WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Knoxville, Tn.

[Q1] Footage aired of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. A graphic on the screen said "Long Live the Dream." The opening video aired and fireworks lit up the stage. Michael Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler welcomed us to the show.

The main event of John Cena and Kofi Kingston vs. Legacy was promoted. Cole and King put over tonight's guest hosts, Don Johnson and Jon Heder. Justin Roberts introduced Vince McMahon and Vince came to the ring while highlights of the Bret Hart footage was shown. Cole said more than three million people have viewed the footage at WWE.com.

Vince heeled the University of Tennessee by saying he made a bad decision bringing WWE to Knoxville. He said he kicked Bret Hart in the guts for the fans; he didn't want people to remember the new Bret Hart, he wanted people to remember The Hitman. He said Bret was old horse that needed to be put out to stud. He said Bret needed to be "put down" and that is what Vince does.

He compared Bret Hart to an old piece of gum that you spit out after the flavor is gone. Damn, that's a long lasting piece of gum. He said if he kept Bret around, it would be like having a disease. He said the fans wanted it all and because of that, it was the fans, and not Vince, that made sure Bret would never come back to WWE.

The Undertaker's music hit and Taker made his slow walk to the ring. Taker did not look at Vince. Vince said he was not done talking yet. Taker said it was his time now. He said he was here to address Shawn Michaels, but had something to say to Vince. He said he was in Montreal and saw everything twelve years ago. "I saw the fear in your eyes then, and I see the fear in your eyes now."

Taker continued by saying Vince screwed Bret Hart, "not once, but twice." He called Vince a coward. Vince said he respectfully disagreed with Taker's point of view but agreed that this was now Taker's time, and he bowed out of the ring.

Twill's Two Cents: The segment with Vince was too long and really unnecessary. That was a slow start to the show; good thing Taker (and probably Shawn) will come out to save this.

Undertaker said Shawn Michaels told everyone he was going to end the streak, and although Shawn proved he was Mr. WrestleMania, Shawn did not end the streak. He said he was here to give Shawn an answer, and he wanted to do it in person. Shawn's music (not DX music) hit and he came out to the ring.

[Q2] "Here I am Deadman, anxiously, anxiously, waiting for your answer." Taker admitted Shawn came closer than anyone, but he still failed. He said a rematch would only cause further disappointment. "Shawn, I have nothing to prove to you, so my answer, is no." Shawn got pissed, but Taker then challenged Shawn to a match tonight.

Shawn rejected the challenge. He said he would beat Taker, but only on the grandest stage of them all. Shawn said he would enter the Royal Rumble, win it, and face Taker at Mania. "Your streak, your title, and your soul will be mine." Taker's music played as the show went to commercial... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: This is where a heel general manager would have played well in the storyline. I predicted this during Dot Net Weekly, but Jason and I agreed that it would be weird for Taker, a face champion, to say no to a challenge. The "nothing to prove" stuff was weak. Taker gave Kane two shots at Mania. I do like that we will probably get the match, but there will be side storylines aplenty at the Rumble.

Footage was shown of Randy Orton defeating Kofi Kingston and John Cena to earn a WWE Championship match at the Royal Rumble...

1. Sheamus defeated Evan Bourne in a non-title match in 1:53. King asked, "Didn't Evan Bourne challenge Sheamus?" and was cut off by Cole saying Randy Orton was walking down the ramp. Bourne used the distraction to score a nearfall after hitting the top rope double knee. Sheamus came back and hit the Celtic Cross for the win...

Twill's Two Cents: Isn't "Celtic Cross" what Finlay calls his finisher? I hope King was fed that line and that he did not have trouble recognizing Bourne. That was basically the same match between these two.

After the match, Randy Orton entered the ring went eye to eye with Sheamus. Sheamus held up the title and slowly exited the ring...

Twill's Two Cents: The crowd was red hot until this staredown. Time for WWE to panic and get someone else in the Rumble title match.

Backstage, Triple H and Shawn Michaels were talking about what happened earlier. Hunter had a mocking tone to his voice. Don Johnson came in and said hello to Hunter by name. He said Jon Heder had not yet arrived. Shawn said he didn't know who Heder was, said he would talk to Hunter later, and walked away.

Triple H and Johnson referenced an "incident" between Hunter and Jon Heder from the past. Hunter called him an idiot and made fun of him for being late. After he took off, Johnson saw someone dressed like Napoleon Dynamite. It was Carlito. Johnson said he must be a big fan of the movie. Carlito responded, "Never saw it." ... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: The teased dissension between Hunter and Shawn was the best part of that segment. The Carlito thing was just weird and who cares where Jon Heder is?

[Q3] Jack Swagger came out to the ring and Cole said he was in the Rumble. Footage was shown of last week's over the top rope challenge with Santino defeating Swagger. Swagger said it was a fluke last week and challenged Santino one more time.

