Judgement Day Results/Raw Preview

The Grappling Greek has returned with a quick recap of last night's big Judgement Day PPV.

HHH (champ) pins Randy Orton

This was a brutal 30 minute affair...Trips finally gets the W by planting the Age of Orton with a pedigree. Thanks for playing Randy.

HBK pins Chris Jericho

Simply put, a fantastic back and forth encounter that ends in stunning fashion. Y2J goes for the Walls of Jericho, but out of nowhere HBK rolls up Jericho in a small package for the win. This was indeed a showstopper by The Showstopper and Jericho.

John Cena pins JBL

Again, no big surprises here. JBL dominates for a good chunk of the match, but Cena pulls out the victory by connecting with a desperation FU. JBL should be good and ornery tonight. I wonder if the market dropped today after his loss was publicized.

Jeff Hardy pins MVP

MVP makes an open challenge to the WWE locker room. He wants a match at the PPV. Matt comes out and says he's got nothing left to prove. He's already punked MVP. But he knows somebody who'd love to take a shot at Montel. It's his brother Jeff!!! Decent match that ends with Jeff pinning MVP after he hits the whisper in the wind. Interesting note...Jeff's last two matches have ended with that move, and not the Swanton Bomb off the top rope. I wonder if his neck is bothering him, or if somebody said to him "no more jumping on your head off the top rope."

Mickie James (champ) pins Melina

This was a triple threat match with Beth Phoenix, The Glamazon. If you couldn't see this ending from about five miles away, then you're not a true wrestling geek like me. Mickie pins Melina. The Glam maintains her monster status, and I'd be willing to bet that a singles match between Mickie and The Glam occurs somewhere down the road. Hmmm...maybe at the next PPV? Ya think?!?

Undertaker defeats Edge by countout

Well I guess every PPV, other than Wrestlemania, needs at least one cop-out finish somewhere and the card, and this is it. Match ends with both Edge and Undertaker fighting outside. Undertaker gets in before the 10 count...Edge doesn't. Taker wins the belt, right? Wrong!!! Smackdown! GM Vicki Guerrero reminds us that a champion can only be crowned by pinfall or submission. So the title remains vacant, for now.

The Miz & John Morrison (champs) pins Kane and CM Punk

From the "how the hell did this get on the PPV" department, The Miz and Morrison retain their WWE tag titles by defeating the two biggest stars in ECW. One question...what sense does it make to have your two biggest names lose to two guys who the fans have little or no connection with? I'm just saying...let's find two schmucks to do the job, not your two most marketable guys. Geez.

So not a bad pay-per-view. All the champs maintained the status quo, while the WWE championship remains in limbo. And, not surprisingly, Jericho and Michaels delivered the goods.

Tonight's Raw is looking solid. Jericho takes on Batista with the winner getting HBK at the next PPV. Also, JBL and Cena may be renewing their hostilities. Plus, last but not least, Rowdy Roddy Piper makes his first in-ring appearance in a long, long time. Piper will tangle with Santino. This match was made after Santino crashed Jimmy Kimmel's show last week and ruined cousin Sal's birthday party. If you haven't seen this segment, go find it on youtube now. It involves Hooters, chicken wings, Santino, Piper, and a birthday cake in the face. Should be entertaining. I know what I'll be doing tonight.

Motor City Madmen

RAW- 5/12/08

FROM THE MOTOR CITY, DETROIT, MICHIGAN

HOSTS: Good Ole JR and The King (Jerry Lawler, not William Regal)

Remember, each segment is rated on a scale of 1 to 5 stars!

