PWTORCH.COM
VIP SIGN-UP JUMP TO VIP
CONTACT US VISIT MMA TORCH




Select Next Article by Category





TAKE PWTORCH
WITH YOU!

PWTORCH IPHONE APP
Get our iPhone App (FREE!): Click Here
Or enter "PWTorch.com" on your Blackberry or other Smart Phone browser for mobile-version of PWTorch.


MITCHELL'S TAKE
MOJO MITCHELL'S RAW 4/20: Stream of The Boat Floats Again, Everybody Says Goodbye, Rey Gets Punched Out, and Legacy kicks Team Triple H All Over The Ring
Apr 21, 2009 - 2:51:35 PM


by Bruce Mitchell, PWTorch columnist

Apparently we're going to have a new main event at Backlash, since "Triple H vows to end it" tonight against Randy Orton.

Chris Jericho is out for his last, final appearance on Raw forever. "You people are wallowing in your dishonesty. In six months you people will be begging him to come back to Raw."

Ricky Steamboat comes to the ring. He says the WWE Universe is too appreciative and WrestleMania was "probably" the highlight of his wrestling career. Steamboat thanks Jericho for restoring a passion to perform one last time. "If it wasn't for you WrestleMania and Raw never would have happened for me."

Jericho says Steamboat came out to hear the cheers of the fans "one more time." The English fans don't catch on to the chant. They do catch on to "You still got it" though.

Jericho wants to put Steamboat out of his misery with a one-on-one match at Backlash. What's the deal with heels always making the big challenges? I can see it every once in a while, but all the time?

Before Steamboat can answer, John Cena comes down. Jericho doesn't want to listen to Cena pander to the Raw fans. Jericho's last act on Raw is to walk out on Cena. He makes it halfway down the aisle when Steamboat accepts the challenge. Cena bigfoots the 'Boat. He tells Jericho that his last act on Raw will be wrestling Cena one more time. Can't blame Cena here, we've seen this match on Raw a dozen times and Cena always wins. Jericho doesn't even bother to ask for a title match.

Chavo Guerrero thanks Vickie for bringing him to Raw and claims just like he can push Vickie around in her wheelchair, he can push around anyone on Raw.

Batista squashes Chavo Guerrero. No way.

Chavo promises Aunt Vickie that won't ever happen again. He wasn't ready.

Batista batista-bombs Chavo Guerrero. That's embarrassing.

After the break, Batista and Shane talk. Neither one appreciated having to sell for the other last week. They smile and promise to stay on the same page together.

Another final Raw match, this time between C.M Punk and Kane. I don't know why they keep saying that. No one believes it. Punk rolls out of a DDT to pin Kane. That didn't look good at all, and that was a do-over.

Santino is upset that he lost the match to The Great Khali and now his twin sister has to kiss The Punjabi Giant. He calls out his sister, but she is just on the Titan-tron. She has a herpes sore on her lip, so she can't kiss him. The Titan-tron "accidently" speeds up, so Santino blames the fast-talking on his sister's love of Red Bull. The fans enjoy that one.

Beth Phoenix brings a message from Vickie Guerrero. The Great Khali will kiss Santini at the Backlash. Hey, what about the sore? This is going on way too long.

WWE champion Melina faces Beth Phoenix. Please SD, turn Melina back heel. Melina wins, and is in tears again at the idea of leaving Raw.

Shane talks to Triple H about all the ways things could go wrong at Backlash. Someone could get DQ'd, they're all hot-heads, and Randy Orton could get the WWE Title – and that can't happen. Why is that the stipulation again?

Triple H is going to work out his out-of-control anger on Orton tonight and get it out of his system so he'll be nice and placid for the pay-per-view.

I'm telling you, that's some babyface team to pay to get excited about Sunday. Oooh, I hope they don't get disqualified and lose!

