The 843rd edition of Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the RBC Center at the North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC.
Quick Match Results
- 6-Man Tag: Kofi Kingston, MVP, & Primo def. Big Show, Jack Swagger, & Carlito by Primo pinning Carlito following a springboard falling headbutt.
- Jerry "The King" Lawler def. The Brian Kendrick by pin following the Fist Drop.
- Mark Henry def. Chris Jericho by DQ following a chair shot.
- "Sharp Dressed Man" Match: Hornswoggle def. Chavo Guerrero
- "Legs" Match: Rosa Mendes & Alicia Fox def. Gail Kim & Kelly Kelly by Alicia Fox rolling up Kelly Kelly.
- 3-on-2 Handicap Match: Triple H & John Cena def. Randy Orton & Legacy by John Cena rolling up Randy Orton.
Match Quality
- 3-on-2 Handicap Match
- 6-Man Tag Match
- Jerry "The King" Lawler Vs. The Brian Kendrick
- Mark Henry Vs. Chris Jericho
- "Legs" Match
- "Sharp Dressed Man" Match
Detailed Result(s)
RAW kicked off with one of the two challengers for Randy Orton’s WWE Championship at Night of Champions, John Cena. Cena proclaimed that the Triple Threat Match at the Night of Champions would be "one of the greatest matches in history". WWE Champion Randy Orton interrupted the former champion and vowed to beat both John Cena & Triple H this Sunday and keep the WWE Title. After Cena threatens to fight Orton, both Orton & Cena get ready to fight until Randy Orton backs away and stands on the ring apron. Never one to fight alone, "The Viper" has his Legacy cohorts get on the apron as well so Orton & Legacy have Cena surrounded. Cena invites all three of them to come into the ring, but Triple H comes out and runs Randy Orton & Legacy out of the ring. "The Game" states that he is determined to keep Randy Orton from retaining the WWE Title at Night of Champions. Orton responds by challenging Triple H & John Cena to "allow" Orton to join Legacy to face the two of them in the main event in a 3-on-2 Handicap Match. Cena responds by saying that there is "no reason" for Triple H and himself to accept the challenge. Cena & Triple H then jointly accept the challenge of Randy Orton & Legacy! Can Triple H & John Cena co-exist in the main event or will the tightly-knit group of Randy Orton & Legacy find a way to defeat the two title contenders?
Before the 6-Man Tag Match, it was announced that Kofi Kingston will be defending the United States Championship at the Night of Champions against five different opponents in a 6-Pack Challenge! Kofi will be opposed by "The World’s Largest Athlete" Big Show, "The Franchise Playa" MVP, "The All-American American" Jack Swagger, "The Self-Proclaimed Awesome" Miz, & "The Carribean Back Stabber" Carlito. How can Kofi survive the onslaught of five very capable challengers?
In a 6-Man Tag Match, United States Champion Kofi Kingston would team with the man he defeated for the championship, MVP, and Primo to take on the team of "The World’s Largest Athlete" Big Show, former ECW Champion Jack Swagger, & former United States Champion Carlito. In the end, it was brother pinning brother as Primo got a small measure of retribution over his older brother by pinning Carlito to win the match for his team. After the match was over, Big Show struck with force over his smaller adversaries as he speared Primo and chokeslammed the man who was just his partner, Jack Swagger. Big Show was not done as he also planted MVP with a thunderous chokeslam and knocked out Kofi Kingston with a jaw-cracking right hand! Can anyone slow down Big Show this Sunday or will "The World’s Largest Athlete" become the most dominant United States Champion in recent memory?
Backstage, Chris Jericho confronts RAW’s Guest Hosts, ZZ Top. Jericho tells the legendary band that they are in the same category as "icons" and that Jericho is a rock star himself. Jericho then offers to join Gibbons & Hill in a "jam session" later on. The Rock N’ Roll Hall of Famers inform the Unified Tag Team Champion that they had different plans for him in the form of a match with "The World’s Strongest Man" Mark Henry! How will Jericho fare against Mark Henry in a rematch from last week?
