| SHOW REPORTS |
April 19, 2010
– Rich Tate
Triple H came out to the ring to start the show. He told the crowd not to suck up because he was the only guy there. He talked about the
volcano in Iceland. He noted that the entire RAW roster was stuck in Europe, and cracked that the crowd must be excited thinking of Triple
H in a two-hour marathon match against Frank the Audio Guy. He said the WWE staff had worked to put together a great show anyway. He
then talked about his match against Sheamus at Extreme Rules, saying he would beat him to any other color than white. He said it had
been a long time since he dealt a beating like he would dish out on Sunday. He was interrupted by CM Punk and the Straight Edge
Society, who came to the ring.
Punk said the SmackDown crew had the intestinal fortitude to make it back to the states, but said unfortunately he had to be in New
Jersey. He said after next week’s draft, he may be coming to RAW, and would bring the SES with him. HHH made fun of the fact that the
SES was only two people, and asked him why he didn’t have to shave his hair like Luke Gallows and Serena. Punk made a crack about
Shawn Michaels being bald, and then said his hair was pure, with no foreign chemicals. HHH asked if by foreign chemicals he meant
shampoo. He reminded Punk he has a hair match against Rey Mysterio, Jr., at Extreme Rules, adding he wouldn’t just be the President of
the SES but also a client. Punk said Sunday everyone would realize the SES was the biggest force on the planet. He said Mysterio will fall
in line, and then told HHH he should also join the SES. HHH said he doesn’t believe in the SES because he believes in freedom. HHH
went for cheap pops talking with the crowd about Jersey and how free they were. He picked fans out, drawing laughs and pops by talking
about America being a free country. He said he was free to beat the crap out of Punk. Punk said he didn’t want to be there, adding that he
was stuck in Jersey just like RAW was stuck in Europe. He said he though HHH would be willing to shave his head for the fans to start off
RAW with a bang, and there must be a miscommunication. They then started a three-on-one brawl with HHH In an attempt to shave his
head. Gallows brought a chair to the ring and Serena brought out shears, but Mysterio hit the ring and made the save. HHH and Mysterio
evened the odds, and HHH held Punk down as Mysterio went to shave a chunk of Punk’s hair before Gallows helped him escape.
Matt Hardy versus Drew McIntyre
After a break, Hardy and McIntyre were in the ring waiting for the bell. In what was a pretty good match, with both guys getting an even
amount of offense, WWE Inter-Continental Champion McIntyre got the pinfall in a non-title match.
Afterward, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler talked a bit about the RAW crew being stuck in Belfast. They had John Cena on via satellite.
Cena talked about flights being grounded and how they were being well taken care of. He apologized they could not be there for RAW. He
said he was still focused on Batista for Extreme Rules, and would be there if he had to swim across the Atlantic. He guaranteed he would
be the last man standing.
After the break, Vladimir Kozlov was in the ring. Every time he said something, he drew the “What?” from the crod. He asked Lawler to read
his statement. Lawler went to the ring and read it aloud. Kozlov wrote that he was an elite athlete who deservers elite competition. He
doesn’t expect the spoiled ignorant Americans to understand. They are physically inferior and weak, and worst of all they were from a state
void of integrity, the worst place on Earth: New Jersey. He insulted the Nets. Kozlov then took the mic back and began speakin
unintelligibly. He was interrupted by the guest hosts, from the film MacGruber, Will Forte and Kristen Wiig, who were in character. Forte
began berating Kozlov for insulting Jersey, mentioning Jon Bon Jovi and a few others. He said Kozlov wasn’t treated fairly because he was
a giant pile of suck. Kozlov threatened to spank him. Forte then insulted Kozlov’s mother. Wiig said he doesn’t speak for both of them.
Forte said Kozlov would face R-Truth, who was seen on the big screen, but then there was an explosion, and nothing left but shoes when
the smoke cleared. Forte and Wiig started freaking about about blowing him up. Forte then began cowering to Kozlov, who made a few
more comments before walking to the back.
It was announced that we would hear comments from Randy Orton after a break.
After the break, Forte was shown trying to get out of the building through a door that was locked from the inside. HHH walked up and said
he looked like he was trying to run away. Forte denied it, and then HHH said it looked like he had wet his pants. Forte explained that his
friend wet his pants, and because he was such a good friend, he traded pants with the guy. Kane walked up, and Forte said that was the
friend he was talking about who wet his pants. HHH told Kane what Forte had said, and then Forte scurried away. HHH and Kane had a
bad look on their face, and HHH said he didn’t think that was all Forte did in his pants.
