Monday Night RAW
San Diego, CA
March 15th 2010
Commentators: Michael Cole & Jerry ?The King? Lawler
Reported by: David Stephens of WrestleView.com
Are you ready? Then stop questioning your heart and join me, because it is time for Monday Night RAW!
The show wastes no time in getting started as the infamous glass crashes and Stone Cold makes his way out to the ring. Austin says that he must be out of shape because the walk to the ring felt really long. It made him thirsty, so he motions and the beer cans are thrown to him in the ring. Austin puts over the match he had at Wrestlemania 13 against Bret Hart. Austin calls Bret a true artist and ?one of the finest kids I?ve ever been in the ring with?.
Stone Cold says that he also knows something about Hart’s opponent, Mr. McMahon. Austin says that he enjoyed wrestling Vince because even though he was not a textbook wrestler, he always gave an A grade performance. Steve says that he will be overseeing the contract signing between Hart and McMahon tonight to ensure that it goes off without a hitch. Austin says that if not he is going to kick his foot right up Vince’s ass (Something along those lines, the censors blanked it out). And that’s the bottom line, cause Stone Cold said so!
John Cena’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring. At first it seems like there is going to be a confrontation, but Austin walks out of the ring. The Big Show’s music hits and it looks like we are getting our first Wrestlemania Rewind Match of the Night.
Wrestlemania XX Rewind
John Cena v. Big Show
The two start off by exchanging a couple of quick blows. The Big Show goes for a Powerbomb, and instead turns it into a rear facing electric chair drop.
****Commercial****
We come back with Cena locked in a headlock. Cena counters and looks for the STF, but Show kicks him to the outside of the ring. The referee starts the 10 count. Show starts to lift Cena back into the ring, but Cena uses the ropes to catch Show off guard by pulling his neck down hard. Back in the ring, Cena goes for a scoop slam, but he doesn?t have it in him and Show falls down into the crossbody cover position. John kicks out. Big Show heads for the second rope to set up for his blind side splash. Cena rolls out of the way.
After dodging another kick, Cena kicks Show in the gut. John heads to the second rope and connects with a leg drop! Cena sets up for the Five Knuckle Shuff—
Batista’s music hits. Cena does not lose ground in the match, and connects with the Five Knuckle Shuffle. The distraction does prove too much however, as Big Show goes for the chokeslam. Show hits the move, but Cena kicks out of the cover! Show then goes for the Super Big Punch, but gets nothing but air. John lifts him in the air for the Attitude Adjustment. Batista steps up to the apron, and Show uses the moment to rake Cena’s eyes to escape the slam, and connects with the punch.
Winner via Batista-Acting-All-Distracting-Like on the Apron: Big Show
****Commercial*****
Evan Bourne v. Sheamus
Sheamus grabs the mic and says that before he starts the match he would like—
Sheamus hits Evan in the face with the microphone. Sheamus then connects with the Big Boot and follows up with his Crucifix Powerbomb.
No Contest (Match never officially started)
Sheamus says that as a young star growing up in Ireland, he watched the WWE. He says that there was one man who stood out to him above all others. The man who would sell out his family, friends, and use a sledgehammer to get to the top. That man was HHH. Sheamus lauds his success and preaches his desire to be like Hunter. Sheamus says that in less than one year he has ended careers, dominated RAW, and became the WWE Champion. Sheamus says that the man he wanted to face at Wrestlemania when he came to RAW was HHH, and in two weeks he will get his wish. Sheamus says that he will defeat HHH so brutally that he will never be the same again. ?This warrior bows to no king? the Celtic Warrior will take your throne?!
