Raw Recap 11.24.08

Raw Recap from Providence, RI:

Shane McMahon came racing up to the arena in a Ferrari. As he entered, Cryme Tyme and Kelly Kelly were there to welcome him and hug him. Dolph Ziggler came over to introduce himself, but Shane handed him his jacket and thanked him. Shane entered the arena and got on the mic at the top of the ramp. Shane announced Cena as the new World Heavyweight Champ. Shane then said there are two men with rematch clauses, Chris Jericho and Batista. To settle things, Shane said tonight Chris Jericho will fight Batista with the winner getting to take on Cena in 3 weeks at Armageddon.

Suddenly. Stephanie McMahon came out from backstage. Steph said Randy Orton also is deserving of a title shot, so she is adding him into the main event, making it a Triple Threat match. Batista vs. Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton in the main event. The winner gets to face Cena in 3 weeks at the Armageddon Pay-Per-View for the World Heavyweight title. Steph and Shane then began to converse with each other, leaving dead air for the fans. The arena began to chant for Cena, but Steph announced the first match, The Miz & John Morrison vs.... Shane cut in to announce the opponents, Shawn Michaels & Rey Mysterio.

Stephanie became enraged telling Shane that Raw is her show to run. Steph suggested Shane get back in his sports car and leave if he wants to improve the show. Shane asked Steph if she was planning to sleep with yet another wrestler and get a new husband. Stephanie took offense and slapped Shane in the face. Shane finished saying he'll watch Steph run Raw right into the ground, before he walked backstage.

Rey Mysterio & Shawn Michaels vs. The Miz & John Morrison

Highlights were shown from last week on Raw, when Miz and Morrison were able to defeat Michaels and Mysterio.

Michaels came out to the match with a bruised, swollen and bandaged left eye from last night's Survivor Series match. As the match was underway, the camera cut to JBL getting into the backseat of his limo. JBL told the driver to head out to the arena, despite the driver saying a match was going on. As Morrison gained the upperhand on Shawn Michaels in the ring, all of a sudden JBL's music came on and the limo rolled out near the ramp. JBL got out from the back and stood near the front of his limo to watch the match.

The match continued with Morrison taking it to Michaels. HBK crawled towards his side for a tag, but Rey had been knocked off the apron. Morrison attempted a superplex off the ropes, but HBK countered and shoved him off. Michaels used the ropes to pull himself across and tag Mysterio in. Morrison tagged in Miz, but Mysterio took control. Mysterio jumped onto the apron, kicked Morrison off, then did a springboard Hurricanrana on Miz. Mysterio dropkicked Miz into the ropes and then hit 619. Rey climbed to the corner ropes to jump at Miz, but Morrison came around to distract. Michaels rushed over and took care of Morrison. Miz went to the corner ropes, but Rey fought back eventually doing a Somerset flip and then pinning Miz.

After the match, Morrison and Miz attacked Mysterio, tossing him shoulder first to the ring post. Michaels came in to try to stop the attack, but was soon beatdown. Morrison held Michaels as JBL came walking to the ring. JBL got in the ring and looked ready to strike Michaels. Surprisingly, JBL delivered a huge boot kick to Morrison knocking him down.

Winners: Rey Mysterio & Shawn Michaels win via pinfall over The Miz & John Morrison.

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Backstage, Todd Grisham caught up with JBL and asked why he did what he did to Morrison. JBL informed Grisham that he proposed a business deal to HBK earlier and feel it would be beneficial to both he and Michaels. JBL said he was simply preserving their deal and believes their business transaction will be completed very soon.

Lillian Garcia introduced the star of the new movie "Behind Enemy Lines Columbia", Mr. Kennedy, who was making his return to WWE. Kennedy promoted his new movie, saying he plays a Marine who gets stuck in hostile territory.

Kennedy said last night in Boston he decided to infiltrate the line at Survivor Series and get footage of fans. Kennedy asked random fans in line at the PPV which WWE superstar most reminds fans of Barack Obama. Fans commented that Barack is most like HHH, Orton, Kofi Kingston, Undertaker, Batista, and several other superstars. One boy said Barack is most like Vince McMahon, since both are stubborn and have big ears. An animation was shown on the Titantron to illustrate the point. Kennedy ended the segment saying he feels he might best resemble Obama, then delivered his trademark "MRRRRR Kennnedy....Kennedy!"