John Cena faces Chris Jericho again. Hey, that's right, John Cena is facing Edge in a Last Man Standing match Sunday night. The English entertain themselves by "Heying" back and forth when they hit each other. They don't like Cena, either. Jerry Lawler says they're just having fun with him.

Jericho flies out of an Attitude Adjustment and hits a Code Breaker for a near fall to the delight of the fans. The sequence is reversed and Jericho kicks out to the delight of the fans again. Jericho catches Cena in the Walls. Cena reverses it into the STF.

Edge attacks Cena when he and Jericho are tussling on the top rope. DQ. Edge catches Cena with a spear. Well, that makes sense.

He goes for two chairs to set up a conchairto and crushes the champ's skull. He does it. John Cena is dead. He should have taken Morphoplex instead. Edge gets six months in an English jail. Edge explains that the winner of a Last Man Standing match knocks his opponent out for a count of ten before the coppers haul him away. Edge, being dead, is laid out for longer than that.

Rey Mysterio faces Big Show for his last match on Raw. I know I personally am going to really miss watching him wrestle all these over-sized slugs every week. Michael Cole says "it's a tall task" for Rey.

Big Show knocks out Rey with one punch and pins him flat. I'm sure there was a point to that, but I couldn't tell you what it was. Big Show is too lackadaisical to be "full of rage."

It's Edge versus Kofi Kingston on WWE Superstars. If I were TNA, that would be one ratings win I brag hard about.

Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase are confident that Legacy are on the same page. Randy Orton reminds them he is the very best. "This Sunday, we are going to win, and tonight I'm going to beat Triple H. I guarantee it."

Uh oh, the heel guarantees victory! They never lie, so that means The Game is going down, tonight on Raw.

Triple H faces Randy Orton in a No DQ match. This is a perfectly competent main event. Young Orton is picking up quite the following.

Triple H finally catches Orton in the figure-four. Orton escapes, but he can barely stand. Triple H wants to use a chair to break Orton's leg but Legacy understandably runs in to stop it. Shane runs down. He's no help. Triple H takes a beating. Batista runs down and accidentally spears Shane. Batista does knock Rhodes and DiBiase out of the ring and fights them on the floor. Orton hits the RKO for the pin on Triple H (remember, the match is no-DQ). The fans count along in triumph.

The good guys are staggering as we head into the big match Sunday.


Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.

For more BREAKING NEWS on WWE, TNA!
VISIT OUR AFFILIATE - PROWRESTLING.NET


For UFC & MMA NEWS & BLOGS:
VISIT OUR SISTER SITE - MMATORCH.COM

Upgrade to PWTORCH VIP: DETAILS & SIGN-UP INFO


MORE "MITCHELL'S TAKE" ARTICLES
MITCHELL FLASHBACK (Dec. 1994): C.M. Punk's character is the latest Vince McMahon creation responding to criticism of his WWE product
MOJO MITCHELL'S WWE RAW 11/16: Stream of Piper In The Back, Hornswoggle Stabbed in the Back, An MSG Look Back, Mr. McMahon Backs Out, Kofi Kingston Backs Randy Orton Up
MOJO MITCHELL'S RAW 11/2: Stream of My Fourth Grade Hero and The Mid-Card Kicks Main Event Ass
MITCHELL FLASHBACK #4: In 1993, after Hogan first left the WWF, he had a lot of career choices
MITCHELL FLASHBACK #3: Hogan's autobiography review - insight into his world
MITCHELL FLASHBACK #2: More insider insight into historic rivalry between Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon
MITCHELL FLASHBACK: The War Continues - McMahon vs. Hogan
MITCHELL: Could Ric Flair be next to join TNA? A look at the Hogan-Flair relationship
MITCHELL: Remembering "Big Bossman" Ray Traylor five years after his death with an early career anecdote (5 yrs.ago flashback)
MOJO MICHELL'S RAW 10/12: Stream of Good Fathers, Heel Double Dropkicks, Nice Enough Lady Hosts, and Triple H Takes It Easy
MITCHELL'S TAKE: HIAC - A middle of the road PPV that showed us some things about Triple H, Randy orton, Hell in a Cell concept, more
MOJO MITCHELL'S WWE RAW 9/21: Stream of Bang! Whack! Take That...
MOJO MITCHELL'S WWE RAW 9/14: Stream of Torture, Pop, (Chavo) Taps, Brawl, and (Batista) Bomb
MOJO MITCHELL'S WWE RAW 9/8: Stream of Rayburn Was Better, Where's Ox Baker, Nobody's Going To Hawaii, Steve Beverly, Joe Dirt, and Don't Forget To Spay Or Neuter Your Pets
MITCHELL: WWE does the right thing by formally educating young wrestlers to handle life on the road
MOJO MITCHELL'S WWE RAW 9/1: Stream of This Just In, Kevin Nash Caused WCW To Go Out of Business
MITCHELL SHORT: TNA Does the Right Thing With Don West
MOJO MITCHELL'S WWE RAW 8/17: Stream of Live From St. Louis, It's Monday Night Raw, and You'd Never Guess Who's Ready
MITCHELL SHORT: A Few Questions About TNA and Kurt Angle's Arrest
KELLER'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 8/14: Results, thoughts, observations, nitpicks, star ratings, quotebook

