Source: PWTorch.com
WWE Raw Live Report
January 29 in Dallas, Texas
We open with Shawn Michaels coming to the ring in street clothes. Ross and Lawler discussed HBK’s near-miss at the Rumble last night. Lawler’s voice has already reached its highest level twice. HBK said no mortal man was supposed to beat him at the Rumble, but there were 29 mortal men and The Undertaker last night. He repeated that the Showstopper is back and he would somehow be the next WWE Champion at Mania. HBK labored over the point of Taker having the choice of which champion to challenge for. Suddenly, John Cena’s music hit after HBK said he’s throwing his hat into the championship ring. Cena walked out favoring his ribs and we have ourselves a show tonight. Cena said he likes the sound of Cena vs. HBK, but the choice is up to Taker. Before Cena could finish, Edge’s music interrupted. Edge walked out on stage and said Cena-HBK isn’t going to happen at Mania. Edge said HBK was close at the Rumble, but didn’t win. He also said he’s beaten Cena more times than he can count, so he should be facing Cena. He’s also never lost at Mania. Randy Orton had something to say about that, and he walked out on stage next to Edge. Orton asked Edge how many times he’s had a title shot. Orton said it must have been ten, twenty, or thirty times while he’s had zero title shots. Edge said there’s a reason why. We won’t dwell on that, though. Cena then told Edge and Orton to shut up and come fight. Vince McMahon interrupted on the video screen and said he’s telling the fans and the wrestlers what’s happening. He said that since it’s Fan Appreciation Night, he’s booking a tag title match with Orton & Edge defending against Cena & HBK.
[Commercial Break]
Cryme Tyme was walking backstage. J.T.G. then stopped and acknowledged the camera to get out some shout-outs. There goes the fourth wall. Shad then told J.T.G. to get ready for their match.
[Q2]
1 — CRYME TYME (SHAD & J.T.G.) vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN & CHARLIE HAAS. Haas now has a cornrow haircut. Ross and Lawler perpetuated stereotypes as Shelton and Haas exchanged tags working on Shad’s left knee. Shad isn’t very smooth in the ring. He then made a tag to JTG, who ran over the heels with flying kicks. JTG then had a roll up on Shelton, but Shad inadvertently distracted the referee allowing Haas to give JTG a DDT. Shelton then rolled up JTG for the win. WINNERS: BENJAMIN & HAAS in 4:00. Inconsequential match to fill a second-quarter-hour time slot.
McMahon was talking to Melina backstage. He told her to seize an opportunity tonight. She hugged him and left, then Coach walked into the picture and said all the arrangements for Mr. McMahon fan appreciation night have been made. McMahon said it’s bigger than the Rumble and on the level of Mania. He droned on about being a great humanitarian comparable to Mother Teresa and Gandhi. Let the overbearing ego-fest continue.
[Commercial Break]
This Week in Wrestling history was Jan. 24, 1988 with the first-ever Royal Rumble match. Of course, it wasn’t the first-ever battle royale style match, but WWE would like you to think that. We saw Jim Duggan eliminate One Man Gang to win.
Melina then came to the ring dressed to wrestle. She took the mic and said the match has turned into a #1 Contender’s match. She acted like we’ve seen a few video packages promoting some sort of match. Maria then came to the ring for this epic match.
[Q3]
2 — MELINA vs. MARIA — #1 Contender’s match. Maria gave Melina a Bronco Buster early on. Melina then lightly tossed Maria to the mat by the hair. After some rough action, Melina put Maria in the Muta Lock for the tap out win. WINNER: MELINA in 3:00. Not a good match. The crowd is slowly being put to sleep tonight.
Ross and Lawler talked about Hardy vs. Khali for the IC Title later tonight.
Tomorrow night on ECW, we get yet another Lashley vs. Test title match. Why? And again, why? Haven’t we had enough already?
[Commercial Break]
Shawn Michaels was walking backstage when Todd Grisham approached him with some questions. Grisham stumbled through the interview and HBK threatened to superkick him again if he continued his line of questioning. When asked how the chemistry would be with him and Cena, HBK said Cena is no Triple H. Ouch.