Opening Segment

Lord Regal kicks things off by forcing Lilian Garcia to sing God Save The Queen instead of the Star Spangled Banner. Is there no end to his bastardness?!?!? Anyway, after Regal blathers on about getting the respect of the crowd, John Cena returns from his mini-vacation to interrupt Regal and let him know that everybody thinks he's screwing up RAW, and that if he keeps it up, he's going to get canned. Regal seems to take this to heart, and orders tonight's main event to be Cena vs. Orton. Cena is a non-believer, suspecting that he's being set-up by Regal. Regal promises anybody who interferes in the match will be suspended. Cena says game on, but we're not done. In an effort to turn a possibly hostile Detroit crowd in his favor, Cena goes on to talk about how this is the USA, not England, and that if Regal wants respect, then Lilian is going to give him some by singing RESPECT by Motown's own Aretha Franklin. I actually like Cena, but the butt smooching in this segment was ridiculous, even by Mick Foley standards. Anyway, we've got ourselves a main event for tonight. Rating: 1 1/2*

Santino & Carlito v. Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly

As a special treat, Rowdy Roddy Piper has been invited to watch the match at ringside by Santino. I smell a big mistake there. Hot Rod throws some schmuck out of his seat so he can sit and watch the match. That was pretty funny. Holly takes the early edge, but Santino and Carlito take over. After a brief beatdown, Santino goes to the top rope. This causes Piper to get up from his seat for a closer look. That gets Santino's attention. Santino argues with Piper and turns his back on Cody. You idiot Santino. He turns around to be greeted by a kick to the gut and a quick DDT for the pin. Match was nothing. Rating:* However, this is a nice little feud the Fed has scripted and it's nice to see the tag belts are actually getting some attention.

Mr. Kennedy v. Snitsky

This can best be described as a match to help Kennedy work off some ring rust. Standard fare as Snitsky plods along with his big, slow, goofy offense. Snitsky's got some love handles going there. I wonder if he's due for a drug test and had to lay off the you-know-what for a while. Anyway, Kennedy goes after Snitsky's knee which directly impacts the end of the match. Snitsky goes for his pump-handle slam finisher, but the knee gives out. That's the opening Kennedy needs as he hits the mic check for the easy three. Match was okay, and anytime the match's story leads to a direct impact on the ending, you'll get points from me. Rating: **

Melina and the Glamazon v. Mickie James and Maria

Glamazon dominates the early portion of the match, before tagging in Melina. Melina holds her own for a while, until the hot tag is made to Mickie. Mickie is smoking as she works over Melina...Melina briefly escapes and goes to tag the Glamazon who turns her back and walks away. Melina is chum in the water at this point as Mickie gets the pin. Later on, Melina confront the Glamazon to ask her what's up? Glam claims Melina intentionally hit her last week on Raw with the title belt because she knows if Mickie's champion she can beat her, but if the Glamazon is champ, she has no chance. That's actually believable. Melina responds with a couple of forearms to the Glam...big mistake. She goes bonkers and starts banging Melina's head up against some lockers with giant empty water bottles falling all over the place. Eventually, the gaggle of refs steps in to end the pounding. Hmmm...wonder where this is going? Match was okay: Rating: * The backstage stuff was actually quite intense and looked darnright harsh. Rating: ***

The Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho joins us in the center of the ring, and apologizes for not believing Shawn Michaels. He says he was wrong to doubt him, and that it's clear his knee is injured. As a matter of fact, he's willing to call off their match at Judgement Day so the knee can heal. That brings Shawn to the ring. Interesting note...while showing the replay of the injury, JR first says his left knee is injured, then he corrects himself to the right knee. But as Shawn limps to the ring, he's clearly favoring his left knee...huh? Jericho keeps interrupting HBK until Shawn finally stops him and simply says that he did indeed fake the injury. He admits it, and he's proud of it, because he'll do anything he has to do to win. Jericho accuses him of playing head games and says mama didn't raise no fool. He's been wrestling for 17 years, and he's knows HBK is hurt. HBK then proves his point by delivering a crisp superkick right to Jericho's chin. HBK reiterates that he is indeed 100 percent and strolls away from ringside, with no limp whatsoever, flipping himself over the top rope in the process. Wow! No BS...no games. Shawn, a crowd favorite, admits he faked the injury to win. The crowd is visibly confused. I guarantee you, nobody was expecting that. Meanwhile, I'm sure Batista is taking notes likes he's back in calculus class. Okay, maybe it was only advanced math. Great angle. Rating: ****