Cole and Lawler introduced Orton, who joined the show via satellite. Orton said that after Jack Swagger cashed in his briefcase, there
was a lot of talk about where the world title would go, either RAW or SmackDown. He said after he wins it, he knows where the title will be.
They then cut to a break.
After the break, Lilian Garcia, filling in for Justin Roberts as the ring announcer, introduced Jack Swagger, who came to the ring. Swagger
then addressed Orton, saying talk is cheap when you’re 3,000 miles away. He wondered aloud how he could prove to Orton what he has
in store for him at Extreme Rules, and issued an open challenge to anyone in the back. He said he knew the fans were expecting a
monster to come out and beat him, but he was better than that. He then called out again for a challenger from the back. He paused and
waited, but no one came out. Swagger said, “That’s what I thought.” Suddenly the Undertaker’s music started and the lights went down,
and he slowly made his way to the ring. Swagger watched him from ringside, and eventually got into the ring.
Jack Swagger versus the Undertaker
Although he got in his fair share of offense, and not that Swagger needs it, but Taker sold well for Swagger and made him look him a
world champion. They went to a break mid-match. They played up Taker’s injured legs, and Swagger keyed on them throughout the
match. Cole and Lawler hyped it up as if it would be an upset if Swagger won, but Lawler did note that Swagger was the world champion.
The finish came when Taker managed to finally land a chokeslam and get the pinfall over Swagger in a non-title match.
After a break, clips from MacGruber were shown.
Chris Jericho was then shown backstage talking to the SES, instructing them on what they did wrong earlier. He walked away from them
and ran into Forte and Wiig. He told them to stop with the shameless pandering. Jericho said they were talking about doing a sequel to
the movie with him in the starring role. Forte asked him if he had any advice for him about Kozlov. Jericho told him to walk into the ring and
extend his hand to Kozlov. He said if he smacked him across the face, he could then do whatever he wanted. Forte bought it and tjanked
him. Jericho flirted with Wiig before they cut away to go to another break.
After the break, they replayed the segment from earlier when R-Truth supposedly exploded. Kozlov was waiting in the ring for Forte, in
character, introduced as MacGruber.
Handicap Match: Vladimir Kozlov versus MacGruber & Khaluber
Forte came to the ring and reluctantly entered. He met Kozlov at center ring and there was a staredown, followed by Forte extending his
hand, just as Jericho suggested. Wiig, as ringside, motioned for him to continue as Jericho had said. When Kozlov rejected, Forte
slapped him across the face. Kozlov then picked up Forte, but the match was interrupted by Ryan Philippe, who apologized for being late.
He said it was no a handicap match, and brought out Khaluber (the Great Khali in a wig). Khali and Kozlov then had a match, but went
outside the ring. Khali and MacGruber won by countout. Forte got on the mix and then started boasting about America being better than
Russia, while plugging the movie, before going to a break.
After the break, Cole and Lawler reminded us that next week would be a three-hour RAW, featuring the draft, and then they talked about the
Cena-Orton match at Extreme Rules, followed by clips from the feud. Cole and Lawler then ran down the rest of the Extreme Rules card.
As HHH made his way to the ring, Sheamus came on the big screen via satellite. He talked about HHH not going to Europe. He said since
HHH wasn’t there so he could show him what he will do at Extreme Rules, he would have to show him another way, and he attacked the
crew, before they went to a break.
Rey Mysterio, Jr., Edge & Triple H versus Chris Jericho, Luke Gallows & CM Punk
After the break, Edge made his way to the ring, with clips of the Edge-Jericho match from last week’s SmackDown. Mysterio then came
out. The SES came out, followed by Jericho. They went to a break very early in the match, just as the babyfaces teamed up to toss the
heels out of the ring. As one would expect, this beame out of control, as each of the feuding factions brawled all around the ring inside and
out, and Serena even got involved. The obligatory hot tag was Edge to HHH and Gallows to Punk. The end came after Mysterio delivered
the 619 to Punk, followed by HHH slamming him for the cover and pinfall.
Thoughts on the Show: It was better than one might expect, as it was mostly put together at the last minutes since the RAW crew was not
able to return home from Europe. There was only one match in the first hour, but it was a good one, and the Swagger-Undertaker match
was beyond solid. Swagger looked great, and they built him up huge during the match, even though he jobbed to Taker. The show had
good pacing, and there was a good build for Extreme Rules, even without many of the key players being there. I don’t know if it bodes well
that a mostly non-RAW RAW was one of the better ones I have seen lately. I could have done without so much of the MacGruber stuff, but
its par for the course with RAW, so I have learned to overlook the guest host silliness, for the most part. The only thing I didn’t get is how
they completely ignored the fact that R-Truth was blown up. If you’re going to do that kind of stuff, you at least need to follow it up with
something, no matter how ridiculous it may be.
