Raw Results 05/23/11

Raw Results from Portland, OR:

The latest episode featured an image before the Raw opening video which showed "In Memory of "MACHO MAN" RANDY SAVAGE 1952-2011."

Josh Matthews opened the show asking what the fallout from last night's PPV might be? Jerry the King Lawler arrived out to the ring to start things off. Lawler talked about his big win last night, finally ending his nightmare with Cole. He said he had a "Hart up his sleeve" and introduced Bret Hitman Hart who came to the ring. Hart talked about his differences with Lawler in the past, but said he always respected him as a competitor. Hart said it was good to finally make Cole suffer "the agony of de-feet."

Hart was interrupted by R-Truth, who arrived out from backstage. Truth noted how Hart's been in a lot of championship matches, but he's been in zero, which seems inaccurate based on six pack challenges or other matches. Truth took Hart's sunglasses and said he had to go find a "little Jimmy." Truth put the sunglasses on his head and posed with the kid saying this means he should be next in line for the WWE Championship match. He said "wrong" and snatched the glasses away from the kid to get back in the ring.

Truth said maybe he needs to beat up on a Hall of Famer to get noticed. Hart told him to give him his best shot, then said that he doesn't get championship shots because "he's a lunatic." Truth said he wouldn't stand for being disrespected like this. He went to leave the ring just as Cena's music hit.

Cena got to the ringside area and got a mic to talk to Truth. He invited him back in the ring then told him it's time they had a talk, but to wait there first. He shook Bret's hand for his return to a WWE ring, then said he hasn't been able to pinpoint when Truth went crazy. Truth said the whole WWE conspiracy is about Cena, because the people make sure it's all about John Cena. Truth accused Cena and Hart of being propaganda tools to make the WWE fans feel good. Truth said it's all about him, and he won't feel right until he gets a WWE Championship match.

The Raw GM sent an email which Matthews read. The GM said Truth hasn't earned the title shot yet, but there will be a tag match tonight of R-Truth & CM Punk versus John Cena and Rey Mysterio. Special guest referee will be Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Truth was furious as he left the ring.

Hitman left the ring and gave the kid his sunglasses that Truth snatched away. Cena came over and shook the kids hand, then left up the ramp with Hart.

Backstage in the parking garage area, Big Show and Kane were talking strategies about CM Punk and Nexus. Show sat on a fancy Ferrari convertible. Ricardo Rodriguez came walking up yelling at them in Spanish. Show shoved him down to the pavement. Del Rio came up next chastising the tag champs in Spanish. He yanked Rodriguez up from the pavement, still yelling stuff in Spanish as Kane and Show walked away.

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Big Show & Kane vs. David Otunga & Michael McGillicutty
WWE Tag Team Championship Match

Matthews noted that 24 hours ago at Over the Limit, the tag champs retained against Punk and Ryan. Punk joined Lawler and Matthews on commentary.

Late in the match, Show had a chokeslam on McGillicutty. Mason Ryan got on the apron and in the ring to distract the ref. Kane rushed in to clothesline Ryan out over the ropes. The ref fell down to the mat, missing Punk get on the apron and hitting a kick to the back of Show's head. Next came a doubleteam move by McGillicutty and Otunga. They hit a double DDT on Show, then made a pinfall cover the ref saw. The New Nexus members are now tag team champions.

Winner: David Otunga & Michael McGillicutty defeat Big Show & Kane to become the new WWE Tag Team Champions.

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Raw returned with a cartoon picture of Obama as referee between Rey Mysterio and John Cena for Capitol Punishment. Sunday, June 19th, will be the date for the next Pay-Per-View.

They showed a Wal-Mart autograph and fan meeting session with Randy Orton, star of "That's What I Am." They emphasized the anti-bullying message of the movie and how kids were there who see Orton as their hero.

Backstage, Scott Stanford tried to interview the former tag champs. Show was visibly upset as he yelled at Stanford for the stupid question. Alberto Del Rio came into the picture and slapped Show in the face. Show chased after him. Suddenly, the camera started to move all around and lost the picture. A car screeching was heard and next thing shown was Del Rio's Ferrari on Show's leg. Rodriguez was in the driver's seat. Del Rio rushed over and got Rodriguez away from the scene. Kane rushed over and started screaming for help. Medics finally came with Show screaming in agony trying to stand but his leg was too lame to do so.