Jeff Hardy v. Umaga

Jeff Hardy makes his triumphant return (with new music) as his loyal followers give him a standing ovation for once again violating the WWE's drug policy. Jeff says he's sorry he made a mistake, but he wants to prove to his fans he's a better person for it. But as he begins to explain how he'll do that, King Regal cuts his mic and says he must be punished for his sins and that nobody wants to hear his mea culpa. That sends thousands of 14 year old boys to Google to find the definition of mea culpa. Hardy's punishment is a match with UMAGA. Boy, we've seen this match about a hundred times already, so what's one more for old time sake. After a quick assault by Jeff, Umaga takes over and sets up Hardy for the big butt splash, but Hardy dodges it...whisper in the wind by Jeff...cover on Umaga...1,2, thr...shoulder up...ee...The ref counts it, says he got to 3...wow, that looked a bit funky, but whatever. Jeff gets out of dodge. Umaga attacks the turnbuckle. Hmm. Match was about as long as a hiccup. Jeff is really over with the fans. He needs to stay sober for everybody's sake. Rating 1 1/2*


Sweet Singing Dick Murdoch and Lance Cade against Cryme Time

Cryme Time gets a big pop in Detroit, even though they're wearing Knicks paraphenalia. That's how bad the Knicks are...they can't even get booed in Detroit. Anyway, this is a quick little match that ends with Murdoch scoring the pinfall after countering a roll-up. Cade gushes over Murdoch's victory, and then gets the mic for him. Ever since Murdoch's been singing, the team's been winning, so he wants to keep the good times rolling. What will tonight's country western selection be from Murdoch? The Gambler by Kenny Rogers! Wow, going old school. By the way, that's the first album I ever owned back in the late 70's...good times, good times. Anyway, Murdoch gets through the chorus...YOU NEVER COUNT YOU'RE MONEY, WHEN YOU'RE SITTING AT THE TABLE...THEY'LL BE TIME ENOUGH FOR COUNTING, WHEN THE DEALING'S DONE...Really, Murdoch should go on Idol...not bad at all. So what does Murdoch get for his melodious tones? A stiff punch right between the eyes by Cade...twice. Well, there's your heel turn for Cade. Why did he turn? We'll find out, I'm guessing, next week. Match Rating: 1/4* Song Rating:**1/2

John Cena v. Randy Orton

Orton also has new music tonight. Wow, Vince must have nothing major on his mind this week. The match goes back and forth to start and we hit the break after Cena catches a stomp by Orton and somehow flips him over the top rope. When we come back, Orton has Cena in a chinlock! I'm shocked! Cena finally mounts some offense and throws Orton from the ring again. Interesting sidenote: The match featured a battle of "Cena" v. "Cena Sucks!" chants. Maybe the Fed knew what it was doing with all that butt-smooching at the start of the night. It's at this point that King Regal reemerges to proclaim the referee of the match unfit and introduces the new referee for the rest of the evening, JBL. JBL hits the ring, and Cena says the hell with it and attacks him. He then goes back to Orton...Orton up on Cena's shoulders as he readies for the FU, but JBL is back with a kick to the gut. Orton falls on top of Cena and JBL counts to three faster than Andre the Giant guzzled a six-pack at the Kowloon in Boston. Cena attacks JBL post-match only to get double-teamed. This brings out our world champion and king of kings, HHH. There's way too many kings on RAW right now...Lawler, Regal, HHH. Maybe they could form a new stable and call themselves "The Magi". Anyway, HHH and Orton battle as JBL and Cena fight through the crowd and out of camera range. Then, as Orton seems to gain the upper hand, a steel cage is lowered around the ring. HHH is set to be slammed into the cage, but he reverses Orton into a spinebuster. He then introduces Orton to the cage. Orton falls out of the ring and cage, and HHH stands on top of the menacing structure, triumphant. Now that's how you tease an upcoming PPV. Match was nothing special...Rating: 1 1/2* But the stuff post match was hot and actually has me considering dropping some coin for the PPV. Rating ***