Mickie James was working on her make-up backstage when Super Crazy walked up to her and said he’s even crazier than when everyone thought Mickie James was crazy. Melina then interrupted and said the Women’s Title is hers. Crazy slapped Melina from behind Mickie’s back leading to a catfight. Glitter spilled everywhere before producers and Nitro hit the scene. Nitro held Melina back. Nitro has been reduced to breaking up a catfight. Sigh.
Cade and Murdoch were talking to Edge backstage in a locker room. Murdoch said Orton has a lot of nerve telling Edge he doesn’t deserve another title shot. Cade said Orton is the most over-rated guy he’s ever seen. Edge cut them off and said they have it wrong. He said Orton is a great tag partner and no one can beat them when they’re on the same page.
[Commercial Break]
They aired still-photos of Cena-Umaga from the Rumble, including close-ups of Umaga’s face as Cena choked him with the STFU.
[Q4]
3 — UMAGA (w/Armando Alejandro Estrada) vs. VAL VENIS. Venis was already in the ring when Umaga came out staring a hole in Venis. Umaga gave Venis a Samoan Drop early on. He hit a flying headbutt in the corner as Venis hung upside down. He followed with a running rear splash and the Samoan Spike for the win. WINNER: UMAGA in 2:00. The rebuilding process begins.
As Umaga and Armando left the ringside area, Mr. McMahon strutted out in a cowboy hat for fan appreciation night. Ross said McMahon would also be on ECW tomorrow night.
[Commercial Break]
We joined McMahon mid-promo with a black cloth covering an object behind him. He said anyone who wears a cowboy hat just looks stupid. He said anyone who wears a cowboy hat over the age of five looks stupid. Did Jim Ross look at McMahon wrong in the hallway earlier in the day? McMahon then put the hat on the mat and stomped on it. He told the crowd “thank you” for making him a billionaire. McMahon said he would give just one fan a special gift tonight. He asked who wanted to get in the ring with him. After surveying the crowd, he called for a young lady from the front row to get in the ring. She looked about 20ish. McMahon said she’s probably nervous because she’s in the ring with him. He then asked for a drum roll and unveiled his giant Muscle & Fitness magazine cover. McMahon said he would give Jackie the poster after the show. Suddenly, Donald Trump appeared on the video screen. He said the fans have no choice but to accept what McMahon gives them. Trump said he might know the audience more than Vince. He said they want value for the money they paid for tickets tonight. Trump said his way of showing appreciation to the fans is dropping money, money, money. McMahon claimed it was Monopoly money. Fans then held up dollar bills for the camera and Ross said he grabbed some money. He said they’re having steak tonight. McMahon screamed about Trump embarrassing him. He said the fans don’t deserve the money. McMahon stormed out of the ring as ringside fans taunted him with money. He strutted up the stage as they cut to a break. A brutal and laborious segment.
[Q5]
[Commercial Break]
Coach caught up to McMahon as he was walking to his limo backstage. McMahon said he had never been so humiliated in his life. Coach pulled out a $10 bill and said he was giving McMahon money to make up for Trump showing him up. McMahon took the money and jumped into his limo, leaving Coach standing alone.
4 — CARLITO (w/Torrie Wilson) & SUPER CRAZY vs. CHRIS MASTERS & KENNY DYKSTRA. Crazy and Carlito cleared their opponents to the outside early on. They hit simultaneous flip dives on the outside before Masters tripped up Crazy. The heels then exchanged tags working on Crazy.
[Q6]
Carlito took a hot tag at 7:00 and landed kicks. The action broke down with Crazy flipping Kenny over the top rope to the floor. Carlito then caught Masters with a back elbow smash, but Masters went for the gorilla press slam. Carlito quickly slipped out with a rake of the eyes and hit the backcracker. He made the cover for the win. WINNERS: CARLITO & CRAZY in 8:00. At least they’re trying to form a new tag team with Carlito & Crazy, but this still feels like same chapter, different verse with Masters taking yet another inconsequential loss.
