The 840th edition of Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA.
Quick Match Results
- Night of Champions Tournament: Semi-Finals: Triple H def. MVP by pin following the Pedigree to advance to the Finals.
- Unified Tag Team Championship: Edge & Chris Jericho (c) (SD) def. Primo & Carlito (RAW) by Edge (c) pinning Carlito following the Spear to retain.
- Night of Champions Tournament: Semi-Finals: John Cena def. The Miz by submission to the CSTF to advance to the Finals.
- #1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way Match: Mickie James def. Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, & Rosa Mendes by pinning Rosa Mendes following the Mickie-T to earn a shot at the Divas Title at Night of Champions.
- Non-Title: Kofi Kingston & Big Show fight to a Double Count-Out.
- 3-on-1 Gauntlet Match: Non-Title: First Match- Randy Orton def. Evan Bourne by pin following a Super RKO. Second Match- Randy Orton def. Jack Swagger by intentional Count-Out. Third Match- Mark Henry def. Randy Orton by pin following the World’s Strongest Slam.
Match Quality
- Gauntlet Match
- Unified Tag Team Championship
- Triple H Vs. MVP
- John Cena Vs. The Miz
- Fatal 4-Way Match
- Kofi Kingston Vs. Big Show
Detailed Results
The show opened with WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon; the Chairman stated that he can not offer a commercial-free RAW like former RAW owner, Donald Trump, wanted to do. McMahon said that he could refund the fans in attendance, but that he wouldn’t. The Chairman started with a major announcement as McMahon revealed that, while he was still the owner of Monday Night RAW, Donald Trump came up with a fifteen Superstar trade between all three brands! In other words, all three brands would be getting five new Superstars! The surprises just kept on coming from Mr. McMahon as he announced that week’s Guest Host for RAW. The man that would serve as Guest Host was a former World Champion, none other than "The Animal" Batista!
Following his introduction as the Guest Host of RAW, Batista came out and said that it felt good to be on RAW again. "The Animal" revealed that a Guest Host will have the same role as a General Manager would; meaning that the Guest Host would have complete control over RAW for that week! Batista wasted no time in making an impact as he announced a four-man tournament to determine who would face WWE Champion Randy Orton at Night of Champions! The first semi-final match would see "The Game" Triple H square off with "The Ballin’ Superstar" MVP and the second semi-final match would be a rematch from The Bash as John Cena faces off with The Miz! The winners of those two matches will face each other on next week’s RAW with the winner of that match heading to Night of Champions to face Randy Orton for the WWE Championship! WWE Champion Randy Orton & Legacy interrupt "The Animal" and Orton warns the Guest Host that Batista should not have come back. Orton then threatens to tear Batista apart the rest of the way. "The Animal" responds by informing the trio that he could fire every single one of them if he saw fit, since he has "unlimited power" as Guest Host. Batista vowed to make Legacy’s night a "living nightmare". Batista then announced that Randy Orton will be competing in a 3-on-1 Gauntlet Match in the main event with his opponents being three of the five Superstars coming to RAW in the Trump Trade! Who are the newest members of the RAW Roster? Can Orton possibly survive the 3-on-1 Gauntlet Match after enduring Three Stages of Hell against Triple H just twenty-four hours prior?
The opening match of the night saw the first semi-final match for the Night of Champions tournament and it seen "The Game" Triple H get right back in the title hunt with a win over MVP. Who will Triple H face in the finals next week? Will it be John Cena or The Miz?
Before their first title defense as Unified Tag Team Champions, Edge & Chris Jericho proclaimed that they can "dominate" the WWE as a unit. The cocky Canadian champions proved just that as they defeated former champions Primo & Carlito to hang on to the gold. Can anyone stop the unreal pairing of Edge & Jericho?
Backstage, Guest Host Batista confronts Randy Orton & Legacy and informs the three of them that if Cody Rhodes and/or Ted DiBiase get involved in the Gauntlet Match, then he will fire them both on the spot! Without Legacy by his side, will Orton survive the Gauntlet Match?
Then it was time to determine who would face Triple H next week in the finals of Night of Champions tournament. In the end, it was a repeat of The Bash as John Cena forced The Miz to submit, meaning that it will be Triple H Vs. John Cena on next week’s RAW to determine the #1 Contender for the WWE Title at Night of Champions! Who will come out on top in this huge main event?
Backstage, Ted DiBiase reveals that next week’s Guest Host will be none other than, his father, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase! With his father in charge, how will DiBiase and the rest of Legacy be treated on next week’s RAW?
At Night of Champions, every championship in the WWE will be on the line; including the Divas Championship. Mickie James won a Fatal 4-Way against Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, & Rosa Mendes on RAW to earn the right to face Maryse for the Divas Title at Night of Champions! Maryse protests that she is not afraid of Mickie James, will the same be the case when she defends the Divas Title against Mickie?
United States Champion Kofi Kingston had a daunting task on RAW as he squared off with "The World’s Largest Athlete" Big Show in a non-title match. In the end, both Kofi Kingston & Big Show were counted out on the outside of the ring.
Then it was time for the main event as WWE Champion Randy Orton would face three of RAW’s newest Superstars in a Gauntlet Match. The first man to face Randy Orton in the Gauntlet Match? None other than the ultra-quick Evan "Air" Bourne! In the battle of the St. Louisans, Orton managed to defeat the lightning-quick Evan Bourne in his debut as a RAW Superstar. The hits just kept on coming for Orton as his second opponent was "The All-American American" Jack Swagger. It looked as though we were set to see these two square off for the first time in a must-see match. However, Swagger parked himself on the apron of the ring and got intentionally counted out! After getting counted out, Swagger stated that he "respects" Orton and that he wanted to leave a "lasting impression" on his night as a RAW Superstar. Orton & Swagger then shook hands and Swagger made his exit. With two Superstars down and one to go, could Orton make Batista’s plan backfire and win the Gauntlet Match? Any hopes to win the third installment of the Gauntlet Match were quickly dashed for the WWE Champion as "The World’s Strongest Man" Mark Henry was revealed as the final opponent in the match! Henry grabs a microphone and tells Orton that, like Swagger, he "respects" Orton as well and that he wants to leave a "lasting first impression". It looked as though Orton would luck out as Mark Henry did the same as Jack Swagger and parked himself on the apron as the referee counted. It turns out that "The World’s Strongest Man" was toying with the WWE Champion as Henry stopped the count of the referee and came back into the ring! Orton pleads with Henry, but Mark Henry flattens the WWE Champion with the World’s Strongest Slam and pins Orton to win the match! Mark Henry most definetly made a "lasting first impression" by pinning the WWE Champion. After the match, Henry celebrated in the ring while Batista stood on the stage and applauded "The World’s Strongest Man". Now that Henry is a member of the RAW Roster, will Henry be looking to take the WWE Championship from Randy Orton in the future? What kind of impact will Evan Bourne & Jack Swagger have now that they are a part of RAW, as well? Who else did RAW gain in the Trump Trade?