Raw Recap 04.20.09

Raw Recap from London, England:

Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler welcomed fans to London, England and reminded everyone of tonight's No DQ match between Triple H and Randy Orton. Lillian Garcia introduced Chris Jericho who arrived out to the ring in a business suit. Lawler and Michael Cole promoted "The Wrestler" DVD starring Mickey Rourke which is on sale Tuesday.

Jericho discussed how he felt isolated amongst all the parasites and liars of WWE Raw. Jericho said he feels much better now that he's been drafted to Smackdown, since tonight will be his last appearance ever for Raw. Jericho said without him on Raw things won't be so good, and fans will be begging for his return 6 months later, but he won't do it. Jericho said he was done and prepared to leave the ring, but just then Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat arrived out to confront him.

Steamboat told Jericho he was wrong and that during Wrestlemania weekend the fans showed him plenty of appreciation. Steamboat thanked Jericho for bringing back a feeling he hasn't felt in some time; the passion to perform. The Dragon said if not for Jericho, he'd never have been at Wrestlemania or back on Raw. Jericho began accusing Steamboat of trying to bask in the spotlight one more time. Jericho said both Steamboat and the fans are delusional. Jericho challenged Steamboat to a one-on-one match for Backlash. Before Steamboat could accept, John Cena's music hit and the champ arrived to the ring.

Jericho told Cena he's done with him and Raw, so he doesn't care what he has to say. Jericho said his last act on Raw will be a walkout on Cena. Jericho exited the ring to fans chanting "Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey, Good-bye". As Jericho was halfway up the ramp, Steamboat told him he accepted. Jericho smirked as he started to walk again. Cena stopped him and said he wasn't there to defend Steamboat, but instead to tell Jericho that he'll be wrestling tonight, against Cena.

Michael Cole said Rey Mysterio's final appearance tonight will be one-on-one with Big Show.

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Chavo Guerrero was in the ring to let fans know he'd officially been drafted to Raw. Chavo thanked Vickie the new GM of Raw, and said he would prove to her he can push around anyone on the Raw roster. Just then, Batista's music hit and The Animal arrived onto the ramp as the crowd went wild.

Batista vs. Chavo Guerrero

After the bell rang the two men stared at each other from across the ring. Chavo charged at Batista full force, but met a boot which leveled him. Batista picked up Chavo quickly and hit the Batista Bomb, then scored the winning pinfall.

Winner: Batista wins via pinfall over Chavo Guerrero.

As Batista was heading up the ramp, Chavo got on the mic and began apologizing to his Aunt Vickie for the loss, saying he wasn't ready. Chavo tried to pull himself up by the ropes, as Batista headed back to the ring. Chavo got up and saw Batista there, then told him he was ready. Batista wasn't having it and grabbed Chavo for another Batista Bomb.

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Backstage, Shane walked up to Batista to congratulate him on the victory. Batista began saying last week things got out of control. Shane said he wanted to make sure they're on the same page for Backlash. The two had a brief exchange about last week's incident where Batista shoved Shane, and Shane dropkicked him out of the ring.

CM Punk vs. Kane

Highlights were shown of Kane nearly winning Wrestlemania's MITB match, but CM Punk knocked him off the ladder and grabbed the briefcase. Both of these competitors have now been drafted onto Smackdown. Early on Punk did a Springboard jump off the side ropes at Kane, who caught him with an uppercut. Kane continued the punishment on Punk with a dropkick and headlock. Punk began kicking back and went for the Bulldog, but Kane shoved him away. Punk went for GTS but Kane avoided it and booted him down. Kane prepared for a Chokeslam and grabbed Punk around the throat, but Punk countered it into a rollup pinfall.

Winner: CM Punk wins via pinfall over Kane.

