Six nights before WWE TLC, the 863rd edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. The billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks’ and the cable channel, HDNet, Mark Cuban would serve as the Guest Host of RAW. Six nights before he and partner Big Show would defend the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles against D-Generation X in a TLC Match, Chris Jericho would be forced into a 2-on-1 Handicap Match against both members of DX.
Match Results
- Non-Title: John Cena def. Carlito (in his in-ring return) by pin following the Attitude Adjustment.
In the middle of the match, Sheamus came out and temporarily distracted John Cena. Guest Host Mark Cuban brought security out and prevented Sheamus from interfering. With Cena distracted, Carlito tried to take advantage but Cena countered into the Attitude Adjustment to get the win.
- Legacy def. Primo & Evan Bourne by Ted DiBiase pinning Evan Bourne following Dream Street.
After the match, Guest Host Mark Cuban ejected Legacy from the arena to prevent any interference in the Randy Orton Vs. Kofi Kingston match later on. The same security force escorted Legacy out of the building.
- Maryse def. Gail Kim by roll-up with her feet on the ropes.
After the match, Maryse confronted Kelly Kelly, who served as the guest ring announcer for the match, and demanded that she announce Maryse as the "next Divas Champion". Maryse then shoved Kelly, but Kelly shoved back, which led to Maryse shoving Kelly to the floor. Maryse grabbed Kelly by the hair, but Divas Champion Melina made the save and chased Maryse off.
- Special Referee- Mark Cuban: Kofi Kingston def. Randy Orton by backslide roll-up.
Mark Cuban gave a quick count to assist Kofi Kingston in the victory. After the match, Cuban told Orton that he had waited six years to do that (at the 2003 Survivor Series, Randy Orton delivered the RKO to Cuban) and that the "rubber match" between Orton & Kofi would take place at WWE TLC.
- United States Championship: The Miz (c) def. Mark Henry by pin following a counter DDT to retain.
The Miz jumped off of the top rope onto Mark Henry, but Henry caught Miz and was going to deliver the World’s Strongest Slam, but Miz countered it into a DDT for the win.
- Mixed Tag Match: Hornswoggle & Eve Torres def. Chavo Guerrero & Jillian by Eve Torres pinning Jillian following a handspring senton.
After the match, Chavo Guerrero got a hold of Hornswoggle and aggressively threw him to the mat. Eve Torres stepped in front of Chavo to prevent any more damage to Hornswoggle. Chris Masters then got in the ring to keep Eve from getting hurt by Chavo. Chavo tried to attack Masters, but Masters caught Chavo in the Masterlock and delivered a full-nelson slam to Chavo before leaving with Eve.
- 2-on-1 Handicap Match: Chris Jericho & D-Generation X fight to a No Contest after Chris Jericho shoves the referee into Triple H.
Once the referee was knocked down, Chris Jericho’s tag team partner, Big Show, came to the ring and evened the odds against DX. Triple H then came in with a steel chair and hit Big Show in the back with it. Show was temporarily stunned, but delivered the Knockout Punch into the steel chair, which was driven into the face of Triple H. Shawn Michaels goes to the outside and gets a ladder and starts to put it in the ring, but Jericho hits a baseball slide that sends the ladder into Michaels. Big Show then takes control of the ladder and knocks down both Triple H & Shawn Michaels before Jeri-Show puts both DX members in the ladder and clamp it on them before Jericho uses the steel chair to "compact" the ladder around DX. Jeri-Show then sets up the ladder and Jericho stands on top of the ladder holding the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles.
Match Quality
- John Cena Vs. Carlito
- Kofi Kingston Vs. Randy Orton
- United States Championship
- Chris Jericho Vs. D-Generation X
- Maryse Vs. Gail Kim
- Legacy Vs. Primo & Evan Bourne
- Mixed Tag Match
Detailed Results
RAW kicked off with the Guest Host of RAW, Mark Cuban, who proclaimed that he was “incredibly excited” to be hosting Monday Night RAW. The controversial billionaire then stated that he was “large and in charge” as the Guest Host. The owner of the Dallas Mavericks then announced that, six days before they go to war in a Tables Match for the WWE Championship, Sheamus and champion John Cena would have a “Championship Showdown”! Following his introduction, Mark Cuban took his seat in the front row at ringside next to The Bella Twins and part of his team, the Dallas Mavericks.
