Raw Preview 03/12/12

Tonight's WWE Raw SuperShow comes from the city of Cleveland, Ohio with a special performance by two of Wrestlemania 28's headlining acts.  It will be John Cena and The Rock squaring off in a different sort of competition.  On tonight's show, the two iconic superstars will compete in a verbal battle on the mic.  Cena will bring his "home-spun rhymes," while Rock will bring his "insta-trending insults."  Which of these two stars will prevail in the home of the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame?

Also on tonight's Raw, the battle between two ambitious general managers continues.  Both Raw's interim GM John Laurinaitis, and Smackdown GM Teddy Long, believe they should be in charge of both television shows.  The two have been exchanging verbal jabs and just this past Friday went at it one-on-one in the ring.  While Teddy Long won the match, he managed to save his girlfriend Aksana from having to face the demented Kane.  What will happen next between the dueling GM's?

Also tonight, James Roday of the hit USA series "Psych" stops by to guest host.  Will Roday have any surprises in store for the Raw roster ahead of Wrestlemania 28?

Check out WWE Raw SuperShow tonight at 9PM EST on USA!

Raw Results 06/07/10

Raw Results 06/07/10 from Miami, FL:

General Managers Bret Hart (RAW) and Teddy Long (Smackdown) came to the ring to start the show. They talked about how tonight was a special 3-hour edition of Raw - "Viewer's Choice Night" where fans got to log on to WWE.com and choice matches and stipulations during the show. Long brought up Randy Orton, but before he could say more, The Viper made his way to the ring wearing a sling on his hurt arm.

Orton demanded a match with Edge tonight from Bret. He said either Bret can book one or he'll go find Edge himself. Edge came out to the ramp to agree to the idea saying he can finish what he started. Teddy whispered an idea into Bret's ear and then Teddy asked the crowd members to vote by cheers. The crowd voted that Edge would face Orton with one arm tied behind his back. Edge said it wasn't fair but Bret said the people have spoken.

Teddy Long introduced Chris Jericho against Big Show as first Viewer's Choice match. Fans got to vote at WWE.com for their match: A)Over the Rope challenge, B)Submission match or C)Body Slam Challenge. Big Show arrived to the ring before Raw took a commercial break.

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Matt Striker was on hand near the crowd barrier and announced what the fans voted for the first match. The fans voted:

Over the Top Rope 11%
Submission Match 41%
Body Slam Challenge 48%

Big Show vs. Chris Jericho
Body Slam Challenge

In the late part of the match, Show whipped Jericho to the ropes. Jericho tried to fly at him with the cross body, but Show caught him then slammed him to the mat for the win. After that, he put a Boston Crab style submission until Jericho tapped, and then tossed Jericho over the top rope to the outside, to win all three match types.

Winner: Big Show wins the Body Slam Challenge against Chris Jericho.

Cole and Lawler revealed the next Viewer's Choice match. Who would The Hart Dynasty face in a tag match: A)The Uso's B)The Dude Busters or C)Great Khali and Hornswoggle.

The Usos were shown backstage with Tamida, talking about how the past two weeks they layed out the Harts. Dudebusters were shown next, with one guy saying if you want to become a better person in life you'll vote for them. Khali and Hornswoggle were shown on camera with Khali doing his arm raise and yell. Hornswoggle looked at him then did the same thing.

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The Hart Dynasty was in the ring to find out who got voted in as their tag opponents. Matt Striker revealed the voting percents:

The Usos 36%
The Dudebusters 10%
Great Khali & Hornswoggle 54%

Great Khali & Hornswoggle vs. The Hart Dynasty

In a non-title match voted by the fans, the WWE's smallest and tallest forces united to fight the tag champs. Khali started it off and took control against Kidd. He scoop slammed him, then tagged Hornswoggle in for the Tadpole Splash. Kidd rolled away and Swoggle hit the mat hard. Smith ran in and kicked Khali in the leg, knocking him off the apron. Kidd looked around then took a pinfall on Hornswoggle.

The Harts celebrated in the ring for a bit, but once again The Usos came to the ring to attack. The Harts were able to clear them all out of the ring this time with Natalya knocking Tamidia outside, then Hart and Kidd clotheslining the Uso brothers over the top rope.

Winner: The Hart Dynasty wins via pinfall over Great Khali and Hornswoggle.

Michael Cole started talking about how great tonight is with fans in charge. Just then, Lawler got an upset look on his face and took off his headset. Lawler left the commentators position, with Cole asking what he was doing. King walked off up the ramp. Cole turned his attention to what was learned about Undertaker this past Friday on Smackdown with the vicious attack leaving him in a vegetative state. Video highlights were shown from the latest Smackdown episode.

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Justin Roberts introduced tonight's guest hosts from "The A-Team", Bradley Cooper, Sharlto and Rampage Jackson. Only Bradley Cooper came out alone. He looked around then said he doesn't know where Sharlto and Rampage are. Cooper hyped up the fact he's excited to be hosting Raw and told everyone to have a good time tonight before heading backstage.

Jerry Lawler was backstage looking around. A WWE staff member told him they need him out on commentary, but Lawler pushed him aside. All of a sudden A-Team cast members Rampage and Sharlto emerged disguised as backstage workers. They grabbed Lawler and brought him into a side room. They said he needed the A-Team well now he's got them. Lawler was surprised and said someone has stolen his crown. Rampage (BA Baracus) and Sharlto (Murdoch) said they'd go hunt down the culprits. They exited the room but bumped into the Bella Twins who were awestruck to see Rampage and Sharlto Copley. They pretended to be their A-Team characters though and left. Sharlto went back to the Bellas and said he heard District 9 was well done and that Sharlto Copley rocked the Oscars.

The next fan vote was for the match between Santino and Kozlov. Choices were A)Match, B)Arm Wrestling, or C)Dance-off. Santino was in the ring as Raw went to commercial break.

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Fan voting for Santino vs Kozlov was a landslide:

A)Match 9%
B)Arm Wrestling 7%
C)Dance-Off 84%

Santino Marella vs. Vladimir Kozlov
Dance-Off

Santino did a bunch of ballet moves and finished off with The Cobra on display. Vladimir did robotic moves and breakdancing as well as moonwalking and some kick moves down on the mat. The fans seemed in favor of his routine more and cheered louder when Striker asked. Afterwords, Kozlov and Marella shook hands. Kozlov spun Marella around dance style. Marella hit the ropes then came flying at Kozlov for a ballet catch move, but Kozlov batted him down instead, then did a few more dance moves and left.

Winner: Vladimir Kozlov wins the Dance-Off against Santino Marella.

All of the Raw & Smackdown divas were backstage talking amongst themselves. Cole announced the next vote, for which Divas match would go down: A)6 on 6 tag match, B)Diva Battle Royal or C)Champion vs Champion.

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Eve, Bella Twins, Gail Kim, Tiffany, Kelly Kelly, Jillian, Rosa Mendes, Maryse, Alicia Fox, Michelle McCool and Layla all lined up at the top of the ramp. Lawler presented them from in the ring then announced how the divas match voting went down from WWE.com:

A)6 on 6 tag match 11%
B)Diva Battle Royal 73%
C)Champion vs Champion 16%

Divas Battle Royal

Eve, Bella Twins, Gail Kim, Tiffany, Kelly Kelly, Jillian, Rosa Mendes, Maryse, Alicia Fox, Michelle McCool and Layla all competed in the Battle Royal. To be eliminated a diva had to go out through or over the ropes and hit the floor with both feet. The Bellas did a doubleteam move to catapult Rosa Mendes out through the ropes. Tiffany was beating on Michelle in the corner, until Layla got on the corner to knock Tiffany to the outside.

Kelly was on the apron battling Layla and punched her away, but Michelle ran over to knock Kelly off the apron. Gail and Alicia went over the ropes together. Michelle and Layla knocked The Bellas over the top at the same time. Eve started beating on Michelle and Layla back and forth. She managed to toss Layla into Michelle on the ropes and the two fell outside.

It came down to Maryse and Jillian doubleteaming Eve. They were able to toss Eve out together through the ropes. Jillian started cheering and celebrated, slapping hands with Maryse then holding her arm up in victory. Maryse got a wicked look on her face and turned to kick Jillian in the gut before throwing her out to win.

Winner: Maryse wins the divas Battle Royal.

Lawler was back at the commentary position with Cole saying there's plenty more to go on Viewer's Choice Night. They reviewed what's happened so far on the show.

Backstage, Sheamus was walking when he stopped to see Kane was there. Kane confronted him saying maybe Sheamus took out Undertaker like he took out Triple H. Sheamus said he wouldn't be shy about it if he did, he'd tell the whole world. Sheamus said he doesn't waste time with sneak attacks and doesn't appreciate the false accusations. Kane said he doesn't like liars and hopes to see him real soon.

With that, the next vote was announced, Who is Sheamus' opponent tonight: A)Kane, B)Mark Henry or C)Evan Bourne

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The fan voting for Sheamus' opponent was:

A)Kane 88%
B)Mark Henry 3%
C)Evan Bourne 9%

Kane vs. Sheamus

Sheamus went for the running Pump kick late in the match, but Kane avoided it then grabbed his throat. Kane shoved Sheamus over the top rope and Sheamus hit the floor with the back of his head. Sheamus got back in the ring as Kane was stunned, but Kane came over and Chokeslammed him. Sheamus managed to roll away and fell to the outside as Kane was still trying to recollect himself. The ref started counting out Sheamus. Sheamus climbed up on the apron, took a look at Kane and wanted no more, so he jumped down and walked up the ramp to lose. Kane was enraged at the outcome.

Winner: Kane wins due to countout of Sheamus.

A viewer's choice vote was presented, Who will John Cena wrestle tonight? A)Jack Swagger, B)Rey Mysterio or C)CM Punk

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Raw returned with highlights of Season 1 NXT winner, Wade Barrett. Ring announcer Savannah interviewed Barrett backstage on Raw. She asked Barrett his thoughts on winning NXT. He told her that's like asking a genius what it's like to pass an exam, and added the end result of NXT with him winning was never in question. He said he promised the winds of change are coming and in 1 week something will be accomplished in WWE that's never been done before.

Ted Dibiase was in the locker room with Virgil talking about how he should be running the show tonight instead of the fans. Just then, Rampage and Sharlto Copley walked in, posing as FBI agents. They suggested that Dibiase may have jacked Jerry Lawler's crown. He asked why he'd want to buy some rusty old crown that Lawler owns. Just then, former WWE star IRS walked in wearing the crown. He said that Lawler never paid back taxes on the jewels in the crown, so that means it's his. Sharlto held up his badge again and said that's not true, they're the FBI. Dibiase pushed his badge down and said he knows who they are, the A-Team. Just then, a smoke started to fill the air and Sharlto started yelling he's immune to gas, stand back. Everyone else put on gas masks and left the scene as Sharlto (Murdoch) fell to the ground and passed out.