They went back to Grisham, who was with Randy Orton backstage. Grisham talked about tension between Edge and him. Orton said winning the World Tag Titles was one of the great highlights of his career. Orton then talked about Undertaker having a choice for a Mania title shot. Grisham took a breath and redirected his question. Orton took a long pause and said he looks forward to being victorious tonight. That was a rough promo.
[Commercial Break]
5 — JEFF HARDY vs. GREAT KHALI — IC Title match. Khali stole the IC Title belt from referee Marty before the bell sounded. Khali then threw Hardy over the top rope. Apparently, he thinks it’s still a Rumble match. Khali bent Hardy over the top rope and landed forearm blows to the chest before pulling Hardy back into the ring. Hardy tried to make a comeback, but Khali cut him off with a knock-down clothesline. Hardy suddenly went for the Whisper in the Wind, but Khali shook him off. Khali then missed with big boot, but caught Hardy and chopped him off the top rope to the floor. Hardy was counted out and Khali raised his arms in victory. Ross and Lawler speculated whether Hardy was KO’ed when his head hit the floor. WINNER: KHALI via count-out in 4:00; Hardy retained the IC Title. They had no “out” other than a non-finish here. The IC Title is close to X Division status of being completely meaningless right now.
[Q7]
They aired a brief behind-the-scenes video package on Candice Michell’s third Super Bowl commercial for GoDaddy.
[Commercial Break]
They went to WM 21 and the Money in the Bank match for the WrestleMania Recall segment. And that’s where it all started for Edge.
A random new announcer stood next to Vladimir Koslov ringside. No more smile for Koslov. He said he loves Double Double E. He said he wasn’t impressed with the Rumble. Koslov said he could have throw everyone over the top rope.
They aired clips and still-shots from last night’s Cena-Umaga match again.
After the video aired, Cena was shown talking to Ric Flair backstage. Flair said Cena and HBK as tag champs sounds good. He said HBK has only one thing on his mind, though, and that’s making a splash to earn a Mania main event. Flair warned Cena about a surprise superkick from HBK.
[Commercial Break]
[Q8]
6 — RANDY ORTON & EDGE vs. SHAWN MICHAELS & JOHN CENA — World Tag Title match. HBK and Edge started things off with HBK landing hard chops to the chest. He then directed some crotch chops at Orton. HBK and Cena worked as a cohesive unit on Edge before Orton took a quick tag. He isolated Cena in a neutral corner before landing European uppercuts and right hand blows. Edge then took a blow as he stood on the apron and Cena rolled up Orton from behind for a close nearfall. Edge was upset with Orton and threatened to leave him by himself. Orton pleaded with Edge to get back in their corner as they cut to a break.
[Commercial Break]
Cena ran over Edge with a flying shoulder tackle out of the break. That answers the pre-commercial question. Cena went for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Orton caught him from the apron with a blow to Cena’s injured lower body. Cena recovered on the floor before Edge worked on the lower back and threw him back into the ring. Orton tagged in and did the Orton stomp before landing a knee to the gut. The heels isolated Cena and scored several nearfalls as HBK hopped up and down waiting for a tag. Orton opened up Cena’s cut from last night, but missed with a dropkick off the ropes.
[Q9 – over-run]
HBK took the hot tag at the top of the hour and knocked down Orton and Edge. He then dropped an elbow on Edge from the top rope. HBK tuned up the band, but Orton cut him off with a dropkick. Orton then stalked HBK for an RKO, but HBK blocked and ran over to Cena for a tag. Cena then dropped Orton with the FU and made the cover for the win. WINNERS: CENA & HBK in 15:00 to capture the World Tag Titles. Surprising title change that will create some intriguing TV in the coming weeks, but will most likely lead to the further decline of the tag titles. Decent tag match with good energy, but Edge seemed to fade into oblivion here.
After the match, HBK threatened Cena with a superkick, but Cena saw it coming and stopped HBK. He then got in HBK’s face and asked if the WWE Title is what it’s all about. Suddenly, Undertaker’s music hit. He came up through the stage and stared down Cena. Ross said Taker has made it clear he’s coming after Cena’s WWE Title. Ross said there are new tag champs, then they faded to black with Cena still staring at Taker with HBK standing motionless behind Cena.
