Unless Batista is going to put over the young stallions on Smackdown, I am not excited about his involvement. In the ring, he is no replacement for Jeff Hardy, and he it wasn't that long ago when he and The Undertaker were feuding to the point of oversaturation. Above all else, I hope that the Smackdown booking team keeps him away from Kane, for he and Kane don't mesh well in the ring. I would say the same about him and Khali, but everyone knows that Khali doesn't mesh with anyone.

Yeah, Jericho's recent subtle heel comedy has been good. Gotta love him.

Lillian also said the match was for the "number one contender's diva's championship." Fink deserves the damn job.

I also can't belive there is theatrical man on woman violence occasionally in the PG era.

By the way, I was wondering today, does a guy like Swagger now make less money being on RAW seeing as how he is not in ECW title matches and left off of PPVs so often? Seems to me that being a top dog on ECW would be more financially lucrative than being stuck in the middle on RAW.

I'm pretty sure the women's match was going to be a triple threat right up to the last minute. I can't believe Lillian would get something that badly messed up. Maybe the office played a rib on her because she has the audacity to do something with her life other than wrestling.

Kev after her match with Mickie last month I don't think they will ever put Gail in the ring against her for a while. I have to say i am stunned that Thor & showstopper actually are jobbing trying to help out the younger talent. Finally can you tell your boy on how to put on the figure 4 I really swear i thought he was going for the sharpshooter both times and thats why it was hard for teddy to counter it the first time.

I can't believe I'm watching the eye injury angle again with HBK. I wish the last Wrestle mania had been his last match. Too watch this now is not worth it to me.Raw is missing something for me. Maybe a surprise turn or something is needed. I thought Batista added some energy last night.Trish looked sexy as hell. Damn girl!

Trish was one of the worst guest hosts I have seen, right down below Jeremy Piven and tied for last with that annoying little pocket creature Jeremy Piven had with him. I was really surprised by the lack of cheering for Stratus, maybe that's why I thought she was so lame, arena was soooo quiet when she would ask a question.
If Jerishow had to lose again, which you knew they would since the guest host was on the opposing team, at least Stratus got the pin and for once Jericho wasn't having to job.
I thought I misheard Lillian when she said it was a triple threat match and only 2 people came out, glad to know I wasn't alone.
As tired of DX as I am, that brawl was great, I don't know if they were really knocked off air (don't know how they could be since it was a camera was that was hit) but it was great for making the fight that much more legitimate.
Randy Orton was priceless when he was trying to go up the ramp and was caught between Cena and Batista, his look was so genuine, very well done.
Seems to me (and I may be wrong since I have only been back and watching since January and really paying attention since May) that there are a lot more smackdown promos during Raw and more tie-ins with superstars. As for next week, there was a good possibility I may miss Raw, but now that I know Cedric 'the entertainer' is hosting it, I don't even care, he is so lame, I can't even begin to describe my dislike for him. He should be sued for false advertisement for describing himself as an entertainer. The only thing that can save next week is a large dose of Jericho and/or Santino to help him out.

I was disappointed in Trish Stratus's first promo. She just didn't seem comfortable and it was almost like she was impersonating a late night talk show host. She did look fantastic, though, and looked pretty good in the ring considering her time off. I especially got a kick out of Lawler telling Cole to say "vintage Trish Startus."

I thought the wrestling was pretty good, but the show was kind of blah. It may have been me, though. I was pretty tired and worn out by my 18 month old daughter being sick when I watched, so I was just irritable.

No mention of the dual Hell In a Cell matches at the next PPV? Its gonna be the the one with Orton and Cena will be the first to not involve the undertaker or HHH.

I'll also ad Trish looks amazing as a brunette ;)k

Shawn Michaels had a highly-praised match with Ted DiBiase in 1990 when he was still a part of The Rockers, and it got me thinking last night whether Ted DiBiase & his father are the first father/son combination he has wrestled both one-on-one. (Other than Vince & Shane, which was part of the same feud.)

