One night after an absolutely shocking WWE Elimination Chamber event, the 874th edition of Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN. Singer Jewel & her husband, bull rider Ty Murray, would serve as Guest Co-Hosts of a, no doubt, chaotic edition of Monday Night RAW. Before spearing William Regal at WWE Elimination Chamber, the 2010 Royal Rumble Winner, Edge, revealed that he would make his much anticipated WrestleMania announcement on RAW as “The Rated-R Superstar” would reveal which champion he will be facing at WrestleMania XXVI; either new WWE Champion Batista or new World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho. Speaking of the World Heavyweight Title, one night after making his shocking appearance inside the Elimination Chamber where he delivered Sweet Chin Music to The Undertaker; costing “The Phenom” the World Heavyweight Title, Shawn Michaels would appear on RAW to explain his actions. On last week’s RAW, Batista appeared on the big screen and told John Cena that the next time they are in the same ring together, Cena would wish it was a “nightmare” and, at WWE Elimination Chamber, John Cena learned exactly what “The Animal” meant as, moments after surviving the Elimination Chamber and winning the WWE Title, WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon immediately brought out Batista and announced that Cena would have to go through Batista to keep his WWE Title until WrestleMania and, being in no condition to defend himself, Cena was quickly defeated by “The Animal” as Batista won the WWE Championship from Cena. One night after this shocking event, the new WWE Champion Batista would appear on RAW. With “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase & Antonio Inoki confirmed for the 2010 WWE Hall of Fame, the third inductee would be announced on RAW.
Match Results
- Divas Tournament: Finals: Maryse def. Gail Kim by pin following the French Kiss DDT to win the vacant Divas Title.
- 6-Man Tag: Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, & Yoshi Tatsu def. Randy Orton & Legacy by Evan Bourne pinning Cody Rhodes following Air Bourne.
During the match, with Randy Orton in control of the match, Cody Rhodes tags himself into the match and Orton responds by planting Rhodes with a suspended DDT. After being questioned about his actions by Ted DiBiase on the outside, Orton hits the RKO on DiBiase on the outside of the ring. After this, Bourne hits Air Bourne on Rhodes en route to winning the match.
- Money-in-the-Bank Qualifying Match: Christian def. Carlito by pin following the Killswitch to qualify for the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania XXVI.
- Unified WWE Tag Team Championship: The Miz & Big Show (c) def. MVP & Mark Henry by Big Show (c) pinning Mark Henry following the Knockout Punch to retain.
- Non-Title: John Cena def. Batista by intentional disqualification following a low blow; as a result, John Cena will challenge Batista for the WWE Title at WrestleMania XXVI.
The stipulation of the match as, if John Cena defeated Batista, then he would earn a shot at Batista and the WWE Title at WrestleMania XXVI, but if Cena lost, then Sheamus would get that opportunity.
Detailed Results
One night after a historic and controversial WWE Elimination Chamber event, the show kicks off with the product of Shawn Michaels’ delivery of Sweet Chin Music to The Undertaker as the new World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho opens the show and proclaims that he’s “going to WrestleMania” with an ear-to-ear grin! Jericho then states that he is the “true face of the WWE” and says that he “changed his mind” about never returning to RAW after “beating” five of SmackDown’s greatest Superstars, including The Undertaker, one night earlier! Jericho again proclaims that he is “going to WrestleMania” before the new World Heavyweight Champion is interrupted by Edge! As Jericho turns his attention to the entrance, Edge enters through the crowd and lays out the new World Heavyweight Champion with a Spear before announcing his decision to challenge Jericho for the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania XXVI!
