Raw Revelations: Donald Trump Era

The Donald Trump era has officially come and gone with last night's 6/22.09 episode of Raw. Within the matter of just an hour and a half or so, Trump came to the ring to discuss how he'd be running the show. There'd be a special celebrity put in charge of Raw each week, to give the fans what they want. Earlier in the night, Trump announced that all fans in attendance would get a full refund for their tickets after the show. $245,000 total money returned. The Raw show was presented commercial free, if you want to call it that. KFC seemed to have spent a pretty penny to make sure there were buckets of their new grilled chicken in just about every other camera shot.

Eventually, Vince McMahon had heard enough and headed to the ring, telling Trump this was absurd. Vince was under the impression that if Trump kept running Raw this way, that in six months time Vince would be bankrupt. It turned out that Trump told Vince he could sell Raw for double the price he bought it for from Vince. In the end, an enraged Vince bought back Raw for double the price. He tried to threaten Trump, and ended up getting slapped in the face. This all came moments after Trump mentioned Wrestlemania 26. So was the buildup for another McMahon-Trump match? If so, it's months away... It's unknown just what Trump was up to, but he definitely got his name out there for something, and into the media circuit. There was a press conference earlier in the day at the Green Bay airport, so Trump must be promoting some new product. It's unfortunate though to see Trump leave so quick. It would have been interesting to see which celebrities would step in to run Raw and how they'd handle it. Definitely would have been something Raw hasn't seen before. Also, fans wouldn't have minded a ticket refund each week at Raw...

Also during the night, fans got the expected deadlock decision in the Last Man Standing Match. Orton and HHH fought to a draw, as neither man was able to stand at the ref's 10 count. In fact, Triple H with a severely hurt knee and leg was almost able to use a nearby ladder to pull himself to his feet, but fell over instead. So now, with Vince back in charge he let Orton know he'd be part of a "3 stages of Hell" match this Sunday at the Bash. One man will likely leave on a stretcher. If it's HHH, then expect Cena to be the next championship competitor facing Orton.

Speaking of Cena, he's going to be involved in a main event PPV match again, and not for the title, and not against Big Show. WWE seems to have enough confidence to insert The Miz into the lineup, so Miz and Cena will finally square off. I was impressed by how they made Miz' character walk purposefully to the ring and look Cena in the face before calling him a "coward". Definitely a good build up for Miz as a heel on Raw, and should he somehow pull off a win, DQ or draw at The Bash, he'll be further solidified as one of the top stars.

The Bella Twins finally got into the ring and wrestled, and at times looked impressive in their doubleteam moves on Beth Phoenix. Unfortunately for them, WWE did away with the Womens Tag titles years ago. Meanwhile, Mickie James further gained momentum towards Maryse and the Divas title. Rosa Mendes once again was pinned for the victory, and after the match got shoved in the chest by Maryse. With Beth Phoenix glaring back at Maryse, I started contemplating a Beth Phoenix face turn, and then a feud over the Divas title. Beth may be the most deserving to say she was first to wear both of the womens titles.

Also during Raw, it seems the Santina Marella act was put to rest, although now with Vince back who knows if we'll once again see Santino dressed in drag wearing the Wrestlemania sash and crown..