R-Truth and The Miz were shown split screen walking backstage, en route to the ring for a match. Fans got to vote on their tag partners. For R-Truth choices were: A)Christian, B)MVP or C)John Morrison. For Miz choices were A)Dolph Ziggler, B)William Regal or C)Zack Ryder.

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Fan voting for the R-Truth vs Miz tag partners went as follows:

For R-Truth partner:
A)Christian 29%
B)MVP 17%
C)John Morrison 54%

For Miz's partner:
A)Dolph Ziggler 38%
B)William Regal 17%
C)Zack Ryder 45%

John Morrison & R-Truth vs. The Miz & Zack Ryder

The action broke down towards the end with all four guys getting involved. R-Truth punched Miz down to the mat then ran at Ryder near the ropes. Ryder ducked and tossed Truth to the outside. Morrison hit a high kick to Ryder's face to take him out. Morrison rushed at Miz, but Miz avoided him and threw Morrison into the corner ringpost, then hit Skullcrushing Finale for the win.

Winners: The Miz & Zack Ryder win via pinfall over John Morrison and R-Truth.

Backstage in a hallway, Edge was complaining to GM Bret Hart that his one-arm match against Orton later isn't fair. Hart said it's going to happen whether he likes it or not. Hart walked off then Kane came out from a side hall to talk. Kane confronted Bret asking if he destroyed his brother. Kane said Bret came back to WWE for closure, and Bret had quite a history with his brother. Kane asked if Undertaker's legend got bigger than Hart's. Kane said if he finds out it was Hart, Bret will be in a vegetative state just like his brother. Kane walked off and Bret continued on.

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Randy Orton vs. Edge
Edge must fight with one-arm

Edge had his left arm tied behind his back, leaving his right arm free. Orton's bad arm was his right, so his left was the free arm. During the match, Orton knocked Edge down and then began to stomp on his body parts. Orton dropped ot the mat and started pounding it, preparing for RKO. Edge got up, and Orton went for RKO, but Edge knocked him down. Orton backed away to the corner and Edge undid his bind to free his arm. Edge began to attack Orton in the corner and wouldn't stop, so the ref yelled for the bell.

Edge prepared to Spear Orton from the opposite corner, waiting for Orton to stand. Orton got up and Edge charged at him, but Orton got a kick in, then kicked Edge out of the ring. Orton fell to the mat holding his hurt arm and rolled out of the ring. Edge came around with a steel chair and smashed it into Orton's hurt shoulder several times outside the ring.

Winner: Randy Orton wins due to disqualification of Edge.

Cole and Lawler talked about tonight's show so far and the matches voted in, as Orton was being helped near the ring.

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John Cena and Evan Bourne were talking backstage with Cena giving Bourne props for showing he was one of the most versatile and agile superstars last week as his tag partner. Bourne slapped his hand and walked off. Savannah came up to Cena asking how he feels not knowing his opponent for tonight's match. Cena said he's faced chaos over the past months, but he knows the WWE Universe is fair. Cena said he feels good because the C-Nation is in the building and he's gonna do what he does every week on Raw.

Sharlot Copley was shown standing up in the locker room backstage. He asked "what happened" and Mean Gene Okerlund walked in to talk to him. Okerlund called him by his actor name, and Sharlto asked why everyone's calling him that. Okerlund says he's a brilliant actor who is often delusional. Okerlund started saying Sharlto has the chance to outshine the original Murdoch and to live the dream. Okerlund brought up "the clown they got to replace him" as WWE interviewer. Josh Matthews was shown standing there and said "Gene I'm standing right here." Sharlto Copley suddenly felt he had a renewed purpose. He pulled out a cap and put it on to look like Murdoch and left the locker room. Matthews asked Okerlund if they could talk about this, and Okerlund told him "save it loser."

Drew McIntyre made his way to the ring for the next match. Smackdown GM Theodore Long was shown backstage on the Titantron. He said the fans can vote for Drew's opponent A)Yoshi Tatsu, B)Goldust or C)Mystery opponent. They showed a shadow guy behind a curtain who put up some hand signs seeming to look like Matt Hardy.

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Voting for McIntyre's opponent:
A)Yoshi 4%
B)Goldust 8%
C)Mystery Man 88%

Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre

McIntyre got on a mic and told the ref to back him up now. McIntyre said this match is not happening because Matt Hardy is suspended. Teddy Long came out to the ramp and said Matt Hardy was suspended from Smackdown, but not Raw. Hardy pounced on McIntyre as soon as the bell rang. Hardy kept punching on him as the ref restrained him. Hardy rushed over and clotheslined Drew to the outside, then tossed him over the commentators table. Hardy continued the beatdown, whipping Drew into the barrier and beating him around the outside of the ring.

McIntyre made a comeback in the ring, but as he rushed at Hardy in the corner, Matt moved away and Drew hit the corner ringpost with his shoulder. Matt then kicked Hardy in the gut and hit Twist of Fate to win it. After the bell, Matt continued to attack and yanked some of Drew's hair out as Drew was able to get out of the ring.

Winner: Matt Hardy wins via pinfall over Drew McIntyre.

Backstage, Rampage Jackson as BA Baracus was shown handcuffed to a chair. He started yelling "what do you want from me?" and Dibiase, Virgil and IRS came in to surround him. Dibiase said they want answers. He said don't worry they won't fly anywhere, they're headed straight to the ring.

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Raw returned with Dibiase in the ring as Virgil and IRS held a cuffed Rampage Jackson in the ring. Dibiase said someone gave him a call saying they wanted BA Baracus on a silver platter, so he named his price and delivered. Dibiase said "he's all yours". Just then Roddy Piper's music hit, and he came to the ring. Piper said during the first Wrestlemania all he kept hearing about how The A-Team was the biggest show on TV and Mr. T is biggest star in the world. Piper said he silenced Mr. T. Piper said he's got to start all over again now, with A-Team the Movie, the biggest film of Summer 2010. Piper said he's going to do everyone a favor and beat the mohawk of BA's head.

Just then, the A-Team theme started playing and a golf cart came driving down the ramp with Dusty Rhodes, Mean Gene and Sharlto Copley on it. They all headed to the ring as the heels tried to surround Rampage. Rampage shoved IRS and Virgil away from him then broke out of his cuffs. Dusty Rhodes came into the ring and knocked down IRS. Piper backed up and shoved Virgil at Rampage. Rampage did a chokeslam to put Virgil down. Sharlto Copley came in the ring to celebrate. Mean Gene interviewed everyone asking how it felt. Sharlto said Mean Gene's speech did it, because he reminded him of the American Dream - Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes said he loves it when a plan comes together, then told fans to go see "The A-Team" on Friday. Rampage and Sharlto recovered the crown for Lawler which IRS had been wearing.

Cole reminded fans to go vote for Cena's opponent tonight, Rey Mysterio, Jack Swagger or CM Punk.

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Next week's Raw guest host is Mark Feuerstein of the USA show "Royal Pains".

Josh Matthews was backstage to interview the potential opponents for John Cena tonight. Mysterio said the top dog on Raw is Cena and who can beat him, the top guy on Smackdown - Rey Mysterio master of the 6-1-9. Swagger said if he's selected it would be Champion vs Champion, All American vs Face of the Company and he lives for matches like this. CM Punk told Matthews he always asks the stupidest questions. Punk said he can make Cena a better person, like he did with Gallows and Serena. Punk said he will defeat Cena and then have him join the SES. Punk said StraightEdge means he's better than you.

Cena was introduced for the match and came to the ring. Here's how the fan voting went for Cena's opponent:

A)Jack Swagger 23%
B)Rey Mysterio 32%
C)CM Punk 45%

John Cena vs. CM Punk

Punk arrived to the ring along with SES members Luke Gallows and Serena. Cena told the ref to keep an eye on them at ringside during the match.

Cena went on a tear as he gained momentum and started knocking Punk down with shoulder tackles. As he prepared for Five Knuckle Shuffle, NXT winner Wade Barrett emerged from backstage to the top of the ramp. Cena became distracted and dropped Punk from the Attitude Adjustment, turning his attention to Barrett as he walked down the ramp.

Punk and Gallows were on the outside with Cena still in the ring. Barrett stopped at the bottom of the ramp. Suddenly, the 7 other rookies from season 1 of NXT came out of the crowd. They gave a beatdown to Gallows and Punk, then all climbed onto the apron to surround Cena. David Otunga took out the ref. Cena eyed all of the NXT guys, then started going after Barrett. The others attacked Cena from behind. They all kept giving Cena a beatdown in the ring. All of the NXT rookies were wearing special armbands with yellow "N's" on them.

From there it became mass destruction. The NXT guys completely tore apart the ring, the floor, the commentators table and attacked everyone in sight. They knocked down Justin Roberts, The Fink and Jerry Lawler. For some reason none of the other Raw or Smackdown superstars came out to help Cena as they got back in the ring again and continued to beat him up. CM Punk got back in the ring to try to help, but the NXT guys started to attack him and eventually tossed him out.

Skip Sheffield gave Cena a hard clothesline to take him down, then Heath Slater went to choke him with part of the destroyed ring rope. The fans booed loudly. Daniel Bryan got down on the match and started yelling at Cena, you are not better than me. Cena got to his knees and Bryan spit in his face then kicked him down. The NXT guys continued to do their moves on Cena including Barrett's finisher and Gabriel's 450 splash. Finally they left the destroyed ring with Cena laying face down.

Medical personnel got in the ring to check on the fallen John Cena. Cameras revealed the destroyed commentators table. A stretcher was wheeled down to take John Cena out of there. Some of the fans in the crowd looked horrified at what had happened to Cena as he was wheeled up the ramp. Staff cleared the broken commentary area to free Jerry Lawler and Matt Striker. Cena gave a thumbs up as they had him up on the ramp on the stretcher.

Winner: No contest, match ended when NXT former contestants intervened.

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Raw Preview 06.06.10

Tonight's Raw will be a special 3-hour edition of the show featuring both the rosters of Raw and Smackdown. It's "Viewers Choice Night" on the show, which means the WWE Universe will be in charge, deciding on who's wrestling, what the stipulations and matches are and more! Fans can head to WWE.com today to determine the various aspects of tonight's episode of WWE Raw. Also, the show will be hosted by not one, but four guest hosts, the stars of the upcoming "A-Team" film!

Last week's Raw saw several altercations go down involving the participants of the upcoming Fatal 4-Way match for the WWE title. Most significant was the altercations between Edge and Randy Orton, two heated rivals. In the opening moments of the show, Edge gave a beatdown to Evan Bourne for interrupting his in-ring speech. However, the Viper came out to strike and saved Bourne. Later in the night, Edge retaliated backstage by hiding in Orton's locker room, then slamming the door against Orton's hurt shoulder. Due to that, Orton couldn't fight in a scheduled tag match with John Cena against Edge and Sheamus. Will Orton be healed up for tonight's show or still unable to go?

