Wrestling Poll: Best Raw Host?

For this latest WWE wrestling poll, the topic is the guest host celebrities who have taken over Raw each for one night only. The celebs have included a rap star, a reverend, football player, former game show host, a longtime rock band, NBA & NFL players and various actors. The guest hosting should continue through 2009, as it was first started by Donald Trump several months ago when he bought Monday Night Raw for a night. Trump instituted the policy that each week a different celebrity would step in to serve as guest host since Raw had no General Manager. Trump made this decision right before selling the WWE Raw show back to Vince McMahon for a boatload of money.

That begs the question of which host has turned in the best performance so far on the show. Each guest host in the poll has put a unique spin on Raw with their own agenda, causes, promotions and brand of sports entertainment. Some have even stepped into the ring to grapple with the wrestlers. Vote below for the WWE Raw guest host you think has been best so far....

Who has been the best WWE Raw guest host so far?
	Al Sharpton
	Ben Roethlisberger
	Bob Barker
	Cedric the Entertainer
	Freddie Prinze Jr.
	Jeremy Piven
	Nancy O'Dell
	Shaquille O'Neal
	Seth Green
	Snoop Dogg
	ZZ Top
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Variety Article reveals Raw Hosts

Variety magazine has a recent online article examining the Raw guest hosting gig, and how most celebrities are using it as part of their promotional arsenal for new projects. For example, Jeremy Piven promoted his movie "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard", Seth Green promoted Robot Chicken and ZZ Top promoted their DVD's, albums, and a current concert tour.

Freddie Prinze Jr. hosts the 08/17/09 episode of WWE Raw and he also is joining the cast of Fox's hit action/drama series "24". Stephanie McMahon had the following to say, according to the Variety article:

"We wanted a different way to get our product out there and talked about," Stephanie McMahon, WWE's executive VP of creative development and operations, told Daily Variety. "Tying us in with celebrities in Hollywood raises our awareness and gets a variety of people talking about us, which is always a positive place to be. Hopefully it will translate to new viewers."

According to the article, the guest hosts will continue through 2009, and may even go on until Wrestlemania 26 in 2010. Among those confirmed as upcoming hosts: Bob Barker (Price is Right), Reverend Al Sharpton, Nancy O'Dell (Access Hollywood), boxer Floyd Mayweather, and NBA star Lebron James (also Shaquille O'Neal's Cleveland teammate). Sounds like at least two of the upcoming hosts could make things rough for The Big Show.

There's also several rumored guest hosts who are in talks with WWE: Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, Ashlee Simpson, the Osbournes, Danny DeVito, Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa, Jimmy Fallon, Rachael Ray, MC Hammer, Woody Harrelson, Serena Williams and Ashton Kutcher.

If you think about the move, it's smart business for both WWE and the hosts who get to plug whatever they want. ESPN covered Shaq's appearance, while Jeremy Piven talked his Raw hosting gig up on various shows like Jimmy Kimmel and Regis & Kelly. And at least a few times, it's made for entertaining television (Shaq, Seth Green). It's even boosted ratings since they've instituted the hosts and gained new sponsors such as KFC, Pepsi and 7-11, currently helping to promote Summerslam 2009. If you recall, this all started out when Trump announced the idea as part of his Raw restructuring plan. So maybe Donald Trump should be running WWE after all?

Read full article: "WWE added to Talk Show Circuit at Variety's online site.

Big Show vs. Shaq Officially On?

According to hot recent wrestling news from the internet, Big Show may get his chance at revenge on NBA star Shaquille O'Neal in September 2009. Shaq was the special celebrity guest host for the July 27th, 2009 episode of WWE Raw, and it received rave reviews from fans and analysts for packing one entertaining punch. In the highlight of the show, Shaq and Big Show stood eye to eye in the ring and slapped chokeslams on each other. It ended when the tag team Cryme Tyme kicked Big Show to break the chokeholds up. Shaq charged shoulder first into Big Show, sending him down to the mat, and out of the ring where his tag team partner Chris Jericho rushed over to him. Chris Jericho later made guest comments in the following week as Show was choking Kofi Kingston against the ropes, saying that could be Shaq.

Shaq only had the following comments about his Raw gig on Twitter:

wasn't lookin, but randy orton has da sexiest white man butt ive seen next 2 steve nash - 10:00 PM Jul 27th from Tweetie

Anyways, the official match for Shaq vs. Show may be booked on a special 3 hour edition of WWE Raw during September 2009, which is right around NBA preseason as well.

Bryan Alvarez of Figure Four wrote:

"There are discussions in WWE about running another three-hour Raw in September and building it up around a Big Show v Shaq match."

