WWE Raw Live Report
April 5, 2009
Live from Moline, Ill.
Aired on USA Network
Report by James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

The WWE show started with a live shot of the arena and Justin Roberts welcoming out the new World Hvt. champion Jack Swagger. We start with Swagger tonight and Swagger slowly walked out on stage sporting a pinstripe suit and with a very serious demeanor. Nice. Raw announcers Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler recapped Swagger cashing in the MITB briefcase on Smackdown to become new World Hvt. champion. Swagger then simply pointed to the video screen and said, "Roll it." They showed Swagger's title win, then came back to Swagger for a State of the World Title address.

Swagger said he considered cashing in on WWE champion John Cena last Monday, but if he's truly going to be recognized as a great champion, he needed to take on a competitor superior to John Cena - a man who calls himself the best at what he does, Chris Jericho. Swagger said had he taken on Cena, it would have been even faster than nine seconds. He said he's considering giving his skills exclusively to Smackdown because no one on Raw compares to his ability. Swagger was sweating at this point, then Cena's music interrupted to a typically strong reaction.

Cena marched out on stage holding the WWE Title belt and having a smile on his face as he stepped into the ring to face off with the other major champion. Cena's music stopped and he giggled at the mixed crowd reaction. Swagger was just stone-faced staring off into the distance before Cena congratulated Swagger on officially being the luckiest man in the world. He knocked Swagger for cashing in a briefcase to become new World champ. Cena said that was the easy part. Now, it's about what he's going to do. "So what is Jack Swagger about to do?" Cena asked rhetorically to set up his next point. Cena said they'll be soooo sorry to see Swagger leave to Smackdown. He said Swagger's reasoning was because no one on Raw can compete with him. Cena said he has a problem with that because there is one guy currently standing in the ring - wearing orange - calling Swagger a liar. Pause for a "Cena" chant. He said he doesn't think Swagger is championship material and he's earned his title while Swagger hasn't earned anything. He called him a weasel before giving him a chance to shut him up. Swagger remained stoic without reacting. Cena said he is so sure he'll do to Swagger what he did to Batista that he will make him tap out and put the WWE Title on the line. Swagger said that doesn't work for him on a couple of levels.

Suddenly, Randy Orton's music interrupted to a strong reaction. Orton stood next to Cena and stared at Swagger before getting in Cena's face. Orton said he knows Swagger would rather face the man who beat him last week in their tag match. Orton glared back at Swagger. Suddenly, Big Show's music hit and out came The Miz and Big Show in suits. Show shopping at Big & Tall this week. Miz slowly walked out ahead of Show and asked, "Really?" He said it's so typical of them to try to steal the spotlight at the beginning of the show. Miz said the issue at hand is that the show isn't about the three of them, but about the Unified tag champs. Random camera shot of the entrance ramp here. Miz said he's The Miz and he's ... the NXT theme music interrupted, with the director a few seconds too early.

David Otunga walked out on stage with "RAW" cut into the side of his head as part of his haircut. Otunga said he's the guest host tonight and this show is going to be top-notch. He addressed Swagger, saying he's going to face the man who pinned him last week, Randy Orton. Otunga walked around on stage and surveyed the scene. He told ShoMiz they will defend the Unified tag titles tonight against Batista...and his partner, John Cena. Cena lost his smile and adjusted his cap, not happy with being paired with Batista. Orton then snuck up behind Cena and tried to hit the RKO, but Cena shoved him off and Orton dropped Swagger with the RKO. Orton then stared down Cena, who smirked and walked out of the ring. That was random. Orton then stood tall center ring as Swagger recovered on the mat to close the segment. They replayed the RKO exchange before cutting to break. PYB (3) talk time: 13:05. Okay opening segment. Swagger taking the fall at the end of the segment wasn't the right way to go when they need to actually build him up as an effective and dangerous heel. We'll see how the match vs. Orton (presumably non-title) plays out.

