. They made fun of Marty Jannetty both saying they were Shawn Michaels, and the other one was Jannetty. I wish they would have waited until WrestleMania to give us this match. I also wish Miz would wear his belt...

[Q7] 4. The Miz defeated Marty Jannetty in a non-title match in 2:37. Miz was set to take on a jobber when Snoop appeared on the big screen. He said he was angry about the Jannetty comments. He put over Marty and then introduced him as Miz’s opponent...

Twill’s Two Cents: Wow! I wonder if this is a one off shot or another chance for Jannetty.

Marty wore a shirt, but looked to be in pretty good shape. He was slow and step off. Miz won the match with the Skull Crushing Finale. Marty looked like he was smiling on the way down...

Twill’s Two Cents: A clean win over a “name” opponent is better for Miz than beating that guy that was in the ring before.

Chavo and Jillian were shown talking backstage. The Diva’s Championship match is up next... [C]

Did you know? Raw is the longest running weekly television show in history, running more episodes than Cheers and The Simpsons combined...

Twill’s Two Cents: This doesn’t make any sense. Cheers and The Simpsons don’t run every week like Raw does, so why mention them? The Simpsons has been on longer. SNL has been on way longer, but of course Raw will have more episodes because they run new shows every week.

A six diva tag match pitting Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim and Melina vs. Michelle McCool, Natalya, and Beth Phoenix was announced for Bragging Rights...

5. Melina defeated Jillian (with Chavo Guerrero) to retain the WWE Diva’s Championship in :55. Hornswoggle, dressed like Snoop I guess (at first I thought he was dressed as Paul Heyman) distracted Chavo. This distracted Jillian and Melina hit her finisher for the win...

After the match, Chavo grabbed Horny and slapped him around a bit. Snoop Dogg ran out and went one-on-one with Chavo. Snoop kicked his ass. Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim, and the other three divas came out and danced with Snoop and Hornswoggle...

[Q8] A graphic was shown for Michaels vs. Jericho. At ringside, Cole was dancing like a goon. They promoted some new show on USA that will air opposite of Smackdown on Friday... [C]

A Randy Orton vs. John Cena video package aired that chronicled their entire past together. This video was very well done. Cole and King stood in the middle of the ring and ran down the entire Bragging Rights Card...

Chris Jericho was shown walking through the backstage area... [C]

Twill’s Two Cents: They usually use Jericho with the guest hosts, but they did not have a Jericho and Snoop Dogg segment, which probably could have been very good.

Kyle Busch and Joey Logano are hosting Raw next week...

Twill’s Two Cents: Busch and Logano are NASCAR (left turn circuit) drivers. I’ve heard of Busch but have no idea of who the other guy is.

[Overrun] 6. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels never got started. Jericho wore a Smackdown shirt. Funny. Before the bell rang, Jericho exited the ring, grabbed a mic, and reentered the squared circle. He said he could knock out Shawn Michaels right now but would not do it. He said he was the best in the world in what he does and his greatness gives Smackdown the edge. He said he assembled a great team...

Twill’s Two Cents: Actually, the teams were not “assembled.” They were made by people winning or losing qualifying matches.

Cryme Tyme’s music hit and they came out to join Jericho in the ring. Michaels left the ring. Kane’s music hit and he led Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, and Eric Escobar to the ring. DX’s music hit and the rest of Team Raw came out. All fourteen guys were in the ring together. Hunter got on the mic again and said they could all agree that they don’t like Jericho, Jericho’s team, or Jericho’s show. He said they were about to be thrown off the show.

“EXCUSE ME” rang out and Vickie Guerrero walked out to the stage in a Smackdown shirt. Cole called her the former Smackdown general manager. Apparently, he forgot she was the GM of Raw too. Vickie called herself an “official consultant” of Team Smackdown and said they would not fight now. She ordered Team Smackdown out of the ring.

Hunter instructed Jericho to leave and playfully told him to listen to “his boss.” Hunter said they were already in trouble because the Raw guys don’t work for Vickie. They attacked Team Smackdown and the brawl brought the show to a close...

Twill’s Two Cents: Well, I wasn’t expecting a 2008 version of Michaels vs. Jericho, but damn, that was pretty weak. And what the hell was Vickie doing out there? She has power again? Was Snoop totally baked and unable to come out again? I think the visual of all fourteen guys staring each other down would have been a better way to end the show. By the way, it is 2009 and Triple dominated multiple segments on an episode of Raw.

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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