Raw Recap 01.18.10

WWE Recap from University of TN:

WWE Raw opened with a Martin Luther King, Jr. video which featured words from his famous "I have a dream" speech, and finished with "Long live the dream" written on the screen.

Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole welcomed fans to Raw just two weeks ahead of the 2010 Royal Rumble. On tonight's Raw, John Cena and Kofi Kingston will team up to take on Legacy. Also, tonight's guest hosts are movie stars Don Johnson and Jon Heder, promoting their brand new film. Justin Roberts introduced the WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon, and Vince arrived down to the ring strutting as usual.

Cole and Lawler reviewed what Mr. McMahon did to guest host Bret Hart two weeks ago. Cole said that over 3 million people have viewed the footage on WWE.com. Mr. McMahon talked about making tough decisions, including his decision to allow Bret Hart to come back to WWE, and his decision to kick Hart in the gut. Vince said he did it all for the fans, and wants them to remember Bret for the way he was, the "Excellence of Exocution", not the way he is. Vince said Bret's no longer of value, so it's his job to put those former stars down, like old war horses.

Vince chastised the fans as hypocrites, saying they all want bigger, faster and stronger guys in WWE. He said the fans made the decision for Bret to no longer come back to WWE. The fans started up a "You suck" chant, but just then Undertaker's bell tolled. His pyro and music started up, and the Deadman arrived out from backstage. Vince McMahon looked worried in the ring as Taker entered. Undertaker told Vince it's his time to talk now, and that he came out to address Shawn Michaels.

Taker said since Vince is there now, he wanted to discuss Montreal. Undertaker said he saw the fear in Vince's eyes 12 years ago, and sees it again now. Taker told Vince he screwed Bret Hart twice now, and he's terrified of the consequences. Vince said he disagreed with Taker's opinion, then left the ring. Taker said stubborness and arrogance reside in both Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels. Undertaker said he has an answer for Michaels now, he wanted to deliver personally. Just then, HBK's theme music started up and out walked Shawn Michaels.

Michaels said he's eager to hear Undertaker's answer now. Undertaker told HBK he came closer than all the others, but still failed. Undertaker said a rematch will only result in more bitter disappointment for himself. Taker said he's got nothing left to prove, so his answer is no, but if Michaels is convinced he can beat him, he'll give him a match tonight. Michaels said no to that idea, stating he'd prefer to beat him on the grandest stage of them all. Michaels said he knows what he needs to do now, win the Royal Rumble, so he can go on to Wrestlemania and face him. Undertaker told Michaels that winning the Royal Rumble is his only chance at salvation. Michaels told Taker he'll see him at Wrestlemania when the streak, the title and soul will be his. The two got face to face as the lights went dark and Taker's music played. Raw went to commercial.

---

WWE Slam of the Week showed last week's Triple Threat match finish between Orton, Cena and Kofi Kingston. Legacy got involved to help Orton win, allowing him to hit the RKO on Kofi. Now Orton heads to Royal Rumble to face Sheamus for the WWE Title.

Evan Bourne vs. Sheamus

As the match began, Cole noted that Evan Bourne will be in the Royal Rumble match. Randy Orton made his way out onto the ramp to scout Sheamus in the match. Sheamus spotted Orton. Orton walked to the bottom of the ramp, and Sheamus got on the apron to stare at him. This allowed Bourne to mount an attack, including his double knees off the corner. Sheamus quickly regained control though and eventually put Bourne down with the running boot. He picked up Bourne near the corner and did the Razor's Edge to finish Bourne off.

Sheamus glared out at Orton. Orton paused then stepped into the ring to stare down Sheamus. Sheamus backed up and asked for his WWE title belt, then raised it up for Orton to see before backing out of the ring.

Winner: Sheamus wins via pinfall over Evan Bourne.

Backstage, Triple H caught up with Shawn Michaels. HHH was trying to tell something important to Michaels when guest host Don Johnson came walking up. He told DX he's a big fan of theirs, and DX said the same of him. Johnson asked if they saw his co-host Jon Heder anywhere. Michaels said he had no clue who Heder is, then left. HHH said not to worry about Jon Heder not showing, he should just host alone. Triple H told Johnson to have fun tonight, then left. Just then Johnson spotted a guy with his back to him, in a Napoleon Dynamite costume. He thought it was Heder and walked up to him, asking what was up with the costume. The man turned around and it was Carlito. Johnson asked if he was a Napoleon Dynamite fan, and Carlito said "never seen it", then walked off.