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Santino Marella came down to the ring to discuss how he lost to Khali last week, so his sister will have to kiss Khali on the Kiss Cam for Smackdown. Santino said he wanted to call out his sister Santina to apologize for losing. Santino waited for several moments but Santina wasn't coming out. Her music came on and then Santina appeared on the Titantron. Santino and she began to have a fake exchange, with the taped version eventually speeding up on him. During the promo, Santina tried to say she had a blister on her mouth which would prevent her from having to kiss Khali on Smackdown. Beth Phoenix came to the ring with Rosa Mendes and told Santino she spoke with GM Vickie Guerrero. Vickie said she'd set aside time at Backlash for the Khali Kiss Cam so Santina could still kiss Khali. Santino was angered over this and told Beth she better hope she wins back her Womens title tonight. Melina came down to the ring for the match.

Melina vs. Beth Phoenix
WWE Womens Championship

With the match underway, Beth grabbed Melina onto her shoulder and powerslammed her to the mat. Beth grabbed Melina up in a Torture Rack type move on her shoulders, with Melina eventually elbowing out. Beth rammed Melina into the corner and then bent her leg back to kick Melina in the head with her own foot.

Melina turned the match back around in her favor. Rosa Mendes got up on the apron to yell at Melina. Melina came over to get in her face and Beth tried to charge at Melina. Melina moved out of the way and Beth rammed into Rosa knocking her off the apron. The distraction allowed Melina to do a Sunset Flip type slam/pin move to defeat Beth and retain her title.

Winner: Melina wins via pinfall over Beth Phoenix to retain the WWE Women's Championship.

Triple H was shown preparing in the locker room. Shane McMahon came in to shake hands and wish HHH good luck. Shane reminded HHH they need to be careful at Backlash because if HHH loses his cool and gets counted out or DQ'd, then he loses the title to Orton. Triple H told Shane it won't be a problem because he'll get all his anger out tonight.

Chris Jericho was shown walking backstage ready for his match against Cena.

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As Raw returned Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler discussed the upcoming Backlash PPV in Providence, Rhode Island, with Cena versus Edge in a Last Man Standing Match.

John Cena vs. Chris Jericho

Early on Jericho started on Cena in the corner kicking him and punching him. Jericho slammed Cena back, then started taunting him. After knocking Cena down off the ropes, Jericho kicked him in the midsection and kept up the taunting. Cena tried to mount a comeback, but Jericho stayed in control, again knocking him down.

At one point the crowd really got into it as Cena and Jericho exchanged punch after punch. Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle and went for the Attitude Adjustment. Jericho countered it to DDT Cena to the mat, but failed at the pinfall. Cena got onto the apron at one moment, and Jericho tried to jump off the corner at him. Cena caught him on his shoulders, but Jericho elbowed out then jumped with Cena from the apron, smashing Cena into the steps. Both men were layed out outside the ring as Raw went to commercial.

When Raw returned Jericho again had regained control in the ring. Jericho went for Walls of Jericho but Cena countered to flip him away with his legs. Cena again tried to hoist Jericho up, but this time from the corner. Jericho got him into the Electric Chair and slammed Cena back. Cena went for he Lionsault off the ropes but missed. Again Cena got Jericho up and was going for the Attitude Adjustment, but Jericho flipped off, then hit the Codebreaker. Jericho had a near fall, and the match continued. Jericho was able to lock in the Walls of Jericho eventually, causing Cena excruciating pain. Cena was able to counter it and flip Jericho off of the hold. Cena locked on the STF but Jericho pulled his way to the ropes. Cena stood up to pull him back, but Jericho got up and hit a spin kick to Cena's head.

Cena and Jericho got up on the corner with Cena trying for a suplex. Jericho kept trying to fight out. Suddenly, Edge rushed to the ring and got on the apron, then shoved both men. Jericho went flying off to the outside, and Cena fell to the mat. From there, Edge beat on Cena and eventually Speared him down. With Cena KO'd, Edge went to the outside and retrieved two chairs, then positioned one under Cena's head. Edge delivered the Con-Chairto, and then did a promo for the Last Man Standing match, counting to 10 to show how he'd beat Cena for the title.

Winner: Match interrupted by Edge's interference. DQ win for Cena.

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Footage was shown from during the break from the aftermath of Edge's attack on Cena. Several referees had to help Cena from the ring and up the ramp.