Santino came out dressed like Don Johnson's "Miami Vice" character, complete with white suit jacket. He said he was busy tonight because he was the president of the "Italian Don Johnson Fan Club." He did have a suitable replacement and Mark Henry came out...

Twill's Two Cents: Henry is the new Big Show as the strong opponent used to punish the heels.

2. Mark Henry beat Jack Swagger in an over the top rope challenge in :30. Henry quickly won the match with a gorilla press slam...

Twill's Two Cents: Well, Swagger got mic time and two matches in two straight weeks. I said before the Rumble was a nice chance to elevate him, but it just isn't going to happen I guess.

Backstage, Jon Heder and the Bella Twins arrived in a limo. Heder told someone in the limo not to come out until he told him to. He shouted "Go Nashville." The Bellas corrected him and he said "Go Knoxville!" The crowd popped... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: I wonder if Heder will try to marry both Bella twins. Just kidding. This was oddly interesting in that Heder actually had some natural heel heat. These could be sleeper guest hosts.

[Q4] Johnson, Heder, and the Bellas came out to the ring. Cole said Johnson and Vince McMahon both have stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Johnson was a pro here; he was excited and professional. Heder heeled Johnson and the crowd by saying they were there to see "real movie stars."

Don said he knew what the fans wanted to see, and that was DX in tonight's main event. Jon said that was not working for him. He said DX was okay, but he wanted something knew. He introduced "his friend," The Miz. Miz came out and hugged Heder. He thanked him for putting him in the Rumble and put over Heder's movies for making more than 300 million dollars.

Heder hammed it up and he and Miz made fun of Knoxville. Miz said Johnson was the man back in the day, but nobody remembered his sidekick. In WWE, the forgotten sidekicks are known as MVP. MVP came out, said he felt a kinship with Don because they both have Miami in common. He apologized to the WWE Universe for Napoleon Dynamite wasting their time.

After saying he is now in the Rumble, he said he was going to take out Miz and Heder tonight. He came out to do that, but Big Show came out and disposed of MVP. He entered the ring and Heder kept the peace. He called Show for insurance because they have the same agent.

He booked Show and Miz vs. DX tonight and said DX shouldn't get to celebrate every night. He also mentioned Lane Kiffin, but forgot his last name. The crowd sort of booed. He jumped into Show's arms and kissed him. Everyone in the ring had to keep from laughing...

Twill's Two Cents: That worked pretty well for me actually. Heder was pretty damn effective here as a natural and dorky heel. He also had a valid point about DX. Johnson was fine as the babyface foil to Heder. They set up some Rumble participants and the main event. Overall solid segment.

[Q5] 3. John Cena and Kofi Kingston defeated Legacy (Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase) in 10:55. Cena scored an early nearfall with a bulldog on DiBiase, but Legacy came back to gain the advantage with quick tags. Kofi made a hot tag and really got the pace of the match picked up. He hit all of his moves, but could not hit Trouble in Paradise. Legacy used a double team to take over... [C]

Cody hit a nice dropkick on Kofi coming back from the break. Legacy utilized great old school heel tactics, like they always do. Kofi almost made a tag, but Legacy prevented it. In an awkward spot, Kofi was close enough to tag Cena, but they waved their hands back and forth because the tag wasn't supposed to happen yet.

Cena finally made the hot tag and hit his moves on Rhodes. He tried the AA, but Rhodes countered with a Russian leg sweep. After hitting the AA, DiBiase broke up the pin. Legacy helped each other up, Kofi made the tag, and hit a high cross body on Cody for the win...

After the match, Cena and Kofi celebrated up the ramp. In the ring, Cody refused help from Ted and they had a tense moment. Cody left Ted in the ring and walked away...

Twill's Two Cents: Entertaining tag match. Two hot tags from the babyface team, and some very good heel work from the heel team. Kofi got a little heat back after being beaten by Orton so often lately. Solid top of the second hour match.

Backstage, Show, Miz, and Heder were talking about tonight. Hornswoggle appeared and Heder wondered what he was saying. Triple H entered and said like the rest of the world, nobody likes Heder. Horny challenged Heder to a match. "What's he going to do, cast a spell on me?" Funny. They added Horny and Heder to the main event to make it a six man tag. Heder started to freak out a little bit, but his partners calmed him down... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: If Heder is so cool with Show, why won't he sign Jericho to a contract? I like Heder because he says everything we complain about. "What is Hornswoggle saying? Why would he wrestle in a match because there is no way he could win?" I'm guessing DX celebrates again tonight, but I'm cool with Heder so far.

Footage was shown of Maryse commenting on last week's Diva's match...

4. Gail Kim and Eve Torres defeated Maryse and Alicia Fox in 2:50. Cole mentioned the tournament, so they didn't abandon that. Maryse scored a two count on Gail with a unique backbreaker. Eve tagged in and everything got sloppy. Alicia almost tripped on an Irish whip. Even completely missed a dropkick but Alicia sold it anyway. The crowd didn't respond because they didn't care. Eve won the match with an arm breaker submission...