In the back, Shawn Michaels walks into Austin’s office. HBK asks Steve if he thinks that he can beat the Undertaker. Austin says yes, but he is not going to. Shawn says that when Jericho is beaten by the Heartbreak Kid tonight, the world will know that he will beat the Undertaker. Jericho walks into the office to remind Shawn that he is a World Champion. Shawn apologizes for not making himself clear. He isn?t going to beat Jericho, he is going to destroy him to prove a point to the Undertaker. Jericho tries to get out of the match tonight be telling Austin that Shawn should get the night off. Chris suggests to Austin that they go out and drink just like old times. Steve and Chris are both laughing, but Austin does the classic ?First I LOL?d, then I SERIOUS?d? face and tells Jericho to get out of his office.
****Commercial****
Kelly Kelly v. Maryse
Maryse tries to hit a cheap shot on Kelly, but Kelly turns around and slaps her across the face. Kelly takes Maryse to the mat and continues with the punching. Kelly goes for a kick, but Maryse catches the leg. Maryse tries to throw her away, but Kelly does a beautiful flip to land on her feet. Kelly hits a dropkick on Maryse’s leg and goes for the cover. Maryse kicks out. Maryse gets to her feet and hits the French Kiss, this match is over.
Winner via French Kiss: Maryse
After the match, Maryse punts Kelly in the stomach which sends her to the outside of the ring. Maryse heads out after her, and throws her back in the ring. Maryse follows her in, but before she can do whatever dastardly deed is on her mind, Gail Kim and Eve run out to make the save. Gail takes out Maryse, but Michelle McCool and Layla come to the aid of Maryse! They make easy work of Eve and Gail, and then head out of the ring.
Vicki Guerrero is at the top of the ramp, and has a jacket on, which says ?Excuse me? on the back. Maryse joins them, and the quartet heads to the back.
****Commercial****
Wrestlemania Rewind Match
Shawn Michaels v. Chris Jericho
The match starts off with Michaels giving hell to Jericho’s head in the corner. Chris gets to his feet and whips Michaels hard into the corner. Chris then sends Shawn to the outside. He heads out after HBK and rolls him back into the ring. Jericho sets him up with his neck under the bottom rope and uses the wheelbarrow effect to slam Shawn’s neck into the rope. Chris picks Shawn up, and Shawn goes for an Irish Whip. Chris reverses and HBK once again hits hard into the turnbuckle.
The fans are actively telling Jericho that he ‘sucks?, and he is loving every minute of it. Chris Jericho applies a headlock as the fans begin an ?HBK? chant. Shawn escapes, but then gets caught with a running bulldog. Jericho leaps for the Lionsault, but Michaels gets his knees up! Jericho is on his back in the ring, as Michaels heads to the top rope. Shawn leaps and he connects with the Flying Elbow Drop! Shawn starts to tune up the band, and Jericho bails out of the ring.
Winner via Count Out: Shawn Michaels
After the match, Edge’s music hits and he charges after the cowardly Jericho. Edge pummels him and then throws him back into the ring from which he had just escaped. Jericho stands up and gets caught with a VICIOUS spear! Edge grabs a mic and stands over Jericho to utter just one word ? ‘spear?.
****Commercial****
Video Package for Steve Austin’s new movie
In the back Randy Orton is taping up his wrists for his match tonight. Josh Mathews enters to ask him his thoughts about tonight’s match. Randy says that he takes this match with HHH means something to him, his Wrestlemania match against Rhodes and Dibiase does not. It’s a three way, not a handicap match. He says that after ?mania, he will prove that Rhodes and Dibiase are nothing.
****Commercial****
Wrestlemania 25 Rewind Match
HHH v. Randy Orton
The match starts with Orton backing HHH into the corner. He connects with a couple of punches and the referee makes him back off. HHH then reverses the positions and does the same. He takes Orton to the adjacent corner and then sets up for an Irish Whip. Orton reverses, but it does no good as HHH knocks him to the mat anyway. HHH does a DX crotch shot, and then leaps for his knee drop. Both men are back on their feet as HHH goes bouncing off the ropes. Orton takes to the air looking for a dropkick, but HHH holds onto the rope and Orton misses by a mile. Orton recovers and throws HHH to the outside. It looks like he hit pretty hard and might have even caught a piece of the steel steps.
