Raw Recap 05.19.08

Raw recap from Kansas City, MO:

Raw opened with Jim Ross saying that Chris Jericho will meet the Animal Batista in a one on one matchup later in the night. Jeff Hardy made his way out from backstage to a cheering crowd.

Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga

Jim Ross discussed how Hardy took care of business last night in an impromptu match against MVP. An angry Umaga came down to the ring with JR saying the Samoan Bulldozer hadn't forgotten Jeff beating him last week on Raw.

Umaga displayed the usual power, manhandling Jeff by slamming him hard to the mat. Umaga followed by squeezing Jeff's shoulder muscle to keep Jeff down on the mat. Although Jeff got to his feet, Umaga quickly chopped him down, then hung him upside down in the corner for a Tree of Woe. Umaga followed with a vicious running headbutt to hit Hardy. With Jeff down in the center of the ring, Umaga went to jump off the corner. Jeff got up and rolled away, then started up momentum. Jeff went for Twist of Fate, but Umaga shoved Jeff to the corner. Jeff ran up the corner and tried Whisper in the Wind, but Umaga pushed him down mid-air. Umaga sat Jeff in the corner then charged for the hip splash with Jeff moving away again.

Jeff got up and began to pummel the stunned Umaga. Umaga fell into the corner, but stood up. Jeff used a mule kick to send Umaga out of the ring, then somersaulted over the top rope to crash out onto Umaga. The two superstars continued to fight outside the ring, with Umaga gaining the upperhand. Jeff tried to jump off the crowd barrier, but Umaga caught him in the air then sidewalk slammed him down hard. The ref count soon hit 10 and both men were out. Umaga let out a primal yell after the match while officials attended to the knocked out Hardy.

Winner: No winner declared as Jeff Hardy and Umaga received a double countout.

Chris Jericho was shown psyching himself up back in the locker room. Batista entered saying he was going to deal with Shawn Michaels and won't let Chris Jericho get in the way. Jericho began to mock Batista saying maybe Y2J should just go out and forfeit the match. Jericho said or maybe he'll be the living hell out of Batista instead, then take care of HBK himself. Batista told Jericho he's probably in no shape to compete after last night's match with Michaels. The two wished each other luck then turned away, but turned back for a brief stare down.

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After Jim Ross promoted the new Rambo DVD which arrives next week, a dark arena was shown. As the lights came on, Lillian Garcia introduced William Regal in the ring. Regal discussed One Night Stand which comes in 2 weeks, with the care full of "Extreme Rules matches". Regal said Jeff Hardy will face Umaga in a "Falls count anywhere match. Regal then showed JBL and Randy Orton up on the Titantron. Regal said tonight they will team up to face Triple H and John Cena. Regal said if they win they get their rematches for One Night Stand, and can choose the types of matches they have. Regal said if Cena and Triple H win, they face each other at One Night Stand in a match that Regal chooses. Regal continued to speak about business, but just then Mr. Kennedy's music hit and Kennedy made his way down to the ring.

Regal asked Kennedy if he is aware that interrupting him has consequences. Kennedy said he realized that, but he still wants to know when Regal will face him one on one in a match. Regal told Kennedy he's not his equal and he doesn't accept challenges from mere peasants. Regal said the next person to interrupt him will be fired on the spot. All of a sudden, Vince McMahon's music hit and the arena erupted. The WWE Chairman strutted down to the ring with a surprised Regal and smiling Kennedy in it.

Kennedy dared Regal to fire Vince several times. Vince told Kennedy to "shut up!" Vince said ever since he gave Regal his endorsement the WWE has has had more viewer complaints than ever. Vince said he doesn't care what the fans think, but he does care about the money. Vince told Regal for some reason when he goes on the air, the ratings plummet. Vince asked Regal if he wants Kennedy gone and Regal nodded. Vince told Kennedy he wants him gone too, but the viewers want Regal gone. Vince said tonight there will be a Regal vs. Kennedy match, with the loser being fired from WWE. As Vince left the ring, Kennedy and Regal coldly stared each other down.