Not only would he go face-to-face with Sheamus in the Championship Showdown later in the night, WWE Champion John Cena was in non-title action in the opening match as he went one-on-one with Carlito! In the middle of the match, Sheamus came out! Cena was temporarily distracted by the arrival of the #1 Contender, but Guest Host Mark Cuban took action and stood in the way of Sheamus interfering in the match! Cuban then signaled for security to come out and keep Sheamus back. The security force came out and Sheamus opted to back away. It looked as though Carlito would take advantage of the distraction by Sheamus, but Cena was able to counter the Back Stabber into the Attitude Adjustment and pick up the victory! What would go down in the Championship Showdown when Cena & Sheamus go face-to-face just days before their title match at WWE TLC?
Next week on RAW, one night after WWE TLC, the 2009 Slammy Awards will take place during a special 3-hour edition of Monday Night RAW! Five time Emmy-award winner Dennis Miller will serve as Guest Host of the special! Who will take home the coveted gold statue for such categories as “Superstar of the Year” and “Match of the Year”?
Randy Orton & Legacy made an appearance on RAW as Randy Orton once again tried to take advantage of the Guest Host. Orton said that he “applauds” Guest Host Mark Cuban for “taking charge” and states that the Championship Showdown between John Cena & Sheamus will end in “chaos”. Orton then says that he “does not care” who wins between Cena & Sheamus and that is because of what Mark Cuban is going to do! Orton then tells Cuban to lift the ban that keeps Orton from challening John Cena for the WWE Championship! Legacy member Ted DiBiase then says that he knows that “rich people” have “pride”, but that they “don’t have to be stupid”. DiBiase then reminds Cuban of the RKO that Randy Orton delivered to the billionaire back at the 2003 Survivor Series! Despite Orton & Legacy’s attempts at intimidation, Mark Cuban refuses to lift the ban on Orton! Cuban then states that he has got something “set up” for Orton; announcing that Randy Orton will go one-on-one with Kofi Kingston and, to prevent a repeat of last week’s one-on-one match, Cuban will serve as the Special Referee for the match! However, Cuban did not only have bad news for Randy Orton, but for Legacy as well as Cuban revealed to Legacy that they were about to compete in tag team action against Primo & Evan Bourne!
In a rematch from last Thursday’s WWE Superstars, Legacy was able to defeat the high-flying tandem of Primo & Evan Bourne. After the match, Guest Host Mark Cuban tells Legacy that he is ejecting them from the arena! Security then came out and escorted Orton’s proteges out of the building! How will Randy Orton fair against Kofi Kingston with Legacy ejected from the arena and Mark Cuban serving as the Special Referee?
Kelly Kelly serves as the guest ring announcer as former Divas Champion Maryse went one-on-one with former Women’s Champion Gail Kim. Maryse would walk away with the victory under questionable tactics as Maryse used the ropes to her advantage to defeat Gail Kim! After the match, Maryse confronted Kelly Kelly on the outside and ordered Kelly to announce her as the “next Divas Champion” before shoving Kelly Kelly! Kelly shoved back, but Maryse came back with a shove that knocked Kelly to the floor! Maryse then grabbed Kelly Kelly by the hair, but Divas Champion Melina rushed to make the save and chased Maryse off before she could do any more damage!
Then it was time for Randy Orton to go one-on-one with Kofi Kingston with Guest Host Mark Cuban as the Special Referee. Orton looked to have the victory in his grasp as he set up for the RKO, but Kofi countered into a backslide and, with the help of a lightning-quick three count from Mark Cuban, Kofi got the win over Orton! As Orton stared in disbelief, Cuban stated that he had waited six years to get even with Orton and then announced that the “rubber match” will take place between Orton & Kofi at WWE TLC! Who will win this Sunday at WWE TLC? Will this match put an end to the rivalry between Randy Orton & Kofi Kingston?
