The 867th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW was the first of 2010 and it came to you, live, from the Nutter Center at Wright State University in Dayton, OH. The first RAW of 2010 would most certainly be in the running for the biggest RAW in the show’s near seventeen year history as, after a twelve year absence from the WWE, 2006 WWE Hall of Famer Bret “Hitman” Hart would make his much anticipated return to the WWE to serve as Guest Host of RAW! Also on this historic RAW, D-Generation X would defend the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles against Jeri-Show, but this time, if Jeri-Show fails to win the titles, then Chris Jericho will leave RAW for good. Plus, in the fourth match in their intense rivalry, Randy Orton and Kofi Kingston would go-on-one following Orton’s vicious attack on Kofi on last week’s RAW.
Match Results
- Divas Title Tournament: First Round: Maryse def. Brie Bella (with Nikki Bella) by pin following the French Kiss DDT to advance.
Divas Champion Melina was injured at a RAW Live Event last week and so the Divas Title was vacated and an eight Diva tournament will determine the new champion. In this match, Brie & Nikki Bella tried to pull off the two of them switching places, but Maryse saw the switch and took advantage of the fresh Nikki Bella before she could capitalize on the switch and, thus, picked up the win.
- #1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way for the United States Title: MVP def. Carlito, Mark Henry, & Jack Swagger by pinning Jack Swagger following the Playmaker to become the #1 Contender for the United States Title.
- Unified WWE Tag Team Championship: D-Generation X (c) (with Hornswoggle) def. Jeri-Show by Triple H (c) pinning Chris Jericho following Sweet Chin Music by Shawn Michaels (c); D-Generation X (c) retains.
As a result of this match, Chris Jericho must go back to SmackDown and stay off of RAW. After the match, Big Show left Chris Jericho alone in the ring.
- Non-Title: Sheamus def. Evan Bourne by pin following the Celtic Crucifix Powerbomb.
After vowing that he would not defend the WWE Championship against John Cena again, Sheamus challenged anyone to come out and face him. Evan Bourne answered the challenge and Sheamus added the stipulation to the match that, if Bourne won, then Bourne would face Sheamus for the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble. Since Bourne lost, he will not face Sheamus for the title at the Royal Rumble.
- Randy Orton def. Kofi Kingston by pin following the RKO.
Earlier in the night, Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase told Randy Orton that, if he lost to Kofi Kingston, then Orton would be kicked out of Legacy.
Match Quality
- Unified WWE Tag Team Championship
- Randy Orton Vs. Kofi Kingston
- Sheamus Vs. Evan Bourne
- Maryse Vs. Brie Bella
- MVP Vs. Carlito Vs. Mark Henry Vs. Jack Swagger
Detailed Results
The historic Monday Night RAW kicks off with the moment that wrestling fans the world over have waited twelve years for; the return to the WWE of Bret “Hitman” Hart! Bret says that he has tried over recent years to return, but that Mr. McMahon would not allow it and states that it’s “nice to be back”. Bret then thanks his fans for not allowing him to be forgotten. Bret says he has many great memories of his WWE career and there is one thing that he wants to do first and that is bring Shawn Michaels out to the ring! Michaels comes out and comes face-to-face with his legendary rival and Bret tells HBK that he wants to call for a “truce” between them! Michaels states that there is something that he has waited twelve years to say; that Bret “deserved” what he got in Montreal! Michaels then says that there is a part of him that does not regret it, but that a lot of things have changed in the last twelve years. HBK then says he always “respected” Bret, but he felt that Bret did not “respect” him. Michaels says that when he thinks of Bret, he does not think of Montreal, he thinks of Anaheim, CA and their 60-Minute Iron Man Match at WrestleMania! HBK says that Bret is not the only one who is ready to “move on” from the Montreal incident. Bret says they should take the moment to shake each other hands and “bury the hatchet”! Bret then extends his hand to Michaels and, twelve years after incident in Montreal shook the wrestling world to it’s core, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels shook hands! HBK started to leave the ring and it looked like vintage Michaels would rear his head and deliver Sweet Chin Music to Bret, but HBK turned and hugged the “Hitman”! Michaels then left the ring and Bret called out WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon, who did not answer! What does the “Hitman” have in store for RAW as the Guest Host? Will Bret get his face-to-face confrontation with Mr. McMahon?
Backstage, Mr. McMahon is interviewed and states that he was in a meeting and did not see what happened at the start of RAW! The Chairman then announces that he will call out Bret later in the night!
It was announced on RAW that Divas Champion Melina was injured at a recent RAW Live Event and that the Divas Title has been vacated! To crown a new Divas Champion, eight Divas will face off in a tournament with the winner being crowned the champion!
In the first round of the Tournament to crown a new Divas Champion, former Divas Champion Maryse went one-on-one with Brie Bella. The match spills to the outside of the ring and Nikki Bella gets involved and bounces Maryse’s face off of the announce table! Once again, with the referee back turned, The Bella Twins pulled their signature switch as Brie Bella switched places with Nikki Bella! Unfortunately for The Bellas, Maryse spotted the switch and was still able to hit the French Kiss DDT on Nikki Bella and pick up the win to advance in the Divas Tournament! Who else will be involved in the eight Diva tournament?