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WWE Slam of the Week showed last night's Triple Threat WWE Women's Championship match between Melina, Beth Phoenix and Mickie James. Beth Phoenix was able to put both Mickie James and Melina on one shoulder and deliver several backbrakers on them.

Melina made her way down to the commentator's table and did a split on the table in front of Lawler and Jim Ross.

Beth Phoenix vs. Maria

Melina discussed making the one mistake of hitting Beth with a boot, yet forgiving all Beth's mistakes when they were tag partners. Melina also discussed refusing to pose for Playboy, unlike Maria.

Early on Beth slammed Maria face first to the mat, then picked her and rammed her back to the corner. From off the corner, Beth picked up Maria and pressed her overhead for a bit, then dropped her onto the mat. Beth delivered a backbreaker then held Maria down on her knee to stretch the back. Beth missed on a elbow in the corner and Maria fought back. Maria hit the bulldog, but Beth kicked out at 2 from the pin. Maria tried for another quick pin, but Beth got out then knocked her right down. Beth then whipped Maria to the corner, grabbed Maria's legs around her torso and slammed Maria face first to the mat. Beth followed up keeping Maria cinched in a submission hold and Maria yelled for the ref to stop the match.

After Beth glared at Melina then started walking up the ramp, Melina got up from the commentator's table. Melina rushed into the ring and took off her boot then ran up the ramp to quickly hit Beth from behind. Melina jumped up on Beth's back and started choking her. The Glamazon responded by flipping Melina down onto the ramp. Referees rushed out to break things up between the two fighting divas.

Winner: Beth Phoenix wins via pinfall over Maria.

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Jim Ross said tonight will see the return of "Piper's Pit" with Rowdy Roddy Piper. Jerry Lawler introduced footage of Jimmy Kimmel's show from last week, where Roddy Piper presented a birthday cake to his cousin Sal. Two Hooters girls came up to present the cake. All of a sudden, Santino Marella interrupted the proceedings and slapped the birthday guy.

Backstage, Mickie James was shown talking to Katie Lea. Katie told Mickie that she will soon be Women's champion, and she will carry the title with more class. Katie remarked that Mickie has to "sleep her way to the top" since she went out with John Cena last week. Mickie said she was out with her brother and his girlfriend with Cena just to have a little fun. Katie said if it was her and her brother, Cena would have more than just a little fun. Katie told Mickie she knows what she's up to, then walked off as Mickie said "whatever".

William Regal was shown pacing in a backstage office/locker room. Shawn Michaels entered and wished Regal good luck tonight, then said he gets to sit back and watch Regal wrestle tonight. An upset Regal said at One Night Stand Michaels will be in a Stretcher Match against either Batista or Jericho, whoever wins their match later.

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Jim Ross introduced footage from Washington, DC, where Ric Flair accepted an award presented to WWE at the GI Film Festival. WWE received the 1st ever "Corporate Patriot" award at the festival.

Batista vs. Chris Jericho
Winner faces HBK at 1 Night Stand

The two men traded blows early, with each gaining the upperhand. Jericho got Batista to the corner, but The Animal threw a right hand to knock him back. Jericho tried to use speed and come off the ropes, but Batista slammed him down. Batista continued to show dominance as he whipped Jericho corner to corner, then choked him with a boot. Jericho fell under the ropes grabbing his leg as if he hurt his knee. Raw headed to a commercial as Jericho seemed to be taking a timeout for his injury outside the ring.

When Raw returned, Batista was ramming Jericho into the corner of the ring. JR and Lawler said Batista wasn't about to buy another leg injury here. Batista whipped Jericho to the ropes, but Y2J held onto the ropes. As Batista charged at him, Jericho pulled down the top rope causing him to spill outside. Batista began clutching his own knee outside the ring, but was able to get up and back into the ring. Jericho went right at Batista's knee to knock him to the mat, then applied a leg lock. Y2J continued to exploit the injury, even smashing it against the ropes. Batista used one leg to kick Jericho away and out of the ring.