---

Mark Henry vs. Jack Swagger

Michael Cole said Jack Swagger will be a part of the Royal Rumble in two weeks. They showed a highlight from two weeks ago, when Jack Swagger issued a challenge for anyone from backstage to come out and try to throw him over the rope. Santino Marella came out to take the challenge and was able to throw Swagger out after Swagger tried to toss him.

In the ring tonight, Swagger said last week was a fluke. Swagger issued another challenge for Santino to come out and try again. Santino came out dressed as Don Johnson's detective character from Miami Vice. Santino said he's the president of the Italian Don Johnson Fan Club, so he can't wrestle tonight, but he's got a substitution. Mark Henry arrived out and slapped hands with Santino.

In tonight's challenge, Swagger tried some strike attacks on Henry's back to no avail. Henry shoved him against the ropes, and when Swagger arrived back, Henry pressed him overhead. He walked over to the side ropes and dumped Swagger out of the ring in front of the commentators.

Winner: Mark Henry wins Jack Swagger's over-the-top rope challenge.

A limo was shown pulling up in the arena garage. The chaffeur went and opened the backdoor, letting the Bella Twins out. Next, guest host Jon Heder stepped out. He said this is exciting, then incorrectly called the venue "Nashville". One of the Bellas corrected him that it's Knoxville. Heder looked into the limo backseat at a mystery person and told them not to come out until he said to. The Bellas and Heder headed off. Lawler said tonight's guest hosts will be out next.

---

Justin Roberts introduced tonight's co-hosts, John Heder and Don Johnson. They arrived out escorted by The Bella Twins. Michael Cole noted that their new movie "When in Rome" is out in a week or so. Don Johnson said tonight's main event will feature D-Generation X. Jon Heder started saying he needs something new. He made comments about how they just got a great new football coach at USC, causing the Tennessee fans to start booing because it was their coach who left to go to USC. Heder said he wants to bring out someone who's awesome, his close personal friend, "The Miz". Miz came down to the ring.

Miz thanked Heder for entering him in the Royal Rumble, then mentioned he got a text earlier that said HHH thought Don Johnson should host Raw alone. Miz then told Johnson back in the day Don Johnson was what The Miz is today; the hottest thing on TV. Miz then said Johnson had it all, but nobody remembers the "other guy" who rode his coattails, Tubbs. Miz said in WWE Tubbs would be called "MVP". This brought out MVP to disagree with that comment.

MVP apologized to Don Johnson for having to deal with all this. He also apologized to the fans for having to deal with Napoleon Dynamite and his sidekick Pedro (The Miz). MVP said he'll be in the Royal Rumble and will toss Miz out if he does nothing else. MVP said why wait though, he'll throw Miz out of the ring. MVP came down to the ring ready to fight, and Miz got out of the ring to face him outside. Just then, Big Show's music hit and Show came walking down the ramp. MVP didn't know what to do, then went at Miz to punch him down. He turned and tried to elude Show but got hit by the KO punch. MVP was layed out, and Show got in the ring to slap hands with Heder.

Heder told Miz that he and Show have the same agent, so he asked Show to come down as an insurance policy. He then came up with the idea that since DX gets to celebrate every week, maybe this time the four of them should be able to celebrate. Don Johnson said he didn't want any part of this, and left the ring. Heder told Johnson to go make out with Tubbs. Heder said tonight he's putting DX against a brand new tag team he's creating: Big Show and The Miz.

They hyped up tonight's tag match involving John Cena/Kofi Kingston versus Legacy, coming up next.

---

When Raw returned they had a way to donate $10 to Haiti Earthquake. Text "Live" to 25383, or visit WWE.com for more details on how to help.

Kofi Kingston & John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase

Michael Cole announced that John Cena and Kofi Kingston are both in this year's Royal Rumble. They showed highlights again of how Legacy interfered in last week's Triple Threat #1 Contender match to help Randy Orton win and move on to face Sheamus at Royal Rumble.

In tonight's match, the action was back and forth until Kofi Kingston was caught in the doubleteam trap. Lawler said it seemed as if Legacy was toying with Kofi, not allowing him to make a tag, and wearing him down. Dibiase had a headlock locked in on Kofi. Kofi finally got to his feet to hit a jawbreaker on Ted Dibiase, and then a backdrop slam to finally go tag Cena. Cena came in on fire and eventually hit Five Knuckle Shuffle on Cody Rhodes. Rhodes escaped the Attitude Adjustment and hit a side Russian legsweep for a near fall. Cena managed to shove Rhodes to the corner and as he stumbled back, put him up. He hit the Attitude Adjustment but Dibiase was in to break things up. Kofi managed to make a tag as Legacy were having an in-ring discussion. Kofi made the leap off the corner for a flying bodypress pin on Rhodes.