Due to the altercation involving Orton and Edge, it left Cena without a partner for the tag match. It looked like Cena would have to go at it against Sheamus and Edge by himself, but Cena found a tag partner with serious skills. Evan "Air" Bourne joined Cena in the main event and got his time in the spotlight. Bourne pulled off the win thanks to a Cena Attitude Adjustment. After Air Bourne had been completed, it was Cena and Evan enjoying victory. Will Bourne continue to rise high on tonight's show, or will one of Cena's opponents strike back?

Catch the special 3-hour edition of Raw starting at 8PM EST on USA!

Raw Preview 05.31.10

Tonight will be a special Memorial Day 2010 episode of WWE Raw, hosted by Ashton Kucher star of the upcoming movie "Killers" (movie trailer video). Kucher is no stranger to the WWE as he's a bigtime fan, and has also Punk'd some of the WWE's biggest including The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Stacy Keibler and HHH. However, on tonight's show Kucher will try to keep things under control as the Fatal 4-Way PPV will be on the minds of at least four guys. WWE Champ John Cena now knows that he will defend against three of his toughest opponents in a few weeks: Sheamus, Randy Orton and Edge. How will these superstars prepare for the upcoming title match?

Last week, we also learned there is a new General Manager for WWE Raw, Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Among Hart's first orders of business was setting up the qualifying matches for the Fatal 4-Way WWE Title match spots. Hart also was instrumental in ridding the WWE Universe of Batista, because Batista refused to partcipate in a qualifying match. Hart gave Randy Orton the win and a spot in the WWE Title match due to Batista's forfeit. That lead to Batista's decision to quit. Last week also saw The Hitman put his United States title up for grabs in a match between former champion, The Miz and R-Truth. Truth came out on top to pick up his first major championship in the WWE. Who will step up to the plate and challenge Truth now that he's champ? Will Ted Dibiase continue to go after R-Truth?

Speaking of Dibiase, he now claims he has the funds to buy and do whatever he wants. Last week saw the priceless superstar attempt to buy a talented fan's eyeball. Dibiase has also employed the services of Virgil and gave Santino Marella a taste of Dream Street last week. Marella, who had come to the aid of a fan, was in the wrong place at the wrong time, as Dibiase let him have it. However, Santino is likely to want retribution. Will he get a shot at Dibiase tonight?

Catch tonight's Raw hosted by Ashton Kucher starting at 9PM EST on USA!

Raw's Buzz kill, Bryan vs Cole & Over the Limit

It's been an interesting week with a lot going on in WWE. I'll start with the recent episode of Monday Night Raw hosted by Buzz Aldrin. While he deserves much respect for his accomplishments in space exploration and NASA, his Raw hosting job was lacking oxygen. The unfortunate thing was he added basically nothing to the show, and it was very obvious WWE was thinking they'd get a publicity moment out of his moonwalking in the ring. Didn't work so well. Buzz had trouble with his lines several times, couldn't really get the WWE Universe too excited, and even got drowned out when trying to introduce Gail Kim and Evan Bourne. It's almost like Mr. McMahon was calling the people in the truck and screaming at them - "Enough already! start Bourne's music I can't take any more of this!!" Kind of like the silly ads WWE ran trying to mock GEICO and other commercials. At least it once again gave something for Santino, Hornswoggle and Great Khali to do on Raw.

So who will take over as the Raw GM next week? That's going to be an interesting move. It could be a former wrestler, could be Linda McMahon to promote herself a bit for her Senate aspirations. Could be Vince McMahon returning to form, or maybe good ol' Stone Cold Steve Austin. And what about The Rock? He was supposed to host at one point but never came around. Would be great to see him in the GM position, but that's extremely wishful thinking.

Aside from some bad skits and Buzz Aldrin's issues, Raw was textbook in its approach to promoting the upcoming PPV. Nobody really lost who is heading into a big PPV match, they either were part of interferences or won against guys who won't be competing at OTL. Batista interfered in Cena's match against Sheamus, so Sheamus still hasn't really been defeated by Cena. Orton got attacked by Edge while fighting Jack Swagger, so Swagger didn't lose cleanly heading into his World Title match. The Undertaker part was interesting. He keeps lingering around for bits here or there, but hasn't appeared on Smackdown since WM26, only Raw. Strange.

We also have learned of a few new matches added to the OTL card, with Eve defending the Divas title in her first ever PPV appearance against Maryse. Also, R-Truth will battle Ted Dibiase. In a nice surprise, Dibiase has aligned himself with the original Virgil who accompanied his dad to the ring. Pretty cool to see him back again, and will be interesting to see how it plays out. I see someone else stepping in and eventually taking Virgil's job away. Maybe the currently injured Ezekiel Jackson?

Another problem with Raw, Bret Hart shouldn't be winning the US Title. I sort of get the reasoning behind it. Give him a big title win in Canada, after he had been screwed out of a title in Montreal years ago. That makes sense, but the way he won it was not really by his own wrestling, it was due to the assistance of The Hart Dynasty. Sure it builds up their feud and upcoming match against Jericho/Miz but it weaknes the US Title and Miz's title reign. Will they be retiring the US title after that, or holding a tournament to determine the champ after Bret retires? Maybe Hitman will just retire with the belt and it will no longer be contested. If that's the case, why have 2 womens titles?

Gotta admit the best event of the week so far has been seeing the Daniel Bryan and Michael Cole altercation on WWE NXT Tuesday night. Striker had both Bryan and Michael Tarver in the ring to discuss their recent eliminations by WWE management last week. Both guys said it was strange that management eliminated them, not a Pros poll. After a big rant, even calling out The Miz, Bryan turned his attention on Michael Cole, saying he's the only guy who won't admit he's got talent. Bryan ended up attacking Cole outside the ring, slapping off his headset and knocking Cole to the ground for a few kicks. It resulted in refs pulling Bryan away and Cole very heated afterwords. He said he was planning to press charges. Will be very interesting to see if that incident somehow gets Bryan back into the WWE because he showed the intensity and "IT" factor or fire that a superstar needs. Cole will not be happy if that's the case, but that certainly made for some good WWE TV. (In case you're wondering, Darren Young was the latest NXT rookie to go)

Coming up this week, we're still leading up to the Over the Limit PPV on Sunday in Detroit, MI. Thursday's Superstars has yet to announce matches on the WWE.com site. Smackdown will feature Big Show in action against Intercontinental Champ Drew McIntyre. Expecting Matt Hardy to get involved somehow, or Show to win that one heading into OTL. Drew McIntyre will also be in action at OTL as he defends the IC title against Kofi Kingston. Enjoy the close of the week and keep an eye out for my upcoming Over the Limit predictions!

Raw Preview 05.16.10

Tonight's Raw will be a special "commercial free" episode hosted by NASA's own, Buzz Aldrin. The Raw superstars will be looking to shoot for the moon as they head towards Sunday's Over the Limit Pay-Per-View. In particular, John Cena and Batista will look to prepare for their I Quit match at the event. On last week's show, Batista gave Cena a possible preview of what may happen to him at the PPV. In a match against Mark Henry, Batista punished the World's Strongest Man, using a steel chair on him, then locking a submission hold on. Henry was left passed out in the ring, leaving Cena to wonder if the I Quit match was the best idea. However, the champ has vowed that he will never quit. What will be next for these two superstars as they prepare for Sunday's match?

On tonight's show, there will also be a match for the United States Championship. Current champion, The Miz, lost to Tyson Kidd last week, meaning Miz would have to choose a member of the Hart Dynasty to defend against. Mockingly, Miz chose to fight the legendary Bret "The Hitman" Hart on tonight's Raw. Hart's last match was against Vince McMahon at Wrestlemania 26, but he's shown during his famed career that he is titleworthy. Will The Miz be able to continue to brag following this contest, or will the Hall of Famer win yet another title for his already impressive resume?

And finally, tensions between The Viper and the Rated-R Superstar continue to build as their OTL match approaches. On last week's show, Vickie Guerrero announced she was the new GM of Raw, and ordered Orton to face Edge and Ted Dibiase in a 2-on-1 handicap match. Edge invited Vickie to ringside to watch him destroy Orton, but unfortunately things didn't go as planned. The Viper overcame the 2-on-1 attacks and managed to pin Dibiase for the victory. After the match, Orton stared down Vickie causing her to scream out that she resigned. From there, Edge who had been passed out on the floor, attempted to attack from behind, only to be hit with another RKO. It seems Orton has Edge's number, but will Edge finally get the upperhand tonight?

Check out tonight's commercial free Raw starting at 9PM EST on USA!

Raw Preview 05.10.10

On last week's episode of Raw, WWE Champ John Cena and the current #1 contender, Batista, both competed in a "Beat the Clock challenge". The wrestler who won their match in the quickest time would receive the right to choose the stipulation for their WWE title match at Over the Limit. Batista originally was scheduled to wrestle The Miz, but Miz brought a doctor's note and substituted in his NXT rookie, Daniel Bryan. Bryan made an impressive showing but ended up losing to The Animal in a little over 5 minutes. John Cena was scheduled to wrestle Chris Jericho, who pulled the same stunt as Miz, substituting in his NXT rookie, Wade Barrett. Cena won his match and beat out Batista's time. However, just as Cena was to announce his chosen stipulation, he was attacked by Sheamus. The Celtic Warrior had also notified Batista that he wouldn't see the last of him. What will Sheamus do next? Will the WWE Universe learn Cena's stipulation on tonight's Raw?

Also last week, we saw a unification of two forces on Raw with The Miz and Chris Jericho forming some sort of partnership. Following The Hart Dynasty's match, Miz and Jericho made an immediate statement by attacking DH Smith while Tyson Kidd was hurt outside the ring. It appears that Miz and Jericho have formed a new tag team alliance, which was based on their dislike over Big Show as their former tag partner. Both wrestlers were tag champs, but claim Big Show was the weak link. Will this new Miz-Jericho union prove to be successful? Will they get a title shot at Hart Dynasty?

Finally, last week we saw newest Raw superstar, Edge, and the return of The Cutting Edge. The in-ring talk interview show was to feature The Viper, Randy Orton, as its first guest. Before that, Raw's guest host Wayne Brady decided to come to the ring and hobnob with Edge, before cutting his own promo as the best guest host ever. Orton soon hit the ring and when Brady extended a friendly handshake, he was instead hit with the RKO. From there, Edge attempted to reel Orton in and regain his trust, telling Orton he needed to rejoin him as a force on Raw. Edge urged him to do so or else he'd be hit with spear after spear, each week. Orton had no verbal response, but seemed ready for payback on the Rated-R Superstar. Edge was able to avoid an RKO and then booted Orton down. The Spear seemed inevitable, but The Viper was ready to strike, as he turned and delivered the RKO on Edge in the middle of a spear attempt. These two forces will meet at Over the Limit, but who will get the next shot in on Raw?

Catch tonight's Raw hosted by Flavor Flav tonight at 9PM EST on USA!