Summery: I gotta admit, the card for Judgement Day is enticing:

HHH (champ) v. Orton
Cena v. JBL
Jericho v. Michaels
Undertaker (champ) v. Edge
Mickie James (champ) v.Melina v. Glamazon
The Miz & John Morrison (champs) v. ECW Champion Kane & CM Punk

Throw in a possible Murdoch v. Cade match, and that's a pretty strong card.

As for Raw, I'm impressed with the bold direction the Jericho-HBK storyline is heading in. The main event was also super hot, which leads to the two headline matches of HHH v. Orton and Cena v. JBL. All this plus the big match between The Undertaker and Edge representing Smackdown should lead to some quality sports entertainment. Kudos to the writers. Judgement Day may actually be worth watching.

Breaking News

A little breaking news for you on a Friday afternoon. Hulk Hogan appeared in a courtroom in Florida moments ago to testify at his son's Nick reckless driving hearing. MSNBC carried the proceedings live. Hmm. Must be a slow news day.

Anyway, Nick faced up to five years in prison for causing an accident that has left his best friend, John Graziano, brain damaged. The Hulkster read a statement that talked about how clos e his son and friend were, and how remorseful Nick has been about the accident. Then, Hulk's now ex-wife Linda briefly spoke. She didn't last long, however, as she broke down while giving her remarks.

Apparently their words fell on somewhat deaf ears as the judge in the case sentenced Nick Bollea to eight months in prison and five years probation, but no prison time. Let's hope Nick is able to keep on the straight and narrow and straighten out his life and that John is able to at least somewhat recover from his serious injuries.

Raw Is Regal

Welcome back...I apologize for the delayed posting...better late than never.

Time again for our weekly disection of Raw, and it's safe to say that our latest edition was dominated by our one and only lord and king William Regal. First...to punish his unruly subjects, HHH and Mr. Kennedy, Regal orders a 14-2 handicap match against a good chunk of the ECW roster. Needless to say, things didn't go well for the outnumbered duo. HHH did almost manage to escape the match unscathed until Randy Orton slithered in for a thunderous RKO.

But Regal's tinkering didn't end there. Just as we were settling in for an interesting finish to the Randy Orton, CM Punk match, Regal once again steps in and orders the light out. Sorry fans. King Regal once again feels besmirched, so we don't get to see the ending of this match. What a pompous British bastard he is!

But wait, there's more! Lord Regal orders JR to take a break so Mike Adamle can get a shot at calling a match. This, of course, sends Lawler into a complete convulsion. Lawler is about to jump off a bridge when fortunately the match ends. Where is this storyline going? Who the hell knows.

In other developments, the unwilling duo of Chris Jericho and HBK are forced to team up against The Miz and John Morrison of ECW fame. HBK is rendered useless for the entire match because of his "bum" knee until the very end of the match when the good Lord magically heals the Heartbreak Kid and Sweet Chin Music is delivered. Again, this was a nice advancement in this storyline. Is Shawn truly injured? Is Jericho simply a jerk? We'll find out at the next PPV, AKA Judgement Day, as the match between these two has been signed and sealed. That should be a dandy.

Also at the next PPV, Cena takes on JBL...Cena has been out since getting punted at the last PPV by Orton. Meanwhile, JBL has been destroying WWE bottom fodder. His latest victim is none other than Harry Smith, the son of the now-departed Davey Boy Smith. I'm assuming the winner of that match gets the winner of HHH-Orton at the PPV after Judgement Day.