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After commercial, medics, WWE staff and Kane were looking at Show laying on the floor. He refused to get on the stretcher and finally hopped up to his good leg to grab a guard rail. Kane tried to give him support. Show said he's not going on a stretcher. After several moments, the action was back out to the ring. Lawler said Show really should get medical help and not be so proud because this could be serious damage to the knee.

Evan Bourne vs. Jack Swagger

Late in this one, Swagger grabbed Bourne by the ankle, but Bourne remained on one leg and flipped to the mat, tossing Swagger towards the ropes. Bourne followed with a rollup pinfall but Swagger kicked out. Moments later, Swagger was able to hit his Gutwrench Powerbomb to finish him off.

Post-match, Swagger was doing his victory lap around the ring. Suddenly, Bourne was back on his feet and delivered a high jumping kick to knock Swagger down and out of the ring. Bourne left the ring and jogged up the ramp. Swagger was furious as he pounded on the steel steps and yelled at people around the ring.

Winner: Jack Swagger wins via pinfall over Evan Bourne.

Backstage, a somber looking Michael Cole was walking as various WWE staff gave him looks, laughing at him. He walked by WWE Divas Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim, Beth Phoenix and Eve. Cole tried to offer a friendly handshake to Eve but instead she raised up her boot with Beth holding it for Cole to kiss. Cole walked off, dejected. Lawler and Matthews chuckled over it.

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They showed a graphic called 'The Rock Reigns Supreme' to showcase the worldwide box office take of $506 million that "Fast Five" pulled in. They had the numbers of "Rio," "Thor" "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" and "Rango" shown as lesser in comparison (for the moment).

Justin Roberts introduced the voice of the WWE, Michael Cole. Cole, looking dejected, arrived to ringside and asked for a microphone. Cole said he knows he doesn't deserve their attention. He said it's not about him anymore, and never should've been. Cole said he came out to put this all behind them. Cole said he wanted to apologize to Lawler, Matthews, Roberts, the time keeper, all the fans there and at home. Cole said he just wants to come back home and do commentary with Lawler with no more Cole Mines or matches between them.

Lawler said he wanted to thank Cole for giving him a picture for his 2011 Christmas card. They showed the graphic on screen of Cole 's BBQ sauce covered face kissing Lawler's face. Lawler said he thinks Cole needs a life supply of Altoids breath mints and handed him a package of them. Cole said "I deserve that, can I come back?" and Lawler pointed to the nearby chair.

The Miz and Alex Riley arrived to the ring as Cole took a seat on commentary with Matthews and Lawler. In the ring, Miz said there's only one reason he didn't win the WWE Championship last night, Alex Riley. The Miz said at Extreme Rules, Riley didn't even show up when he lost the title in the Triple Threat steel cage match. Miz showed footage from the rematch the next night from Raw, when Riley showed Miz's hand holding the championship belt they cheated with to win. The ref reversed the decision.

Miz brought up OTL last night where the ref restarted the match after Riley messed things up and got thrown through a table, costing Miz the title again. Miz turned it over to the Raw GM to make a decision. He said he wants a rematch against Cena for the title with Riley banned from ringside. Miz said Riley made last night's match a handicap match for him. Miz grew furious saying he wouldn't leave the ring until the GM chimed in. Finally, the lights blinked and email noise sounded. The GM's email said Miz's rematch request is denied. The GM said after last night's loss, Miz is done with Cena. Miz grew visibly upset, then turned to stare at Riley.

Miz started screaming at Riley calling him a "worthless waste of space" and asked for his explanation. Riley said it wasn't like he was the one who said "I quit." The crowd chanted "You Quit." Miz shoved Riley in the face and asked him to repeat what he said. Miz told him to shut his mouth. Miz said he gave Riley a personal service contract to keep him in WWE. Miz said he's sick of Riley's stupidity. Miz shoved Riley to the ropes, but Riley snapped back.

Riley started to unload on Miz, punching him down to the mat, and out of the ring. Riley ripped Miz's shirt apart and tossed him across the announce table. A "Riley" chant started up as he continued to beat away on Miz inside the ring. Matthews said that Alex Riley has snapped. Riley looked down at Miz on the mat, then gave him a solid kick to the head before exiting the ring with Miz flat on his back.

Gail Kim, Beth Phoenix, Eve Torres & Kelly Kelly vs. Maryse, Melina and The Bella Twins

Cole talked about how talented and beautiful the WWE divas are, saying he's always loved watching them compete. Kelly started off against one of the Bellas and smacked her on the rear before hitting a Bulldog. All of a sudden, Karma's entrance theme music hit.