I found it hard to believe, but I could not think of another father/son that he has. Any ideas?

Line of the night - Mickie James doing commentary, regarding Trish: I used to be a real big fan of hers.

WWE handled the situation correctly, but this is still a bad development for Smackdown.

I was also surprised by the lack of a pop for Canadian Gail Kim. And was I the only one that found it odd that someone from Upstate New York was knocking Canada? Alicia Fox is improving, though.

Can we please stop saying that every woman wrestler is "sexy, intelligent, and powerful?" Please!? Aside from being demonstrably untrue, it actually makes them seem weak if they need such shameless pandering from the announcers.

I'm not a huge Jericho fan, but I loved the threat against Barker.

Did you notice Ted Dibiase Jr's right ear? It looked swollen and mangled! I've heard wrestlers sometimes get "cauliflowered" ears after years of grappling - is that what that was? Either way, it looked injured - kudos to him for stepping in the ring Monday night despite that!

Cedric, eh? Can't say I'm jumping out of my seat to see that either...

Toronto fans would boo their own mothers, I think. Perhaps Stratus got a better pop in the arena, and it didn't translate well on TV. I was at the December show when she teamed with Cena, and the place went bonkers...I was hoping her partner would have been Christian...not that that would make any sense for storylines, but hey, he deserves better.

When I heard Chavo say "you win", I think I said "thank god" to myself out loud.

I'm really starting to enjoy Cody on the mic. He's turning into a good talker with good timing and emphasis...Ted is the better wrestler, but Cody is the better stick man...for now. Loved his shiner.

What makes me think that DX will eventually KILL those two guys before the program ends?

Batista is heading to Smackdown?

Well, there goes the neighborhood...

no one wanted to see another Orton-Batista pay-per-view program.

That's right. We don't want any distraction from another much-anticipated Orton-Cena main event!!

Winners:
Fox/Kim - not an alica fan but she looked good and Kim rebounds from her botched match with MJ
Beth Phoenix - should be paired with Jericho she would be good as the female version of him
Miz - likely next US Champ
Chavo - hopefully its over

Losers:
The ring announcer - agree with everything you said, just dreadful
Evan Bourne - Chavo 'gave up' and now Bourne is stuck with HSwoggle with noone to fight
Carlito - likley out of the US title picture and jobs with Chavo to HS and had his signature apple thing mimicked by HS
Primo - NO crowd reaction
John Cena's future Oscar nominee chances - no explanation needed

Batista going to Smackdown is bad news, it was such a good show after the draft but losing Edge and Hardy (as well as Shelton Benjamion in my opinion) is a blow to any show. Think of all the amazing matches we've been getting for free every week on SD, Batista doesn't have those. Think of all the amazing promos from the likes of Punk and Jericho, Batista doesn't cut those. Think about how refreshing it has been to see a show comprised of main eventers who will willingly put over younger talent cleanly, Batista doesn't do that. It wouldn't be so if he didn't have to be front and centre of every show, but you know he will. I've enjoyed this short golden age on SD, but you've got to think it's over now, or at least won't be as good. Fair enough though ratings are ratings and we can't have it all our our way.

"When she first came on the scene, I thought she was just another bleached blonde with implants, but I couldn't have been more wrong."

I disagree! I think we were correct to think she was yet another bleached blonde with implants when she first came to the WWF. I remember lamenting about how horrible she was in the ring during her first months as champeen, wishing they just kept her as a manager for minor storylines.

THEN, Trish Stratus made good on her 100% Stratusfaction Guarantee! Personally, I'm not sure Trish Status would have become as great as she is without the right motivation, including from Lita who probably saw more potential in her than there was at the time.

I have to disagree Kev; I think Batista moving spells the end for all the greatly worked matches on Smackdown, Morrison is pushed further down the ladder and we are stuck with a guy who has a lot of pull backstage (like Taker) but Batista has a fetish for gold (unlike Taker); it wouldn't suprise me if Punk overcame Taker but then lost to Batista...and his promo skills are just horrible.