And to wrap things up, another shout out to Carlito, Santino, and Rowdy Roddy Piper for another thoroughly entertaining segment. Apparently the OUI hasn't derailed Santino, at least not yet. There's nothing wrong with some entertaining fluff to break up a couple of hours or rassling each week, and these are the guys to do it. However, Cody Rhodes trying to rap should be kept to a minimum.

That's it for now. A Smackdown! recap is in the works for this weekend, but until the, referee Mike Chioda is calling for the bell.

Title Turmoil!

I know it's late, but an abbreviated Smackdown! recap is better than none at all, right?

Three major developments to talk about, starting with the World Title. Apparently, Undertaker has been stripped by his triangle submission hold has been ruled illegal by GM Vicki Guerrero. Since it is technically a choke hold, that's hard to argue with. Anyway, the Great Khali was used as a distraction to get the belt as Edge snuck into the ring as Khali was being choked out. Now the title is in limbo, and who knows what happens next. I've never been a huge undertaker fan so I have a question. Has anyone been stripped of a title belt more than the Undertaker? Perhaps his unwillingness to do a clean job has something to do with it. I mean, would it kill him to give the rub to a younger superstar? The WWE hasn't developed a mega-star in quite some time. Maybe if the old timers chipped in, that trend would change. Is Undertaker still a big draw? You bet he is. But, he doesn't need a belt to cement his legacy. Let the younger guys shine.

Second on the Smackdown! list, a great US Title match between Jeff Hardy and MVP. Here's a case where both guys are elevated and where the belt actually ends up really doesn't matter. Great twenty minute match which featured some good mat action to start things off, and built to a dramatic and satisfying win for Jeff. I haven't been really sold on MVP, but lately I have to tip my hat to the guy...he's raised the bar. Here's to hoping that injuries don't derail the momemtum both guys have built up and that maybe this will push both MVP and Matt well above their current midcard status.

Finally, more developments in the HBK, Batista, Jericho storyline. In this case, Mick Foley chips in by interviewing Batista. Remember in my last post how I mentioned this is a rare storyline that involves babyfaces only? Well, that continued on Smackdown! Now, we've injected to ultimate babyface, Mick Foley. Even he felt as though he had to ask Batista about HBK's claims that his injury is legit. Batista's answer was simple, but effective. If he is faking the knee injury, he'll be sorry he did. Again, shades of gray. I'm really curious to see how this will play out. Will somebody go full-bore heel, or will the WWE just keep riding the fence, especially with Jericho? Only time will tell.

Next up, a full-blown RAW recap, but for now, referee Mike Chioda is calling for the bell.

Touch Of Gray

Hello all...I mentioned I'd have more thoughts on Monday's RAW and I do. But first, some breaking news. If you read my last post, you know I'm a big fan of Santino Marella. Well, I hope we haven't seen his last match in the WWE. Looks like Santino had a little too much vino and was busted for OUI down in Florida. To look at a copy of the police report, simply click here.

The question is what happens next. The WWE's wellness policy would seem to indicate a 30 day suspension would be in order. However, I believe this is Santino's second offense, so he may be looking at a longer layoff. Then again, does the wellness policy cover alcohol, or simply steroids. I sure as heck don't know, but it will be interesting to see if Santino shows up for work Monday night. On a positive note, he is still listed on the RAW roster on WWE.com.

And speaking of Monday night, let's get back to that main event. As I suspected, numerous fans thought the blacked-out ending of the show was a technical screw-up and that we were actually supposed to see how HHH v. Orton ended. Hey guys, guess what?!?!? You're wrong! In reality, the entire finale was cleverly orchestrated. Why screw us fans out of an ending? First, I bet a lot us will come back this coming Monday to find out what actually happened at the end of the match. WWE.com has been very vague about the match's ending. That's not a mistake. They want each and every one of us to watch again. Second, the ending really moves King Regal up the charts as far as evilness is concerned. I'm guessing on Monday his boos will be the loudest of the night. That indicates an angle well-played. Of course the whole risk in having that type of "screw the fans" ending is that a lot of WWE's core audience is angry and vowing they won't be tricked into watching again. But who are we kidding, most of us watching have been for years. We aren't going anywhere. Props to the WWE for coming up with an ending none of us has seen before.