Smackdown goes Raw before Extreme Rules

This past Monday's Raw the WWE had to do the best it could minus the majority of the Raw roster. The only guy really able to show up was Triple H, who entertained the crowd for the opening bit. When I first heard Lillian Garcia announce his name I thought her voice was being played over the speakers, or they were using HHH's video game entrance. Lo and behold, Lillian Garcia had come to the rescue of Raw, who was obviously down ring announcer Justin Roberts as well.

The twist for Monday's Raw was of course that Smackdown superstars came over to help out. I think a few things were made obvious by this, especially with Extreme Rules this coming Sunday. We saw two guys who are involved in Extreme Rules matches lose by pinfall on Raw, as well as Undertaker's return probably a lot earlier than originally planned. Taker even looked like he wanted to rest, and it had a bit of a house show feeling. Nonetheless he won by pinfall on the World Champ Jack Swagger, which is kind of a strange move to make prior to Swagger having a title match at a Pay-Per-View. That one right there makes you think if Swagger was pinned on Raw, he's likely to stay champ Sunday somehow.

The other pin we saw on Raw came from Triple H on CM Punk. Doesn't make sense when you've got Luke Gallows in the match who really doesn't have to look strong right now, especially after his loss to Darren Young on NXT. Trying to hype up a PPV by having a guy lose to Undertaker is not the best idea, especially with Undertaker not even involved in the event, and Swagger fighting his first PPV as World Champ. Same goes for having Punk take a loss. Both those losses make you think the guy pinned will be victorious Sunday.

Another loss prior to Extreme Rules that is puzzling came on WWE NXT Tuesday night. Heath Slater got a surprise pinfall to defeat Chris Jericho. Jericho is heading into a match against Edge in a steel cage, so why would you want a rookie to pin him. Very strange move by WWE, or maybe it was the Uncasville Screwjob.

Since Orton, Cena, Sheamus weren't able to be at Raw, they showed satellite footage of them, which may have been pre-recorded. Sheamus cut a promo where he beat up a nearby WWE staff member a bit. Probably could have done that one a bit better to make the point.

Obviously the whole stranded in Northern Ireland thing really disrupted storylines and the lead-up to Extreme Rules. Undertaker made his return early, Edge had to compete despite what happened to him on Smackdown, and even Great Khali showed up after announcing a few weeks ago he was heading back to India and would be back sometime later. So much for all that!

No divas on Raw whatsoever, not even Smackdown divas. Definitely a good thing that Lillian Garcia and Kristen Wiig (of MacGruber) showed up for at least a little bit of eye candy for many members of the WWE Universe.

As far as guest hosts, MacGruber was actually funny, although he probably pushed the whole PG envelope quite a bit. There were people getting blown up (last time we saw that was with Vince in a limo), jokes about pissing your pants, talk of Vladimir Kozlov's mother's uterus and a few others. Still it sort of reminded me of the Attitude Era a bit, when guys could actually have comedic fun and not worry about being censored. It may even get MacGruber a few more tickets bought when the new film arrives in May.

Raw Recap 04.19.10

Raw Recap from Newark, New Jersey:

The show opened with a camera shot of the revved up crowd, followed by Triple H arriving out to the ramp and then down to the ring. The announcement was made of HHH by what sounded like Lillian Garcia, but no announcer was in the ring on Raw.

Triple H told the fans a giant volcano erupted in Iceland ruining travel everywhere. HHH said they're used to "giant gaseous eruptions" in the WWE but usually they involve Big Show and Mexican food. Triple H said the entire Raw roster is stuck in Europe due to the volcano eruption. HHH said don't worry you won't have to watch me fight in a 2 hour Iron man match with Frank the audio guy. He said the WWE upper management worked feverishly to make sure they have a show tonight of top quality.

CM Punk discussed the upcoming WWE Draft and how he may be headed to Raw. He said if he does the SES comes with him. HHH joked back at Punk that there's only 2 members of SES. He also brought up how Serena and Gallows are bald but Punk isn't. HHH said after Sunday when Mysterio beats him, Punk won't only be president of the hair club but also a member. Punk said he'll crush Mysterio's spirit on Sunday and then Rey will fall in line, followed by the fans. Punk said HHH would do some good to be in SES as well.

HHH said he just doesn't believe in what Punk does, he believes in freedom like the fans in attendance do. HHH walked out to the crowd and pointed out different members of the crowd and talked about what they can do since they're free. HHH pointed out Lillian Garcia sitting there at ringside, saying Lillian chose to come back to WWE for just a night to horse around.

Punk had enough of HHH finally and said he's not asking HHH, he's telling him. Punk kicked HHH in the gut, and the beatdown started. Gallows restrained HHH while Serena got the trimmers hooked up. Punk kept elbowing on HHH maniacally, then prepared to cut his hair. Suddenly, Rey Mysterio's music hit and Rey charged to the ring to make the save. After fighting off Gallows, Mysterio and HHH had Punk in the ring alone. Mysterio got the clippers and was able to cut off some of Punk's hair before Gallows came in to attack. Punk escaped the ring holding his hair up the ramp.

Michael Cole said tonight the cast of MacGruber's in charge of Raw.

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Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre

Cole and Lawler noted that thanks to satellite feeds they will hear from John Cena next. McIntyre did some major damage when outside the ring as he kicked Hardy into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Hardy took swings at McIntyre but couldn't see straight. Hardy hit the Side Effect though for a near fall. He also countered McIntyre's Future Shock DDT with a backdrop. Both men collided face first in the corner area, falling to the mat. Hardy got to his feet and then on the middle rope of the corner. Drew McIntyre yanked his legs out causing Hardy to hit the mat hard. McIntyre took the pinfall there.

Winner: Drew McIntyre wins via pinfall over Matt Hardy.

Cole and Lawler talked about the volcano eruption in Iceland which has disrupted air travel. Lawler said the Raw wrestlers are stuck in Belfast Northern Ireland. They spoke to John Cena via satellite who sent a message to everyone in the WWE Universe that they're all safe there, but he apologizes they can't be on Raw. Cena said his preparation for Extreme Rules won't be disrupted and he'll be at the PPV if he has to swim run or walk to get there. Cena vowed to be Last Man Standing on Sunday so the "Champ will be here!"

---

They showed highlights from backstage last week when Vladimir Kozlov and Carlito complained about not getting what they want lately on Raw. Carlito blamed the guest hosts. Vlad said he'll get what he wants next week or he'll make MacGruber suffer.

Vladimir Kozlov was in the ring and said he's been treated unfairly. He pointed to Lawler and said King will read my statement. Lawler got in the ring to read it out on the mic. Lawler read that Kozlov feels he's being treated unfairly and as an elite athlete he demands elite competition. Lawler continued Kozlov's statement which called the crowd "spoiled, ignorant Americans who are physically inferior and weak." Kozlov yanked the mic away from Lawler and demanded competition. Just then the MacGruber theme song hit, and out came MacGruber along with co-star Kristen Wiig carrying a large and small American Flag.

They got in the ring to circle Vlad with the flags, then MacGruber told Wiig to read his statement. Wiig said Mr. McMahon set up a Superpowered main event which will have CM Punk, Gallows and Jericho against HHH, Mysterio and Edge. MacGruber and Kozlov started to get in each other's face. MacGruber told Kozlov that he found him competition in the form of R-Truth. Truth arrived out doing his "What's Up" entrance. He stopped at the top of the ramp as MacGruber told Kozlov if he tries to run that he rigged the whole place with explosives. Truth and MacGruber started doing a "what's up" exchange to see who could yell it loudest, and suddenly an explosion went off at the top of the ramp. All that remained were Truth's shoes, and MacGruber acted as if he rigged the wrong spot to blow up. Kozlov told MacGruber he'll find him later tonight, then left the ring.

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Raw returned with a MacGruber skit as MacGruber was shown trying to force his way out the EXIT door. HHH came in to ask what was going on. MacGruber said he was going to get some fresh air. HHH pointed out that MacGruber's pants were all wet. MacGruber said he borrowed his friends pants to help out his really nervous friend. Just then, Kane walked in and MacGruber said there's my good friend. HHH explained to Kane what MacGruber said, and Kane looked bewildered. MacGruber got out of there and Kane sniffed around saying "I don't think that's the only thing he did in those pants."

Cole and Lawler hyped the Jack Swagger Randy Orton World Heavyweight title match for Extreme Rules. They had Orton via Satellite from Belfast, Ireland. Orton said after Sunday the World title will be wherever he ends up.
Jack Swagger was shown walking backstage en route to the ring.

---

WWE Slam of the Week covered highlights of the Triple Threat match on Smackdown for the World Title. Jack Swagger won it over Edge and Jericho, after Edge had speared Jericho down. Swagger yanked Edge out of the ring, then got in to pin Jericho.

Swagger arrived to the ring and told Orton talk is cheap when you're 3000 miles away. Swagger demanded they send a ref down to the ring for an open challenge so he can show Orton what he's made of. Swagger said anyone in the locker room can come out and face him if they think they can hang with him in the ring. After a few moments, nobody came out to the ring. Swagger said "that's what I thought" and prepared to leave. As he walked out to the apron, suddenly the lights dimmed, the bell tolled and ominous music played as The Undertaker finally arrived out. Cole noted it's the first time we've seen Taker since he retired Shawn Michaels at WM26. Taker got in the ring wearing a hood which he pulled off to reveal his eyes. Swagger stood outside the ring from a distance watching.

Undertaker vs. Jack Swagger

Taker manhandled Swagger in the opening part of the match, keeping hold of his left arm to do some major damage to Swagger's shoulder. He eventually got on the top rope for Old School to drop Swagger down. Swagger was able to recover and powerslam Taker for a near fall, then began kicking away at him. Taker rolled to the outside to recover, stopping near the steel steps. Swagger came out after him but ended up getting slammed face first into the steps. Taker tried to whip Swagger at the steps, but Swagger reversed it to send Taker's knees into the steps hard.

In the closing moments of the match, Swagger went for his running Splash on Taker in the corner, but Taker grabbed him by the throat and hit the Chokeslam. From there it was all academic as Taker did the Tombstone Piledriver for the pinfall win.

Winner: The Undertaker wins via pinfall over Jack Swagger.

---

Raw returned with a thanks given to Saliva for the 2010 Extreme Rules theme song.

Cole and Lawler discussed the upcoming MacGruber film and rolled a preview clip from it. They had spliced in footage from the MacGruber film with WWE wrestlers involved in scenes. MVP, Kane, Mark Henry, Great Khali and Chris Jericho were all shown in various parts of the movie as part of MacGruber's special team.

Backstage, Chris Jericho said he saw what happened to CM Punk and told them all to listen to his plan and stay in line so this won't happen again. He started walking down the hall and MacGruber was there with Kristen Wiig. MacGruber told Jericho he hasn't seen him since his role wrapped in the movie, but that he really owned it. Kristen gave him props too. Jericho told him to stop kissing up and said he may get the Oscar for his role in the movie. Jericho said he's going to get the title role in the sequel too. MacGruber asked Jericho for some advice about how to handle Kozlov. Jericho told MacGruber to act sincere towards Kozlov then slap him in the face when he's not expecting it.