It's mind boggling how fans can boo Cena yet cheer Batista; sure Cena isn't a great worker (he is no Kurt Angle, but neither was Hogan) and his promo skills are good (without the cheesy humour); only problem I have with him is the superman push he gets...but Batista gets the same push, is worse in the ring and has no charisma...yet he is cheered? I hope he is only a stepping stone for the younger guys on Smackdown...Batista's time has come and gone. Sadly I see Batista and Cena champs at Wrestlemanina...

Cody Rhodes has really stepped up his game; legacy are looking great, that brawl going into commercials really added to the excitement for me, made Raw seem unpredictable.

Beth vs Trish at wrestlemania is almost a gaurentee.

With Batista gone Raw does need a new babyface...I wonder if Shawn will get another run as champ, or maybe even Dibiase...or MVP; but I've lost hope for him sadly...

One more thing; suprised you didn't pick up on it Kev actually...when Trish first came out did she say "I don't want to toot my own horn"? Well, I think every bloke watching would be more than happy to toot her horns for her ;)

disagree with you eck...
batista on smackdown can only be a bad thing, and the show was really gaining some momentum..
trish was pretty terrible, espeically for someone labelled diva of the decade...
alishia fox looked rubbish.. as she always does

I think the problem with Gail Kim is a problem that alot of independent wrestlers and people who have jumped ship from TNA, or WCW and ECW back in the day, all have, and that's adapting to the WWE style of wrestling. Whatever made you unique and made them sign you in the first place is slowly picked apart so everyone can wrestle the same basic style of match. This is the reason their crusierweight division was never any good. They all wrestled like the heavyweights. I just think Kim was better suited wrestling her own syle of match not a style that someone else tells her to.
I also feel it's hard for the Divas as a whole to wrestle in a WWE ring. It's to big for them. It's harder for them, being smaller than their male counterparts, to maneuver around the ring. the top rope's to high, and an Irish Whip takes forever. Womens matches would be better if the ring was smaller. Just an observation.

I really enjoyed the Batista/Orton angle through out the show. I liked how they showed clips from all the way back in Dec. It's refreshing to see WWE ackowledge a feud between two guys who have had issuses with each other for quiet a while now not just over the past couple of weeks.
That also rings true for the Trish/Jericho angle that played out last night. Also, I agree Trish looked a half step off, at first, but I thought the ending sequence more than made up for it. Strausfaction looked as good as I've ever seen it executed.

Kind of ironic that Lawler would make fun of Cole for using the word "vintage" too often when he himself is the king of repetitive things.

I pray that he wins the mayoral race.

Two things I liked about this last Raw:

1) Trish as a brunette
2) Batista when I thought maybe he was actually retiring. Oh well......

The rest was a bore mostly.

Not looking promising with next week's guest host either.

Ugh...

I also noticed DiBiase's right ear. It looked a mess! It was definitely done before the match at Breaking Point, as I noticed it as Legacy were on their way to the ring. Ah well, we never got an explanation for the Jericho eye injury, so we probably won't for this one either...

Oh and besides Trish Stratus, how smokin' hot did Rosa Mendes look last night!

RESPONSE FROM KE: Rosa Mendes was on the show? I didn't notice.

Okay - I know it's WWE but come on - why is the Jericho.Pheonix team disqualified when Big Show comes out yet Batista wins against Randy Orton after Cena clothes lines him. I'm getting tired of the best heel on the RAW roster getting beat time and time again by guys that aren't great performers ... just big names. They easily could have still let Batista powerbomb Randy just after a DQ. Batista will have NO place on smackdown. Unless you have the up and comers division and the have beens (Kane, sorry to say UT, Khali - actually not a has been but a never was, and now Batista)

RESPONSE FROM KE: Batista-Orton was No Holds Barred, so I suppose that means anything goes.