I also like where the Jericho-HBK storyline is going. Why? Because we're not exactly sure who the good guy and bad guy is supposed to be. It reminds me of some of the storylines back in the late 90's when wrestling was booming. Is Jericho just being a jerk, or did he strike a nerve when he called HBK disingenous and a fraud? Is HBK really sorry he retired Ric Flair? Was he faking the injury at the PPV to lull Batista into a false sense of security? We don't know because there are no simple black and white answers, just shades of gray. Remember, Batista, HBK, and Jericho were all considered good guys at the beginning of this feud. That's what makes it interesting. We usually don't see babyfaces going after other babyfaces. That's great! Jericho's popularity petered out a few years back because he had become such a clear-cut vanilla good guy. He doesn't want that to happen again. He wants his character to have an edge. The same can be said for HBK. That's what every truly great wrestler has or had. The Rock, Stone Cold, HHH, Edge (no pun intended). They can be liked or hated. But they can never be called boring.

Finally, I'm really curious as to why we were serenaded by Dick Murdoch. Again, this was something different for sure. But where is this going? I'm sure Murdoch and Cade will wind up breaking up because they can't see eye to eye, but for the storyline to truly click, we're going to need more than just that. Will we be hearing more songs over the upcoming weeks, or will the payoff come Monday night? I vote for letting this simmer for a while. Murdoch is a solid although unspectacular wrestler, but he's even better on the mic. His old movie reviews on WWE.com were very funny. I'm hoping this will help push him up the midcard ladder. Again, only time will tell. As for Cade? Eh, whatever.

So that's it for now. If you have any comments about any of the blogs so far, I'd love to hear from you. I'll post a full Smackdown recap over the weekend, but for now this is the Grappling Greek signing off...referee Mike Chioda is calling for the bell.

Fade To Black!??!?!?!?

Welcome Back! The Grappling Greek is here with a full recap of last night's Raw! Like so many other internet recappers, I like giving a rating of one to five stars for each match. Remember, TV matches are rated on a different scale than Pay-Per-Views.


4/28/08...Jerry and JR are live in East Rutherford, NJ for another edition of Raw!


OPENING SEGMENT

We kick things off with the king of kings, HHH, coming out to do some gloating about becoming a 12-time WWE Champion! He ought to have that speech down pat by now. By the way, this may have been the longest ring entrance in RAW history. We're five minutes into the show, and nothing has happened...I mean nothing! Finally, Trips talks about the Age of Orton being over and that "The Game" is back for good. That brings Orton out, and he's in a foul mood. He's invoking his rematch clause and he's doing it tonight!!! HHH signs off and I believe we have ourselves a main event.


12 DIVA TAG TEAM MATCH

After the break, it's time for a 12 diva tagteam match. Mickie James, Maria, Michelle Mccool, two divas I've never heard of, and the delicious KELLY KELLY, vs. the Glamazon, Melina, Victoria, Gillian, and two divas I've never heard of. The Glamazon attacks poor Kelly from the start and after a vicious two-armed choke slam tags in Victoria...she continues the beatdown and things look bleak for Kelly. Melina then gets in on the fun, draping Kelly in the Tree of Woe. Eventually Gillian gets in the ring, and goes for the handspring elbow but Kelly boots her in the back. Kelly tags in Mickey who's firing on all cylinders. Hurricarana for Gillian...Thesz Press...The Glamazon gets in a cheap shot, and Mickie gets whipped to the ropes...reversal, roll-up...bridge...1,2, 3! Wow, that's like 8 divas who never got involved in the match...RATING 1/2 *.

