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Monday Night RAW May 4, 2009
by Bigelow34

HSBC Arena
Buffalo, NY
Announcers:
Michael Cole & Jerry Lawler

- We fade up and into a video package of Randy Orton’s destruction of the McMahon family, capped off with his taking Triple H’s title at Backlash. We then cut to last week’s show when Orton picked up a hard fought win over MVP and Batista earned a crack at Orton at Judgment Day. We then hit the opening animation before heading inside the HSBC Arena where we are live and in nigh definition on the USA Network. And we waste no time getting right into things as the WWE Champion, Randy Orton emerges and heads to the ring for our opening contest. Orton hits the ring as Cole says this is the last piece of Orton’s desired destruction of the McMahons. He stares at the entrance awaiting Shane, but he ambushes Orton from behind and knocks him to the floor. They brawl in the aisle and off to the floor. Shane comes off the ramp with a clothesline and keeps the assault on. Orton takes control with an uppercut and some right hands as they spill into the crowd. They trade fisticuffs as they wade back to ringside. Shane climbs the barricade and comes off with another flying clothesline. This crowd is red hot right now. Shane puts Orton on the announce table and heads to the top rope. As he does, Rhodes and DiBiase hit the ring and beat down Shane. Orton joins them and stomps away until MVP comes out to make the save. They quickly beat him down and regain control of the brawl. They toss MVP to the floor and turn their attention back to Shane. Batista comes running out to help now as well and he is able to fight off DiBiase and Rhodes as Orton quickly bails and heads to the back. Vickie now comes out and says her main event will not be jeopardized as Shane will still face Orton later tonight. Batista will take on DiBiase and MVP will take on Rhodes and the winners of those matches earn their way into the main event. Well, that is a little messy but is an intriguing and new idea. The six men stare each other down as we go to break.

1) Matt Hardy vs. Kofi Kingston
We are back and Matt Hardy is heading to the ring, hand still wrapped in that cast. We will see if he is up for a cup of Kofi in our second attempt at an opening match. Matt grabs the mic and reminds us that Jeff broke his second metacarpal and he should not be wrestling tonight. Therefore, he has fired a formal complaint once again because he is being forced to wrestle. He is competing under protest. The bell sounds and the two men lock up, with Matt grimacing in pain at every movement. They trade hammerlocks until Matt forces a break. Matt grabs a wristlock, but Kofi breaks it and Matt quickly bails to the floor. Kofi comes out and chases him back inside. Kofi plants Matt with a right hand and Matt begs off again He is able to push Kofi into the second turnbuckle, but Kofi comes back with a roll up for two. Kofi runs Matt into the corner but misses a cross body off the middle rope. Matt some boots to the midsection and then hot shots Kofi across the top rope for two. Matt takes Kofi over with a suplex for another near fall. He tries another suplex, but Kofi slips out and hits a neckbreaker. Kofi lands a double chop and a big dropkick to the face. Kofi hits the cross body off the middle rope but couldn’t make the cover as he landed on the cast and hurt himself. He lands a big leaping clothesline and the Boom legdrop for two. Matt fights up and tries to hit Kofi with the cast, but Kofi ducks it and Matt turns into the Trouble in Paradise to give Kofi the win in a fun little match. Matt is great with the cast gimmick and they worked a good match around the cast.
Kingston d. Hardy with the Trouble in Paradise; Grade: 2

- Kofi celebrates, but Matt drills him in the head with the cast, knocking him out cold. Matt takes off to a loud hail of heat as we go to break.