"It might not work because NBA pre-season starts in September and the timing may just be impossible.

It should be noted that NBA pre-season workouts may be in September, but actual pre-season games will start in early October. Cleveland plays its preseason opener on Tuesday October 6th.

WWE's Pay-Per-View for September has the new title of "Breaking Point" and will occur on the 13th.

Analysts and experts are questioning the WWE's move to offer the match on a free cable TV show, rather than using it to get Pay-Per-View buys. But ask most fans and I'm sure you won't hear many complaints...

Raw Revelations: Shaq vs. Big Show

Last night on USA, NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal presided as guest host for WWE Raw. It definitely was the most entertaining and exciting celebrity guest host to fill in on the show so far. As the night kicked off, Shaq was introduced by WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler. Shaq proceeded to walk down to the ring, greeting fans, and tore up a Kobe Bryant poster in the process. Great stuff to start off the show, but it got better. Chris Jericho came out to try to tell Shaq his place as host, but Shaq wasn't having it. The insults began as Shaq called Jericho "Christina". Soon thereafter, Big Show was introduced and arrived to get in Shaq's face. He even jabbed at Shaq saying that he couldn't hit two free throws in a row. Shaq called out Show for a match, but Show backed down saying he didn't want the NBA breathing down his neck. Instead, Shaq booked a match with the tag champs in action against Cryme Tyme, then appointed himself the special guest enforcer.

That tag match was non-title and came later in the night, but it saw a classic Shaq vs. Big Show confrontation on WWE Raw. Show started to annihilate both members of Cryme Tyme in the ring, stomping on them repeatedly, and eventually the ref disqualified him as he was not legal to be in the ring. Soon, Show turned his attention to Shaq, taunting him to get in the ring. The big guy obliged, tearing off his ref uniform shirt and climbing into the ring. Show and Shaq shoved each other a bit, then Show grabbed Shaq around the throat for a chokeslam. Shaq fought back and did the same to Show, so both men had each other's throats. Soon, Cryme Tyme was back in the ring to kick Big Show and break it up. From there, Shaq did a running shoulder block style move to knock Show to the mat and out of the ring. The fans went wild. (See Shaq & Show on YouTube video here)

Other cool stuff from last night included yet another great promo from the Miz, dissing the hometown fans, saying the Wizards lose to any opponents, so the Cavs won't need Shaq to beat them. From there, Miz lost to Cena in a Beat the Clock challenge match, which made Cena the #1 contender for Randy Orton's WWE Title at Summerslam. It was a great match though as Miz tried to outsmart Cena throughout it with various ploys, yet Cena still won. Orton got in the ring to hoist up his title as Cena left the ring. We've got plenty of time leading up to Summerslam to make this interesting. By the way, the only other winner in Beat the Clock was Mark Henry with a time of 6:49 to open the tournament. Jack Swagger lost to Evan Bourne by a surprise pin, Triple H couldn't make his pin before the clock ran out, and MVP had to face a sneaky, returning Chris Masters. Masters prevented MVP from getting back in the ring with a Masterlock. MVP-Masters could make for a great feud, and it was a surprise to see Masters back. I had heard rumors he would be, but still nice to see the Masterpiece, and I'm sure WWE welcomes his talents as a heel on Raw.

About Beat the Clock though; why not include everyone who was in the matches in the challenge? (Carlito, Bourne, Rhodes, Miz, Masters) I mean after all Evan Bourne may have won his match in a quicker time than anyone in the field. Is there a reason the winners should not be included? It's almost as if they are being called "jobbers" by being excluded from it. Strange.

Typical divas match with six divas in action. Maryse was nowhere to be found though, and Gail Kim made a strange blind tag on Mickie to come in and get the win. Wondering if this might be the start of a Gail Kim-Mickie James program for the Divas title? I'd still like to see Kelly Kelly win the divas title as she seems like a good representative, but she may have taken that Torrie Wilson role, hot blonde diva who never gets a title.

The Santino Marella bit with Shaq and Cryme Tyme was definitely better than anything Santino did with ZZ Top last week. Santino was playing Scrabble with Shaq until Cryme Tyme entered. As they started up a "Money, Money" chant, Santino came over with his hat on sideways and started to bust a freestyle rap which included Dikembe Mutombo and Angelina Jolie in it. Not too bad either, although Shaq & Cryme Tyme quickly dismissed him from the scene...