JBL VS. HIGHLANDER ROBBIE (Weighing 17 stone)

JBL is all business tonight. He's angry that he was the first one eliminated in last night's fatal four way main event. I don't like Robbie's chances tonight. Punch, punch, kick...side souplex...punch, kick, kick, clothesline from hell...goodnight Irene. That was a big can of squash...Rating 1/4* ...post match, JBL says he's challanging the winner of Orton-HHH at the next PPV. Ugh!

MURDOCH & CADE VS. LONDON & KENDRICK

After more ads, it's time for the midcard parade as Murdoch and Cade take on London and Kendrick. Cade immediately starts laying into London with the boots and fists. Quick tag to Murdoch who drops an elbow while keeping London in his corner. That's good tag team wrestling there my friends. Cade continues the assault, but eventually London gets the luke-warm tag to Kendrick...forearms for everybody...flying charge into the corner connects. Eventually Cade settles things down with a clothesline, and tags in Murdoch. Murdoch whips Kendrick to the ropes, going for the knee...reversal, Kendrick with the roll-up. 1...referee out of position, 1,2, 3?!!? Wow, that took forever! Murdoch has once again let his partner down. So how does Murdoch react? He grabs a mic, and stands on the announce table, prompting JR to quip, "That's quite a view." And then, Murdoch sings a full verse and chorus of "Friends in Low Places"?!?!?!? Huh? By the way, his voice isn't bad, and the crowd actually pops for him at the end of the song. As for why he breaks into song? That's unclear. Meanwhile, Cade is befuddled. The actual match was just an excuse for the angle afterward...RATING 1/4 *


PAUL BURCHILL AND HIS SISTER KATIE LEA VS. SUPER CRAZY

More midcard magic ensues. We find out that King Regal has made this match a 2-1 handicap match. Crazy with a quick go-behind where he dumps Katie Lea on her face. Burchill steps in, however, and holds Crazy down on the mat while Katie Lea drops a couple of elbows. She makes the blind charge into the corner, and misses. Crazy to the top rope, he hits the high-cross body. Hurricarana which misses by a mile, but Burchill sells it anyway. Crazy, going up again, looking for the moonsalt, but it's a big whiff. Burchill holds him up as Katie Lea hits the missile dropkick from the top rope. Burchill then hits the curb-stomp. That's a weak look finishing move with an even lamer name. He allows his sister to do the honors...1,2,3. Who knew Katie had some talent?!?! Nothing offensive here...RATING *

CORONATION OF KING REGAL

We come out of the break, and the spotlight is on King Regal in the center of the ring. His message is simple. I'm your ruler, I'm your leader...you will listen to me, you will obey me, and, most importantly, you will respect me! That brings Mr. Kennedy out. Welcome back...where have you been? Kennedy says he's upset that he wasn't invited to the KING OF THE RING tournament. He wants a match with Regal. The winner gets the official title of King and Imperial Grand Poobah. Regal says his interruption is rude and disrespectful and he wants an apology. Kennedy says no apology, and by the way, he is MR. KENNEDY!!!!! KENNEDY!!! Regal pops him and it's on. Catfight ensues until they're seperated by a gaggle of referees...to be continued. That could be a good little feud with some great promos.


SANTINO MARELLA VS. CODY RHODES

Santino is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters. He comes out with Carlito at his side, and cuts a great promo..."I hat-uh New Jersey... and your Sopranos! All the show does is-uh promote Italian stereotypes and-uh fa-keh Italiano accents!" That's just hilarious. Out comes his opponent, the extremely vanilla Cody Rhodes with his second, Hardcore Holly. Good back and forth action until Santino takes control with the Camel Clutch! Holy Iron Shiek! Death to America...phooey! Sorry, I was having a flashback. Cody powers up and dumps Santino on his head. Too bad Backlund didn't think of that 25 years ago. Santino goes for a suplex but it's countered into a convincing enough DDT and that gets the three count. Santino's foiled again. Cody grabs the mic and starts talking trash to Santino. But Carlito sneaks in from behind with the backstabber! Now that was cool! Match was tight, and entertaining...RATING **

HIGHLIGHT REEL WITH CHRIS JERICHO

Jericho has his tux on, and he's looking damn spiffy if I do say so myself. He's here to hand out an oscar for best acting in a sports entertainment segment. He introduces clip number one which features the Magnificant Muraco and Mr. Fuji in an episode of Fuji Hospital. Muraco's making a move on a nurse...Fuji is amused.