- We are back and checking out nearby Niagara Falls before heading backstage. Santino is chatting with Kelly, talking about Kelly teaming with Santina on Superstars. Santina won’t be here tonight because she has the swine flu after an encounter with Vickie. Chavo comes over and takes offense to Santino’s jabs. Santino apologizes and then changes his tune and oinks before he dances off. Back at ringside, Cole talks about John Cena’s condition after Big Show slammed him into the spotlight at Backlash and we see some stills of the incident. We then cut to last week when Batista knocked off Big Show to earn the Judgment Day shot. Back live, Show is walking backstage and heads into the GM office. Show wants a match with John Cena and he also wants to end his career. Vickie says he is unable to compete, but Show isn’t buying it based on his appearance last week. Vickie says Cena is out for at least two weeks, but she will make the match for Judgment Day. Show glares at her and walks off. Elsewhere, the Bella Twins are chatting up MVP about his appearance on the View. MVP enjoys the amenities and struts off as we go to break.

2) MVP vs. Cody Rhodes in a non title match
We are back and Cody Rhodes is in the ring and William Regal is on commentary. He doesn’t like that MVP, Miz and Kennedy are in the Raw opening and he isn’t. MVP is out next to a good reaction for the second week in a row. The bell sounds and Cody grabs a side headlock as Regal continues to bitch. The crowd is chanting for MVP as he trades holds with Cody. MVP blocks a hiptoss and gets a backslide for a near fall. They trade right hands and headlocks as both men try to gain control. MVP plants Cody with a shoulderblock, but Cody comes back with a knee to the gut. We see Shane looking on backstage as Cody goes to work on the leg, hooking on a leglace. Regal now turns towards calling the match and is pretty damn good at it, natch. Cody keeps working over the leg as MVP tries to club his way free. Cody breaks the hold and MVP drills him with an uppercut. He sends him flying with an overhead throw, but Cody kicks his leg. MVP recovers and drops the Ballin’ elbow. Cody bails to the floor and MVP goes out to get him. He tosses Cody in the ring and Regal scampers over and clips MVP’s leg as he was climbing back in the ring. Scott Armstrong lays on the count and MVP is counted out, putting Rhodes into the main event.
Rhodes d. MVP by countout; Grade: 1.5

- Rhodes celebrates up the aisle as we go to break.

- The Subway Rewind takes us back to Friday for the Cryme Tyme Brooklyn dance off with Layla and Eve. Back live, Jerry Lawler is in the ring and chatting about the dance contest we just checked out. Tonight, we are going to have a sing off, featuring Jillian and her hand picked opponent: Festus. Festus is rocking a bowtie and no shirt, which is awesome. Jillian just starts singing randomly but nobody seems to be enjoying it. King quickly cuts her off and introduces Festus. He stands and stares off into oblivion as Jillian keeps raising her hand in victory. King asks for the bell to be rung and Festus wakes up and starts singing “Tomorrow”. He sings until the bell sounds again and then calms back down. Lawler goes to the crowd and they choose Festus as the overwhelming winner. Jillian is heartbroken and begs for another chance but King heads back to the table. As Festus stands still in the ring in a catatonic state, we are now joined by the Miz. Jillian is still whining to Lawler as Miz walks up to Festus and assaults the poor big guy. He tosses him to the floor and grabs the mic. He tells the big fat bald virgin to stay out of his ring. He is the Miz and last week he called out John Cena, but Cena didn’t show. Miz thinks Cena is afraid of him. He wants to know where Cena’s hustle, loyalty to the fans and respect…and self respect are. He wonders if that is just a hollow catch phrase to sell t-shirts with. The fans are calling for Cena, which Miz points out. Miz challenges Cena again tonight. If Cena were calling him out, he would step up to the ring, injured or not. Cena answers the call, appearing on the Titantron. Cena starts walking as we cut to break.

