WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Cleveland, Oh.
January 26th, 2009
Report by: Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net
[Q1] The show opened with a recap of the Randy Orton and Vince McMahon angle from last week… In the ring, Lillian Garcia introduced Orton as the winner of the 2009 Royal Rumble. Orton came out with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase at his side. Three men dressed in suits walked behind them.
Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler chimed in on commentary and said Orton would be reprimanded. He said Vince suffered a concussion and there were rumors of something more serious such as a neck injury. Once in the ring, Orton took a deep breath and said: “My name is Randy Orton, and I would like to introduce my lawyers and therapist, and the other members of Legacy – Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase.”
Orton said he is a third generation superstar and added: “The WWE is in my blood, it’s apart of me, but unfortunately something else is apart of me, something I have been living with for quite some time. It’s called IED – Intermittent Explosive Disorder.”
He said it affects 16 million Americans. He said it causes outbursts of physical violence. He said that after he was slapped by Stephanie and threatened by Vince, “I had become sufficiently provoked.” He said the look on his face last week proved that he was not in control of his actions.
Orton said he would sue WWE if Stephanie McMahon fired him. He said there could also be a second lawsuit. He said he would sue for breach of contract if he’s not allowed to compete in the main event at WrestleMania. “So how does that sound, Stephanie?” he asked. He said Steph would face two lawsuits and lose Cody and DiBiase if she chose to fire him. He said that with the three of them gone, the Raw roster would be virtually without superstars.
Orton said he had one more piece of business to attend to. One of the suits handed him a piece of paper. “I do apologize for the trauma that befell Mr. McMahon last week,” he read. “I apologize for the trauma that his family is now suffering. As the father of a newborn, I now recognize and appreciate the anguish that the McMahon family must be experiencing. My hope is that we can put this ugly incident behind us and move forward.”
Randy apologized to the McMahons and the fans again to wrap up the angle. Lawler expressed shock at Orton insincerely reading the apology. Cole recapped Orton’s claims as Legacy and the suits left the ring. Meanwhile, a shot aired of Stephanie scowling as she watched Orton on a backstage monitor… [C]
Powell’s POV: I enjoyed that segment. Orton came across like a real sleaze bag while reading the prepared statement with no sincerity. Lawler also did a nice job of pointing out Randy’s insincerity. The shot of Steph seething backstage was also well done.
[Q2] 1. John Morrison and The Miz defeated Cryme Tyme to retain the World Tag Titles in 3:00. Shad had Morrison pinned, but Miz broke it up. After Shad cleared Miz from the ring, Morrison kicked his opponent from behind and used the Moonlight Drive before scoring the pin…
Powell’s POV: A three-minute tag title match between the top two (the only two?) tag teams on the Raw brand? Weak.
At ringside, Lawler said Vince McMahon lives by the motto, “The show must go on.” He said the No Way Out pay-per-view is in three weeks. This led to an Elimination Chamber video…
JBL walked onto the stage wearing a suit. He announced that his employee Shawn Michaels would be competing on his behalf in a special qualifying match. JBL explained that he will be added to the Elimination Chamber match if Shawn defeated his opponent John Cena… [C]
Powell’s POV: Maybe it’s going to be a short match or there’s some other reason they didn’t publicize the match.
Cole and Lawler hyped the television premier of John Cena’s 12 Rounds that will follow the show…
[Q3] 2. Kofi Kingston pinned Kane in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match in 2:00. Cole put over Kane’s performance in the Rumble match and stressed that it took all three members of Legacy to eliminate him. Kane controlled the match and went for a chokeslame, but Kofi caught him with a kick. Kane went for another chokeslam, but Kofi rolled him up and scored the clean pin…
Powell’s POV: Nice surprise. That’s one more mid-card wrestler put over in this match than they put over in the entire Royal Rumble match. Let’s hope it sticks. If so, that’s a fun way to get people thinking that the Elimination Chamber won’t feature the same old wrestlers.
Cole introduced another replay of Orton’s attack on Mr. McMahon… The announcers hyped Cena vs. Michaels for later in the show… A Royal Rumble recap spotlighted Matt Hardy costing his brother Jeff Hardy the WWE Title… [C]
Powell’s POV: I dig the Orton and Vince angle, but as a longtime viewer it does seem odd that Orton was at risk of losing his job when Steve Austin used to kick Mr. McMahon’s ass on a weekly basis.
Chris Jericho walked onto the stage wearing a suit for a promo. He said people have been raving about Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. He introduced a feature on the movie that aired on the big screen. “Now one of those that gave the film a glowing review is WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair,” Jericho said. “But even though Flair is retired he can’t help himself, he has to stay in the spotlight, he craves the spotlight.”