With United States Champion The Miz on commentary at ringside, a Fatal 4-Way would determine the next #1 Contender for the United States Champion as MVP, Jack Swagger, Carlito, & Mark Henry faced off for the title opportunity. In the end, it was “The Ballin’ Superstar” MVP who was able to win the chaotic Fatal 4-Way Match to become the new #1 Contender for the United States Championship! When will MVP get his title shot and can “The Ballin’ Superstar” earn his third run with the United States Title?
Backstage, Chris Jericho confronts old friend Bret Hart and asks Bret to be the Special Guest Referee and to “screw” DX out of the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles! Bret tells Jericho that he wants to put the Montreal incident to rest and that Jericho will have to take care of things on his own! Can Jeri-Show regain the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles or will DX retain and force Chris Jericho off of RAW, for good?
It was then time for DX to defend the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles against Jeri-Show with Chris Jericho’s career on RAW on the line. The end of the chaotic match came when Hornswoggle came into the ring and attempted his rendition of Sweet Chin Music, but Jericho countered by blasting Hornswoggle with a boot to the head! Jericho was able to get Triple H into the Walls of Jericho, but Jericho turned right into Sweet Chin Music by Shawn Michaels, which led to DX retaining the tag titles! After the match, Big Show simply walked away from his former partner, Chris Jericho, as Jericho sits in shock after being forced back to SmackDown! Now that Jeri-Show is officially done, what does the future hold for Big Show on RAW and Chris Jericho on SmackDown?
Backstage, Randy Orton confronts Mr. McMahon and McMahon tells Orton that what Bret did to him and his company pails in comparison to what Orton did to him and his family in 2009. Orton then offers a sinister plan to the Chairman as “The Viper” offers to punt Bret Hart in the skull in exchange for Mr. McMahon placing Randy Orton in the Royal Rumble Match as entrant #30! The Chairman tells Orton then he has his own security force at his beck and call and McMahon then tells Orton to never confront him again!
After being denied approval for his diabolical plan by Mr. McMahon, Randy Orton was confronted by his Legacy cohorts, Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase, and the duo gave Orton the same ultimatum that Orton gave them last week; either Orton wins his match against Kofi Kingston or Orton is out of Legacy! Can Orton remain the leader of Legacy or will his protégés overthrow their leader?
Legendary boxer “Iron” Mike Tyson will be on hand for next week’s RAW to serve as Guest Host! What will “Iron Mike” have in store for RAW?
WWE Champion Sheamus made an appearance on RAW and proclaims that John Cena could not “beat” him last week and that he did last week what he said he would do. Sheamus then reveals that he will be defending the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble, but that it will not be against John Cena because he has already defeated Cena. Sheamus then states that Bret Hart may be the “best there ever was”, but he is the “best there is and the best there ever will be”. Sheamus then challenges anyone to come out and state otherwise. Evan Bourne answers the call and tells Sheamus that the only reason Sheamus has the WWE Title is because someone “gave” him the opportunity and that, given the same opportunity, he can defeat Sheamus and that he wants his opportunity right now! Sheamus refers to Evan as “little Evan Bourne” and states that, if Evan can beat him, then Bourne will get a shot at the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble! “The Celtic Warrior” then states that Bourne will not get the title opportunity, but he will get the “worst beating” of his life!
With a shot at the WWE Championship on the line, Evan Bourne would face WWE Champion Sheamus in a non-title bout! While Bourne came in strong against Sheamus, it did not take long for Sheamus to finish off Evan Bourne and dash Bourne’s title aspirations. Who will get the opportunity to challenge Sheamus for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble?
Last week on RAW, Randy Orton delivered a vile RKO to Kofi Kingston on the arena floor and this week, Randy Orton would go one-on-one with Kofi Kingston in the fourth match in their intense rivalry. While Kofi was out for revenge on Orton, Orton was out to remain a part of Legacy as, if Orton loses to Kofi, Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase vowed to kick Orton out of Legacy! After hitting the RKO out of nowhere, Randy Orton was able to pick up the victory over Kofi Kingston and remain the leader of Legacy! After the trials and tribulations Randy Orton & Legacy have been through in the last couple of weeks, is the end of Legacy on the horizon?
Then it was time for the confrontation twelve years in the making as WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon would come face-to-face with Bret “Hitman” Hart. Mr. McMahon comes out for his legendary face off and states that there is “no reason” for him to call out Bret! McMahon proclaims that what happened between Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels at the beginning of the show has brought the Montreal incident to an “end”. The Chairman then moves on and discusses next week’s Guest Host, Mike Tyson, but Bret Hart interrupts the Chairman by coming out and coming face-to-face with McMahon! With the “Hitman” standing before him, McMahon states that he still believes that Bret “screwed” Bret and that he will never forget Bret spitting in his face or punching him after the Montreal incident. McMahon then says he wants to know what Bret thinks of him and he hopes that it starts with Bret apologizing! Bret tells McMahon that the Chairman wants the Montreal incident to come to a close just as badly as Bret does! McMahon states that he does want to bring closure to the incident and says that he wants to nominate the late, great Stu Hart to be in the 2010 Hall of Fame! Bret thanks McMahon for the nomination of his father and McMahon thanks for Bret and his legendary career and contributions. Mr. McMahon then extends his hand to Bret Hart followed by Bret Hart & Vince McMahon shaking hands and holding each other’s arms in the air! Amidst the supposed celebration, McMahon delivers a quick kick to the mid-section of Bret Hart! With a look of utter contempt on his face, Mr. McMahon leaves the ring as Bret gets to his feet.