(c) 1999-2009 TDH Communications Inc. - All rights reserved.

Current Top Ten Staff Picks
Staff Picks
TORCH TALK DAILY with Eric Bischoff: In-depth look at why Vince McMahon is marketing the WWE product as PG family-friendly
WWE News: TOP STORY - "The Rock" Dwayne Johnson working with WWE on a TV project beyond guest-hosting Raw
WWE News: Linda McMahon reveals the McMahon Family's vast wealth in Senate campaign filing
WWE News: Raw TV ratings are in - Did Raw rebound from the 2009 year-low?
WWE News: WWE announces guest hosts for the next four weeks of Raw, including two new names
Hogan News: Watch VIDEO of the Hulkamania Press Conference breaking down into a staged fight (w/VIDEO)
TNA News: SPOILERS - first two matches announced for TNA's December PPV
MOJO MITCHELL'S WWE RAW 11/16: Stream of Piper In The Back, Hornswoggle Stabbed in the Back, An MSG Look Back, Mr. McMahon Backs Out, Kofi Kingston Backs Randy Orton Up
CALDWELL'S WWE RAW REPORT 11/16: Complete coverage of Roddy Piper hosting, DX vs. Cena & Taker vs. Jericho & Show
TNA News: Kurt Angle suffers back injury at Sunday's Turning Point PPV


TORCH QUICK-CLICK REFERENCE LIST
-CLICK TO FOLLOW PWTORCH ON TWITTER!
-CLICK FOR OUR FREE PWTORCH IPHONE APP

-CLICK FOR OUR FREE PODCAST (#1 in iTunes!)
-CLICK TO GET INFO ON BECOMING A VIP MEMBER
-CLICK TO VISIT MMATORCH.COM
-CLICK TO VISIT PROWRESTLING.NET

-CLICK TO EMAIL PWTORCH EDITORS




PWTORCH READER POLL

SMACKDOWN POLL: Who was the MVP of the 11/20 Smackdown if you saw the show?
The Undertaker
Kane
Chris Jericho
Big Show
Batista
Rey Mysterio
Matt Hardy
Tyson Kidd
John Morrison
Dolph Ziggler
C.M. Punk
R-Truth
Drew McIntyre
Finlay
Mickie James
Layla
Eric Escobar
Vince McMahon
Teddy Long
Vickie Guerrero
  

VOTE IN OR SEE RESULTS OF PREVIOUS POLLS

ARE YOU VIP? SIGN UP NOW FOR $7.50 A MONTH FOR INSTANT ACCESS TO AD-FREE, BENEFIT-PACKED VIP VERSION OF PWTORCH.COM (see screen capture)
PWTORCH VIP HOME PAGE