Y2J was able to grab Batista's leg to pull him out of the ring. The two battled outside the ring briefly, with Batista getting back in. As Y2J charged in at him, Batista hit a serious boot to Jericho's face, then was able to get a Spinebuster. Batista went for Batista Bomb, with Jericho turning it into a single leg Boston Crab. Jericho kept it locked in on the hurt leg of Batista. Batista mustered up the strength and tried for the bottom rope, but Jericho pulled him back into the ring. Batista eventually got to the bottom rope to break it.

The two continued to battle it out, with Batista trying to spear Jericho, but Y2J moved. Batista hit the corner. Y2J ran at Batista and jumped at him with both knees for the Code Breaker. Batista caught Y2J by his knees then turned it into a Batista Bomb to pickup the win!

Both men were laying on the mat, when Shawn Michaels came to the top of the ramp and stared down to Batista in the ring. Batista pulled himself up to stare back at Michaels then motioned they will soon be fighting it out again.

Winner: Batista wins via pinfall over Chris Jericho, and will now face Shawn Michaels in a Stretcher Match at One Night Stand.

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Backstage in an office, Regal asked Vince McMahon why he set up tonight's match. Vince began to discuss the reasons, but just then WWE legend the Million Dollar Man, Ted Dibiase entered and shook hands with Vince. Vince said he wanted to discuss some business with Dibiase and asked Regal to left. As the segment ended Vince began discussing his money with Dibiase.

Piper's Pit with Santino Marella

A dressed up Santino Marella came down to the ring wearing a brown win, kilt and Hot Rod shirt with a pillow under it. Santino claimed to be Rodney the Piper and said he defeated a transvestite at Wrestlemania 3 in a retirement match. Marella said he is sick to death of Roddy Piper, then cut to footage of how Piper disrespected him on Jimmy Kimmel's show.

The Kimmel show showed the birthday party for Cousin Sal at Hooters, with Piper as a guest. Marella spoiled the party, but Sal ended up shoving a cake into Marella's face then attacking him. Marella called Cousin Sal down to the ring as his guest. Marella began asking Sal why he idolizes Piper so much. Sal said Piper was able to back up everything he said but Santino isn't. Sal started talking about how Marella failed to win the tag team titles and also how he failed to score with Maria.

An angry Marella had a nearby sheet cake in the ring and told Sal he needed to apologize or he would get a cake in his face. As Santino stood lunging at Sal with the cake, all of a sudden Roddy Piper snuck into the ring behind him. Piper and Sal ended up shoving the sheet cake into Marella's face, before Piper threw Santino out of the ring. An angry Santino yelled from the mic on the ramp, challenging Sal to a match. Piper told Marella he's got the match.

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Raw Rewind showed last week's incident involving Trevor Murdoch and Lance Cade after their tag team win. Trevor was singing the Kenny Rogers' song "The Gambler" after Cade asked him to sing. All of a sudden, Cade delivered a solid punch to his tag team partner's face knocking him down to the mat.

Mr. Kennedy vs. William Regal
Loser is Fired

In a match arranged by Mr. McMahon, Regal and Kennedy battled with the loser being fired tonight. Kennedy seemed to take control early as he flipped Regal up over his back onto the mat. Kennedy delivered a kick to Regal's head as Regal was against the ropes, causing the GM to roll out of the ring. Kennedy went to the apron, but Regal clipped his leg to cause Kennedy to fall on the apron. Regal then took control in the ring, driving his knee into Kennedy several times.

Regal put Kennedy into a hold down on the mat, wrenching his arm back. Regal started toying with Kennedy then sent him to the corner. As Regal charged, Kennedy caught him with the boot. Kennedy took control and hit several punches then a spinning kick. Kennedy tried for the pin with Regal kicking out at 2. As the two fought back on their feet, Regal kicked Kennedy out of the ring. Outside the ring, Regal took the mic from Lillian Garcia and said since he's still the GM of Raw, this is now a No DQ match. Regal asked a WWE staff seated nearby for an object, and the man handed him brass knuckles.