As for Hornswoggle-Chavo, please let's hope that's the last we've seen of that. Chavo is one talented guy, and Hornswoggle is a longtime novelty act. Horney was great when he would sneak out from under the ring to play a part in matches, some surprising comic relief. But now, he's beaten Chavo in 4 matches. Last night's blindfold match had the feel of some sort of circus clown antics you'd see from Ringling Brothers. Add in to that, Hornswoggle falling flat on his back after a dunk attempt on a small hoop backstage. Not sure if that was the plan. Please WWE, no more circus antics...

Raw Recap 07.27.09

Raw Recap from Washington, DC:

Lillian Garcia introduced WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler who was already in the ring. Lawler introduced Raw's guest host for the night, 15-time NBA All Star Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq came out from backstage, walking down the ramp. On the way down, he ripped up a Kobe Bryant poster a fan was holding near the ramp.

Shaq joked that his new teammate Lebron James said to say hello and the Washington crowd booed it. Shaq also announced tonight's 5 Man Beat the Clock Challenge to determine Randy Orton's WWE Title opponent for Summerslam. Shaq announced the 5 competitors as well: Triple H, MVP, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry and John Cena. As Shaq started to hype up the crowd, Chris Jericho's pyro exploded and Jericho came down to the ring in a business suit.

In the ring, Jericho tried to stand up to Shaq, but ended up looking up a few feet to his face. Jericho said when he heard the most dominant man in the NBA was hosting Raw, he assumed it was Kobe Bryant. Shaq interrupted Jericho's speech, called him "Christina", and kissed him on the forehead. Jericho angrily carried on talking up his accolades in the WWE, and said he expects to be catered to by everyone in the company, including the hosts. Jericho said if Shaq keeps talking down to him, they're going to have problems. Shaq shoved Jericho a bit asking what he was going to do. Jericho then introduced his new tag team partner, The Big Show.

Show arrived to the ring also in a suit, and walked up to Shaq. The two came eye to eye in the ring. Show told Shaq he's got a better chance of hitting two straight free throws, than intimidating him. Shaq told Show about his new show "Shaq Vs." where he challenges some of the world's best athletes. Shaq challenged Show right there for a match. Show said he knows Shaq's plan, to get Show to hurt him and then have NBA breathing down his neck. Since Show and Jericho refused to fight Shaq, he said he hired two wrestlers who would fight them instead. Cryme Tyme came out from backstage, down to the ring. Shaq stood side by side with Cryme Tyme, and Show/Jericho backed down then left the ring. Shaq then announced he'd be the special guest enforcer for that tag match.

---

Mark Henry vs. Carlito
Beat the Clock Challenge Match #1

Carlito jumped outside the ring and also ducked under the ropes early to run the clock some. Carlito rolled to the outside and walked up the ramp, with mark Henry going out to retrieve him. As Henry tried to get back in the ring, Carlito dropkicked him, then tried to jump over the ropes onto him. Henry caught Carlito in the air, then tossed him back into the ring. As the clock hit 2:45, Carlito had gained offensive advantage using his elbow off the ropes. The match crossed into the 3 minute mark with Henry hitting a running splash into the corner on Carlito. Henry delivered a huge boot, and tried for a pin at 3:35 with Carlito escaping it. Henry glanced at the clock, then went for a sit splash, but Carlito moved out of the way.

Carlito rolled under the ropes to the apron, then yanked Henry's neck against the ropes. Carlito hit a dropkick off the top rope then tried for a pin with Henry kicking out. The clock passed 5 minutes. Carlito tried a sleeper hold near 6 minutes, with Henry backing him into the corner. Carlito went for a Backstabber, but he couldn't bring Henry down. Carlito hit a neckbreaker then went off the ropes, but Henry grabbed him to hit the World's Strongest Slam. Henry's time to beat was 6:49.

Winner: Henry wins via pinfall over Carlito in 6:49 for the Beat the Clock Challenge.

Backstage, the new Divas Champion Mickie James was shown walking side by side with Gail Kim and Kelly Kelly. Lawler announced they'd be in a 6 divas tag match next.

---

WWE Rewind showed footage from Night of Champions match between Mickie James and Maryse. Mickie James escaped Maryse's DDT attempt, to give her own DDT to Maryse. Mickie became the new Divas Champion with the win.

Some of the Washington Redskins were shown in the front row clowning around.

Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim & Mickie James vs. Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes & Beth Phoenix

Early on, Beth Phoenix really took it to Gail Kim, dominating her as she punched away at her on the mat. Alicia Fox came in next to continue the onslaught. Alicia hit a vicious backbreaker on Gail before slamming her head into the mat several times. Rosa came in next for a bit more damage, before tagging in Alicia again. Gail was able to use her legs to toss Alicia Fox away, then tagged in Mickie James. Mickie came in on fire, hammering away at Alicia, then knocking Beth and Rosa off the apron. Mickie went for the DDT with Alicia shoving her into the corner. Mickie hit a flying headscissors and then jumped on Alicia. Gail Kim made a blind tag to get involved in the match, then jumped off the corner to take down Gail for the winning pin. Kelly ran in to clothesline Rosa as she tried to break things up.