INFO ON SUBSCRIPTION TO AD-FREE VIP SITE

INCREDIBLE BENEFITS!
Over 50 full-length audio updates per month (iPod compatible)... New weekly award-winning Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter (text and printable pdf versions) with latest exclusive insider news, new Torch Talks, great columns, Keller's cover story, much more... Hundreds of full-length back issues of PWTorch Newsletter from late-'80s to today... Ad-free access to PWTorch.com's Main Listing... VIP Forum with interaction with other subscribers and Torch staff... Torch Talk Library with text and audio of hundreds of interview installments from last 20 years... Great layout... Deepest archives on pro wrestling history anywhere... Keller's PWTorch Today PDF Bulletins with email alerts... VIP Email reports on major PPVs and TV shows... Staff Roundtable Reviews (text and audio) followiing major events... The best staff of writers and world class reporting since 1987... We'd love for you to join us and experience the most entertaining, authoritative, experienced staff of professional reporters and commentators in the business...

SIGN ME UP NOW!

Compare the value of four or five months of PWTorch VIP content to the price of just one PPV. Can you cut 25 cents a day from your budget to make room for PWTorch VIP?

AND NEW FOR 2009!
Monthly "Vintage Audio Torch Talks." We are releasing for the first time ever audio versions of our text Torch Talk updates, the historical first series of insider interviews ever. Wade Keller's newsmaking in-depth interviews with wrestling's biggest names are now being made available exclusively to VIP members. But you must be a member each month, as these are not archived, so they are replaced with a new one each month! This debuted in January 2009 with a 68 minute interview with the late "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith. Who's next? Hulk Hogan? Eric Bischoff? The Rock? Goldberg? Jeff Hardy?

SIGN ME UP NOW!