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MacGruber vs. Vladimir Kozlov

MacGruber was accompanied to the ring by Vicki St. Elmo (Kristen Wiig). Kozlov walked over and looked down at MacGruber. MacGruber put his hand out for a handshake, then looked at Wiig, before slapping Kozlov in the face. Kozlov grabbed both arms of MacGruber and started headbutting him repeatedly, then picked him up for the one arm slam. Just then, someone came out from backstage yelling "stop this match". It was Ryan Philippe, MacGruber's co-star. He said he pulled some strings with the WWE office to make this a handicap match, and he got MacGruber's half brother, Khal-uber.

They rolled a video for "Khaluber" and showed Great Khali in a blond wig dressed like MacGruber. Khali came down to the ring and proceeded to pound away on Kozlov while MacGruber watched from ringside. Kozlov delivered a serious chop on Kozlov to drop him in the ring, before Kozlov rolled to the outside. Kozlov began to back up the ramp, with Khali following him. The bell finally sounded and Lillian Garcia announced MacGruber/Khaluber had won due to countout. Strange decision since Khaluber had left the ring to go after Kozlov during the countout.

MacGruber cut a promo for the new movie right before another explosion went off at the top of the ramp.

Winner: MacGruber & Khaluber win due to countout.

---

Next Monday in Richmond, VA they'll have the special 3-hour WWE Draft 2010.

They rolled highlights of the Cena-Batista feud which saw Cena capture the WWE Title from Batista at Wrestlemania 26 to win back the WWE Title. They showed Batista's tap out, as well as last week's incident following the conclusion to the Batista vs Orton match. Cena rushed down and put the STF on Batista again. This Sunday they clash in the Last Man Standing match for the WWE Title.

Cole and Lawler ran down the Extreme Rules 2010 card including Swagger vs Orton, Edge vs Jericho in a steel cage, and Triple H vs Sheamus in a Street Fight.

Triple H made his way down to the ring, but was interrupted as Sheamus came on the Titantron via Satellite from Northern Ireland. Sheamus said even though HHH isn't there with them, he's going to show him an example for Sunday. Sheamus dragged a WWE staff member out into camera view and started beating him up. HHH was shown watching from the ring as Raw went to break.

HHH, Rey Mysterio & Edge vs. CM Punk, Luke Gallows & Chris Jericho

Edge arrived limping down the ramp a bit after the heinous attack he suffered from Jericho after the Triple Threat match on Smackdown.

Early on, Mysterio was able to get launched up by Edge and HHH over the top rope to fly out onto Jericho, Gallows and Punk. Raw took a final commercial break with the heels all down outside the ring.

CM Punk and HHH were in a battle after the break, with HHH eventually taking control. He hit the Facebuster on Punk followed by a stiff clothesline. The nearfall followed. HHH whipped Punk to the corner but got kneed as he charged him. Punk rushed at HHH but got the Spinebuster. HHH set up a Pedigree, but Luke Gallows rushed in to clothesline HHH down. From there, all hell broke loose with Mysterio knocking Gallows out of the ring and Edge clotheslining Jericho to the outside.

Edge managed to trip Punk into the ropes, so Mysterio could hit the 619. He did and sent Punk to HHH for the Pedigree for the win.

As Raw closed Mysterio and HHH helped Edge up who was moving gingerly on the hurt achilles leg area. Cole and Lawler hyped up Extreme Rules and next week's draft before showing a replay of the match finish.

Winner: Rey Mysterio, HHH and Edge win via pinfall over Luke Gallows, Chris Jericho and CM Punk.

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Raw Preview 04.19.10

WWE Raw has been relying on different celebrity and wrestling guest hosts week in and out to run the show. Tonight's Raw could turn ugly for the guest hosts, which will be the stars of the upcoming comedy film "MacGruber". During last week's backstage conversation between Carlito and Vladimir Kozlov, both superstars noted their disgruntled attitude towards guest hosts on Raw. Carlito said that the reason he and Vlad aren't getting good matches on Raw is due to the guest hosts being all about themselves. Vladimir Kozlov stated that he's going to get what he wants on tonight's show, or he'll make MacGruber suffer the consequences. What will go down between MacGruber and Vladimir Kozlov when their paths cross?

Also, last week saw John Cena finally got one up on The Animal Batista. Even though Cena's STF move won't win his WWE title match at Extreme Rules, it definitely showed Batista what's possible. Cena locked the hold on Batista after he had already been RKO'd by Randy Orton. Batista continued to tap out on the mat, but since it wasn't a match he had to be rescued by several referees. John Cena was clearly pumped after his latest retaliation against The Animal. Will Batista make the next move on tonight's Raw?

Also on tonight's show, WWE Hall of Famer Bret "The Hitman" Hart has to proclaim tag team champs ShowMiz, the greatest tag team of all time. This stipulation was set up last week when DH Smith challenged Miz to a match. Smith said if he won, Hart Dynasty gets tag title shot at Extreme Rules. The Miz added his own stipulation after saying ShowMiz is the best in WWE history, better than Hart Foundation or British Bulldogs. With a cheap win involving Big Show's assistance to defeat Smith, Miz may get his wish on tonight's show. Will The Hitman say what he agreed to, or will he have different words in mind for ShowMiz?

Check out Raw tonight at 9PM EST on USA!

Raw Preview 04.12.10

Tonight's episode of Raw will be hosted by former Baywatch star, David Hasselhoff. This episode comes just weeks before the WWE's next Pay-per-view event, Extreme Rules 2010. One of the main events for the card will feature John Cena defending his WWE title against Batista in a rematch. The Animal gave Cena notice of their PPV match on last week's show after giving him a Batista Bomb to leave Cena flat on the mat. Batista did his typical posing over Cena with the spotlight to close Raw. Cena will likely have plenty to say regarding last week's attack by his upcoming opponent. What will Cena have to say regarding last week and the upcoming Last Man Standing match?

Last week's Raw also saw an interesting match go down as the Viper Randy Orton took on World Heavyweight Champion, Jack Swagger. Orton was able to hit the RKO on Swagger after an intense back-and-forth battle. The victory gave Orton his second straight pin over Swagger in as many weeks. It seems as if Orton has climbed back up the ranks of the WWE and is now finding favor with the fans. What will his next move be on Raw? Is Orton going to challenge Swagger or make a move to Smackdown?

Tonight's Raw should feature the WWE Divas Championship on the line as Maryse defends against new #1 Contender Eve. Eve managed to win a Divas Red Carpet "Dress to Impress" battle Royal over several other Raw divas to capture the title match. Following the victory, Maryse smirked about her upcoming opponent, and even made insulting remarks about her during her guest commentary with Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole. Eve has shown before that she can pin Maryse, as she did several weeks ago in a huge divas tag match. This time the title's on the line. Will Eve capture her first ever WWE Divas Championship? Or will Maryse continue her title reign?

Catch Monday Night Raw tonight at 9PM EST on USA!

Stone Cold Steve Austin's return to WWE 2010 - Will he stun Raw?

With the impending guest host job coming up by WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin, speculation can begin as to just what Austin will contribute to Monday's show. It's definitely one to look forward, unlike the past three weeks which have seen hosts giving us magic tricks, bull riding contests and talk show segments gone bad. Austin's capable of doing plenty of damage within the 2 plus hour time slot for USA on Monday. So what will go down? Will Austin unleash the stunner?

Wrestlemania 26 is just two weeks away, and the buildup continues for various matches. One such match is Vince McMahon v Bret Hart, the match that is 12 years in the making. Austin will officiate the official contract signing and you have to wonder if he's going to get further involved. Since he's yet to be announced as part of Wrestlemania, but still could become part, it makes sense something's coming from the Rattlesnake. However, with WM26 so close, it seems hard to believe he'd hit a Stone Cold Stunner on Vince McMahon, because that gives fans a payoff before Bret Hart gets his hands on Vince.

It's possible he could hit the Stunner on both Bret and Vince, but that might look bad for Austin to stun an already injured Hitman. Then again, it didn't stop Undertaker from applying the Hells Gate submission hold on JTG in the ring on this past Friday's Smackdown. So we very well could see Austin stun both guys. We could also see him stun a guy not even involved in WM26, but at this point with 9 guys in the ladder match, there's not many options. I guess a stunner on Jillian Hall could go down for the fans' entertainment.

At the very least, I'm expecting Austin is added to the Vince-Bret Wrestlemania match as the "impartial" special guest referee. He'll likely cite the fact that in the past weeks Vince has been playing dirty and that he knows how the Chairman can be. Stone Cold and Bret Hart also have history in the ring. Austin will use his power as Raw guest host to appoint himself the ref for the WM26 match, perhaps adding more allure to the match and card. It seems a bit late to introduce a star of Austin's caliber into WM26, but as they say better late then never?

Week in Review: Raw, NXT, Smackdown

First off, two more matches have made their way onto the Wrestlemania 26 card in the past week. From Raw we learned that Vince McMahon will indeed face Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 26 in a separate match from Cena v Batista. Also, on Smackdown John Morrison & R-Truth won a triple threat tag match to become #1 Contenders for the Unified Tag titles. They'll face Miz and Big Show at Mania.

Let's clarify which free agents went where after the end of ECW. According to rosters, Zack Ryder, Rosa Mendes, William Regal, Christian and Yoshi Tatsu all wound up on Raw. Caylen Croft & Trent Barretta, Shelton Benjamin, Goldust and Tiffany all are on Smackdown. Gregory Helms and Paul Burchill were let go in the wake of ECW. Abraham Washington seems unemployed right now. He would make an interesting manager for some of the wrestlers and maybe they'll bring him in for one of the WWE NXT guys.

Speaking of that, I like the way WWE NXT is progressing so far. It doesn't have the allure or draw of the big shows like Raw or Smackdown, but it's got fresh new competitors, matches and storylines. Some of the stories between the rookies and pros are intriguing too, like Miz and Daniel Bryan or R-Truth?David Otunga. It'll be interesting to see if any of them play into Raw/Smackdown or even Wrestlemania 26. My only question so far about NXT: Why is David Otunga competing? The guy's a Hardvard law school grad and fiance of Jennifer Hudson, shouldn't he be a multi-millionaire entertainment agent? Cole and Matthews said Otunga got texts from the likes of Cedric the Entertainer and Usher, so it's not like he doesn't have connections. He must really love wrestling though..Reminds me a lot of MVP, so it's surprising he wasn't paired with him.

Money in the Bank now has 7 competitors: Matt Hardy is the latest to qualify and joins Shelton, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, Kane, Christian and MVP. My odds on favorite still goes with Christian as I can see him winning and cashing in to go up against former tag partner Edge for the championship. Jack Swagger could be the surprise winner, because he still deserves a push despite the lisp. It wouldn't be surprising either if WWE pulls some sort of switcharoo (ala Mr. Kennedy losing the MITB case to Edge years back), where CM Punk still gets the briefcase after WM26, or even where Drew McIntyre is put into the match last minute.