Twill's Two Cents: The crowd did not even react to the botches. They should hit reset on the entire division and decide if they want to be serious about the ladies or not.

Footage was shown of Steve Austin on NBC's "Chuck." ... [C]

[Q7] Backstage, Don was flirting with Kelly Kelly. Napoleon came in and was hyperventilating. He asked Don to take his spot. He said they were supposed to be friends. Don said, "We aren't that close." Nice. Show and Miz told Heder to relax. Show said he is already clicking better than he did with his old partner.

Johnson said they were actors and they had "stuntmen" to do what Heder is about to go out to the ring and do...

Twill's Two Cents: He said stuntmen. Uh oh.

Show and Miz gave Heder an old Ric Flair robe that said "The Flame" on the back. They made him feel confident and Heder was getting into it. Johnson mocked it and walked away...

Cole and King ran down the Royal Rumble card...

Vince McMahon and Triple H were talking backstage. Vince said he was not a coward and said he would call out The Undertaker next week. Hunter said not to do that and that all of the McMahons always have to have the last word on everything. He said if Vince brings back Bret Hart, that would just make Bret a bigger star, and Vince doesn't want that.

Shawn came up as Vince took off. Hunter, for the second time tonight, said he had something serious to talk to Shawn about. Horny came up and climbed a little ladder to be with his boys. Hunter said this was not the right time and they would talk later...

Twill's Two Cents: It's weird seeing Vince and Hunter backstage together, which leads me to believe Hunter is turning heel, which could be what he wants to talk to Shawn about (something leading to the turn, maybe disbanding DX). I am intrigued by what Hunter has to say to Shawn.

Randy Orton was shown walking through the backstage area in preparation for his match... [C]

Did you know? The 2010 Hall of Fame ceremony sold out in 35 minutes...

5. Randy Orton defeated Chris Masters (with Eve) in 2:40.. Masters received absolutely no reaction. Once the bell rang, Sheamus' music hit and he came out to watch the match. Masters tried to apply the Master Lock right away, but Orton fought out.

In the coolest counter to the RKO yet, Masters applied the Master Lock as a counter to the RKO. Orton fought and fought before falling into the rope. King said nobody ever broke the hold, but obviously forgot about and could not mention Lashley. Orton hit the RKO for the win...

[Q8] After the match, Sheamus hit a running kick to Orton's face. He stood over him for a moment before heading to the back...

Twill's Two Cents: Short, but good match between Masters and Orton. That was a very cool counter to the RKO. I'll give WWE credit for promoting their WWE Championship match at the Rumble, even though not a lot of people are excited about it.

A graphic for DX and Hornswoggle vs. Show, Miz, and Heder was shown... [C]

James Roday and Dule Hill of the USA show "Psych" will host next week's show. John Cena is guest starring in their season premiere...

Big Show, Miz, and Jon Heder made their entrances. Heder was billed from "The Great Ball of Fire." He was announced simple as "The Flame." King and Cole made stupid fire extinguishing jokes...

Twill's Two Cents: Did Miz get new music again? I remember him getting new music a few weeks back and I liked that music, but I'm not digging this music.

DX made their entrance as the show went to commercial for the last time tonight... [C]

6. DX (Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Hornswoggle) defeated The Miz, Big Show, and "The Flame" Jon Heder in 4:44. The match was joined in progress with Michaels and Miz working together. Heder stood on the apron in his Flair robe. Johnson stood at the end of the ramp with a bunch of blue feathers from the robe all over the place.

[Overrun] Show overpowered Michaels and scored a nearfall with a side suplex. Miz tagged in and they engaged in a double closeline. Michaels went to his corner to tag and Horny tagged himself in. Miz closelined him and tagged in Heder. He took off the robe and everyone in the world immediately though of Sheamus. However, Heder had no body hair.

Heder had tights with "The Flame" on the back. Hunter tagged in and Heder tried to escape, but Johnson threw him back into the ring. All chaos broke loose with Shawn hitting SCM on Show, who fell onto Heder. Both men took the Tadpole Splash and Horny pinned Heder. Johnson helped Heder to the back and the guys in the ring got down to business...

Hunter told Shawn he had to talk to him. He said he needed to find another way to get to Taker, because winning the Rumble was not going to work. John Cena came out and said he was going to win the Rumble. Big Show did the same. Cena attacked Show and knocked him to the floor. DX threw Cena out over the top. Hunter threw Shawn over the top. He announced he was going to win the Rumble...

Twill's Two Cents: I hope the four of these guys in this segment means none of them will win the Rumble. I like how they had their main event fun time but quickly got back to the task at hand, promoting the next pay-per-view. I like how they did it and it wasn't a perfect segment, but it wasn't bad either, sort of like the entire show. Nice job by the guest hosts tonight.

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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