To recap tonight: Jack Swagger vs. Randy Orton non-title and Miz & Big Show vs. Cena & Batista for the Unified tag titles.

[Q2]

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Kofi Kingston came out after the break for a singles match to come. Sheamus then came out to face Kofi. I imagine we'll be getting some sort of Triple H involvement here as the announcers talked about Hunter trying to say good-bye to Shawn Michaels last week before Sheamus attacked him from behind. Cole's voice cracked as he talked about Sheamus trying to take out his frustration on Hunter last week.

1 -- SHEAMUS vs. KOFI KINGSTON

Sheamus dominated early on here and stomped Kofi into the corner to land more blows. Sheamus followed with a short-arm clothesline and viewers clicked over to watch the tip for the Duke vs. Butler NCAA Title game. Seriously, they needed to establish a reason for this match occurring beforehand if they were going to have such a slow, methodical pace. There's nothing at stake here. Kofi made a comeback at 1:45 and landed a standing dropkick after rebounding off the ropes. Kofi then corner-mounted Sheamus for five punches, only to take the big Pump Kick from Sheamus. Sheamus followed with a second Pump Kick before stalking Kofi. He wanted the Irish Cross running Razor's Edge and he connected. Sheamus with the pin for the win.

Post-match: Sheamus went under the ring and retrieved a metal pipe. He's entering Triple H territory taking out objects from under the ring. The crowd chanted for Hunter as Sheamus measured Kofi for a pipe shot. He landed one to the back of the head and glared down at Kofi. Suddenly, they cut to a shot of Triple H walking down the hallway with a scowl on his face. He's coming out after the break.

WINNER: Sheamus at 2:59. Slow, methodical three-minute match using Kofi as an enhancement talent for Sheamus. It was essentially a means to set up what's to come after the break. (*)

[Commercial Break]

Instead of coming back live to the ring, they replayed last week when Hunter did a tearful good-bye to Shawn Michaels that was interrupted by Sheamus as Hunter was about to say what he's always wanted to say to Michaels.

[Q3]

In-ring: Back live, Sheamus was still in the ring holding a pipe and a mic. Apparently Hunter took a very long route to the ring. Sheamus recapped Michaels's career ending last week and said it took Michaels a long time to win his first WWE Title and it only took him six months. Sheamus said he was supposed to win at WrestleMania, but it didn't happen. The biggest moment of his career was taken away from him by Triple H. So, last week, he took away something from Hunter when he attacked him and left him laying. "Triple H, I know you're here tonight," he said. Well, duh. We just saw him on the video screen. Sheamus said he watched Hunter cry last week. "Pathetic," he said. Sheamus said they cried for a man who left so he wouldn't have to face him. Nice heel line. Sheamus said at WrestleMania, Triple H and Shawn Michaels had one great match left in them. Sheamus said Michaels left before he could take him out and Hunter is too stubborn to leave WWE. He told Hunter to decide whether to leave on his own or have him put him out on a wheelchair.

Hunter's music hit and he slowly walked out on stage in dress clothes and a leather jacket trying to look BA. Hunter walked closer to the ring and slowly removed his jacket before hopping onto the ring apron. His music stopped and Sheamus encouraged him to step into the ring. Hunter then backed down and slowly went under the ring to find his tool - a sledgehammer. Sheamus tried a pipe shot, but hunter blocked and knocked him to the outside with the hammer. Hunter then measured Sheamus and smashed a TV monitor with the hammer before Sheamus high-tailed it away from the ringside area all the way to the back.

Back in the ring, Hunter took the mic and said that's just like a silly Irishman to "bring a pipe to a sledgehammer fight." He threw down the pipe and his music hit. Cole said he doesn't think Hunter has any plans to hang it up. Was that even an issue? I don't think anyone had that issue on his or her mind. We'll see how this plays out going forward.

Up next: Dress to Impress Battle Royal where the winner receives a Divas Title shot next week. The graphic showed Gail Kim, Eve, Kelly Kelly, Katie Lea Burchill, Rosa Mendes, Bellas, Alicia Fox, and Jillian Hall as the participants.