Winners: Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim & Mickie James win via pinfall overAlicia Fox, Rosa Mendes & Beth Phoenix

Michael Cole interviewed Shaquille O'Neal backstage asking what else was in store for tonight. Just then, Hornswoggle came in and Shaq pretended to reprimand him for bursting in, then hugged the little guy. Shaq offered an energy drink to Horney, then said he really doesn't need one. There was a lowered basketball hoop set up for Hornswoggle to try to dunk on. Hornswoggle ran around with a ball then went for a dunk, but the ball bounced off the rim, and Hornswoggle fell on his back. Shaq gave him the energy drink. Michael Cole said "Oh my..that was Shaq-a-licious!" and put out his fist for Shaq. Shaq pointed out Cole with a weird look and walked off.

---

MVP vs. Chris Masters
Beat the Clock Challenge Match #2

MVP would have to beat the time of 6:49 to have the top time for the challenge. The Masterpiece Chris Masters made his return to WWE & Raw for the match. MVP and Masters battled back and forth, with the clock running down from 6:49. MVP missed on his running boot in the corner and Masters went for his Masterlock hold. MVP kicked away from the corner to escape it. MVP had a vicious clothesline and tried for two pinfalls with Masters grabbing the ropes to break it. Masters pulled MVP forward to throw him out of the ring, then followed him outside.

Outside the ring MVP seemed to regain control as he punched Masters. MVP went to get back into the ring, but Masters pulled him down from the apron, and eventually applied the Masterlock on him outside. The ref counted both men out, causing MVP to be out of the challenge. Mark Henry's 6:49 time still remains the time to beat with Swagger, Cena and Triple H remaining.

Winner: The match ended in a double countout, removing MVP from the Beat the Clock Challenge.

---

Kofi Kingston vs. The Brian Kendrick

Before the bell, Kendrick got on a mic and started jawing at Jerry Lawler for beating him last week. Kendrick said as soon as he's done beating up Kofi he's going to come beat up Lawler. The ref tried to get Kendrick's attention to start the match, but Kendrick yelled at him that he was talking. The ref called for the bell, and as Kendrick kept yelling at Lawler, Kingston hit a very quick roundhouse kick to pin Kendrick.

Winner: Kofi Kingston wins via pinfall over The Brian Kendrick.

Triple H was shown walking backstage on his way out for the Beat the Clock challenge match. All of a sudden, Ted Dibiase came running from behind him and clubbed HHH in the leg taking him down. HHH struggled to stand back up as Raw went to commercial.

---

An ad for Summerslam was shown for Sunday August 23rd from Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The theme song for this year's PPV is by Aerosmith.

Triple H vs. Cody Rhodes
Beat the Clock Challenge Match #3

Slideshow pics from last night's match for the WWE Title were shown. Both HHH and Cena had their submission holds on Orton as he tapped. The ref didn't know who to declare winner so the match kept going. Legacy came in to break things up, and no DQ was called. John Cena grabbed Rhodes for the Attitude Adjustment but Orton was able to deliver the RKO to defeat Cena.

HHH seemed to hobble his way down the ramp due to the earlier attack by Dibiase. Rhodes went right for the leg as the match kicked off but HHH shoved him away. HHH was able to use various takedowns with a headlock locked in on Rhodes. At one point, Rhodes caught HHH in the corner putting his leg up on the ropes and attacking it. Rhodes slid to the outside to smash HHH's leg against the ringpost several times, then came back in to continue the attack. Rhodes continued to use this strategy to keep HHH down as the clock kept moving down from 3:30.

Rhodes went for a doublehanded ax chop off the corner, but HHH kicked him in the gut. HHH had a Pedigree ready under 2 minutes, but Rhodes escaped and clipped him in the leg. Rhodes put on a Figure Four leglock as the clock continued to move down. Triple H reversed it and tried to make Rhodes tap, but the pain was too much for HHH's hurt leg. Rhodes went for another Figure Four, with HHH kicking him into the corner. HHH came back with a clothesline with under a minute left. HHH hit a spinebuster at 36 seconds, then signaled for the Pedigree. All of a sudden, Ted Dibiase appeared on the apron to taunt HHH. The clock kept ticking down as HHH looked at Dibiase and wanted to hit him. Finally, HHH grabbed Rhodes and threw him into Dibiase. HHH got the Pedigree with 3 seconds to go, but couldn't capture the pin before ;00.