– Rich Tate
Triple H came out to the ring to start the show. He told the crowd not to suck up because he was the only guy there. He talked about the
volcano in Iceland. He noted that the entire RAW roster was stuck in Europe, and cracked that the crowd must be excited thinking of Triple
H in a two-hour marathon match against Frank the Audio Guy. He said the WWE staff had worked to put together a great show anyway. He
then talked about his match against Sheamus at Extreme Rules, saying he would beat him to any other color than white. He said it had
been a long time since he dealt a beating like he would dish out on Sunday. He was interrupted by CM Punk and the Straight Edge
Society, who came to the ring.
Punk said the SmackDown crew had the intestinal fortitude to make it back to the states, but said unfortunately he had to be in New
Jersey. He said after next week’s draft, he may be coming to RAW, and would bring the SES with him. HHH made fun of the fact that the
SES was only two people, and asked him why he didn’t have to shave his hair like Luke Gallows and Serena. Punk made a crack about
Shawn Michaels being bald, and then said his hair was pure, with no foreign chemicals. HHH asked if by foreign chemicals he meant
shampoo. He reminded Punk he has a hair match against Rey Mysterio, Jr., at Extreme Rules, adding he wouldn’t just be the President of
the SES but also a client. Punk said Sunday everyone would realize the SES was the biggest force on the planet. He said Mysterio will fall
in line, and then told HHH he should also join the SES. HHH said he doesn’t believe in the SES because he believes in freedom. HHH
went for cheap pops talking with the crowd about Jersey and how free they were. He picked fans out, drawing laughs and pops by talking
about America being a free country. He said he was free to beat the crap out of Punk. Punk said he didn’t want to be there, adding that he
was stuck in Jersey just like RAW was stuck in Europe. He said he though HHH would be willing to shave his head for the fans to start off
RAW with a bang, and there must be a miscommunication. They then started a three-on-one brawl with HHH In an attempt to shave his
head. Gallows brought a chair to the ring and Serena brought out shears, but Mysterio hit the ring and made the save. HHH and Mysterio
evened the odds, and HHH held Punk down as Mysterio went to shave a chunk of Punk’s hair before Gallows helped him escape.
Matt Hardy versus Drew McIntyre
After a break, Hardy and McIntyre were in the ring waiting for the bell. In what was a pretty good match, with both guys getting an even
amount of offense, WWE Inter-Continental Champion McIntyre got the pinfall in a non-title match.
Afterward, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler talked a bit about the RAW crew being stuck in Belfast. They had John Cena on via satellite.
Cena talked about flights being grounded and how they were being well taken care of. He apologized they could not be there for RAW. He
said he was still focused on Batista for Extreme Rules, and would be there if he had to swim across the Atlantic. He guaranteed he would
be the last man standing.
After the break, Vladimir Kozlov was in the ring. Every time he said something, he drew the “What?” from the crod. He asked Lawler to read
his statement. Lawler went to the ring and read it aloud. Kozlov wrote that he was an elite athlete who deservers elite competition. He
doesn’t expect the spoiled ignorant Americans to understand. They are physically inferior and weak, and worst of all they were from a state
void of integrity, the worst place on Earth: New Jersey. He insulted the Nets. Kozlov then took the mic back and began speakin
unintelligibly. He was interrupted by the guest hosts, from the film MacGruber, Will Forte and Kristen Wiig, who were in character. Forte
began berating Kozlov for insulting Jersey, mentioning Jon Bon Jovi and a few others. He said Kozlov wasn’t treated fairly because he was
a giant pile of suck. Kozlov threatened to spank him. Forte then insulted Kozlov’s mother. Wiig said he doesn’t speak for both of them.
Forte said Kozlov would face R-Truth, who was seen on the big screen, but then there was an explosion, and nothing left but shoes when
the smoke cleared. Forte and Wiig started freaking about about blowing him up. Forte then began cowering to Kozlov, who made a few
more comments before walking to the back.
It was announced that we would hear comments from Randy Orton after a break.
After the break, Forte was shown trying to get out of the building through a door that was locked from the inside. HHH walked up and said
he looked like he was trying to run away. Forte denied it, and then HHH said it looked like he had wet his pants. Forte explained that his
friend wet his pants, and because he was such a good friend, he traded pants with the guy. Kane walked up, and Forte said that was the
friend he was talking about who wet his pants. HHH told Kane what Forte had said, and then Forte scurried away. HHH and Kane had a
bad look on their face, and HHH said he didn’t think that was all Forte did in his pants.
Cole and Lawler introduced Orton, who joined the show via satellite. Orton said that after Jack Swagger cashed in his briefcase, there
was a lot of talk about where the world title would go, either RAW or SmackDown. He said after he wins it, he knows where the title will be.