[Commercial Break]

Announcers: Cole and Lawler talked on-camera about Hunter destroying one of their monitors and Hunter nearly taking off Sheamus's head. They brought in Divas champion Maryse ringside to comment on the next match.

2 -- Dress to Impress #1 contender to Divas Title battle royal

The participant list is Gail Kim, Eve, Kelly Kelly, Katie Lea Burchill, Rosa Mendes, the Bella Twins, Alicia Fox, and Jillian Hall. They were all in evening gowns and a red carpet was on the entranceramp to complete the "A-Lister" theme from Otunga. Women started flying out of the ring as soon as the bell rang. It was down to Alicia, Jillian, and Eve, and Alicia and Jillian tried to gang up on Eve with the advantage. The heels even tried to cheat to win, but Eve overcame the odds and eliminated Jillian for the win.

WINNER: Eve at 2:37. As expected, it's Maryse vs. Eve for the Divas Title next week, which has been quietly built up the last two weeks. (n/a)

[Q4]

Up later: John Cena & Batista challenge for the Unified tag titles and Swagger vs. Orton.

[Commercial Break]

Announcers: Cole and Lawler hyped the NXT show and David Otunga. Cole then introduced the NXT intro video on the "A-Lister" David Otunga.

Backstage: Otunga was talking himself up in his office while surrounded by some random entourage types. He told these random people about having exactly 427 green M&Ms. Suddenly, Santino interrupted and asked where the A-Team is. Otunga said it's the A-Lister all around him. Santino wanted to know where Mr. T is. He did a Mr. T impersonation as the goofs surrounding Otunga laughed it up. Suddenly, Hornswoggle was putting his hands on the green M&Ms. A random dude then went flying over the table trying to catch Hornswoggle. The entourage chased after Hornswoggle, then Santino laughed in Otunga's face and left. Ugh segment.

Hallway: Big Show and The Miz were on the way to the ring to defend the tag titles at the top of the hour with the big star power of Cena and Batista on the opposite side up against the ending of TNA Impact starting an hour early.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Unified tag champs Miz and Big Show walked out first for the Unified tag title match semi-main event. WWE champ John Cena then came out first for the mixed face and heel team.

[Q5 -- second hour]]

Batista's music hit at the top of the hour and he slowly walked out on stage before walking into his spotlight on the way to the ring. Batista stood on the floor and refused to enter the ring. Cena said he would do it alone, then Batista slowly walked to the challenger corner and the bell rang to begin this contest.

3 -- Unified tag champions THE MIZ & BIG SHOW vs. JOHN CENA & BIG SHOW -- Unified tag title match

Cena acted tough trying to take it to the champs by himself, then Show knocked down Cena with a headbutt and Batista began laughing from the ring apron. Miz and Show cornered Cena to begin working him over, then Batista decided to leave the ringside area. Cena chased him down on the entrance ramp and Batista shoved him away. Cena then turned around and heard a count-out decision from the ref. He did a Victoria/Tara "look of torment" facial expression that over-sold the match outcome.

Post-match: David Otunga walked out not satisfied with this. He said Miz and Show aren't getting off that easy because later tonight, they'll be defending the tag titles again tonight. He said since Cena and Batista can't get along, his new tag partner is...me - David Otunga, the A-Lister. Cena was standing next to him at this point and shot him a quizzical look. Cena then sarcastically allowed Otunga to lead the way backstage before staring back at Miz and Big Show in the ring.