UPCOMING EVENTS LISTING

Articles Grouped by Category
Torch Today
WWE RAW 11/16: Place Your Bets on tonight's Raw - Week 12 featuring Roddy Piper
WWE RAW 11/2: "Place your Bets" Scoreboard after Week 11 - Review the previous scores before tonight's Raw PYB contest
TORCH MONTHLY AWARDS: List of the 2009 Torch Monthly Award winners through October
WWE News
WWE News: What's on Smackdown tonight - Taker & Kane vs. Big Show & Jericho
WWE News: Jim Ross comments on possible WrestleMania 26 return, current WWE contract status
TORCH TALK DAILY with Eric Bischoff: In-depth look at why Vince McMahon is marketing the WWE product as PG family-friendly
TNA News
TNA News: TNA Impact ratings break down - Inside the numbers on TNA's recent ratings trends
TNA News: Impact rating is in - how did post Turning Point episode fare?
TNA News: Details on Chris Sabin re-injuring his neck at this week's Impact tapings
ROH News
ROH News: ROH Title match signed for Final Battle; Air dates for McGuinness and Danielson's Farewell speeches
ROH News: Ring of Honor announces details on Austin Aries's next ROH Title defense
ROH News: Tonight is Bryan Danielson's final ROH match - details on tonight's special ROH TV episode (w/VIDEO)
Other News
PWG News: First round matches for tonight's Battle of Los Angeles tournament - Aries vs. Kendrick; Cabana, Shelley, Strong in action
Hogan News: Hulkamania Tour secures TV deal in Australia, Notes on Hogan & Flair arriving at the airport to begin the tour
Austin News: Steve Austin to appear in new season of NBC's "Chuck" show
PPV Reports
CALDWELL'S TNA TURNING POINT PPV REPORT 11/15: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of A.J. Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Daniels
RADICAN'S DGUSA "Untouchable" PPV review - Doi vs. Danielson, Shingo vs. Richards
10/25 WWE Bragging Rights Results: KELLER'S detailed match-by-match PPV report - Cena vs. Orton Iron Man match
TV Reports
PARKS' WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 11/20: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of the show, including Jericho & Show vs. Undertaker & Kane
CALDWELL'S WWE SUPERSTARS TV REPORT 11/19: Complete coverage of Henry vs. Rhodes on WGN
PARKS' TNA IMPACT REPORT 11/19: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of the post-Turning Point show
Arena Reports
11/14 TNA in Scranton, Pa.: Second Report - Styles vs. Joe vs. Daniels, Chris Sabin vs. Suicide, Amazing Red vs. Homicide
11/14 WWE in Dublin: The Undertaker very limited in the ring vs. C.M. Punk, Rey vs. Dolph, Very interesting John Morrison vs. Matt Hardy match, No Jericho
11/14 TNA in Scranton, Pa.: Home of "The Office" delivers Styles vs. Joe vs. Daniels and Amazing Red vs. Homicide PPV warm-up matches
MMA / UFC Coverage
MMA News: Update on Brock Lesnar's health - how long Lesnar had been dealing with health problems, expected return to UFC
MMA News: Brock Lesnar health update - UFC president much more optimistic than this weekend
MMA News: Brock Lesnar released from the hospital tonight; Lesnar's UFC future in doubt
KELLER'S TAKE
KELLER BLOG: WrestleMania goes up to $55, all other PPVs $45 - let the pirate feed frenzy begin
KELLER BLOG: Dixie Carter asks wrestlers to step it up, but what does that mean? Shouldn't their goal to be winning matches and nothing else?
KELLER FLASHBACK: Review of Hulk Hogan's first autobiography - Hogan's political maneuvers evident in who he protects and buries
MITCHELL'S TAKE
MITCHELL FLASHBACK (Dec. 1994): C.M. Punk's character is the latest Vince McMahon creation responding to criticism of his WWE product
MOJO MITCHELL'S WWE RAW 11/16: Stream of Piper In The Back, Hornswoggle Stabbed in the Back, An MSG Look Back, Mr. McMahon Backs Out, Kofi Kingston Backs Randy Orton Up
MOJO MITCHELL'S RAW 11/2: Stream of My Fourth Grade Hero and The Mid-Card Kicks Main Event Ass
MCNEILL'S TAKE
The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down: McNEILL previews TNA Turning Point 2009!
McNEILL BLOG: The Big Questions About Hulk Hogan in TNA
Fight For Your Right to Bragging: McNEILL Previews WWE Bragging Rights!
CALDWELL'S TAKE
CALDWELL'S PPV/DVD REVIEW: Dragon Gate USA's "Open the Historic Gate" debut event - Review of whether following DGUSA is worth your time and money
CALDWELL'S TUESDAY CHAT w/GREG PARKS: Raw, Smackdown, TNA PPV discussion - MSG crowd, Survivor Series hype, Kofi breaks out, CSI:Miami vs. 30 Rock