Isn't it funny how for the past two Wrestlemanias the Big Show was portrayed as this unstoppable behemoth who was KO'ing everyone (except Floyd Mayweather), and now he's losing after a quick Spear from Edge on Smackdown? I remember seeing Edge put in the main event against the champion Big Show years ago at a live Smackdown, and Edge got squashed. Times have changed. The Rated-R Superstar will likely be the new World Champion at Wrestlemania 26, capping off a triumphant return from injury. It's also odd that Edge hasn't "bumped into" Vickie Guerrero since his return to the show, or that she hasn't pulled some sort of vindictive stipulation or decision on him.

Also interesting is the Drew McIntyre story so far. He's got two straight losses in MITB qualifying matches. However, in his two losses he's also tore up the commentary table and screamed at Matt Striker outside the ring after losing. Mr. McMahon got rid of his first official loss, but then McIntyre lost again last night to Matt Hardy on Smackdown. Maybe he redeems himself next week somehow.

I'm still wondering if Randy Orton will go face or if Ted Dibiase is the one to turn. Orton faces Dibiase and Rhodes in a handicap match on Raw next week, but maybe Rhodes turns against Dibiase? It's tough to see Orton as a good guy right now. My earlier prediction was that this handicap match would happen at Mania, but it appears it's going to unfold on Raw.

There's not much to say about the upcoming match of Vince McMahon versus John Cena, other than it will probably be another opportunity for Batista to pull some treacherous moves on Cena, allowing Vince to cockily pin him.

Finally, I wish Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler would stop saying each guest host or hosts from the past episode of Raw did a great job. Cheech and Chong had some slightly funny spots, but honestly did they really host the show? Also, Jewell and Ty Murray? The last two pairs of hosts only really set up a special diva match or contest, but beyond that didn't do much else. The next host will be Kriss Angel, and let's hope he does something like make Michael Cole disappear from commentary for the night in a "vintage magic trick."

Feel free to leave your thoughts below on Raw, NXT, Superstars, Smackdown or anything else WWE...No spam please :)

Raw Recap 03.01.10

Raw Recap from Oklahoma City:

Michael Cole noted there's over 14,000 fans in attendance for tonight's Raw. It will feature the "Farewell to Bret Hart" after his unfortunate broken leg a few weeks ago. Also, Ted Dibiase and Randy Orton will face off one-on-one after their confrontation a week ago. Shawn Michaels arrived to the ring to address the WWE Universe.

Footage was shown of Michaels getting involved in the final moments of the Elimination Chamber match to cost Taker the World Heavyweight title. Then they showed their confrontation on Raw, where Taker accepted the rematch challenge and added a stipulation, if Michaels loses the WM26 match, his career is over.

Michaels discussed how many people think he's crazy to put his career on the line against Undertaker at Wrestlemania. He said even his peers backstage look away from him, not believing he can win it. HBK said he believes he can end the Taker's streak. HBK said he wants his peers, whoever they may be, to come out and tell him man-to-man, that he can't win. Michaels paused and waited. Triple H's theme music hit and out came The Game to look HBK in the face.

Triple H said he knows HBK can beat the Undertaker based on his experience wrestling the best in the business in the ring over 15 years. HHH said Michaels is in a class by himself and he is Mr. Wrestlemania. HHH then said DX will never die but it will be a while before they're in the ring together again. Triple H said he doesn't want the last image of them together in the ring to be them losing the tag titles. HHH said he invoked their rematch clause to face Big Show and The Miz for the Unified tag titles on tonight's Raw. HHH said they don't have to defend the tag team titles for 30 days after winning the titles, and that will be the day after Wrestlemania 26. HHH said they can hold a big celebration then, because he believes Michaels will still have his career the night after Mania.

After DX left the ring, they cut backstage to Cheech and Chong. The Bella Twins came in and cozied up to them asking if they could get into one of their shows. The Bellas offered to show them around backstage. Cheech left with the two divas, but Chong said he'd prefer to stick around and rest. He saw someone come in and said he knows he's not hallucinating. Hornswoggle was there and had a box of Lucky Charms. Cheech had a handful and the camera started to become blurry, then spun around as if Cheech was tripping out.

---

Slam of the Week showed the incident last Monday where Rhodes made a tag to Orton's hand. Orton stared at him, then DDT Rhodes to the mat. Orton went to leave, so Dibiase confronted him at ringside. Orton planted Dibiase to the floor with a RKO.

Ted Dibiase vs. Randy Orton

Orton was in control in the late part of the match. He began to walk around stomping on Dibiase, then did a diving headbutt on him. He got down on the mat and began to pound his fists on the mat ready to pounce. Suddenly, Cody Rhodes made his presence at ringside. He got up on the apron and Orton ran over to swing at him, with Rhodes dropping off the apron to duck it. Dibiase tried a rollup pinfall, with Orton pushing out of it and reversing. Rhodes got in the ring so Orton broke off his pin and tackled Rhodes down.

Both Rhodes and Dibiase ended up overpowering Orton for the doubleteam. However, Orton recovered to fight off both men, dropkicking Dibiase out through the ropes, then using a backbreaker on Rhodes. He went over to get Rhodes through the ropes for another DDT, but Dibiase pulled him out of the ring.

Winner: Randy Orton wins due to disqualification of Ted Dibiase when Cody Rhodes interfered.

---

Bret Hart was shown arriving to the parking lot of the arena. He got out of the back of a limo and used a crutch to walk to the arena.

Backstage, Cheech was shown stroking Eve Torres' hair and suggested a divas pajama pillow fight match. Cheech was shown sitting next to him in the fantasy segment asking what was wrong with Chong. They eventually showed that Chong was stroking William Regal's hair. Cheech said it was the sugar that did it. Chong asked if he could still talk to Kelly Kelly, but they showed Chris Masters there doing his pec move. In Kelly's voice he said for Chong to stop looking at his chest. Hornswoggle was back in the segment and gave them each a box of Lucky Charms. Both guys began to trip out from eating the cereal and the camera started to spin.

They showed highlights of the buildup to the Wrestlemania 26 WWE Title match between John Cena and Batista, which saw The Animal beatdown Cena last week. Cena won a match on Raw last week when Batista DQ'd himself. The match earned Cena his trip to Wrestlemania for the WWE title rematch.

A graphic appeared showing Cena and Batista on screen with the word "Confrontation?" Lawler said they understand there's supposed to be a confrontation on the show tonight.

---

Raw Rebound showed how Christian defeated Carlito on last week's Raw to earn the first spot in the Wrestlemania 26 Money in the Bank Ladder match.

A briefcase was shown high above the ring, with Cole informing fans that Kane, Shelton Benjamin and Dolph Ziggler have all qualified so far.

Santino Marella vs. Jack Swagger

Swagger got a respectful amount of positive crowd response from his hometown fans.

Santino had the early advantage after shoving Swagger to the corner then punching away. Swagger avoided an armbar toss from Santino, kneed him in the gut, then hit the Gutwrench Powerbomb for a quick win. He basked in the glory of his win looking up at the Wrestlemania 26 banner. Three more spots remain for the MITB match.

Winner: Jack Swagger wins via pinfall over Santino Marella to qualify for the Wrestlemania 26 Money in the Bank match.

WWE Champ Batista came out of his lockerroom backstage and met with about 5 security guards. He told then to stay close behind and then began walking down the hall. Cole said Batista is coming out for the Cena confrontation next.

---

After a WWE Did you know factoid, John Cena made his way down to the ring. Cena said he's had time to think about what happened at the Chamber. He said it was about business, with Batista cashing in on the agreement with Vince McMahon. He said it's not the first time it happened, and won't be the last. Cena said it became personal the next night on Raw when Batista hammered him with a chair until he couldn't move. Cena said he sees the silver lining in everything, and for him it's the fact he's going to Wrestlemania 26 for the WWE title. Cena said after what happened last week on Raw he needs to pay Batista back, now.

Batista's music hit and six security guards came out to line up at the top of the ramp. Batista walked out with a mic in hand and stood at the top of the ramp, then held up the WWE championship belt. Cena asked if he was seeing things because Batista's the big bad Animal and rolling with security guards. Batista said the security guards are for Cena's protection not his. Cena called Batista a 6-foot-6, 300 pound pansy for standing at the top of the ramp with security.

Batista said he did what he did last week because he wants to face Cena at Wrestlemania. Batista said they started out in WWE together and had a similar rise to the top. Batista said that the two of them couldn't be any more different though. Batista said he and Cena are the two biggest stars since the Attitude Era, with both winning titles at Wrestlemania 21 and never looking back. Batista said for some reason the company has labeled Cena as the man or the face of WWE and never Batista.

Batista said that's why he attacked Cena last week, and the second reason is he just can't stand him. Cena told Batista he better get focused because he will take the title from him at Wrestlemania. Cena said he's worked his butt off for the company, first to show up and last to leave. Cena said he's given his life for the business. Cena said Batista expects the business to be given to him. Cena called Batista selfish always. Batista said he doesn't care about the fans, because he's there to make money and win titles. He told Cena to keep on kissing babies and hugging fat girls, while he'll be training to beat him at Wrestlemania. Batista reminded him of when The Animal broke his neck in their last match. Batista said Cena can't beat him and he knows it.

---

Cheech and Chong were shown backstage chowing down on more Lucky Charms. Several wrestlers and a diva were in the skit, with fake Mexican moustahces and red winter caps on their heads. Chavo, Carlito, Primo, Katie Lea and Yoshi Tatsu were all featured in the skit. It ended with a chicken in a cage getting wheeled into the room. It spoke in Santino's voice and said "the divas pajamas match is coming up soon".

MVP vs. Zack Ryder
Money in the Bank qualifying match

Ryder was in the ring with girlfriend Rosa Mendes at ringside.

MVP got off to a fastpaced start against the new Raw member. He dropped Ryder down early, then went for the Ballin' Elbow drop. Rosa tried to distract MVP from ringside, but it didn't work. He hit the Playmaker and quickly earned his spot in the Wrestlemania 26 ladder match.

Winner: MVP wins via pinfall over Zack Ryder to qualify for the Wrestlemania 26 Money in the Bank ladder match.

There's now six guys in the MITB Ladder match: Kane, MVP, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, Christian and Shelton Benjamin.

Gail Kim, Eve Torres and Kelly Kelly were shown walking backstage in their PJ's with pillows in hand, ready for the upcoming divas pajama pillow fight match.

---

Ring announcer Justin Roberts introduced tonight's hosts from the "Get it Legal" tour, Cheech & Chong. The comedy duo came to the ring to the song "Lowrider". Cheech said they were they to introduce the participants in tonight's pajama pillow fight match.