They then cut to a break.
After the break, Lilian Garcia, filling in for Justin Roberts as the ring announcer, introduced Jack Swagger, who came to the ring. Swagger
then addressed Orton, saying talk is cheap when you’re 3,000 miles away. He wondered aloud how he could prove to Orton what he has
in store for him at Extreme Rules, and issued an open challenge to anyone in the back. He said he knew the fans were expecting a
monster to come out and beat him, but he was better than that. He then called out again for a challenger from the back. He paused and
waited, but no one came out. Swagger said, “That’s what I thought.” Suddenly the Undertaker’s music started and the lights went down,
and he slowly made his way to the ring. Swagger watched him from ringside, and eventually got into the ring.
Jack Swagger versus the Undertaker
Although he got in his fair share of offense, and not that Swagger needs it, but Taker sold well for Swagger and made him look him a
world champion. They went to a break mid-match. They played up Taker’s injured legs, and Swagger keyed on them throughout the
match. Cole and Lawler hyped it up as if it would be an upset if Swagger won, but Lawler did note that Swagger was the world champion.
The finish came when Taker managed to finally land a chokeslam and get the pinfall over Swagger in a non-title match.
After a break, clips from MacGruber were shown.
Chris Jericho was then shown backstage talking to the SES, instructing them on what they did wrong earlier. He walked away from them
and ran into Forte and Wiig. He told them to stop with the shameless pandering. Jericho said they were talking about doing a sequel to
the movie with him in the starring role. Forte asked him if he had any advice for him about Kozlov. Jericho told him to walk into the ring and
extend his hand to Kozlov. He said if he smacked him across the face, he could then do whatever he wanted. Forte bought it and tjanked
him. Jericho flirted with Wiig before they cut away to go to another break.
After the break, they replayed the segment from earlier when R-Truth supposedly exploded. Kozlov was waiting in the ring for Forte, in
character, introduced as MacGruber.
Handicap Match: Vladimir Kozlov versus MacGruber & Khaluber
Forte came to the ring and reluctantly entered. He met Kozlov at center ring and there was a staredown, followed by Forte extending his
hand, just as Jericho suggested. Wiig, as ringside, motioned for him to continue as Jericho had said. When Kozlov rejected, Forte
slapped him across the face. Kozlov then picked up Forte, but the match was interrupted by Ryan Philippe, who apologized for being late.
He said it was no a handicap match, and brought out Khaluber (the Great Khali in a wig). Khali and Kozlov then had a match, but went
outside the ring. Khali and MacGruber won by countout. Forte got on the mix and then started boasting about America being better than
Russia, while plugging the movie, before going to a break.
After the break, Cole and Lawler reminded us that next week would be a three-hour RAW, featuring the draft, and then they talked about the
Cena-Orton match at Extreme Rules, followed by clips from the feud. Cole and Lawler then ran down the rest of the Extreme Rules card.
As HHH made his way to the ring, Sheamus came on the big screen via satellite. He talked about HHH not going to Europe. He said since
HHH wasn’t there so he could show him what he will do at Extreme Rules, he would have to show him another way, and he attacked the
crew, before they went to a break.
Rey Mysterio, Jr., Edge & Triple H versus Chris Jericho, Luke Gallows & CM Punk
After the break, Edge made his way to the ring, with clips of the Edge-Jericho match from last week’s SmackDown. Mysterio then came
out. The SES came out, followed by Jericho. They went to a break very early in the match, just as the babyfaces teamed up to toss the
heels out of the ring. As one would expect, this beame out of control, as each of the feuding factions brawled all around the ring inside and
out, and Serena even got involved. The obligatory hot tag was Edge to HHH and Gallows to Punk. The end came after Mysterio delivered
the 619 to Punk, followed by HHH slamming him for the cover and pinfall.
Thoughts on the Show: It was better than one might expect, as it was mostly put together at the last minutes since the RAW crew was not
able to return home from Europe. There was only one match in the first hour, but it was a good one, and the Swagger-Undertaker match
was beyond solid. Swagger looked great, and they built him up huge during the match, even though he jobbed to Taker. The show had
good pacing, and there was a good build for Extreme Rules, even without many of the key players being there. I don’t know if it bodes well
that a mostly non-RAW RAW was one of the better ones I have seen lately. I could have done without so much of the MacGruber stuff, but
its par for the course with RAW, so I have learned to overlook the guest host silliness, for the most part. The only thing I didn’t get is how
they completely ignored the fact that R-Truth was blown up. If you’re going to do that kind of stuff, you at least need to follow it up with
something, no matter how ridiculous it may be.