Todd Grisham interviewed Batista backstage about tonight's Triple Threat match. Batista gave congratulations to Cena for winning the title last night and said he could feel the electricity of the victory. Batista said he plans to get back to that point again, and will start with tonight's Triple Threat match.

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Advertisement was shown for the 2008 Slammy Awards, a special 3 hour Raw which will be 2 weeks from tonight's show at 8PM EST. The show will give awards for the top superstars and divas in various categories.

Lillian Garcia announced the Intercontinental Championship tournament, in which the winner of the tournament goes on to face Regal for the title. Lillian introduced the first ever IC champ, Pat Patterson, who was at ringside and joined Lawler and Cole to watch the first round match.

Kofi Kingston vs. Kane
IC Tournament Round 1

The match eventually went to the outside, with Kane gaining the advantage. Kane was able to stretch out Kingston against the ringpost. Since Kane continued to punish Kingston against the ringpost, the ref called for a disqualification. An angry Kane tossed Kofi into the ring, then went over and tore the steel steps apart. Kane tossed the top of the steps into the ring, then rolled in. As Kofi pulled himself up near the ropes and turned, Kane had the steps in hands and bashed them onto Kofi's skull.

All of a sudden, Stephanie McMahon came out with mic in hand. Stephanie told Kane he should stop taking out his aggression on Kofi, and save it for next week when he will face the new champ, John Cena.

Winner: Kofi Kingston wins due to disqualification of Kane.

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Highlights were shown from last night's Team Batista vs. Team Orton traditional elimination match. It came down to Batista vs. Rhodes & Orton, with Batista in control of Rhodes. As Batista went for the Batista Bomb, he was close by to Orton who slapped Rhodes hand for the tag. Batista slammed Rhodes and tried to pin but the ref informed him Rhodes was not legal. Orton snuck in behind Batista and delivered the RKO to win it.

Batista vs. Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho
Triple Threat Match for #1 Contender Spot

The winner of this match will go on to face John Cena for his World Heavyweight title at Armageddon PPV.

Late in the matchup, Batista had control of things after Orton was knocked from the ring. Batista hoisted up Jericho for the Batista Bomb, but Jericho slipped off and countered with Walls of Jericho. Batista looked ready to tap, but Orton got back in the ring and hit Jericho off Batista. After Jericho was knocked out of the ring, Orton was able to knock Batista down to the mat. At first it looked like Orton was preparing for a RKO, but he backed up the corner and went for the running Punt Kick. The Animal was up quick and ran at Orton to spear him down. Batista covered Orton, but all of a sudden Jericho was in the ring and dropkicked Batista in the head. As Batista rolled to the corner holding his head, Jericho covered Orton and stole the victory.

Winner: Chris Jericho wins via pinfall over Randy Orton to become #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship.

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Raw returned with Santino and Beth Phoenix in the ring. Santino said it was a mistake not to include him in the History of the Intercontinental title DVD, and a bigger mistake not to include him in the IC tournament. Santino said the person who made the biggest mistake is whoever is facing him in the ring next. All of a sudden, Goldust's music came on and Goldust made his return to the ring to wrestle.

Goldust vs. Santino Marella

In Goldust's return, he seemed to dominate the match. At one point, Goldust ducked through the ropes towards the Glamazon in an attempt to kiss her. An enraged Santino tried to strike Goldust, but he countered and took Santino down to the mat. After a serious clothesline from off the ropes, Goldust ultimately finished off Santino using the Bob and Tuck, a spinning front face slam of Santino to the mat. Beth Phoenix grabbed Santino's leg and pulled him to the outside to help him backstage.

Winner: Goldust wins via pinfall over Santino Marella.

WWE Rewind showed highlights from last Monday's attack by Mike Knox on Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne backstage. Knox beatdown Kingston, then went after Bourne, using one of Bourne's crutches to smash on his injured ankle.

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Randy Orton was shown walking backstage angrily after losing in the Triple Threat match. He walked up to Cody Rhodes & Manu. They stared Orton down, but no words were spoken, and Orton left.

CM Punk vs. Snitsky
IC Tournament Round 1

Prior to the match, William Regal came out carrying his IC belt along with Layla to watch the match. Regal joined Lawler and Cole for commentary. Regal mentioned he'd like to see CM Punk win, because he foresees a classic feud between the two of them, one for the ages.

