The 870th edition of Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. One of the stars of the TV series, “Psych” would serve as the Guest Host as actor Dule Hill would be in charge of the final RAW before the Royal Rumble.
Match Results
- Non-Title: D-Generation X def. Legacy by Shawn Michaels pinning Ted DiBiase following Sweet Chin Music.
- Big Show def. MVP by pin following the Showslam.
- Divas Tournament: Semi-Finals: Maryse def. Eve Torres by pin following the French Kiss DDT to advance to the Finals.
Maryse will face either Gail Kim or Alicia Fox in the Finals of the Divas Tournament.
- Non-Title: Kofi Kingston (with MVP) def. The Miz by pin following Trouble in Paradise.
During the match, The Miz is distracted by MVP’s music, which leads to Kofi Kingston hitting Trouble in Paradise and picking up the win.
- Divas Tournament: Semi-Finals: Gail Kim def. Alicia Fox by pin following the Eat Defeat to advance to the Finals.
- Non-Title: Sheamus def. John Cena by DQ after Randy Orton interferes.
Randy Orton interrupts the match by hitting the RKO on Sheamus. Orton then goes for a DDT on John Cena, but Cena counters with the Attitude Adjustment, leaving both the WWE Champion and #1 Contender laid out.
Match Quality
- D-Generation X Vs. Legacy
- Kofi Kingston Vs. The Miz
- Maryse Vs. Eve Torres
- Big Show Vs. MVP
- Sheamus Vs. John Cena
- Gail Kim Vs. Alicia Fox
Detailed Results
The show kicks off with the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions D-Generation X, sans Hornswoggle, and Shawn Michaels explains that he sent Hornswoggle “home” and states that “serious”! HBK then states that he “needs” to win the Royal Rumble Match and beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI and asks if it is “too much to ask” of Triple H. “The Game” responds by saying that it is too much to ask and that the Royal Rumble Match is a time for them to be “serious” and that the Royal Rumble Match is for an opportunity at a World Title and to headline WrestleMania. Triple H says that he knows how much HBK wants to have a rematch with The Undertaker, but that he wants a World Title opportunity and that they can team up as much as they want in the Rumble Match, but it will come down to the two of them for the title shot. Triple H then states that they will always be friends, but if he has to step on HBK’s “dream” in order to get to his, that he will do it! Shawn Michaels then simply responds by saying, “I understand”.
Following their intense confrontation, DX was in a non-title bout against Legacy. During the match, Triple H set Cody Rhodes up for the Pedigree, but Shawn Michaels tags himself in! Triple H & Shawn Michaels then come face-to-face and Rhodes takes advantage by shoving Triple H into Shawn Michaels! Despite another combustible confrontation, DX was able to pick up the win over Legacy! Will DX be able to stay on the same page long enough to make a successful defense of the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles this Friday night on SmackDown when they face CM Punk & Luke Gallows?
The #1 Contender for the United States Title, MVP, was in action on RAW as he had the unenviable task of facing “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show! Before the match, MVP states that The Miz is the United States Champion, but he is the #1 Contender. MVP then accuses The Miz of “running away” from him and vows to take the United States Title from The Miz! This brings out The Miz, who states that MVP has been “incarcerated”, but that the fans support him. Miz then says that, while MVP was in prison, he was becoming a “reality star” and is a bigger “celebrity” than anyone in the building! MVP responds by saying that the fans hate The Miz because Miz is a “jackass”! MVP then states that The Miz would be “popular” in prison to the point of other prisoners would fight in order to be “exclusive” with The Miz! MVP then questions if The Miz’s partnership with Big Show is something more and an infuriated Miz responds by stating that he would love to have their United States Title match at that very moment, but he has a “friend” to take care of MVP!
The Miz’s new “friend”, Big Show, made short work of MVP as “The World’s Largest Athlete” flattened the #1 Contender for the United States Title with a chokeslam! Is The Miz “running away” like MVP alleges? When will Miz & MVP square off with the United States Title on the line?
Following their loss to DX, Legacy has a “discussion” backstage where Cody Rhodes “thanks” Ted DiBiase for saving Rhodes from Sweet Chin Music. Ted DiBiase starts to get in the face of Cody Rhodes, but Randy Orton intervenes and informs his protégés that he is going to beat Sheamus at the Royal Rumble for the WWE Title and he will do it “with or without” Legacy!
Backstage, The Miz confronts Guest Host Dule Hill and tells Dule that he is a “bigger star” than Dule! Dule responds by informing the United States Champion that he will be in action on RAW against an opponent of his choice! Who will Dule Hill select as the opponent for The Miz?
The first of two Semi-Final matches in the Divas Tournament to crown a new Divas Champion took place on RAW as Maryse was set to face off against Eve Torres. Before her Semi-Final match, Maryse stated that she would be the new Divas Champion, but Maryse was “explosively” interrupted as Guest Host Dule Hill set off the stage pyro!