Rey Mysterio vs. Big Show

Highlights were shown from the Jeff Hardy vs Big Show match on Smackdown. Jeff was making a strong comeback but his brother Matt came to the ring and attacked, preventing a win.

Early on, Big Show completely manhandled his smaller opponent, leveling Mysterio then lifting him to the corner for a hard chest slap. Mysterio fell to the outside with Show smirking in the ring. Rey got into the ring and began using his quickness. Rey was able to hit a 619 and kick Big Show in the spine. Again, Rey used his speed and knocked Show into the ropes. Rey quickly went for the 619, but Show caught his legs. Big Show walked over with Rey in his grasp, then delivered a nasty knockout punch on Rey. With Rey KO'd on the mat, Show took the winning pinfall.

After Show's win, Rey remained on the mat with the referees checking on him. Cole and Lawler looked over highlights.

Winner: Big Show wins via pinfall over Rey Mysterio.

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WWE Slam of the Week showed highlights from Shane McMahon versus Cody Rhodes on WWE Superstars last Thursday. Shane was DQ'd for bashing a steel chair on Rhodes. With the match over, Shane went Coast to Coast to kick a trash can into Rhodes in the corner.

Cole and Lawler reviewed Batista's victory over Ted Dibiase on Smackdown. Dibiase was shown in the locker room as Rhodes asked him how his back was. Rhodes and Dibiase discussed their Backlash match, but Dibiase started to make a point that their leader needs to be a champion. Orton came in just then to interrupt and talked about why they will be the winning team at Backlash. Orton also guaranteed that he'd beat Triple H tonight.

Triple H vs. Randy Orton
No DQ Match

The two future Backlash opponents met in a Wrestlemania rematch. Early on, Triple H began his venting as he took Randy Orton to the mat and continued to pummel him. HHH knocked Orton to the outside, but as he went out, Orton gained the upperhand. Triple H turned things around as he whipped Orton into the crowd barrier. HHH ripped the cover of the commentators' table and began punching Orton on top of it. Orton counted by smashing HHH's head into the table. Orton brought a trash can over to go at HHH, but HHH kicked him. The two countered each other back and forth, and eventually took things back into the ring.

Triple H made a comeback with a high knee to Orton off the ropes and eventually clotheslined Orton to the outside. Orton stumbled around and grabbed a trash can, then hid by the side apron. HHH came over to grab him and Orton smashed the trash can into his skull, causing HHH to hit the mat. Raw went to commercial break.

Raw returned with Orton in control as he whipped HHH into the steel steps. With HHH back in the ring, Orton grabbed the steel steps and brought them in to smash into HHH's head. HHH barely got his arm out as Orton tried to pin him for 3. Orton continued trying to destroy Triple H, and set him up for a DDT onto some steel steps outside the ring. HHH managed to counter it and slammed Orton's back onto the steps. Back in the ring, HHH regained control and punched away at Orton, then drove Orton's face into his knee.

The Game tried to put Orton away with a steel chair, but Orton countered him and DDT'd HHH into the chair. Orton stumbled to the corner and prepared for the Punt kick. HHH avoided it and then ran over to clip Orton's leg. HHH then got to the outside and smashed Orton's leg against the ringpost. HHH followed with a huge chair shot to Orton's leg. Triple H got back in the ring to eventually slap a Figure Four leglock on Orton. Orton withstood it and got to the ropes to break things up.

As Triple H continued trying to destroy Orton, he used a steel chair to put around Orton's ankle. All of a sudden, Legacy rushed to the ring to attack HHH. Shane rushed down next to try to make a save, but he was soon overpowered. Then, Batista rushed down to try to help. Batista seemed to clear the ring, but at one point he became blinded. Batista went for a spear on Cody Rhodes but instead got Shane McMahon. Triple H saw it and confronted Batista. Batista told him it was an accident, then shoved HHH to the side as Ted Dibiase came at them. Batista knocked Dibiase out of the way. As the melee continued, Shane and Batista both were knocked outside with Rhodes and Dibiase. Orton capitalized on the distractions and hit an RKO on HHH to win it.

Winner: Randy Orton wins via pinfall over Triple H.

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