Jericho introduced footage of Rourke on the red carpet at the SAG Awards via Access Hollywood. Rourke said he’s going to toss Jericho around the ring like tossed salad at WrestleMania. He said Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, and Afa the Samoan have been teaching him the tricks of the trade.
Back live, Jericho said there’s a big difference between being a wrestler and playing one in a movie. He said he’s offended and the last thing he should do is offend him…
Powell’s POV: Underwhelming segment. The live crowd couldn’t have cared less about the Rourke video. I’m guessing Flair will play a role as Rourke’s trainer or something, just as Rey Mysterio was scheduled to do for Floyd Mayweather last year before Rey got hurt and the fans rejected “Money” as a babyface. Keep in mind that while critics love the movie, it hasn’t received a major release, so this theoretically could be the first time that many Raw viewers are hearing about it. The key for WWE is the media attention they’ll get via the Oscars.
[Q4] Backstage, Shawn Michaels told JBL that he did everything he could to help him in his match against John Cena last night. JBL brought up the super kick. Shawn said he had to get Cena to lower his guard. JBL said he would fire Michaels right now, but there’s still business to be done. He said he can still go to WrestleMania as the World Champion. JBL intensely told Shawn has “one more last chance to beat Cena right now.” The announcers said the match was next… [C]
Powell’s POV: That the match is airing now is another sign that we shouldn’t gear up for a mat classic.
3. John Cena defeated Shawn Michaels (w/JBL) in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match in 13:15. The stipulation is that JBL will get a spot in the EC match with an HBK win. Cena is defending the title in the EC match, so he’s not trying to qualify. The announcers said the motivation for Cena is beating HBK would eliminate JBL – one of his toughest opponents – from the EC match.
Cena connected with a right hand early and went for the FU/Throwback. HBK avoided the finisher and headed to ringside. [C]
[Q5] After some back and forth action, HBK locked in the Crossface. Cena nearly fought out of it by getting to his knees, but he fell back down to the mat. Lawler said Cena was turning purple in a comment that will make some people cringe. He eventually powered out of the move and caught Shawn in the STF (now minus the U).
At 12:30, HBK had Cena down and went out onto the ring apron. JBL yelled at him to super kick him and finish the job, but Shawn was intent on going for the top rope elbow. The bickering gave Cena enough time to recover. JBL climbed onto the ring apron to stop him, but Cena shoved JBL into HBK, who fell off the top rope and into the ring. Cena followed up with the Throwback/FU and scored the pin.
After the match, JBL entered the ring and looked down at the fallen Shawn with a look of disgust. Shawn grunted and groaned as JBL stared down while resting his hands on his hips…
Powell’s POV: So much for my expectation of a short screwjob match. Now I really don’t understand why they didn’t advertise it before the show. Hard work by both men even if it wasn’t the 25-minute classic they had recently.
They cut abruptly from JBL and HBK to another recap of Orton kicking Mr. McMahon. The announcers introduced footage of Orton reading his prepared statement. Lawler expressed disgust again…
Powell’s POV: The King is much more vocal and effective tonight than he has been lately. I’m not sure if it’s by design or if he downed a few Red Bulls before the show, but I like it.
Backstage, Todd Grisham asked Stephanie what type of punishment, if any, Orton would receive. She said she would address Orton in person… [C]
Still shot photos aired of Melina defeating Beth Phoenix to win the WWE Women’s Title…
[Q6] 4. Beth Phoenix and Jillian Hall defeated Melina and Kelly Kelly in 3:00. Santino Marella sat in on commentary. Lawler pointed out that Santino was in the match for only 1.9 seconds. He said he wasn’t ready. Kelly broke out a new move by bouncing her legs off the top rope and armdragging one of her opponents. Nice spot. Rosa Mendez ran out pulled Melina off the ring apron. Meanwhile, Beth hit her finisher on Kelly and scored the pin…
A WrestleMania Moment aired. This time they focussed on WM21 and all the movie spoofs they did to hype the match. Former WCW Champion David Arquette was shown in one of the video clips. He was in the crowd, not wrestling… [C]
5. Rey Mysterio defeated William Regal (w/Layla) in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match. Cole pointed out that Regal lost the Intercontinental Title to C.M. Punk last week, and was eliminated from the Rumble by Punk last night. Regal controlled the first two minutes of offense.