Clip number 2...Michael Cole squealing like a pig in a spoof of Deliverance that aired four years ago featuring a wrestler whose name escapes me. This was disturbing.

And clip number 3...Shawn Michaels faking a knee injury right before Superkicking Batista's jaw off at the previous night's PPV. The implication here is that Shawn is not sincere and couldn't win the match fair and square, so he had to fake the knee injury to trick Batista. The envelope please! Your winner is HBK! Come on down and accept your award. HBK hobbles down the aisle to confront Jericho. Jericho says the fake injury is just another example of HBK's disingenuousness and says noone can go from pious preacher to backstabbing bastard like HBK can. All HBK can muster for a response is "I'm hurt Chris, I'm hurt!" Jericho shrugs that off...and leaves Shawn in the ring, looking all pouty and hurt. If this leads to a Jericho v. Michaels feud...count me in.


BACKSTAGE WITH SANTINO

We take a break, and when we come back, Santino thinks he's looking at the butt of a WWE diva. Turns out it's only Rowdy Roddy Piper. Santino says Piper has junk in his trunks then asks him if he can say that line like he did for Sandy Looper...you know...truffle shuffle? Piper says you mean Cyndi Lauper...Santino keeps pestering him until Piper smacks the smile right off his face. Have I mentioned that Santino rocks!


MAIN EVENT: RANDY ORTON V. HHH (Champion)

There's 25 minutes left in the show and this is it, so these two better have some gas left in the tank. We get old-school introductions from Lillian Garcia. A lot of jockeying for position and mat wrestling to start things off. That's a clear sign we're in for a lengthy battle. Eventually, HHH takes control and works the arm of Orton for an extended period. Orton finally turns the tables and unloads his usual assortment of boring offense which includes two extended chinlocks. I mean, you could cook an egg and not miss anything. Finally, HHH reverses to a sleeper but Orton quickly drops HHH on his head. Orton eventually takes over with a thumb to the eye and a nasty inverted backbreaker. Orton going to the top, but he's gets crotched. HHH up and he hits the Superplex! HHH goes for cover...1,2, shoulder up! Some more back and forth...Orton goes for the RKO, reversed into the Crippler Crossface?!?! I'm sure Chris Benoit is rolling over in his grave. It's looks like Orton may tap, but what's this??!? We cut to a shot of William Regal in the production truck?!?! What the heck? He approaches the director who's calling out camera shots. Regal tells the director to take the show off the air. The director says he can't do that, this is live TV! Regal says "Take the bloody show off the air. These people don't deserve to see the finish of this match! They disrespected me." Somebody then yells "Fade to black, fade to black!" We then lose the picture, but hear the audio. JR is screaming..."He's got the cross-face locked in! Will Orton tap?!?! Will he, will he?!?!

And then Law and Order starts. WOW! I've been watching wrestling for 30 years, and I've never seen an ending like that. That takes a lot of guts. I'm sure there's some angry fans out there right now looking for some answers. Rating: ***...Good match until the ending.

SUMMARY

Overall, I thought the show had an awful lot of midcarders, but the developments with Murdoch, Jericho, HBK, and the ending with Regal could lead to some good things. Oh, and did I mention I love Santino? I'll have more thoughts on all that coming up in a couple of days...stay tuned...but for now...Referee Mike Chioda is calling for the bell.