Regal whipped Kennedy into the steel steps outside the ring, then tossed him back in. Regal waited for Kennedy to stand up and was about to deliver a brass knuckle punch. As Regal went for the knockout, Kennedy ducked and hit the Mic Check! Kennedy turned Regal over and scored the pinfall victory! Jim Ross declared Regal is fired.

Winner: Mr. Kennedy wins via pinfall over William Regal. Regal is now fired from WWE according to Vince Mcmahon's stipulation.

Regal staggered around in the ring after Kennedy left up the ramp. Regal shook his head looking out as fans cheered and chanted U-S-A! A somber looking Regal left the ring and backed up the ramp.

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As Raw returned, William Regal was pounding at the door of his office, begging for Vince McMahon let him in. All of a sudden the door opened and Regal looked shocked. Out came the former assistant GM from Smackdown, Teddy Long, who gave Regal a smile and "what's up player?" before strutting by him in the hallway.

Todd Grisham interviewed Triple H backstage. Grisham congratulated HHH on last night's win over Orton in the steel cage. Grisham asked Triple H if Orton and JBL have the edge tonight. HHH said it's no surprise that he and Cena aren't best of friends. Triple H said both he and Cena won last night so they are the favorites to win. HHH said it makes no difference to him who his opponent is at One Night Stand and despite all the changes going on on Raw, he will always give his best.

JBL & Randy Orton vs. John Cena & Triple H
Extreme Consequences Match

Orton started off getting Cena to the corner and knocked him down. Orton tried to whip Cena to the opposite corner, but Cena came off to use a bulldog driving Orton to the mat. In tagged HHH to continue the assault a bit, until Orton connected with an elbow. Triple H caught Orton with the high knee. Triple H ran over to knock JBL onto the apron. As JBL got up the ref was distracted by his arguing. Triple H whipped Orton to the ropes and Cena pulled the top rope down for Orton to spill out. Raw headed to a commercial with JR praising the Cena HHH team.

Raw returned with JBL going for a pin on Triple H in the ring. Triple H kicked out and JBL put him into a headlock with Orton looking on. Orton tagged in to continue hammering away on Triple H in the corner. Orton whipped Hunter to the ropes, but HHH hung on and Orton's dropkick missed. Triple H crawled over and made the tag to Cena who rushed in with momentum. Cena slammed Orton to the mat then taunted JBL by using the 5 Knuckle Shuffle on Orton. JBL entered and hit Cena from behind and all 4 men got into the ring. The ref started to clear things as Randy tried for a quick RKO.

Cena avoided the RKO then pushed Orton to the ropes. As Orton came back, Cena hoisted him up in the FU. With the ref still distracted by HHH, JBL delivered a vicious boot to knock Cena down. Orton fell on top for the pin, but the ref was late to count, and Cena escaped. Orton whipped Cena from one corner to the other, but Cena stopped himself then charged back. Orton and Cena collided and crashed to the mat. Both men got to their partners to make the tags, and HHH gained momentum on JBL.

HHH hit a Facebuster followed by a neckbreaker on JBL, but couldn't get the 3. JBL tried to mount offense but HHH caught him with a serious Spinebuster. HHH tagged Cena back in. Hunter left the ring to chase Orton outside. As Cena took control he got JBL down in the STFU. Orton re-entered the ring as did HHH. Orton hit a backbreaker on HHH then set up to deliver a boot to his head. HHH was close by to where Cena had the STFU on JBL. As Orton ran, HHH moved away and Orton booted Cena in the head. JBL rolled Cena over to score the pinfall win!

After their win, Orton and JBL celebrated by taking out their aggression on Triple H. JBL held HHH up for Orton to deliver the RKO on him. JBL took the mic and told Cena at One Night Stand they'll be in a First Blood Match. Orton then took the mic and told HHH he'll take back his WWE title in another Last Man Standing match.

Winners: JBL and Randy Orton win via pinfall over John Cena and Triple H. Orton and JBL receive rematches against their Judgment Day opponents at the One Night Stand PPV in 2 weeks.

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