HHH makes his way back into the ring, and throws Orton over the top to the outside. Randy grabs Hunter and slams him into the steel steps. Orton then uses the steps as a platform to place HHH’s legs as he sets up for, and connects with, his patented suspended DDT.
****Commercial****
We come back as Randy Orton is staring down HHH and grinding against the mat. Orton goes for the RKO, but HHH ducks and connects with a clothesline. Both men struggle to get to their feet. Orton is the first one upright, and connects with a punch. HHH gathers his composure and hits a fist of his own. They trade blows back and forth until it culminates with Orton getting caught with a high knee. HHH bounces off the ropes again, but this time it is Orton with the upper hand and connects with a scoop slam. He goes for the cover but the Game kicks out.
Back on his feet, HHH is eying Orton as Randy runs to the ropes. HHH catches him on the go around and connects with a Spinebuster! He goes for the cover, but Orton kicks out! HHH sets up for the Pedigree, but Orton counters into a back body drop. Orton slides to the outside of the ring. HHH is there to pull him back into the ring, and connects with the Pedigree! This match is ove—
Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes hit the ring! They throw HHH out, and then go to work on Orton. After a moment, HHH finds his way back into the ring and looks to make the save. Before he can make headway, Sheamus comes out of nowhere and connects with a huge big boot. Rhodes and Dibiase start to slink away, but drag Orton to the outside of the ring with them. Rhodes hits his finisher on Orton on the outside of the ring. Sheamus celebrates by standing over HHH’s fallen body in the ring.
No Contest
****Commercial****
NEW Hall of Fame Inductee
Gorgeous George
Batista v. Kofi Kingston
Batista backs Kofi into the corner and immediately starts to thrust his shoulder into him over and over again. The referee makes him back off, so Batista takes Kofi to another corner. In this one he delivers a series of punches and kicks. Batista lifts him up into the air, but Kofi counters out. Kofi manages to connect with a few kicks, and even sets up for his boom, boom kick. Batista rolls out of the ring.
Kofi follows, which is a terrible idea. Batista hits him hard and then rolls him back in the ring. Kofi is in the corner, and Batista charges after him. Kofi ducks, and kicks Batista in the head. Batista starts bleeding from just above his nose. Batista looks very angered by the blood. Poor Kofi, this is not good. Kofi heads to the apron and springboards into the air. Batista connects with a BRUTAL clothesline to Kofi’s midsection. Batista lifts Kingston up for a Powerbomb and this match is over!
Winner via Powerbomb: Batista
After the match, the medic enters the ring to clean up Batista’s wound. Batista pulls away and shoots him a look that immediately makes the medic back off. Batista walks to the back, enjoying every bloody moment.
****Commercial****
Justin Roberts introduces Bret Hart, who makes his way out to the ring. He is still wearing a cast, and half walking with a crutch. It’s a walking cast, which we are informed by the commentators is a good sign of his recovery. Vince makes his way out next, mocking the injured Hart. Vince and Bret are staring each other down for a very tense moment, but then the glass breaks! Austin heads out to the ring.
Austin tells McMahon to ‘sit?, as we are about to head into the overrun. Stone Cold takes a moment before the contract is signed, to reflect upon being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last year. Austin says that this year, Stu Hart was supposed to be in the Hall of Fame. Vince starts to stand up, but Austin tells him to ‘sit his ass down? (censors struck again). Austin says that Stu Hart must be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.