[Q7] Regal continued to dominate the offense, but Rey hit the 619 at 3:35. He followed up with a splash off the middle of the top rope and scored the pin. The announcers noted that Mysterio and Kofi Kingston are two of the five challengers for John Cena’s World Title in the Elimination match…
Lawler hyped the 12 Rounds trailer for after the break… [C] Backstage, Rosa Mendez complained to Santino that the title being “stolen” from Beth was “against everything WWE stands for.” Beth showed up with a mean look on her face and stood behind Rosa. When Mendez turned around, Beth looked at Phoenix, smiled, and said, “We can keep her”…
At ringside, the announcers introduced the 12 Rounds trailer. Lawler grabbed Cole and shook him while talking about how exciting it was… The trailer aired…
Powell’s POV: As I’ve mentioned before, the movie looks better than the typical straight to DVD specials that WWE is pumping out. The usual explosions and sappy music, but it could be fun.
The announcers hyped C.M. Punk vs. Chris Jericho in another Elimination Chamber qualifying match for after the break… [C]
Powell’s POV: Another match they should have hyped before the show. I would have held this match before the Rey vs. Regal match because it looks like it’s a babyface heavy match, which means, well, you do the math.
[Q8] 6. Chris Jericho pinned C.M. Punk in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match in 4:30. The announcers discussed Jericho’s promo on Mickey Rourke from earlier in the show. Cole pointed out that Rourke is a former boxer. “Oh yeah, that’s true,” Lawler said. Cole said Rourke is “a hell of an athlete as well.” Cole also noted that Jericho has been in four EC matches in his career. Nice stat.
At 2:30, Punk hit a bulldog and hit a springboard clothesline for a nearfall. He picked up Jericho and sat him on the top rope. Punk hit a huracanrana off the top rope for another nearfall. He motioned for the GTS and picked him up for the move, but Jericho elbowed out and rolled up Punk for a nearfall of his own. Later, Jericho hit a horrible looking Codebreaker out of nowhere and scored the clean pin…
Powell’s POV: Lawler tried to cover for the lousy Codebreaker by saying Jericho hit the move just enough. Um, not so much, but at least he tried to cover. They gave Punk the big IC Title win last week and then followed up by having him lose clean this week. There’s no shame in losing to Jericho, but why not give the guy and the Intercontinental Title some much needed momentum?
Another video recapped the Orton and Mr. McMahon segment from last week… Split screen shots aired of Steph walking with a purpose backstage, while Orton looked like he was stressing out in the other… [C] The announcers plugged the Rev Theory CD. They were originally scheduled to be on the show to perform Orton’s theme song…
Lillian Garcia introduced Stephanie McMahon. She entered the ring and said she was there to address Orton’s actions. She said that if Orton thought she was going to back down because of his threats, “you think wrong.” She invited Orton to come out to the ring to find out what she thinks.
Orton came out with the other Legacy members at his side, and the three suits walking behind them. They all entered the ring. Orton asked if she really wanted to go through with this. “If you fire me tonight, you’ll be subjecting yourself to a nightmare,” he said. He said the star power in the Raw locker room would be crippled without Legacy.
One of the suits took the mic and said his condition is very real. He said Orton will not get down on his knees and apologize like another employee (um, independent contractor!) did last week. “If you want to fire him, just know that there will be extreme consequences.”
Steph lunged at the lawyer and asked, “Is that some kind of threat?” The actor who played the lawyer sold for Steph like a Smackdown jobber for Triple H by looking like an intimidated jackass. Steph said Randy kicked his father in the head last week and now has the nerve to threaten her and the company.
Orton said he has a legal right to compete in the main event of WrestleMania because he won the Rumble. He vowed to file an injunction to make sure that there was no WrestleMania this year. “That’s not a threat, that’s a promise,” he said. “Now what, Stephanie McMahon, are you going to do about that?”
[Overrun] The entire Raw roster walked onto the stage. Orton turned and asked what they were looking at. “Do you think I care whether or not you have a WrestleMania?” he asked. He asked whether they thought he would take them all down if he was fired. He said maybe that’s exactly what he’s going to do.
Orton begged Steph to fire him repeatedly. He turned beet red as he continuously begged her to fire him. “Firing you would be too easy,” Stephanie said. “We’ve got bigger plans.” Shane McMahon’s entrance music played. He walked onto the stage as the wresters created space for him. He removed his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt as he walked to the ring.
Steph and the suits left the ring, leaving Shane with Legacy. After a long pause, Shane charged toward Randy and tackled him. Rhodes and DiBiase pulled him off. Shane broke free and tackled Orton again. They peeled him off again. Shane beat up DiBiase and Rhodes and even cleared one of them from the ring. Shane punched Orton. Rhodes pulled him off, but Shane fought free and punched Orton again.
Shane continued to throw punches at the Cody while DiBiase dragged a woozy Orton up the ramp. Shane left the ring and continued to throw punches at Orton until he knocked him down. The wrestlers pulled them apart. Shane threw punches at several people, including the babyfaces. “Where is he?” Shane asked. He continued to look for Orton as the show went off the air…
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