- When we return, Miz is still by himself in the ring, calling out Cena and yelling at the fans for booing him. Miz says he mailed Cena’s latest movie script to the Rock because he ran out of toilet paper. He says that Cena is a product of the WWE machine so the kids have someone to scream for and their cougar mothers have someone to dream about. He keeps calling Cena out but he gets no response. He wants the record to show that he called out and defeated Cena for the second week in a row. He tells Lillian to stand up and announce Miz as the winner again, but she won’t do it. He calls Lillian worthless and goes to grab her mic, but Cena’s music finally hits and he slowly walks out to a huge pop. Cena slowly walks to the ring and carefully pulls himself onto the apron and inside. As he makes it in, we are immediately joined by the Big Show. Show powerwalks to the ring and climbs inside to face off with Cena. The crowd is fully behind Cena here as they stare each other down. The crowd is buzzing as Cena stands with his right hand cocked and Show slowly circles. Show kicks him in the gut and then slugs away at Cena as he goes totally limp, unable to fight back. Show picks his spots and pounds on Cena. He drills Cena with a huge double sledge to the back and then locks in a stiff rear chinlock. Show wrenches back Cena’s head as his face turns beet red. Show releases the hold and stands over Cena, looking out to the crowd as they chant for John and we head to break. That was a good beatdown that made Show look like a vicious monster.

- When we return we check out some of Show’s assault on the weakened Cena from last segment. Back at ringside, Cole and King talk about the Cena/Show match at Judgment Day and ponder if this beating will cause a set back for Cena. And now Lillian introduces Jared Fogle of Subway as our guest ring announcer.

3) Mickie James vs. Maryse in a non title match
Mickie heads to the ring as we find out this Diva match is sponsored by Subway. The reflection of perfection Maryse makes her way out next, belt in tow. The bell sounds and Mickie attacks Maryse as she vogues. Maryse bails to the floor but Mickie drags her back inside. Mickie hits the Thesz press and clubs away at the champ. Maryse bails to the floor again and dodges a baseball slide dropkick. She grabs Mickie and rams her into the barricade. Maryse tosses her back inside and gets a near fall. Maryse spikes Mickie’s face into the mat and then clamps on a rear chinlock. Mickie comes back with a right hand a dropkick to the knee for a near fall. Mickie slugs away and kicks Maryse as she charges into the corner. Mickie heads up top by Maryse beals her down to the mat. Mickie recovers and spikes Maryse with a DDT to pick up the big win.
Mickie d. Maryse with a DDT; Grade: 1

- Batista is warming up backstage as we go to break.

4) Ted DiBiase vs. Batista
We are back and DiBiase is in the ring ready to try and join his Legacy stablemates in the main event. Batista makes his way out to a rousing hand from the crowd. The bell sounds and Batista powers Ted into the corner. Ted lands a kick but bails to the floor. Batista chases him and Ted slides back and catches Batista coming back in. He slugs away but Batista buries a knee to stop that flurry. He drills Ted with a clothesline but Ted slips out of a powerslam attempt. Ted avoids the Batistabomb, but eats a stiff clothesline. Batista hammers away at the back but Ted lands a dropkick. He quickly pounds away at Batista and gets a near fall. Ted kicks Batista and drops him with a neckbreaker for two. Ted locks in a chinlock but Batista breaks in and lands another clothesline. DiBiase is able to drop toehold a charging Batista into the buckle, but Batista kicks him in the chin as Ted comes off the second rope. Batista spears Ted into the corner and keeps ramming him. Ted slaps Batista but he gets speared back into the corner again. Batista keeps slugging away in the corner, annoyed by the slap, and refuses to break, drawing the DQ from Scott Armstrong.
DiBiase d. Batista by disqualification; Grade: 1.5

- Batista is in shock as DiBiase quickly heads to the back. We check out the replay and then head to break.

- When we come back Chavo is talking to Vickie about Santino’s mean spirited quips. They then chat about the upcoming main event and Chavo alternates between giving advice and stroking Vickie’s ego. He suggests that if MVP interferes he loses his US Championship and if Batista were to interfere, he should lose his Judgment Day match. Vickie never really agrees, but Chavo runs with it and says he will go announce the decision right now. He takes off and we head to the ring.