Vince says that if Stu is inducted, it would mean that every member of the Hart family would be there. Every single one of those derelicts. Vince says that Bret is nothing but a handicapped derelict. Vince says that Bret can either be a coward and not sign the contract, or sign it and take his forthcoming beating. Bret says that it doesn?t matter if both of his legs were broken, he would beat Vince McMahon. Bret says that this is not just going to be a wrestling match. It’s going to be a fight. Bret proposes a No Holds Barred match, so that it can be a massacre. Vince says in the word of Austin, ?Hell Yeah?. Vince says that by adding that stipulation, once again ?Bret, has screwed Bret?. McMahon says that if Bret backs out of the match he will sue him for every penny he has to his name. Vince tells Bret to sign the contract. The Hitman does, and Vince is next to sign. Austin says that he looks forward to seeing Vince take the biggest— no idea, damn censors cut it out again. Maybe, ?biggest ass kicking of his life?? That sounds right.
Austin stops at the top of the ramp, and says that there is one thing he forgot to tell McMahon. Actually, Steve tells Hart to tell him. Bret just cockily smiles at McMahon. Bret takes off his cast and puts it on the table. He says that he is NOT injured! The whole thing was staged so that McMahon would think he was hurt and accept the match.
Bret says that if Vince backs out, he will sue him for everything he is worth! Bret tears into McMahon saying that this time, ?Vince screwed Vince?! He takes the cast and looks to throw it to the crowd, but decks McMahon instead!! Bret heads up the ramp, and we are only 13 days before this epic match!
RAW Thoughts
Good to see the show kicking off with the Guest Host once again. I have missed that in recent weeks. They focused more on the Host’s making of matches as Austin set up the Wrestlemania Rewind Contests which took center stage tonight. Makes sense as he is a wrestler. They did just about as good of a job with Austin as they possibly could. I know a lot of people were expecting Austin to be added as the special guest referee for the Hart/McMahon match, but I?m actually glad that he was not. It made the final segment that much more impactful, at least for me. When Austin said he left one thing out, I swore that was it. Instead, the WWE pulled a decent swerve.
Hart taking the cast off was PERFECT. Yes, obviously he was not really hurt in real life, but I was expecting them to continue with the injury angle and have it prevail into the match to explain why Hart could not wrestle on the level of his past. I saw the logic in that move, and accepted that was creative’s direction. I?m VERY happy that they are instead going this way. I was hoping for this a couple of weeks ago, and I think it is absolutely perfect. They even gave a nice little rub to Cena by crediting him for setting up the hoax. Very well done angle through and through.
COME ON! I am sick and tired of seeing Evan Bourne vs. Sheamus. Bourne has so much more potential than being beaten in two seconds every other week. The positive side is that on the weeks in between he is winning his matches, yet they also routinely last under 5 minutes. This is why ECW was so great for guys like Evan. They were afforded decent time for matches and really got a fan base mobilized. I understand that the time is not there on RAW to make this happen, but I am 100% convinced that I used to see more actual wrestling time on Tuesday nights than I do now on Mondays.
I am NOT saying that this is necessarily a bad thing. I am just pointing out the fact that the WWE has rather successfully created different types of shows for their talent. With NXT replacing ECW, I am starting to desire a Velocity type show. I guess that is what Superstars is for, but I don?t get that in my area. Even if I did, I doubt I?d watch it because the matches announced have never gotten me excited. There was something special with Velocity on Saturday nights for the cruiserweights. I?d be lying if I said I didn?t miss it.
Whoever picked out the outfits for Layla and Michelle needs to head back to the drawing board. It worked for Michelle, but looked awful on Layla. Seriously, I don?t know why, but it somehow became the most unflattering thing they could possibly come up with given the simplicity. It’s really not that complicated, Kelly & Maryse’s outfit = good, Layla = bad. At least that’s how I see it.
Oh yeah, they had a match as well. I thought it was unnecessarily short. Kelly got in some really great offense and for a minute I thought that she might pull off a surprise win. However, by the second minute of the match it was over with Maryse hitting what seemed like only one move. I guess this all sets up for an inter-brand Divas match at Wrestlemania. But yeah, get Layla a new outfit ASAP.