CALDWELL'S BLOG: Hitting the hot topics - Raw tonight, Turning Point vs. Survivor Series, Jesse Ventura, Brock Lesnar, Shane McMahon
RADICAN'S TAKE
RADICAN: A list of things wresters and TNA fans can support for Dixie Carter
RADICAN'S SHIMMER Vol. 23 Review - Busic-Melissa, Kong-Martinez, MsChif-Deeb
RADICAN: Daddy's little girl V 2.0 debuts on Impact
The Specialists
11/19 WWE Superstars Hits & Misses: Rosa Mendes, Eric Escobar, Lackluster Show
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE - TNA Impact 11/19: Forgotten history between A.J. and Angle, TNA's new cameras, Pope gets referee assist, Numbers - The Rock a horrible tag champ
HITS & MISSES - TNA IMPACT 11/12: Review of last week's show before tonight's Impact - Wolfe-Angle build-up, Lethal loses to Niedhart
Guest Editorials
GUEST EDITORIAL: Disgruntled TNA fan says he's done with the promotion after today's Impact taping (Contains SPOILERS)
GUEST EDITORIAL: The ultimate irony - Hulk Hogan appears on TNA Impact and pre-taped TV sitcom promoting WWE on the same night
GUEST BOOK REVIEW: Hulk Hogan provides strong defense of his public image in new autobiography
Torch Feedback
ECW TV Reax #1: "C.M. Punk scoring the pin in the main event made Smackdown seem more important than ECW"
WWE Raw Reax #3: "While WWE delivered an above-quality show, they still haven't given viewers a reason to order Survivor Series"
WWE Raw Reax #2: "This was NOT one of the best Raws of 2009, but one of the worst..."
Ask the Editor
Ask the Editor: Wouldn't incorporating MMA-style holds into pro wrestling matches just be trying to be something it's not?
ASK THE EDITOR: Have the Michaels-Batista promos crossed a line with use of insider terms, references to "jobs"?
ASK THE EDITOR: Why do wrestlers in WWE refer to wrestling as "the business" and not "the sport"?
DVDs - VGames - Books
CALDWELL'S PPV/DVD REVIEW: Dragon Gate USA's "Open the Historic Gate" debut event - Review of whether following DGUSA is worth your time and money
RADICAN'S ROH DVD REVIEW SERIES: Death Before Dishonor VII: N2 - Storm-Hero, Ryan-Cabana
RADICAN'S SHIMMER Vol. 23 Review - Busic-Melissa, Kong-Martinez, MsChif-Deeb
Torch Flashbacks
PARKS'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 1 YR. AGO (11-21-08): Final Survivor Series build-up to Undertaker vs. Big Show casket match, Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H, Morrison & Miz
KELLER'S WWE SURVIVOR SERIES PPV REPORT 10 YRS. AGO (11-14-99): Big Show vs. Triple H vs. The Rock, Edge & Christian & Hardys team, Chris Jericho vs. Chyna
KELLER'S WWF SURVIVOR SERIES PPV REPORT 15 YRS. AGO (11-23-94): Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund, Undertaker vs. Yokozuna, Team Hall & Waltman vs. Team Michaels & Nash
VIP Exclusive Features
11/20 Wade Keller Hotline - Guest Bruce Mitchell: Survivor Series Match by Match Preview & Predictions (20 min.)
11/20 Bruce Mitchell Audio Show: Listener Questions - How Vince McMahon was perceived before he took over, Outlaw Promotions stories, Sting Flips off Bruce, Albano Craziness (45 min.)
PWTorch Newsletter #1117/1118 (31 pages!): Raw at MSG, TNA Victory Road PPV Roundtable, Mitchell on Russo-Hogan, Keller on Dixie Speech, more
Torch Trivia
TORCH TRIVIA 2/28: Which wrestler backed out of a WWA PPV in February 2002?
TORCH TRIVIA 2/27: Who said this quote about Hulk Hogan's athleticism 11 years ago?
TORCH TRIVIA 2/25: What said this quote about WWE's mid-1990s drug testing policy?
Torch Instant Polls
SMACKDOWN POLL: Who was the MVP of the 11/20 Smackdown if you saw the show?
TNA IMPACT POLL: Who was the MVP of the 11/19 Impact if you saw the show?
ECW MVP POLL: Who was the MVP of the 11/17 ECW TV if you saw the show?
PWTorch Free Podcast
11/4 Nostalgia Audio with Brian Hoops: Format change to the show, new guest host, upcoming shows
FREE FOR ALL: 10/27 Bruce Mitchell Audio Special: Hogan-Bischoff-TNA story from all angles including Monday Night War II possibilities (32 min.)
6/23 Nostalgia Audio with Brian Hoops: Former WCW rapmaster PN News joins Brian Hoops to preview upcoming Midwest shows (10 min.)
Annual Obituaries
SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 1999 - Muchnick, Rick Rude, Owen Hart, Renegade...
SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 2000 - Solie, Albright, Duncum, Tsuruta, Blue Demon, Al Costello
SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 2001: Johnny Valentine, Terry Gordy, Chris Adams, Bertha Faye, Helen Hart