Dibiase helped Rhodes up from the mat, with Rhodes brushing him off and leaving the ring angry.

Winners: Kofi Kingston & John Cena win via pinfall over Legacy.

Backstage, Jon Heder was talking to The Miz and Big Show. As they were talking a small step ladder entered the picture and Hornswoggle climbed to the top. He kept yelling in jibberish at Jon Heder. Heder asked Miz or Show to translate but they couldn't. HHH showed up and told Heder that Hornswoggle said he doesn't like him, much like the rest of the people. Hornswoggle also challenged Heder to a match, but Miz said no way Heder wants any part of that silliness. HHH suggested they make a six man tag match then, DX & Hornswoggle versus the Miz, Big Show and John Heder. Miz and Show agreed, but Heder looked like he didn't want it. Before leaving, Hornswoggle did the DX crotch chop several times.

---

When Raw returned they had a way to donate $10 to Haiti Earthquake. Text "Live" to 25383, or visit WWE.com for more details on how to help.

Kofi Kingston & John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase

Michael Cole announced that John Cena and Kofi Kingston are both in this year's Royal Rumble. They showed highlights again of how Legacy interfered in last week's Triple Threat #1 Contender match to help Randy Orton win and move on to face Sheamus at Royal Rumble.

In tonight's match, the action was back and forth until Kofi Kingston was caught in the doubleteam trap. Lawler said it seemed as if Legacy was toying with Kofi, not allowing him to make a tag, and wearing him down. Dibiase had a headlock locked in on Kofi. Kofi finally got to his feet to hit a jawbreaker on Ted Dibiase, and then a backdrop slam to finally go tag Cena. Cena came in on fire and eventually hit Five Knuckle Shuffle on Cody Rhodes. Rhodes escaped the Attitude Adjustment and hit a side Russian legsweep for a near fall. Cena managed to shove Rhodes to the corner and as he stumbled back, put him up. He hit the Attitude Adjustment but Dibiase was in to break things up. Kofi managed to make a tag as Legacy were having an in-ring discussion. Kofi made the leap off the corner for a flying bodypress pin on Rhodes.

Dibiase helped Rhodes up from the mat, with Rhodes brushing him off and leaving the ring angry.

Winners: Kofi Kingston & John Cena win via pinfall over Legacy.

Backstage, Jon Heder was talking to The Miz and Big Show. As they were talking a small step ladder entered the picture and Hornswoggle climbed to the top. He kept yelling in jibberish at Jon Heder. Heder asked Miz or Show to translate but they couldn't. HHH showed up and told Heder that Hornswoggle said he doesn't like him, much like the rest of the people. Hornswoggle also challenged Heder to a match, but Miz said no way Heder wants any part of that silliness. HHH suggested they make a six man tag match then, DX & Hornswoggle versus the Miz, Big Show and John Heder. Miz and Show agreed, but Heder looked like he didn't want it. Before leaving, Hornswoggle did the DX crotch chop several times.

---

Raw returned with Don Johnson trying to woo Kelly Kelly backstage. Jon Heder came in blowing into a paper bag as if he was hyperventilating. Johnson told Kelly they'd finish their talk later. Heder pleaded with Don Johnson to take his place in the match for him. Johnson laughed it off. Big Show and The Miz came in and told Heder they'd do the heavy lifting. They told Heder he could come in and finish up. They gave Heder a special wrestling costume which said "The Flame" on back. Show said "No one can extinguish the flame". Heder said he liked it and suggested some pyrotechnics.

Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler thanked Skillet for their song "Hero" from the album "Awake". This is one of the two theme songs for Royal Rumble 2010. They ran down the matches for the PPV including Rey Mysterio vs. Undertaker for World Heavyweight title, and Orton versus Sheamus for the WWE title. Also, the big match of the night, the Royal Rumble, will see one man win to earn a title shot at Wrestlemania.