After Edge and Jericho exit, an enraged John Cena comes out and says to “add him to the list” of people who have been “screwed” by Mr. McMahon! Cena wastes no time and states that, for however brief a time, he won the WWE Championship last night before losing it to Batista and, thus, he wants his rematch on RAW! However, Cena did not get the new WWE Champion, Batista, he got the WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon! The Chairman states that his end of the “business” deal with Batista was to give “The Animal” a title shot anytime and anywhere he wanted! Determined to get his rematch, Cena says he “wants” the WWE Title back, which the Chairman responds to by reminding Cena that Sheamus is also entitled to a rematch for the WWE Title! McMahon then makes the announcement that John Cena will be in action on RAW and, if he wins his match, he will challenge Batista for the WWE Title, but if he loses, then Sheamus gets that opportunity! After demanding to know who he would be facing, the Chairman revealed that Cena would be facing the new WWE Champion himself, Batista! Can John Cena defeat Batista to earn a WWE Title shot against “The Animal” at WrestleMania or will Sheamus earn that opportunity?
After being postponed by SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero at WWE Elimination Chamber, the opening match of the night saw Maryse going one-on-one with Gail Kim in the Finals of the Divas Tournament to determine which Diva will claim the vacant Divas Title! After planting Gail Kim with the French Kiss DDT, Maryse made history by becoming the first two-time Divas Champion in the title’s history! Who will be the first Diva to step up and challenge Maryse for the Divas Title?
Backstage, Cody Rhodes confronts Randy Orton and tells Orton he does not want to say that he “told” Orton about Ted DiBiase’s plans to beat Orton and “The Viper” that he is the one to blame for the tumultuous partnership between himself and Legacy! Orton then revealed that he requested that the three of them compete in a 6-Man Tag Match and tells Rhodes to tell DiBiase that he is “sorry”! DiBiase then confronts Rhodes and asks him how it went and Rhodes stated that it went “almost too good” before DiBiase asks if they are “sticking to the plan”, which Rhodes assures DiBiase that they are! What is this “plan” that Legacy has in mind?
Randy Orton & Legacy were then in 6-Man Tag action as they squared off against Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, and the newest addition to RAW, Yoshi Tatsu, who opted to sign with RAW after becoming a “free agent” following the end of ECW! With Randy Orton in control of the contest, Cody Rhodes opts to tag himself in and Orton responds by planting Rhodes with his suspended DDT! Orton then tried to abandon Rhodes & DiBiase, but DiBiase confronts Orton on the outside and Orton responds to DiBiase’s questioning by planting DiBiase with the RKO on the arena floor! After all of this, Rhodes was left all alone in the ring against Kofi, Bourne, & Tatsu and, after hitting Air Bourne, Evan Bourne pinned Rhodes to pick up the win for his team! How will Legacy respond to Randy Orton preventing them from executing their “plan” and laying them both out?
After emerging from beneath the Elimination Chamber and costing The Undertaker the World Heavyweight Title one night earlier, Shawn Michaels makes an appearance to explain his actions! Michaels states that his explanation is not “complicated” before saying that he did what he “needed to do”! HBK then says that “for every action, there must be a reaction” and states that he is “counting” on a reaction from The Undertaker! A reaction is certainly what HBK got as Michaels is interrupted by the familiar gong of The Undertaker! A visibly enraged Undertaker then made his way to the ring; not taking his eyes off of Shawn Michaels! With Undertaker standing before him, HBK says that he wrestled a “near perfect” match at last year’s WrestleMania and he made “one mistake” and it cost him the match. Michaels says that Undertaker “ignored” him and left him “no choice” but to cost him the World Heavyweight Title! HBK says that Undertaker wants his “revenge” and tells Undertaker to face him at WrestleMania and “get his revenge” and Undertaker responds by accepting the WrestleMania challenge, but as Michaels leaves, Undertaker states he will accept on “one condition”! Undertaker then lays down the gauntlet and says that, if Michaels wins, then he successfully ends the undefeated streak, but if Michaels loses, his career is over! Michaels responds by saying that, if he can’t beat Undertaker at WrestleMania, then he has “no career” before accepting the challenge! Will Shawn Michaels finally end the undefeated WrestleMania streak of The Undertaker or will The Undertaker responsible for the end of Shawn Michaels’ career?