Karma arrived out staring down at the ring. All 8 of the divas got into the ring at once as Karma came down the ramp staring at them. Matthews said she has no fear. Lawler said Karma can't do in 8 divas as she stepped into the ring with them. The 8 divas circled around Karma who was center ring. Karma put out both arms and started to summon up strength, then fell to her knees crying in the center of the ring. The 8 divas looked on puzzled as she bowed her head down, still crying. She started mouthing some words and seemed scared as Raw went to break.

Winners: No contest as Karma interrupted the match.

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Raw returned with footage of Karma crying in the ring. Lawler and Matthews said it appeared she had some sort of breakdown.

WWE Slam of the Week was presented by "The Hangover Part 2" showed Kofi Kingston vs Sheamus in the US Championship Tables match from Extreme Rules. Kofi won the match with a double leg drop off the corner to drive Sheamus through a table outside.

Kofi Kingston vs. Drew McIntyre

McIntyre's theme song "Broken Dreams" is now available exclusively on iTunes. McIntyre clipped Kofi on a leapfrog move in the ring, hurting Kofi's knee. Drew kept at it, using a submission hold on Kofi's legs around the ringpost from outside the ring.

Kofi managed to muster up strength and got to his feet. After knocking down Drew, he hit the double leg drop. Kofi set up for a Trouble in Paradise. He went for it, but his leg gave out, so Drew responded by kicking him in the head. He tried the cover but Kofi kicked out. Kofi jumped up on Drew's shoulders, and Drew hit a Razor's Edge for another near fall.

Drew went for a barrage of moves in the corner. Kofi was able to reverse a move and hit the SOS to win it out of nowhere. They showed Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler all dressed up backstage, sitting on a couch watching the match. Dolph started to talk about it to Vickie.

Winner: Kofi Kingston wins via pinfall over Drew McIntyre.

Matthews and Lawler talked about the upcoming WWE PPV Capitol Punishment. Lawler asked what would an Obama press conference about Capitol Punishment be like. They showed a mock press conference with clips of Obama interlaced with fake interviewer media questions. Matthews said the Washington Nationals, the president's cabinet have been invited to the next WWE PPV.

Backstage, Otunga and McGillicutty were celebrating being the tag champs, admiring their belts. Punk and Ryan walked in. Punk said "see what happens when you listen to CM Punk? now watch what I go do." They told him "go get it" and kept celebrating with Ryan as Punk left for his tag match.

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The commentators turned their attention to a serious matter with Lawler mentioning the bad news this past week in the WWE. Lawler said he was a great guy and an intense competitor, who will "always be a Hall of Famer no matter what." They rolled into a memorial video package showcasing Savage's 33-year career. Various career moments were highlighted including his historic match against Ricky Steamboat from Wrestlemania 3. Other moments showed matches against Dibiase, Ric Flair and with Miss Elizabeth as well as Sensational Sheri. They left up the graphic showing RIP Macho Man Randy Savage as the crowd started up a chant of "Macho Man" before commercial break.

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Rey Mysterio & John Cena vs. R-Truth & CM Punk

Bret Hart arrived out in referee shirt to officiate the match. Lawler said Cole is responsible for Hart being there tonight. Cole looked upset as Lawler kept talking about how he got in touch with Hart for last night's help. Cole said he'll never get the taste of Lawler's foot out of his mouth ever.

R-Truth was next to the ring, with no theme music, followed by New Nexus leader, CM Punk. Rey Mysterio was next, followed by John Cena for the big pop. CM Punk was dressed in pink trunks and yellow boots in honor of Macho man's former wrestling gear.

Late in the match, Cena escaped from CM Punk to tag in Rey Mysterio. Mysterio went wild and took it to Punk using a variety of moves to beat him up. Mysterio had a pinfall but Truth rushed in to break it up. Cena came in to battle Truth, but Truth hit his finisher on Cena. Mysterio knocked Truth out of the ring. Punk grabbed Mysterio for GTS, but Mysterio turned it into a headscissors to flip Punk against the ropes for 619. After 619, Punk got up and Hart punched Punk down. Hart put the Sharpshooter on Punk, then Rey did a leg drop off the ropes onto him to get the pinfall win. Cena got back in the ring and jumped up ecstatically. Mysterio and Cena raised up Hart's arms before Raw ended with Cena and Mysterio posing on corners of the ring.

Winners: John Cena & Rey Mysterio win via pinfall over R-Truth & CM Punk.

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