Winner: Triple H failed to pin Cody Rhodes in under 6:49 and is eliminated from Beat the Clock challenge.

Backstage, Shaq and Santino Marella were playing Scrabble, when Cryme Tyme came in. Shaq got up and reminded them he'll be guest ref so everything will be in order for their tag match later. Shaq and Cryme Tyme started up a "Money, Money - Yea Yea!" chant and Santino came bobbing over to do a mini-rap song where he mentioned Dikembe Mutombo and Angelina Jolie's baby. Shaq and Cryme Tyme laughed and told him to get outta there.

---

Chavo Guerrero vs. Hornswoggle

Michael Cole mentioned that Hornswoggle and Shaq went to High school together. He also mentioned there will be 5 collectible Summerslam cups at 7-11 stores. Lillian Garcia announced that per guest host Shaq's orders, Chavo would have to compete blindfolded. The ref gave Chavo a black bag to put over his head and called for the bell.

Hornswoggle took full advantage of the situation, delivering kicks and punch moves when Chavo was feeling around for him. At one point, Chavo accidentally tackled the ref down and went to pound on him. The ref yelled at him and Chavo realized his mistake. The ref was yelling at Hornswoggle during one spot, and Chavo peaked out from under the mask, then dropkicked Hornswoggle down. Thinking he had Horney down on the mat, Chavo felt around to find the corner so he could climb up for a Frogsplash. Hornswoggle followed him outside the ring to the apron and watched Chavo climb up, then try a Frogsplash with nobody below. Horney climbed up on the corner and hit his Tadpole Splash on Chavo to win it.

Winner: Hornswoggle wins via pinfall over Chavo Guerrero.

Randy Orton was in the lockerroom getting his boots on, when Jack Swagger walked in. Swagger said it's good news that HHH didn't beat the clock, but bad news that he will. Orton asked if he should be scared and Swagger said yes because he's bigger, stronger and younger. Swagger walked out, but just then Mark Henry was there in Orton's face. Henry stared at Orton then laughed a bit before returning to a stare. Orton walked off with his WWE Title.

---

Evan Bourne vs. Jack Swagger
Beat the Clock Challenge Match #4

Swagger would have to beat Mark Henry's time of 6:49 to be the top man in the challenge. With under 3:30 to go in the match, Swagger had control and tried for his finisher the Gutwrench Powerbomb. Bourne held onto Swagger's leg to prevent it. Swagger tried to pick up Bourne for the move, but Bourne countered from the air and pulled Swagger down into a pinfall, hooking Swagger's legs securely for the surprise win. Swagger was fuming after the loss and pounded his fist into the mat.

Winner: Evan Bourne wins via pinfall over Jack Swagger. Jack Swagger is eliminated from Beat the Clock.

Lawler and Cole announced that John Cena will face Miz in the final Challenge match.

---

Cole and Lawler reminded fans that next week's guest host is Entourage and movie star from "The Goods", Jeremy Piven. They revisited the earlier incident which cost Triple H from being winner of the Beat the Clock challenge.

Josh Matthews interviewed Triple H backstage about how Legacy has now prevented him from capturing the WWE title twice. HHH said he's mad at himself for not seeing this sooner. HHH called out Rhodes & Dibiase, saying he's done playing games. Triple H said he'll take them on 2-on-1 next week on Raw. HHH said every now and then in life you come across a guy you just shouldn't screw with; "I'm that guy".

John Cena vs. The Miz
Beat the Clock Challenge Match #5

Miz came out with a mic talking about how no matter which Washington team it is, the opponent just lets the time run out in the 4th quarter to prevent them from winning. Miz said he'll use the same strategy on Cena tonight. Miz said he just needs to last 6:49 against Cena not actually beat him. Randy Orton arrived to ringside to watch the match sitting next to the commentators.

Miz eluded Cena early on with the crowd chanting for Cena. Miz ducked out of the ring and began smirking as he saw the clock running down. The ref began a countout and Miz eventually rushed to get in before 9. Cena started his attack from there as he smashed Miz face first into several corners of the ring. Outside the ring Miz went again, but Cena followed out and leveled him with a clothesline. Mark Henry was shown backstage watching Cena fight Miz on a TV. Miz took control and went for a pin around 4:30 mark.

The match eventually went to the outside, with Miz able to throw Cena into the steel steps. The ref began counting Cena out and got all the way to 9, but Cena mustered up strength and slid into the ring to beat the count. Miz tangled Cena up in the ropes and started taunted him. The ref freed Cena and he was able to trip down Miz into the STF. Miz tapped out, making Cena the winner of the Beat the Clock Challenge.