Eve Torres, Gail Kim and Kelly Kelly vs. Alicia Fox, Jillian and Maryse
Divas pajama pillow fight

Everyone started using their pillows to bash maryse at the start, but then Jillian ran around and clotheslined the rest of the divas down. Jillian started singing but Kelly got up, ran over and shoved a pillow in her face. Kelly had a near fall which Maryse broke up. Maryse had a near fall on Kelly, and Gail had a near fall that Eve broke up. Even ended up knocking Gail Kim to the outside, then did a moonsault onto Alicia Fox for the win.

After the match had ended, Hornswoggle climbed out from under the ring with three boxes of Lucky Charms. Cheech and Chong started eating again, then began tossing handfuls of the cereal at the crowd and the commentators.

Winner: Eve Torres wins the divas pajama pillow fight by pinfall over Alicia Fox.

The latest inductee for the 2010 WWE Hall of Fame was introduced, Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon. Vachon is a former NWA champion and NWA tag team champion with his brother. His career spanned four decades with over 35 championships including NWA, Japan and WWE. Vachon will be inducted to the Hall of Fame on March 27th by Pat Patterson.

---

Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler ran down the matches for Wrestlemania 26 so far: Undertaker vs Michaels, Cena vs. Batista and Edge vs. Jericho.

Justin Roberts started to introduce Bret "The Hitman" Hart, but was cutoff when Vince McMahon's music came on. Vince came to the ring strutting as usual, then took the mic from Roberts saying he wanted the honor. He introduced Bret Hart to the ring as a WWE Hall of Famer. Vince said he's a man who he has the greatest utmost personal respect for. Bret Hart came from backstage with his one crutch and made his way to the ring with a big cast on his left leg. They showed highlights from two weeks ago when Bret made his farewell to the WWE and then had his leg broken in the car accident in the arena garage.

Vince revealed in the ring he didn't invite Bret to the ring this week for a final farewell, he lied. Vince said this time "Mr. McMahon screwed Bret and it feels good". Vince said he recalls Bret challenging him to a Wrestlemania 26 match. Bret told Vince he's currently incapacitated. Vince said even an old fossil like the Hitman can heal up in six weeks for a match.

Vince said the fans need to see Bret Hart back in the ring one more time. Vince asked the fans in attendance if they want to see Bret in a match at Wrestlemania against him. The fans cheered for it, but Bret told Vince to get it through his head that he's got a broken leg. Vince said Bret used to stand for something but now he's just a coward. After a few moments, Vince despicably kicked Hitman's crutch out causing Bret to fall face first onto the mat. The Chairman left the ring with Bret still down and kept calling him a coward on the mic.

Finally, Bret Hart got to his feet with the ropes and yelled on the mic that he accepted Vince's match for Wrestlemania 26. Vince smiled about it as he got to the top of the ramp. He got back on the mic and told Bret he'd show him how good of physical condition he's in next week when he faces John Cena one-on-one.

The MizShow was shown backstage making their way down the hall for the main event tag title match.

---

Next week Raw will be guest-hosted by Criss Angel, the Mindfreak magician.

Also, on next week's show Randy Orton faces Rhodes and Orton in a 2-on-1 handicap match and Vince McMahon faces John Cena one-on-one.

D-Generation X vs. Big Show & The Miz
Unified Tag Team Championship match

In the late stages of the title match, HHH and Show were both down on the mat, struggling to make the tag to their partners. They finally both tagged out to bring in HBK vs The Miz. HBK took control off his standard vintage moves including chest chops, and then the flying elbow drop off the corner. HHH and Show recovered on the outside while HBK set up Sweet Chin Music. All of a sudden, The Undertaker's face appeared on the Titantron staring at Michaels, and his eyes rolled into his head. Michaels finally turned to try to Superkick Miz, but Miz tackled him and put him into a winning pinfall to retain.

Winner: The MizShow wins via pinfall over D-Generation X to retain the Unified Tag team championships.

MizShow escaped up the ramp with their championship belts. Michaels sat on the mat in disbelief as Triple H walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. Michaels snapped and pulled away from HHH, then left the ring. Suddenly, Sheamus snuck out of the crowd then into the ring to attack HHH. He leveled The Game, then knocked him out over the top rope. On the outside, Sheamus delivered his running boot kick to HHH's head near the commentators' table. Sheamus stared down at HHH, then backed up a bit. HHH tried to get up, so Sheamus ran and boot kicked him over the commentators table. Raw went off the air as Sheamus stood up on the commentators table to stare down at HHH.

---

Raw Preview 03.01.10

Tonight's episode of Raw will feature the return of Bret Hart to the show, since his unfortunate injury on Raw several weeks ago. During that time, Bret had come out to inform the WWE Universe that he was no longer pursuing a match against Vince McMahon and was going to say farewell. He was thanked and given respect by various WWE superstars on his way to the parking garage, where Bret got into a waiting limo. As Cena left, a loud commotion was heard and next thing seen was an unknown female had backed her car into the back of the limo, smashing into Bret's leg. It was later announced that Bret had a broken leg along with ligament and tendon damage. Vince McMahon later appeared on camera to offer Bret the chance to come back to Raw for a proper farewell. Vince even said he'd arrange ambulance transportation and a wheelchair for The Hitman. Are Vince McMahon's intentions sincere or will he further humiliate Bret? What will Bret have to say regarding everything?

The situation involving John Cena and Batista has also become even more heated as they head down the road to Wrestlemania 26. Last week, Cena stormed to the ring and angrily demanded a rematch with Batista for the WWE Title he held for just a few minutes at the Elimination Chamber PPV. Vince McMahon said Batista would not be defending the title tonight, and that he wouldn't again until Wrestlemania. However, Vince offered Cena the opportunity to fight Batista in a non-title match, so he could earn his WWE title match at Wrestlemania. Cena was ready to fight, but The Animal kept ducking out of the ring to avoid him. Ultimately, Batista kicked Cena in the groin and caused a DQ, giving Cena the win. After that, The Animal added further insult to injury by beating up Cena around the ring, then smashing him repeatedly outside the ring with a steel chair. Will Cena respond to the latest attack from The Animal on Raw, or will he not be in condition to appear?

And finally, there's plenty more Wrestlemania matches to be determined as we travel down the road to the WWE's biggest Pay-Per-View of the year. One match which needs more competitors will be the 2010 Money in the Bank Ladder match. So far, matches have been held on Smackdown and Raw to qualify wrestlers for the MITB match. Christian, Kane, Dolph Ziggler and Shelton Benjamin have all qualified so far. With four spots left, who will fight next for a spot in the Mania ladder match? Also, what other matches will develop as we head down the road to Wrestlemania?

Catch tonight's Raw hosted by Cheech & Chong at 9PM EST on USA!

Raw Recap 02.15.10

Raw Recap from Des Moines, IA:

The show opened with Justin Roberts introducing the local color guard to present the flag and Allison Buhl, a 15-year old girl to sing the national anthem for Presidents Day. The Raw opening video launched next followed by pyrotechnics. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler were on hand for commentary. Lawler noted that tonight Jerry Springer is host and will have his most shocking intimate relationships with WWE stars. Always, Bret Hart gets to address the WWE Universe live tonight. Lawler added that we are awaiting the arrival of Batista. Cole said he'll be in the house tonight to respond to John Cena.

The Celtic Warrior Sheamus' music hit and out came the WWE Champ for the opening bout.

Randy Orton vs. Sheamus

Highlights were shown from last week when Orton faced his Legacy member, Cody Rhodes. Rhodes got the victory after Sheamus appeared to distract Orton. Sheamus took advantage by kicking down Orton, but Rhodes grabbed a chair to prevent further attack.

The match continued after a commercial break and eventually saw Rhodes and Dibiase emerge from backstage to watch. Orton stared up the ramp wondering what they were up to, and that allowed Sheamus to take control with a backbreaker. Orton regained control after stomping away on Sheamus on the mat. He went for a RKO, with Sheamus slipping out, so Orton ended up kicking Sheamus out under the bottom rope. Sheamus rolled to the outside, and Orton came after him. Sheamus gained control there and put Orton on a shoulder to run to the ringpost, but Orton slid off and shoved Sheamus to the post instead. As Orton re-entered the ring, Dibiase ran over to go at Sheamus but got punched down. Rhodes ran over from behind and clobbered Sheamus down, causing the ref to call for the bell as a DQ.

Orton was upset at the ouctome. Dibiase got in the ring and started pointing over at Rhodes as the wrongdoer. Rhodes came in and started arguing back at Dibiase. Finally after pausing for a bit, Orton gave the RKO to Rhodes. Dibiase turned to look at Orton, and Sheamus was back in with a big boot to take Dibiase down. Orton grabbed Sheamus and RKO'd him, leaving 3 guys down on the mat with Orton red in the face.

Winner: Sheamus wins due to disqualification when Cody Rhodes interfered.

Bret Hart was shown walking backstage, on his way out next.

---

Raw returned with Cole and Lawler to discuss Bret Hart who will be addressing the WWE fans tonight. They rolled the footage from last week's Raw involving John Cena trying to call out Batista, then confronting Vince McMahon in the ring. He told Vince Bret wanted a match at WM26, and Vince eventually accepted. As Cena left the ring, Bret Hart got in and attacked Vince. Vince finally escaped, and then informed Hitman there would be no WM26 match. Hart became enraged, destroying electrical equipment and the announcers table.

Justin Roberts introduced Bret "The Hitman" Hart who came out to talk to the crowd. Bret discussed how Vince is a no show tonight. Hart said he came tonight to finish things once and for all. The crowd erupted into a Bret chant. Bret said the words Vince told him keep echoing in his head that he "deserved to be screwed". Hart said Vince deserves to have the holy hell beat out of him because he's the world's greatest liar.

Hart said he had his heart set on giving Vince what he deserved at Wrestlemania 26, but it seems the match is not to be. Bret said "victory last a lifetime, but excellence will last forever". Bret thanked all of the WWE Superstars and the WWE Universe who welcomed him back. Hart also thanked John Cena and all the fans for their support the past few months. Bret said he would now say goodbye. Bret waved to the crowd and exited the ring, then started up the ramp. He gave a final salute then walked backstage.

They showed footage backstage of Bret shaking hands and talking with Kofi Kingston,

Jack Swagger, hugging Alicia Keys, then Primo, Evan Bourne, and Gail Kim as he walked down the back halls. The camera went back again to show John Cena walking with Bret, asking if "that's it?" Cena said he thinks they could get something at Wrestlemania. Bret said it was time to go, and the two shook, wishing each other well. Bret got in his limo as Cena walked away down the hall. Just then a lot of noise was heard, and Cena ran back to see a woman had backed her car into the limo with the door still open. Cena told her to move her car because Bret's leg was caught in the door. Several other backstage superstars and personnel came over. Bret was finally taken out of the limo with a leg brace on and loaded onto a stretcher so they could get him to an ambulance outside.

---

Raw returned with video footage of what just happened to Bret Hart before break. Cole said it's been reported that Hart's on his way to a local medical facility and WWE will keep everyone updated on his status.