5) The Brian Kendrick vs. Carlito
Kendrick dances down the aisle and to the ring for our next match. Carlito heads out next and he is flanked by Primo, but he tells Primo to stay in the back as he will go it alone. Kendrick catches Carlito with a quick shot off the bell and starts to work him over. Carlito comes back with a clothesline and a nice snap spinebuster for two. Carlito heads to the apron and springboards in but Kendrick drills him with a kick for two. Kendrick goes for the Kendrick but Carlito shoves him into the corner and then drops him with the backstabber for the win.
Carlito d. Kendrick with the backstabber; Grade: .5

- Carlito heads up the ramp as we get the WWE Mobil Smackdown Rebound, focusing on the great fatal four way which was won by Jeff Hardy. Backstage, Legacy is convening as we go to break.

- We are back and checking out the recent MVP/Sherri Shepherd dalliance, featuring clips from Smackdown. MVP will be on the View tomorrow. Michael Cole admits he loves the show, which is something he may have wanted to keep to himself. We then go back to earlier tonight to see how Rhodes and DiBiase both advanced to our main event. Backstage, Shane is walking when Batista comes over to apologize. He keeps apologize as Shane tries to walk away. Batista vows to take the tile as Shane finally gets away. With that, we head to the ring for our final contest of the night.

6) Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes vs. Shane McMahon
Legacy saunters to the ring as we check out footage from Randy Orton’s Backlash title win. After that we take another quick break before getting under way. We are back and Shane O’Mac is making his way out. Cody starts things off and Shane peppers him with punches and then plants him with a clothesline. Shane gets caught in the Legacy corner but sneaks free and takes Cody over with an armdrag. Cody escapes and tags in Orton. Randy pounds on Shane but Shane lands a boot when Orton puts his head down. Shane follows with a clothesline and some punches. Orton bails and Shane chases him. When he comes back in, DiBiase has been tagged in and is waiting and drills him. Shane fights back and prevents Ted from making the tag. Shane goes to work on the arm and does his best to prevent Ted from tagging. Shane drops Ted with a neckbreaker and then heads up top. Shane comes off with an elbowdrop but Cody breaks up the pin attempt. Shane knocks Cody outside but Ted shoves Shane outside from behind as well. Shane sends Cody in to the steps and then drills Ted with a right hand. He punts Cody in the gut and grabs a chair. He walks around with it, but Orton nails him from behind. He climbs on the apron and Ted tags him in. Orton viciously stomps away at Shane and punctuates it with a knee drop to the face. He tags in Cody, who continues to stomp on Shane. Cody heads up top but Shane avoids his moonsault. Cody crawls over and tags in Ted, who clubs away at Shane. Ted eats a boot on a charge and Shane comes at him with a clothesline. Ted tries to tag, but Shane holds his leg. Ted kicks free and tags in Orton. Randy comes in and Shane meets him with a flurry of punches. He tosses all three Legacy members to the floor and then follows them outside and works them over with kicks. He whips Orton into the post and takes apart the announce table. He lays Orton on the table and heads to the top rope. Shane leaps and Orton dives out of the way as Shane crashes and burns through the table. That was kind of scary as it looked like Shane was going to come up short. Ted and Cody pick up Shane’s limp body and lie him on the floor. They put Shane’s ankle on the steps and Orton garbs a chair and drills Shane’s ankle with it. Shane is in agony as they put his ankle on the steps again. Orton drops the chair and picks up the top half of the steps instead. Randy measures him and drills his ankle with the steps. Shane screams in pain and writhes on the floor, grabbing his ankle. I am so tired of Super Shane dominating these three guys at will so I am glad Orton messed up his ankle. Hopefully he stays away for a while now.
Legacy and Shane McMahon wrestle to a no contest; Grade: 1.5

- Batista finally comes out as the trainers are attending to Shane. Legacy quickly bails as Shane is strapped on to a gurney. Orton grabs a mic and tells Batista that his Judgment Day is coming. Shane is wheeled off as Orton and Batista stare each other down and we fade out.

Final Grade: C

MVP: Big Show
Runner Up: Miz
Non MVP: Shane McMahon
Runner Up: The Brian Kendrick

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