Orton got into the ring and hoisted up his WWE Title for Cena to see. The two stared each other down before Cena left the ring smiling.

Winner: John Cena beats Mark Henry's time of 6:49 to win the Beat the Clock Challenge. John Cena will face Orton for the WWE Title at Summerslam.

Shaq was shown walking backstage in a WWE referee's uniform on his way out for the non-title tag match he'd be special guest enforcer for.

---

When Raw returned Lawler informed fans that "You Gotta Move" by Aerosmith is the official 2009 Summerslam theme song. They confirmed that HHH will face Rhodes & Dibiase in a 2 on 1 match next week.

Cryme Tyme vs. Chris Jericho & Big Show
w/Special Enforcer Shaq

Early in the match, Jericho hit a cheapshot by punching JTG in the face as the ref was warning him about something. Jericho threw JTG into the corner into Big Show's boot, then Show tagged in. Show locked a headlock on his smaller opponent with Shaq watching. Show started beating on JTG and tossing him around to taunt Shaq. JTG started fighting back but as he came running off the ropes, Show speared him down. JTG fell to the outside and got back in as Show picked him up. Jericho eventually tagged back in to continue wearing down JTG with a headlock. JTG got to his feet to battle out, and eventually hit a move off the ropes to take Jericho down. JTG struggled to get over to his partner, so Shaq grabbed him by the foot and pulled him closer. Shad Gaspar tagged in and began to take Jericho down.

Shad bodypressed Jericho overhead then let him drop to the mat. He followed up with an elbow drop, then prepared for his finisher. Jericho countered and tried for Walls of Jericho, but Shad used his leg power to toss Jericho towards the ropes. Shaq shoved Jericho back into the fray, and Shad and JTG set him up for their doubleteam finisher. JTG had the pin, but Big Show got in to break it up. With all four men in the ring, Big Show kept beating unmercifully on JTG & Shad. The ref finally called for the bell in a DQ. Show kept stomping away on Cryme Tyme and then prepared to chokeslam both men in front of Shaq. Show shoved them down and then called for Shaq to get in the ring.

Shaq tore off his enforcer's ref shirt and climbed into the ring. Shaq got right in Show's face and the two kept trash talking. Show pushed Shaq, so Shaq shoved back. Show then slapped his hand around Shaq's neck, so Shaq did the same back. The two held each other there, and then Cryme Tyme ran over to kick Show. Shaq did a running shoulder block into Show to knock him out of the ring with the crowd cheering it. Jericho rushed over to tend to Show with Cryme Tyme & Shaq in the ring celebrating.

Winner: Cryme Tyme wins due to DQ when Show was not the legal mand and would not leave the ring.

As Raw went off the air, Shaq was running up the ramp to chase Jericho and Show backstage.

---

Thoughts on Night of Champions 2009

The 2009 Night of Champions Pay-Per-View, produced 3 new champions, one of which is completely over with the WWE Universe crowds. Mickie James won the WWE Divas Championship, Christian is the new ECW Champion and in the biggest moment of the night, Jeff Hardy defeated CM Punk for the World Heavyweight title.

There's been rumors that Jeff Hardy will possibly leave WWE in a month or so. If that's the case, the title switch may have been to give him reason to stay around. It also may have been to allow Punk to defeat him again so he can have a third title reign. Nonetheless, many fans are ecstatic to see Hardy carrying the belt, but how long will it last for?

I don't want to cast a dark cloud on Hardy's win; but the Night of Champions event gave WWE the opportunity to really push some new stars, but they chose not to. They may feel Summerslam is a bigger buy for Pay-Per-Views and therefore are saving the title wins for that event. Two titles I definitely felt should have changed over are the Intercontinental Title and United States Title. Dolph Ziggler seems to have received a great push since arriving to Smackdown, yet WWE dropped the ball at NOC, by having him lose to Mysterio. A title win would have propelled him to the top heels of the show. He still is up there, but the loss was quite surprising. Many analysts were calling for this title win, yet WWE decided against it. Again, maybe we'll see him emerge as IC champ at Summerslam.

The United States Title is another one that could have really jumpstarted a guy's career. Two guys who would have benefited most are The Miz and Jack Swagger. Let's face it, Raw has a shortage of top heels. The Miz had seen what seemed like a push with his feud with John Cena. He even was part of a PPV match against him. According to reports, Miz also received the most cheers of anyone in that 6 Pack challenge. So having him win would make sense. Having Swagger win would also make sense, as he's fresh to Raw and could really make a name for himself on Monday nights. However, Kofi retained. Don't get me wrong, Kofi's entertaining, skilled and has fan support, but WWE needs to make the right moves to keep things fresh sometimes. Push some new guys to the top and take the risk rather than playing it safe.