Very cool motif with Sheamus and Legacy standing over their former ?idols?. Fantastic concept that really worked the second it clicked in my mind. This is just one of the things that the WWE can do so well that other promotions have not figured out. This could have been a huge cluster with two fights going on, yet the imagery was powerful and told the story. Minimal action created the maximum effect.
Gorgeous George is a fantastic choice for the Hall of Fame, and definitely deserving of the honor. He really was a trailblazer, not just for professional wrestling, but entertainment in general during the 1940s. Few know of his accomplishments today, but they were innumerable. Google him if you get a chance, some really fascinating information available.
Is it just me, or does Batista look smaller each week? I was immediately disappointed when Kofi’s music hit. Clearly this was going to be a brutal squash. I actually would have rather seen a local jobber. But, then Kofi wouldn?t have gotten ring time. Yet, if this is the ring time he does get, would it be better to sit out the week for his character? I don?t have an answer, just throwing it out for your consideration. This was not as bad as I thought it would be due to Kofi causing Batista to bleed. It added a lot of legitimacy that would not have existed otherwise. I guess some accidents are not inherently bad. Kind of like penicillin, ice cream cones, fire, post it notes, champagne, potato chips, the slinky, the microwave, superglue, and the pacemaker.
Yup, Batista bleeding is on the level of accidentally discovering penicillin and fire. You read it here first folks.
All in all, a pretty good show with a great ending. The final 3 minutes of RAW were some of the best I have seen in awhile. I am excited about a lot of different matches at Wrestlemania, and that is a very good sign. This is one of my favorite times of the year because I love the spectacle that is Wrestlemania. When I was in school I used to have a countdown in my agenda book from the beginning of the year, that I would cross off daily. There is an electricity in the air which I feel is greater than any other day on the pro-wrestling calendar. It is the time when I notice the largest amount of my peers joining me in my daily quest to just ENJOY wrestling. I hope you join me this year, even if it’s only for one day, to get lost in the crazy world of wrestling.
Quote of the Night
?This is a Vintage Monday Night Raw? ? Michael Cole within seconds of the program starting
Match of the Night
HHH v. Randy Orton
Power Rankings
3 Month Rolling Rankings (We?ll get there!); WWE Title Win 7, WWE Title Loss 6, Undercard Title Win 5, Undercard Title Loss 4, RAW Win 3, RAW Loss 2, RAW Appearance 1, PPV WWE Title Win 14, PPV WWE Title Loss 12, PPV Undercard Title Win 10, PPV Undercard Title Loss 8, PPV Win 6, PPV Loss 4, PPV Appearance 2.
February 22nd ? March 15th 2010
Male
1. Big Show ? 15 pts. [lw 1]2. The Miz ? 12 pts. [lw 1]3. Randy Orton ? 9 pts. [lw 3]3. Shawn Michaels ? 9 pts. [lw 7]
5. Ted Dibiase ? 8 pts. [lw 3]5. Evan Bourne ? 8 pts. [lw 7]5. John Cena ? 8 pts. [lw 7]8. Mark Henry ? 7 pts. [lw 3]8. MVP ? 7 pts. [lw 3]8. Cody Rhodes ? 7 pts. [lw 7]8. HHH ? 7 pts. [lw NA]
Diva
1. Maryse ? 12 pts. [lw 2]2.Gail Kim ? 11 pts. [lw 1]3. Kelly Kelly ? 9 pts. [lw 3]4. Eve Torres ? 8 pts. [lw 3]5. Alicia Fox ? 5 pts. [lw 5]6. Jillian ? 4 pts. [lw 6]7. Brie Bella ? 3 pts. [lw 7]7. Katie Lea ? 3 pts. [lw 7]7. Nikki Bella ? 3 pts. [lw 7]
So that’s RAW?. Love it? Hate it? Disagree with everything I said? Just want to chat wrestling? I?m always up for reading your thoughts and do my absolute best to reply to every message I get. Send them over to me at david@wrestleview.com.
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