After Maryse scolded the Guest Host in French, she went one-on-one with Eve Torres in a Semi-Final match in the Divas Tournament. Maryse was able to plant Eve Torres with the French Kiss DDT en route to winning the match and securing her spot in the Finals of the Divas Tournament against either Gail Kim or Alicia Fox.
WWE Chairman Mr. McMahn made an appearance on RAW to announce his “decision” regarding the status of Bret Hart! The Chairman states that, if The Undertaker was there, he would “dare” Undertaker to call him a “coward”! McMahon then states that the fans had “forgotten” about Bret Hart and questions if there is a “reason” to bring Bret Hart back! Despite the cheers and chants of the fans, Mr. McMahon declares that Bret will “never” set foot in the WWE again! McMahon then asks the fans for a good reason for Bret to return! One fan tells the Chairman that Bret would beat him and another says that Bret is “awesome”! McMahon then gets back into the ring and states that he has not heard “one good business reason” to bring Bret back before proclaiming that Bret Hart is a “footnote of the past”! The Chairman starts to make his exit from the ring when he is interrupted by John Cena! Cena states that he is not out there to change McMahon’s mind and says that, “until recently”, he did not have a problem with McMahon! Cena tells Mr. McMahon that the Chairman had a lot of “help” building the empire known as the WWE and that he treats his Superstars as if they are expendable commodities! Cena says that the reason people do not “respect” him as a man because all he cares about is “lining his pockets and serving his ego”! Cena then tells McMahon that he brought Bret back to “serve his ego” and calls the Chairman “pathetic”! Cena then tells McMahon that, next week on RAW, he will “invite” Bret to RAW and, if he does not, his points will be proven and, when the Chairman turns ninety years old, he will find McMahon and will take him out of his wheelchair and knock his “false teeth” down his throat! Cena then states that McMahon needs to “do the right thing” before exiting the ring! Mr. McMahon stops Cena and announces that he will invite Bret Hart to RAW next week and that he will not even “flinch” in front of Bret next week! The Chairman then announces that he is placing Cena in a non-title match against the WWE Champion Sheamus! What will go down next week when Mr. McMahon invites Bret Hart back to RAW for the first time since he kicked the Hall of Famer in the mid-section on January 4?
By the order of Guest Host Dule Hill, United States Champion The Miz was in a non-title match against an opponent of Dule’s choosing, which turned out to be Kofi Kingston! In the middle of the match, MVP’s music hits and it distracts The Miz long enough for Kofi to hit Trouble in Paradise on Miz and pick up the victory! MVP has sent a message to The Miz. Can MVP earn his third reign as the United States Champion?
Backstage, Guest Host Dule Hill & Carlito invaded the WWE production truck and, through some conversing with one of the employees running the match graphics for the show, placed Carlito in a match against Kelly Kelly! Carlito was thrilled about the match, but will Carlito Vs. Kelly Kelly really take place?
As Kelly Kelly reluctantly makes her way to the ring to face Carlito, Santino Marella interrupts and states that he looked ridiculous in 2009 and 2010 is a “new year” and he says he will take Kelly Kelly’s place and beat Carlito! Santino then vows to win the Royal Rumble Match and headline WrestleMania! Santino approaches the ring, but is blind-sided by Jack Swagger! Swagger throws Santino in the ring and assaults Santino before symbolically tossing Santino over the top rope! Swagger’s assault on Santino took a brutal turn once Swagger drove Santino, face-first, into the steel ring post.
With Guest Host Dule Hill as a guest on commentary, Gail Kim faced Alicia Fox in the second Semi-Final match in the Divas Tournament. Despite Dule Hill’s prediction to Alicia Fox that she would defeat Gail Kim and advance to the Finals, Gail was able to defeat Fox to advance to the Finals of the Divas Tournament where she will face Maryse to determine the new Divas Champion! After the match, Alicia Fox took her frustrations out on Guest Host Dule Hill with a vicious slap to the actor’s face! The Finals of the Divas Tournament are set between Maryse & Gail Kim. Who will be crowned the new Divas Champion?
Then it was time for the main event as WWE Champion Sheamus went one-on-one with the Superstar he defeated for the title, John Cena, in a non-title match. Following his vicious, signature kick to Cena on the outside of the ring, Sheamus was poised for a count-out victory until the #1 Contender for the WWE Title, Randy Orton, interfered and laid Sheamus out with the RKO! After taking the WWE Champion down, Orton set his sights on Cena and was about to plant Cena with a DDT, but Cena countered and hit the Attitude Adjustment on Orton; leaving both champion and challenger laid out! Will John Cena be the one left standing this Sunday at the Royal Rumble as the winner of the Royal Rumble Match?