The Big Show being announced as Jericho's partner was also a strange surprise move. The surprise wasn't all that great, and again WWE could have really propelled another young superstar by making Jericho, the talent scout, choose some newcomer to shock everyone. Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder, even Ricky Ortiz or Jesse aka "Jeezy". Not that any of these guys are particularly stand-outs, but they each have heel potential and maybe Jericho could help them improve on that. This was one of the big moments people were waiting to see on the PPV, and again WWE just went with the tried and true, inserting the Big Show or veteran star.

Christian beating Dreamer for the ECW title isn't a big surprise, but was necessary. I'm guessing he'll go on to feud with Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson now. Maybe Dreamer will call for his retirement now? Also, the WWE Triple Threat had one of those "two guys win at once" type finishes. However in this one, the ref didn't even call for the bell to say both men won. I believe Kane and Undertaker had a similar situation at a PPV when both men pinned Stone Cold. The next night, one of them was proclaimed winner on Raw. Maybe guest host Shaquille O'Neal will make some big match tonight with HHH and Cena fighting for the title, or the right to go for it at Summerslam?

Raw Preview 07.27.09

Tonight's episode of WWE Raw comes one night after last night's big Pay-Per-View (Night of Champions results). Not only that, but it will have its biggest guest host to date, when the NBA All-Star center, Shaquille O'Neal stops by to run the show! Shaq will be large and in charge, ready to make all sorts of crazy decisions. He's no stranger to the WWE world either, as he's been seen in the crowd clowning around at Raw and other events before. He was even involved in a backstage altercation with Carlito during one event. What sorts of surprises will Shaq have in store for the WWE Universe when he fills in as the special guest host?

Last night's Night of Champions PPV featured a Triple Threat match to decide the WWE Title. Involved in this re-match from Wrestlemania 2 years ago were Triple H, John Cena and Champion Randy Orton. Orton fell victim to a double submission hold in the match, with HHH putting a sharpshooter on him and Cena locking in the STF as well. Orton clearly tapped out, but a confused referee didn't call for the bell. From there, Legacy saved Orton, who eventually was able to hit the RKO on John Cena for the win. Orton will retain his title as Raw opens, but will the decision be reviewed? What will HHH and Cena have to say about the outcome of last night's match?

Kofi Kingston successfully defended his US Title in a battle with 5 other Raw superstars. Jack Swagger, MVP, The Miz, Carlito and Primo all tangled for the right to wear the United States belt. In the end, Kofi hit Trouble in Paradise on Carlito to collect the win. Missing from the match was Big Show, who joined Chris Jericho earlier in the night to defend the Unified Tag Team Titles. Since Jericho is part of Smackdown, and Show is on Raw, what will this mean for Big Show's spot on the Raw roster?

The sole new championship winner from Raw at Night of Champions was WWE Diva Mickie James. Mickie successfully was able to prevent Maryse from using her spray can on her, and eventually hit a DDT to plant Maryse into the mat. Mickie now becomes the second ever diva to have won both the Womens title and Divas championship. Will Maryse invoke her rematch clause on Raw tonight? Or will Mickie have a new challenger to worry about?

Catch all the action of WWE Raw tonight at 9PM EST on USA!

Poll: Raw Guest Hosts?

When Donald Trump purchased Raw he not only initiated a huge 15 superstar trade amongst Smackdown, Raw & ECW, but he also added in a new caveat for the Raw show. Each week the show would get a unique celebrity guest host, whether it be a beautiful model, an actor or actress, sports or music star. So far we've seen WWE wrestler Batista, former WWE wrestler The Million Dollar Man, actor Seth Green and rock band ZZ Top all take control of Raw, flipping the show upside down. Some weeks have been entertaining while others have flopped. On 7/27 Raw will be hosted by the always interesting NBA star, Shaquille O'Neal, and on 8/3 actor Jeremy Piven will take over.

So that brings us to this latest Pro-wrestling poll. If you could choose from among some of the biggest names in entertainment, music and sports who would you put as guest host of the WWE Raw show? Choose from the list here, and feel free to leave your comments regarding the latest format for WWE's Raw TV show!