Mark Henry & MVP vs. The MizShow

MVP gained the advantage for his team early after booting Miz out through the ropes. Raw headed off to commercial break, and upon the show's return Miz had the control back. MVP hit a backdrop though and tagged in Henry who immediately began dropping Miz with headbutts and chops. Miz got a foot up near the ropes then tried to jump on him, but got hit by the World's Strongest Slam. Henry had the pin, but Show was in and hit a massive leg drop on the back of Henry's head. The two behemoths started to battle, with Henry getting the best as he whipped Show to the corner and splashed him.

Henry tried to lift Show up, but got DDT'd down instead. Show tripped a bit but got on the corner second ropes to try to splash down on Henry. Henry rolled away and Show crashed to the mat. MVP tagged in for a series of quick paced moves on Show including a facebuster and boot in the corner. MVP tried to back up and charge at Show, but got booted down by Show. Miz tagged to try to pin MVP, but ended up getting reversed into a pin by MVP for the win.

Winner: MVP and Mark Henry win via pinfall over The MizShow.

They showed some footage from an old Jerry Springer show, and said Jerry will be out next to reveal "Intimate Superstar relationships".

---

Justin Roberts introduced Jerry Springer to the crowd, who came out with a pair of bodyguards. He had a flatscreen set up in the ring for a special edition of his show: "WWE's Most Intimate Relationships revealed". First guest they brought out was Kelly Kelly. Springer said he hasn't seen Kelly wrestling lately, and she said she had a confession that she was pregnant. Springer asked who the baby daddy was, and she said she thinks she might know. Just then, Santino Marella's music hit and he came down to the ring to hug Kelly.

Santino called Springer Maury Povich. He said things got a little crazy at a local hotel bar. Kelly said when Santino was sleeping she needed someone to finish the job. Michael Cole stood up and got on the mic called Kelly a hussy for revealing their secret. Lawler got up on the mic and told Cole that Kelly was with him. Springer called Lawler in the ring, and asked if Kelly was too old for him, saying he usually gets his girls at recess. Just then, the Bella Twins' music hit and they both came to the ring.

They said they had their own shocking confession to make. They started talking and Nikki blurted out "Brie is a man!" Brie slapped Nikki and the two started fighting. The bodyguards pulled them apart. Springer said he knows Brie's a man, but who was in the room to impregnate Kelly. Just then, Chris Masters arrived to the ring and did his pecs move. Kelly said she just couldn't resist. Eve Torres came down next and asked Kelly what she was doing with "her man". The two got into a shoving match and had to be separated. Eve got on the mic and said she has a secret too, she's been cheating on Masters. Masters asked with who, and out came Great Khali. He picked up Eve and kissed her with Masters going crazy.

Santino got back on the mic and asked who is the father of Kelly's baby. Springer said he has the results of the paternity test. Springer opened it and asked Santino how to pronounce the name on the card. Santino yelled out "Hornswoggle??!" and Horney came to the ring to hug Kelly Kelly as the crowd erupted in laughter. Springer said this is nuts with the leprechauns, giants and transvestites in the ring, so he's outta there.

Springer walked up the ramp, but Jerry Lawler got on the mic. Lawler said all of the divas and superstars in the ring got together to try to pull one over on Springer, and it worked. Kelly's not pregnant, Eve isn't with Khali and Brie's not really a man. Lawler said there is one relationship they do want to reveal though: That Springer likes his women young, Mae Young. Young came out from backstage and began to plant kisses all over a shocked Springer. The wrestlers and divas in the ring began a "Jerry" chant. End of segment.

Camera cut back out to the parking lot where they are awaiting the arrival of Batista to the arena. Also, later tonight John Cena and Triple H meet in the big main event.

---

Kofi Kingston vs. Ted Dibiase

They showed footage from earlier in the night with the ring incident involving Dibiase, Orton, Sheamus and Rhodes. Both Kofi and Dibiase will be in their first ever Chamber match on Sunday.

Kofi gained momentum late in the match with a chop move from off the top rope, then a series of takedown moves, including a high clothesline from against the ropes. Next he hit the Boom Boom leg drop on Dibiase, and started signalling for Trouble in Paradise. Dibiase backed into a corner to try to recover, so Kofi ran at him. Dibiase ducked him and Kofi lost his footing on the ropes. Dibiase managed to come over and grab Kofi from the corner to hit Dream Street for the win.

Winner: Ted Dibiase wins via pinfall over Kofi Kingston.

They discussed how Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase as the first entrant into the 2010 WWE Hall of Fame. Next inductee announced was Antonio Inoki a wrestler in both Japan and the US in the 60's and 70's. In 1976, Inoki got into a famous MMA match with Muhammed Ali. In 1995, Inoki brought a historic event to North Korea where he faced Ric Flair. He officially retired from competition in 98', and now will join Dibiase in the Class of 2010 for WWE Hall of Fame, 3/27/10.

---

Upon Raw's return they mentioned "Rise Up" by Cypress Hill as the official theme song for Elimination Chamber 2010 PPV.

Cole and Lawler once again introduced footage from earlier when Bret Hart got his leg backed into by a woman in her car. Cole said they just refused footage from the security camera in the parking area. They showed the black and white footage of Bret getting into the back door of the limo, and moments later the car backing up into it. Lawler said they don't have any further info on Bret's condition.

Cole and Lawler switched gears and discussed Elimination Chamber which is on the road to Wrestlemania 26. A video was shown to illustrate the ominous, destructive nature of the Chamber match. Cole and Lawler reminded fans of the big matches for the PPV. Undertaker defends the World title vs Morrison, R-Truth, Jericho, Mysterio and CM Punk. Sheamus defends the WWE title against Dibiase, HHH, Cena, Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton.

Jerry Springer was backstage with his "Final Thought", in which he discussed the Elimination Chamber. He asked questions like would Undertaker walk out as champion and who will Edge decide to face at Wrestlemania. As Springer finished up, Mae Young came in to see him. Springer looked at the camera and said "please don't judge me", as he put his arm around her and they walked off smiling.

---

WWE Slam of the Week showed footage of Batista from Friday's Smackdown. The Animal was supposed to address his actions to the WWE Universe regarding Bret Hart and John Cena. However, Batista said nothing and simply paced around the ring, dropping and kicking the mic before leaving backstage.

John Cena arrived out to the ring for the confrontation with Batista scheduled for Raw tonight. They rolled the higlight video from two weeks ago where Batista attacked Cena moments after Cena had saved Bret Hart in the ring. It ended with The Animal hitting a Batista Bomb with Cena onto steel steps in the ring.

Cena got on the mic and said he wishes Bret Hart well, and everyone there is pulling for him. Cena then addressed Batista attacking him with Cena not provoking it. Cena said it's time to fight and Batista should be scared for his life. He called out Batista, saying he'd be his welcoming committee if he's coming out. Cena waited with no sign of Batista. Just then, Batista was shown up on the Titantron via Satellite waving. Cena said he would just turn his back so Batista could come down and attack. Batista started talking, saying he's doing him a favor by not being in the same building or ring together. Batista said if they ever are in the same ring together, Cena will wish it was a bad dream.

Cena told Batista he seems to be acting tough, but he doesn't want none of him. Batista said it's funny how Cena runs his big mouth when Batista isn't even there. Batista said next week he will be there at Raw, live in person to see how much Cena will run his mouth then. Batista said good luck in the chamber and Cena told Batista if he wants some, to come get some next week on Raw. Cena tore off his shirt as Batista left the satellite camera. HHH arrived out for the main event.

---

When Raw returned, Michael Cole announced that next week's Raw guest hosts are singer Jewel and rodeo star Ty Murray.

John Cena vs. Triple H

Raw headed to a commercial break during the match with both men down outside the ring. As the show returned, Cena was down in a headlock with HHH in control. Cnea quickly regained control though and hit a barrage of moves, with the Five Knuckle Shuffle finishing it off. He put up HHH for Attitude Adjustment, but HHH slid off and took down Cena with a vicious clothesline for a pinfall attempt.

The two engaged in a battle up on the ropes with HHH trying for a Superplex. Cena punched him down, but HHH responded to hit Cena up on the corner. HHH climbed again, but this time Cena used a headbutt to send HHH to the mat. He followed with a legdrop across the back of HHH's head. He tried to set up a STF, but HHH got onto his back, then took down Cena into a Half Boston Crab submission. Cena reversed it and turned it into STF, but HHH managed to withstand it. The Game crawled over and grabbed the bottom rope to finally break it.

HHH made his comeback with a high knee to Cena's face, then a Facebuster, then a Spinebuster. He set up The Pedigree on Cena, but all of a sudden Sheamus was in the ring running and booted down HHH. The ref quickly called for the bell and slid out of the ring. Sheamus measured Cena for a move, but Cena avoided it then began punching away. He hoisted up Sheamus for the Attitude Adjustment, but Sheamus jumped down, raked Cena's eye then booted him in the face. Next, Sheamus picked up HHH in his Razor's Edge finisher and slammed The Game onto the mat, leaving both men down as he hoisted up his WWE Title.

Winner: No contest, match called due to Sheamus' interference.

---

Raw Preview 02.15.10

Tonight's episode of WWE Raw will feature all six participants in Sunday's Elimination Chamber as they face off in singles matchups. One match will see a rematch from the Royal Rumble's WWE Title match, as Randy Orton takes on Sheamus. In recent weeks, Sheamus has been a thorn in the side of Orton as he's come down to the ringside area to distract him. Just last week, Sheamus' appearance at ringside allowed Cody Rhodes to pick up a huge victory over his mentor, by hitting the Cross Rhodes. Afterwords, Sheamus tried to do further damage on Orton in the ring, but was chased off by a chair-wielding Rhodes. What will happen tonight as Sheamus and Orton finally get back in the ring to face off? Will Legacy be nearby?

Speaking of Legacy, in another of the Chamber tune-up matches, Ted Dibiase will take on Kofi Kingston. Things have been shaky lately for the Legacy team, as Rhodes, Dibiase and Orton seem at odds, making it questionable if Dibiase will be able to keep his focus on tonight's match. In the final match of the Chamber singles matches, a classic confrontation goes down as Triple H faces John Cena. These two have no love lost between each other. Which of these two major superstars will pick up the important victory heading into the Pay-Per-View?

Shawn Michaels is also questionable as Raw goes on the air tonight. On last week's show, the Heartbreak Kid seemingly snapped when he demanded a trade from Smackdown GM Teddy Long backstage. This came moments after D-Generation X had lost their Unified Tag team titles to the Big Show and The Miz. When Long refused to give Michaels the trade he wanted to get closer to Undertaker, Triple H stepped in to intervene. However, it was too late as Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music right to Teddy Long's face, knocking the GM out backstage. Michaels walked off after the heated incident, leaving his DX partner and other nearby witnesses to try to help the fallen GM. Will Michaels explain himself on tonight's show, or even make an appearance on Raw?

Catch tonight's Raw hosted by longtime talk-show host, Jerry Springer, at 9PM EST on USA!