WINNERS: Miz & Show via count-out at 2:31 to retain the tag titles. Predictable ending to this one. They're trying to get Otunga over, that's for sure. (n/a)

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Legacy's theme music hit to bring out Ted DiBiase, Jr. randomly with...the Million Dollar Title belt. The announcers completely no-sold this as the camera even zoomed in tight on DiBiase's belt. Seriously, is Cole even alive watching the show? Lawler interrupted Cole's rambling and drew attention to DiBiase randomly walking to the ring with the title belt. They replayed last week when DiBiase, Jr. slapped Ted, Sr. after losing to Christian last week. Back live, DiBiase took the mic and said last at WrestleMania, his dad was inducted into the Hall of Fame. DiBiase said last week, his dad tried to act like a father for the first time. He said one act of random kindness doesn't make up for him missing all the times in his life when he important events going on. DiBiase thanked his dad for the trust fund and the Million Dollar Title. I'm not buying this "I'm in it for the money" act from DiBiase. Neither was the audience. He thanked DiBiase for being the fortunate son. Christian's music hit to bring out Christian in a re-match from last week per DiBiase's request.

[Q6]

4 -- TED DIBIASE, JR. vs. CHRISTIAN

Lawler filled in the blanks on Ted, Sr. gifting the title to DiBiase to make up for last week. Cole then recapped the history of the Million Dollar Title as the match began with Christian dumping DiBiase over the top rope to the floor. Christian then landed a baseball dropkick through the ropes before hitting a springboard splash on the floor. Back in the ring, DiBiase caught Christian with a neckbreaker before landing successive right hand blows to the forehead. DiBiase followed with a clothesline and scored a close two count. Christian made a comeback and went up top for a flying cross-body splash for a two count. He then teased the Killswitch, but DiBiase countered with a snapmare. Christian ducked a kick attempt and rolled up DiBiase for a two count. Christian followed with a Tornado DDT attempt, but DiBiase countered by shoving Christian into the ringpost. Christian sold a shoulder injury and DiBiase followed with a leaping Dream Street for the pin and the win.

WINNER: DiBiase at 4:18. And now they're even. We'll probably get the rubber match at Extreme Rules. Okay match. Not particularly memorable and they haven't invested time in establishing Christian's involvement in this mini-feud. (*)

Still to come: Swagger vs. Orton.

[Commercial Break]

Raw Draft: Cole and Lawler plugged the special three-hour Raw show on April 26 for the annual WWE Draft.

Video recap: Shawn Michaels's farewell last week on Raw, complete with the historical videos on his evolution as a top star and becoming one of the best in-ring performers of this generation. Probably the best part of the show thus far and I've seen this video four times now.

Arena: After a long fade-out from the video, they returned to a shot of the audience applauding. Cole and Lawler then talked up the latest from Triple H and Sheamus. After that piece of business was taken care of, they cut to a shot of Rnady Orton slowly walking down the hallway. And another video recap of what happened in the opening segment. And a graphic on Orton vs. Swagger up next.

[Q7]

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: World Hvt. champion Kurt Angle...er...Jack Swagger came out first for the non-title semi-main event. The Big Gold belt looked good around Swagger's waist as he entered the ring focused on the task at hand. Randy Orton then slowly came out to face Swagger with a mixed reaction after the opening segment sent mixed signals to the audience on whether to cheer Orton.

5 -- World Hvt. champion JACK SWAGGER vs. RANDY ORTON -- non-title match

They tried to build sympathy on Orton early on with Swagger working him over. Swagger then knocked Orton to the floor and they cut to break with Swagger in control.

[Commercial Break]

Back from break, Swagger continued to work over Orton and show off an array of offense focused on Orton's mid-section to potentially set him up for a gutwrench powerbomb later in the match. Orton then made a comeback and caught Swagger in the ropes to deliver his horizontal spike DDT off the middle rope. Orton made a cover, but Swagger put his foot on the bottom rope to break a three count. Orton then ran over Swagger with repeated clotheslines before nailing a snap powerslam that Cole continues to mistakenly call a scoop slam. Orton then went to the mat and pounded his fists down to tease the RKO. He stalked Swagger, but Swagger shoved him away and landed a boot to the head for a two count.