At ringside, The Brian Kendrick is instructing Michael Cole & Jerry "The King" Lawler on how to sell Kendrick’s "greatness" and demanded that they "mention" how good of a candidate Kendrick would be to be Jericho’s mystery partner at Night of Champions. "The King" suggests that Kendrick get in the ring for his match. Kendrick responds by telling the WWE Hall of Famer that he is a multiple time tag team champion in the WWE while Lawler has never won a championship in the WWE. Then, as Kendrick’s opponent was going to be announced, "The King" stepped in and inserted himself into the match to get a piece of The Brian Kendrick! Showing that he still "has it", the Hall of Famer picked up the win (in his street clothes, no less!).
The #1 Contender for the Divas Title at the Night of Champions, Mickie James, is being interviewed near the staging area. Mickie states that, this Sunday at Night of Champions, she is going to give the Divas Champion, Maryse, a "reality check". Knowing a thing or two about a "reality check", The Miz interrupted the #1 Contender and immediately began singing the praises of the Divas Champion, Maryse and reminding Mickie that Maryse scored a pinfall over Mickie last week. Mickie responded by telling The Miz that Miz can’t "score at all". The Divas Champion then comes out and gets in the face of her #1 Contender. Maryse then sprays Mickie right in the eyes with a can of hairspray! What will happen when Maryse & Mickie James square off this Sunday? Who will walk out of the Wachovia Center as the Divas Champion?
Then it was time for the Unified Tag Team Champion Chris Jericho to square off with "The World’s Strongest Man" Mark Henry. After being pummeled by Henry, Jericho, much like last week, sought a way out of the contest and found it in the form of a steel chair shot to Mark Henry and a disqualification loss to "The World’s Strongest Man". After the match, Chris Jericho tried to use the steel chair on the skull of Henry, but Henry caught the chair shot in time and threw Jericho over the announce table! Both competitors ended up back in the ring and Jericho tried to hit the Codebreaker on Mark Henry, but Henry again thwarted the self-proclaimed "face of SmackDown" by catching Chris Jericho in mid-air and turning it into a flattening World’s Strongest Slam! Jericho was, once again, demolished by "The World’s Strongest Man", what kind of condition will Chris Jericho be in this Sunday when he defends the Unified Tag Team Championship against Legacy? Who will Jericho’s mystery partner be in that bout?
By the order of RAW Guest Hosts, ZZ Top, Chavo Guerrero was forced to compete in a "Sharp Dressed Man" Match against Hornswoggle! Before the match, some mischeivious Superstar sewn the legs of Chavo’s suit together. In the end, it was Hornswoggle standing tall as the "Sharp Dressed Man" as he embarassed "The Mexican Warrior" once again by stripping Chavo of his suit. How much embarassment can Chavo take from Hornswoggle?
In another innovation by ZZ Top, the devious team of Rosa Mendes & Alicia Fox defeated the team of Gail Kim & Kelly Kelly in a "Legs" Match!
Backstage, Legacy confronts Unified Tag Team Champion Chris Jericho. The cocky second-generation Superstars mock Jericho by calling Jericho’s dad a "bench-warming hockey player". Never one to shy away from a good manipulation, Jericho "planted the seed" in the heads of Legacy that Randy Orton just might be the mystery partner at Night of Champions! It certainly got Rhodes & DiBiase thinking, but is it a possibility? With so many eligible Superstars available from all three brands, who will Chris Jericho select as his new partner this Sunday?
A huge announcement was made on RAW in regards to next week’s Guest Host. Next week’s Guest Host on Monday Night RAW will be none other than NBA legend, Shaquille O’Neal! What will happen when one of the greatest "ballers" in NBA history is in charge of Monday Night RAW?
Then it was time for the main event as Triple H & John Cena would try and co-exist to combat Randy Orton & Legacy in a 3-on-2 Handicap Match. While chaos ensued outside the ring, it was John Cena who dodged a punt by Randy Orton and rolled up "The Viper" to pin the WWE Champion and pick up the win for himself & Triple H! While "The Game" & Cena co-existed in the main event, it will be a completely different story this Sunday as it will be every man for himself when Randy Orton, Triple H, & John Cena all battle for the richest prize in the WWE, the WWE Championship. Who will come out on top in this three-man collision at the Night of Champions?