Following his non-title victory over The Miz last week, Mark Henry faced the United States Champion again, but this time it was for the title! “The World’s Strongest Man” seemed to have everything under control after catching The Miz coming off of the top rope, but Miz was able to counter into a DDT on the big man to pick up the win and retain the United States Title! Who will be the next Superstar to challenge The Miz for his gold?
In Mixed Tag Team action, the team of Hornswoggle & Eve Torres picked up the win over Chavo Guerrero & Jillian. After the match, Chavo got a hold of Hornswoggle and threw Hornswoggle aggressively to to the mat and was prepared to do more damage to Hornswoggle when Eve stepped in! Seeing that Eve might be in danger, Chris Masters entered the ring and got in the face of Chavo! Chavo tried to attack Masters, but Masters locked in the Masterlock on Chavo before slamming Chavo down! How will Chavo respond to Masters saving Eve & Hornswoggle?
Then it was time for Unified WWE Tag Team Champion Chris Jericho to face both members of D-Generation X in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match. As expected, DX were dominating the match; that was until Jericho shoved the referee into Triple H! With the referee down, Big Show came out to even the odds for his tag team partner! With Big Show’s attention on Shawn Michaels, Triple H grabbed a steel chair and waffled “The World’s Largest Athlete” in the back with it! However, Big Show was barely phased and delivered the Knockout Punch to Triple H through the steel chair! Shawn Michaels was able to slip out of the ring and retrieve a ladder, but once HBK tried to put in the ring, Jericho utilized a baseball slide to send the ladder into Michaels! Big Show then got control of the ladder and took down both members of DX with it. Jeri-Show then placed both members of DX into the open ladder and closed the ladder on the duo before Jericho “compacted” DX using a steel chair on the ladder containing Triple H & Shawn Michaels! Jericho then sets up the ladder in the middle of the ring and stands on top of it, holding the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles up high! Will this be the scene come WWE TLC or will DX be the ones with the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles?
Then it was time for the Championship Showdown between WWE Champion John Cena and #1 Contender Sheamus. Guest Host Mark Cuban served as the moderator for the Showdown and introduced both competitors and both Superstars came to the ring. Cuban explained that he would be asking three questions to both Cena & Sheamus. Cuban asks Sheamus why Sheamus believes he will win the Tables Match at WWE TLC. Sheamus proclaims that what took Cena “years” will take him “weeks” when he wins the WWE Title at WWE TLC! Cuban then proposes the same question to John Cena, who replies with “no comment”. Cuban then moves on to the second question and asks Sheamus if he is concerned about the dangers of the Tables Match. Sheamus stated that Cena has never faced anyone “like him” before and vowed that Cena will “lose everything” at WWE TLC! When it was Cena’s turn to answer, Cena once again uttered “no comment”! Cuban then moved on to the third and final question and asked for any last comments for their opponent this Sunday. Cena finally has a “comment” and states that he has faced everyone in his seven-year career in the WWE and that he has always been “the man to beat”. Cena then says that he has “never given up” and that he has “earned the right” to be the WWE Champion! Cena then proclaims that he is not “intimidated” by Sheamus. “The Celtic Warrior” takes offense to the words of Cena as both men dismantle the tables and podium set up in the ring! The WWE TLC opponents then go face-to-face, ready to fight, but Guest Host Mark Cuban steps in between the two. Sheamus then shoves Cuban to the mat, which distracts Cena long enough for Sheamus to once again deliver a blindsided kick to Cena! Sheamus then sets up a table in the corner before delivering a second vile kick to the head of a recovering John Cena! Mark Cuban slowly gets to his feet and then gets in the face of Sheamus before shoving “The Celtic Warrior” to the mat! An irate Sheamus responded by attacking Cuban and driving the billionaire through a table! Proud of his handiwork, the ruthless Sheamus stood over the destruction he had just caused as John Cena and EMT’s tend to Mark Cuban. Sheamus has twice gotten the better of the WWE Champion John Cena and, for the third week in a row, has put someone through a table. Will this remorseless and barbaric attitude of Sheamus lead to “The Celtic Warrior” claiming the WWE Championship this Sunday or will the ever resilient John Cena once again overcome his opposition and put Sheamus through a table to retain the WWE Title?