Which of these celebs would you like to see guest host RAW?
	Heidi and Spencer
	Oprah Winfrey
	Paris Hilton
	Lebron James
	Adam Sandler
	Snoop Dogg
	Keven Federline
	Verne Troyer aka Mini Me
pollcode.com free polls

Actor Jeremy Piven to Host 8/3 WWE Raw

It's been recently announced that actor Jeremy Piven (Entourage) will have the honor of guest hosting Raw on August 3rd, 2009. Piven has an upcoming movie promotion as well for "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard" in which he plays Don Ready, a used-car liquidator, who is hired by a flailing auto dealership to turn a 4th of July sale into a profitable event. The movie hits theaters on August 14, 2009. Piven is best known for his role on Entourage as the agent Ari Gold.

According to PWInsider.com, the guest hosts will continue for some time, as it appears many celebs have contacted WWE to be part of the show:

As I noted earlier this week on my Elite Hotline, don't expect the Raw celebrity guest hosts to fizzle out anytime soon. WWE has been contacted by a number of celebrity
fans who want to get in on the act as well as film and TV projects looking to use the guest host role to promote themselves, which is how Jeremy Piven ended up the host of Raw for 8/3.

The good news is that Piven can act, as he's wonthe "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series" Emmy for the HBO comedy Entourage three straight years now. Based on the way he plays his Entourage agent, sarcastic and scheming Ari Gold, it could be a pretty entertaining show for fans. Next week, July 27th, we'll see NBA All-star and recent Cleveland Cavalier, Shaquille O'Neal as guest host for Raw starting at 9PM EST on USA.

Raw Revelations: ZZ Top Jams Backstage

It's been made pretty clear in the several weeks of Raw's new "Guest host" plan, exactly what purposes this all serves. With Trump, Batista and Million Dollar Man, it was to move some storylines along, and still keep Batista's name fresh while he's injured. In the past two weeks, with Seth Green and ZZ Top, it was more apparent the hosting gigs were to allow celebs to promote their upcoming series or concert tours. ZZ Top could have been just about any other musical group, talking up an album or concert series. They had several short backstage skits, all involving Santino Marella to attempt to make them more comedic for younger fans. These skits basically involved a little bit of dialogue from ZZ, and then the instrumental of one of their famous songs playing behind them while they jammed on guitars with Santino.

Maybe Mr. McMahon put a tight leash on what ZZ Top could say or do, or they were just told they could promote themselves, but I didn't expect them to have any incidents in the ring with a mic talking to Randy Orton. Notice how Cena came out to hype them up as guest hosts, but they weren't introduced and brought out. In fact they made a brief appearance at the end of Raw, driving their trademark red car out as if they were just arriving to perform at a concert. I'm expecting the next host will be more involved and hopefully will make things fun like Seth Green did...

For some reason, neither the WWE Draft nor Chris Jericho saying it himself has kept Jericho off the WWE Raw TV show. He's been on it several weeks now fighting Mark Henry. Henry won both times, via countout and last night's DQ when Jericho introduced a chair. Clearly, they wanted to hype Night of Champions in all its glory, but why have Jericho make a big deal of the fact he'll never be on the show, a-gain? Strange.

The announcement of the 6 Pack Challenge for the US Title was interesting. It involves Kofi defending against Jack Swagger, MVP, Miz, Big Show and Carlito. 3 of the guys in the match are former US Champs, while Miz and Swagger are hungry for that title. I could see this match taking a surprise turn for its winner. I don't see MVP winning it, and after Show decimated everyone in the ring it's hard to say he'll win. Swagger or Miz could be the surprise winners here. Question, why wasn't Evan Bourne included, especially after his win over Kofi not long ago? Let's hope Bourne's not on the shelf again..

We had another divas match last night, this time the "Legs" edition to showcase the legs of Kelly Kelly, Rosa Mendes, Gail Kim and Alicia Fox. Alicia stole the pinfall while there was a distractiong outside the ring. The divas looked great, and hopefully these four will be developed character-wise more...Rosa Mendes especially seems like she could become a top heel diva if they create the right stories for her.

In the main event, we saw Cena steal the win as Orton tried to Punt Kick him near the corner. Cena rolled up Orton for the win, while HHH was outside the ring dealing with Legacy. So this may signal that Cena won't be getting that same pinfall come Sunday. It's a teaser, and still looks like Orton may maintain the title. After all, who else is there for WWE Title contenders in terms of heels right now?

Next week we get Raw hosted by Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA All-Star, Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq's a big fan of WWE, has been seen at events and even was part of a storyline with Carlito where he hit him with a chair backstage. Expect this to be quite the interesting episode of Raw, and another way for WWE to get onto ESPN's Sportscenter. Wouldn't mind seeing Shaq put himself into a match against Big Show, but that may be wishful thinking for the big man...More than likely it'd be Shaq & Hornswoggle versus Chavo Guerrero.