It was announced on RAW that former ECW Champion Christian has opted to sign with RAW before “Captain Charisma” went one-on-one with Carlito in a qualifying match for the annual Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania! After hitting the Killswitch, Christian pinned Carlito to punch his ticket to WrestleMania XXVI to compete in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match! Given his Ladder Match prowess, can Christian claim the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase at WrestleMania? How will both Christian & Carlito do with their NXT Rookies?
RAW Guest Co-Hosts and celebrity couple, Jewel & Ty Murray, make an appearance to present the “Divas Bull Riding Championship”! Eve Torres was the first Diva to ride the mechanical bull, followed by Kelly Kelly, then both of The Bella Twins rode the bull together! Unified WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz & Big Show interrupt the festivities and asks if RAW has been “demoted” to Divas Bull Riding! Miz then states that RAW revolves around them! After Big Show questions the difficulty of riding the bull, Big Show gets goated into riding the bull and does not survive the eight second round that the Divas did! After the Guest Co-Hosts alleged that the bull was “taunting” Big Show, Show knocked the bull all the way around with a right hand that took Big Show off of his feet! After “knocking out” the mechanical bull, Jewel & Ty Murray informed Miz & Big Show that they would defend their Unified WWE Tag Team Titles against the team that defeated them on last week’s RAW, MVP & Mark Henry!
In match made by Guest Co-Hosts Jewel & Ty Murray, The Miz & Big Show defended their Unified WWE Tag Team Titles against the team that defeated them in non-title action last week, MVP and his partner, who was sent crashing through the barricade by Big Show one night earlier, Mark Henry, who was bandaged up for the match! In the end, it was Big Show waylaying Mark Henry with a Knockout Punch en route to winning the match for himself and The Miz as the team successfully retains the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles!
The third inductee in the 2010 WWE Hall of Fame was announced as the legendary five-time Women’s Champion Wendi Richter will be inducted on March 27 in Phoenix and will be inducted by fellow Hall of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper! Who else will join the 2010 WWE Hall of Fame?
WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon makes another appearance on RAW and states that he actually wanted to face Bret Hart at WrestleMania, but claims that he had nothing to do with Bret’s accident last week! The Chairman then invites Bret to RAW next week and says that, if necessary, he will provide Bret with an ambulance and a wheel chair to get there! What will Bret Hart have to say when he appears on RAW next week? What role will Mr. McMahon play when Bret makes his appearance?
In addition to Bret Hart’s “farewell”, next week’s RAW will be co-hosted by the legendary comedy duo of Cheech & Chong! Not only that, but Randy Orton will go one-on-one with Ted DiBiase! As the Road To WrestleMania runs through Oklahoma City, what will happen on next week’s RAW?
Then it was time for the main event as John Cena would go one-on-one with the new WWE Champion, Batista, in a non-title match where, if Cena wins, he will challenge Batista for the WWE Title at WrestleMania XXVI, but if he loses, then Sheamus will get the title opportunity! Almost as soon as the bell rang, Batista blatantly low-blows John Cena; meaning that Cena wins via disqualification and will challenge Batista for the WWE Title at WrestleMania XXVI! After the match, Batista viciously stomped Cena down n the corner before exiting the ring! Not satisfied with the damage done, Batista came back to the ring and tossed Cena to the outside before hurling Cena into the barricade and delivering a spinebuster to Cena in to the steel ring post! Batista starts to exit again, but once he sees Cena recovering, “The Animal” comes back and grabs a steel chair and smashes it into Cena’s back! “The Animal” then waits for Cena to stir before hitting him with a second steel chair shot to the back, followed by a third! Despite the ruthless punishment dealt out by Batista, Cena continues to try and get up to fight Batista, but Batista hits a fourth chair shot to the back of Cena to put down Cena to Batista’s satisfaction! John Cena has technically defeated Batista, by disqualification, to earn the opportunity to challenge Batista for the WWE Title at WrestleMania XXVI, but is it a moot win following the horrendous attack by “The Animal” or will Cena find a way to make it to WrestleMania?