[Q8]

At 10:00, Swagger ran across the ring and nailed a big running Vader Bomb for a two count. He then measured Orton for another running Vader Bomb and he connected again. Swagger then stood in the ring with his chest out and measured Orton for the gutwrench powerbomb, but Orton countered into an RKO center ring. Orton with the cover and the win.

WINNER: Orton at 10:50. Decent match with a good finishing sequence. They tried to cover for Swagger taking the loss by having him get in plenty of offense, but tonight's show wasn't a strong-enough overall endorsement for Swagger. At least he's apparently moving away to Smackdown to play in front of a different audience with different characters to interact with, but this wasn't a good sign for his championship reign. No word on Extreme Rules yet, but Orton will likely be in the WWE Title picture with John Cena, perhaps with Batista involved. (*3/4)

Announcers: Cole and Lawler recapped the failed first Unified tag title match on the show and recapped David Otunga inserting himself into the tag title picture in the main event.

Video plug: Surprisingly, the first plug tonight for the Hart & Soul DVD coming out tomorrow. Bret Hart was shown talking about thinking about Owen Hart every day. Plenty of classic home video, WWE match footage, and sit-down interviews.

[Commercial Break]

Raw guest host next week: David Hasselhoff from England.

In-ring: Miz & Show's re-mix hit to bring out the Unified tag champs. They came out looking very determined. Cue up the annoying NXT theme music again. I'm so sick of that song. David Otunga walked out and did his tear-away pants gimmick before coming to the ring. Cole and Lawler plugged Otunga on Access Hollywood tomorrow night on NBC. John Cena's music then hit to bring out the final participant in the main event.

6 -- Unified tag champions THE MIZ & BIG SHOW vs. WWE champion JOHN CENA & DAVID OTUNGA -- Unified tag title match

Cena started things off and the heel champs isolated him after taking advantage of a two-on-one situation. Lawler, who is on the Shawn Michaels schedule of just watching Raw during the week, deftly tossed a question to Cole on what he thinks about Otunga since he calls NXT on Tuesday nights. The heels continued to work over Cena to keep Otunga out of the ring. The booking behind this is that Otunga is green in the ring and they needed this to essentially be a handicap match.

[Q9 -- over-run]

The heels continued to work over Cena leading to the over-run. Cole filled time talking about who cut Otunga's hair. Seriously. Cena teased a comeback by doing the big Show of Strength on Miz to escape a hold before they landed a double knock-down clothesline. Both men were down and Otunga begged for a tag. Cena crawled toward Otunga and Otunga suddenly bailed as Cena jumped across the ring for a tag. Otunga did a Chris Masters pose on the floor, then Cena turned around and walked into a big KO Punch from Big Show, who had tagged in. Show with the pin on Cena for the win.

WINNERS: Show & Miz at 5:57 to retain the Unified tag titles. The booking actually made sense for Otunga to never enter the match if he was going to bail on Cena. It was the right way to cover for Otunga being green in the ring while featuring him in a heated angle on Raw. (*)

Post-match: Batista slowly walked to the ring and saw a defenseless Cena in the ring. Batista scooped him up and wanted the Batistabomb...and he connected. Batista stood over Cena's fallen body before Otunga took the mic on the stage and said Batista has an announcement to make. Batista crouched down over Cena's fallen body and said he's invoking his re-match clause for the WWE Title at Extreme Rules. Why not right now with Cena out cold? Batista said the only way to win will be...he stood up...yep...it's Last Man Standing. Batista dropped the mic and stared into the crowd, which showered him with boos. He smirked and continued to stand over Cena as his music played. After a replay of the Batistabomb, the show closed seven minutes past the top of the hour with Batista posing and flexing in the ring.

Torch VIP members will be able to listen to a 12-minute instant review of tonight's Raw from myself and a 12-minute instant review of tonight's Impact from Torch editor Wade Keller immediately after tonight's WWE and TNA shows in the Torch VIP Audio section.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "Raw Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. To contribute your thoughts on Raw, email to pwtorch@gmail.com using our Feedback form.

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