Snitsky started to dominate, and hit an elbow drop coming off the ropes. Snitsky put Punk up in a Bear Hug, with Punk fighting out of it. Snitsky responded by slamming Punk to the mat, then tried for another elbow drop and missed. Punk started kicking at Snitsky from the mat, then got up to continue hitting him. Punk was able to avoid a charging Snitsky in the corner, then did a springboard off the ropes to knock down Snitsky. Punk went for a Bulldog, but Snitsky shoved him away. Snitsky regained control and applied another Bear Hug. Punk fought out, but Snitsky clobbered him down to the mat again. Snitsky stood Punk up and was about to go for his finisher. Snitsky got Punk up, but Punk slid off and got Snitsky into the GTS. Punk with the pinfall victory. Regal applauded him from ringside, and Punk looked out at him, exchanging some words.

Winner: CM Punk wins via pinfall over Snitsky to advance to Round 2 of the Intercontinental Tournament.

Todd Grisham interviewed Rey Mysterio backstage. Mysterio mentioned seeing the History of the IC title DVD, and said he plans to be included amongst the great wrestlers to wear the title. Next week, Mysterio will face Miz in a one on one match. As Rey continued to speak, all of a sudden, Mike Knox came up and just started him down, saying nothing, before finally walking away.

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Backstage, Triple H and Shawn Michaels cut a DX promo for WWE Shop. Kelly Kelly came in to assist, as they promoted the new DX Basketball Jersey which Kelly modeled, as well as Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 video game.

Mickie James, Candice Michelle & Melina vs. Jillian, Katie Lea & Beth Phoenix
Six Diva Tag Match

Beth Phoenix started speaking about how she lead the Raw divas to victory at Survivor Series last night. Jillian interrupted to say she was excited for the upcoming Slammy Awards, and wants to give the crowd the best musical performance of 2008. Jillian began to sing Beyonce's latest song "Put a Ring on It", with Katie Lea dancing briefly to it, until Beth glared at her to stop.

During the intros, the Titantron mistakingly showed Melina's name while Candice Michelle's music started up. Candice came out, and Jerry Lawler laughed it off saying it was supposed to a surprise. Melina made her "surprise return" to Raw next, coming to the ring and doing her trademark split up on the apron. During the match, Candice struggled to get over and tag in Melina. Melina came in furious, as she went at Katie Lea. Melina went over the corner area and used a kick move to knock both Beth and Jillian down temporarily. Katie Lea tried to clothesline Melina, but she did an impressive "Matrix-like move" to duck it. After involvement from Mickie, Candice, Beth and Jillian, Melina was able to grab Katie Lea and use her finisher to slam her to the mat.

Winners: Candice Michelle, Mickie James & Melina win via pinfall over Katie Lea, Jillian & Beth Phoenix.

Chris Jericho was shown walking backstage in a suit, when he came up to Stephanie McMahon came out. Steph congratulated Jericho and asked where he was going. Jericho said since Cena's going to be returning to the ring on Raw, he figured he'd be his official welcoming party.

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Highlights of Jericho's win earlier over Batista and Orton were revisited. Jericho stood in the ring with a mic as the one man welcoming committee for Cena. Jericho spoke about Cena as new champion, saying the last time fans thought Raw would change was when Batista won the title. Jericho said Batista had the title for just 8 days. Jericho added that in 3 weeks, he's going to take the title away from Cena, so that nothing will have changed at the end of 2008.

All of a sudden, Cena appeared on the Titantron in the middle of a crowd of screaming kids. Cena spoke about Jericho losing his grasp on reality, then said if Jericho wants to welcome him back, he has to do it with the rest of the fans Cena brought along. Cena entered the arena through the crowd, with the kid fans from backstage following. Cena made his way to the ring to confront Jericho on the mic, discussing how its the fans who have made WWE what it is, and without them, it wouldn't exist.

Cena finished by saying nobody doubts Jericho's abilities in the ring, but he comes out week after week and insults the fans. Cena held up his World Heavyweight Title and said it proves that they don't need saving, because the Champ is Here! An angry Jericho walked back into the ring, telling Cena he's the champ, and that he's not intimidated. Jericho called Cena a liar and hypocrite, saying he'll beat him at Armageddon.

Jericho continued insulting Cena, until finally Cena snapped and began to attack him. Cena beat Jericho up in the ring, then outside using the commentators' table, steel steps & crowd barrier, then tossed him back into the ring for more. Cena eventually locked in the STFU on Jericho to punish him further. Raw ended with Cena holding his belt up as Jericho was layed out on the mat. Backstage, Kane was shown watching on a flat screen TV monitor.