Backstage, Vince McMahon was talking to HHH about the Bret Hart incident. Vince said he might need to call out Taker next week for calling him a coward. HHH laughed and told him he should focus on Bret Hart. HHH asked why the McMahons always have to get the last word or last shot. HHH told Vince he needs to call Bret Hart out, or the whole world will think he's a coward. vince left, and Shawn Michaels came walking up. He asked HHH what he wanted to tell him before. Hornswoggle came in, set up a ladder in between the two of them. He yelled again making fist punch motions. Eventually they all left, with HHH giving Hornswoggle a piggyback ride.

Randy Orton was shown backstage on his way out for the next match on Raw.

---

Chris Masters vs. Randy Orton

Masters was accompanied by his romantic interest, Eve. Before the match could begin, Sheamus' music hit and the WWE Champ came out to watch the matchup.

After hitting a backbreaker on Masters, Orton dropped down in the corner on all fours to stalk his prey. As Masters got up, Orton went in for the RKO, but Masters countered and locked the Masterlock on. Orton tried to jerk himself around the ring to grab the ropes, but Masters kept him away. Orton appeared to be fading away, as he fell to his knees on the mat. Orton managed to pull himself to the middle rope to force a break though. Masters yelled at Orton to come on, and as Orton turned Masters lunged. However, Orton hit the RKO quickly, collected himself then took the pinfall.

As Masters rolled onto the apron, Sheamus came into the ring and did a huge boot kick to knock Randy Orton down to the mat. Sheamus stepped on Orton and let out a scream.

Winner: Randy Orton wins via pinfall over Chris Masters.

Coming up next is the main event match with D-Generation X & Hornswoggle versus The Miz, Big Show and Jon Heder.

---

As Raw returned, Michael Cole announced that next week's guest hosts will be James Roday and Dule Hill from the USA TV show "Psych".

D-Generation X & Hornswoggle vs. Big Show, The Miz & Jon Heder

Heder came out wearing the blue and black ring robe attire that SHow and Miz gave him with the name "The Flame" on it. D-Generation X made their big entrance next. Hornswoggle came out first as the mascot. Next, Don Johnson accompanied DX down to the ring.

Late in the match, Michaels was struggling to crawl over and tag out to HHH. Instead, Hornswoggle crouched down and made the tag. Horney rushed in to dropkick Miz who was seated on the mat. As Hornswoggle came back for another strike, Miz was able to clothesline him down. Heder begged Miz to tag him in, so in came "The Flame". Heder ripped off his robe to reveal he was wearing only a pair of black boots and black trunks. He did several mocking poses, then kicked Hornswoggle down. Next he tried to run at Hornswoggle in the corner, but Horney moved aside. Heder hit the corner hard, and Horney ran up to bite him on the backside. Horney tagged in HHH. Heder tried to make a run for it outside, but Don Johnson was right there to shove him bacvk in the ring.

HHH got hold of Heder and knocked him down with a hard punch to the face. Big Show stepped into the ring and grabbed HHH in chokeslam mode, but HBK was in the ring and connected on Sweet Chin Music on Show. Show toppled over right onto Heder who was flat on his back on the mat. HBK ran over to Superkick Miz off the apron. Hornswoggle was still legal man, so he jumped off the top rope for a Frogsplash, then took the winning pin on Jon Heder for the win. Heder rolled to the outside, where Don Johnson assisted him in getting backstage.

Winners: D-Generation X & Hornswoggle win via pinfall over The Miz, Big Show & Jon Heder "The Flame".

HHH grabbed the mic, he said he wanted to tell Shawn what he's been trying to tell him all night long. HHH said Michaels is going to have to find another way to get the match with Undertaker. Michaels seemed upset at this, but just then John Cena's music came on, and Cena arrived to the ring. Cena said he's got a major announcement of his own first. Cena said it's been two years since he's been in the Royal Rumble, and he will officially compete this year. Cena said last time he was in the Rumble he won it all, and this year he'll do it again.

HHH got on his mic next, but Big Show climbed back into the ring and picked up a mic. Show said he's got news for them all, because he's in the Rumble this year too, and it's designed for a giant like him to win. Show said he'd give them a sample of what will happen now. He knocked down both HHH and HBK, but Cena went on the offensive and was able to hit a shoulder tackle to send Show out of the ring. Cena looked out at Show, as DX got up and grabbed Cena, then tossed him out of the ring. Next, HHH grabbed his partner HBK and tossed him out over the ropes. HHH picked up the mic and told the other 3 guys that he's going to be in the Rumble too, and he'll be the winner. Raw ended with Michaels looking inside the ring at HHH.

---