I like Batista but to have him come back to score a clean pin on Randy was not a good move to me. Having Batista do a save and laying Orton out for the last scene of Raw would have been just fine.

Trish was off...no doubt about it. Looked good. Liked the blond hair better. Why was there no crowd reaction to her though???

Henry made a transition into the match WSM get-up. Better than swoggle hook-up.

I have really became a huge Alicia Fox fan. She has really come along way. I still miss her and Gab together. I guess he was let go.

I would rather see Swagger take the US title over Miz.

Mr Sarcasm,

If he hasn't yet, hbk will probably face dh smith eventually. That's all I can think of.

"I'm pretty sure the women's match was going to be a triple threat right up to the last minute. I can't believe Lillian would get something that badly messed up. Maybe the office played a rib on her because she has the audacity to do something with her life other than wrestling." -Elevation

Excellent point. I didn't even think to factor Vince's immaturity into that botched announcement. It could be true.

Lillian's mess ups are a work, not an accident. That's how they are going to remove her from ring announcing when she leaves.

But then again, the crowd also booed Bob Barker – who does that? – and still chants “You Screwed Bret” in 2009. ...

Speaking as a Torontonian, I wouldn't boo Bob Barker. It's difficult to dislike him, and I'm not aware of him doing anything particularly bad.

But Kevin, here's the thing: screwing Bret? That was kind of a big deal. Bret Hart was one of the few wrestlers who'd attained main event status, and was Canadian and proud of it. This was before Chris Jericho or Edge any other Canadian main eventers. Okay, I'm no wrestling historian and I wasn't following the WWF/E before 1996, but who else had there been before that? Pat Patterson? The Quebecers? I can't think of any Canadians who accomplished what Bret did before Bret did: win the WWF Championship.

I'm not sure if I can explain this, but I'll try. People in China look up to Yao Ming, because out of all the basketball players in that country, he is the one who not only made it to the NBA, but excelled there. When Hideo Nomo was pitching for the Dodgers, pretty much all of Japan was following him. Rightly or wrongly, the perception is that when one of your country's athletes gets the opportunity to play in those American leagues, he's proven that he can hold his own against the very best in the world. So you're proud of that guy and it makes you feel good. If somebody from a U.S. city gets into the NBA or MLB, you might feel a little proud that somebody from your town made it there, but it's not the same, because there are a lot of Americans in those leagues already. Hell, there might even be a lot of Americans from your hometown in those leagues already.

For Canadian wrestling fans, Bret Hart was a national hero. He'd proven himself good enough to work in the WWF, which to this day is where pretty much every aspiring wrestler in the world wants to work. He wasn't the first Canadian to do so, of course, but I believe he was the first Canadian to be a main eventer, to be the champ.

Whether he was a heel or a face, we were all behind him. I mean, one of US was holding the belt that had been held by Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Randy Savage, and so many other legends of the wrestling business. A Canadian was the WWF Champion and was following in their footsteps.

Some people either like to say that there are two sides to the Montreal Screwjob, or they'll take McMahon's side. I disagree. Bret did not want to job to Shawn Michaels in Montreal, but he was willing to drop the belt to somebody else before he left for WCW. He was willing to drop it to Taker. He was willing to drop it to Jeff Jarrett. He was willing to lose it on Raw, or at a house show. He was perfectly willing to do a job and hand the title over to somebody who was staying, and he was pretty flexible concerning when and where he'd do that. He wasn't really asking for much: he just did not want to do another job to Michaels, and certainly not on one of the few PPVs taking place in his home country. Considering that he had already dropped the belt to HBK when Shawn won it the first time, being a good company man that time and putting Shawn over despite not liking him one bit, I don't think he was being unreasonable in wanting a victory over Shawn at Survivor Series '97. He was being asked to job to HBK in two consecutive championship matches. That was asking too much. He wasn't going to run off to WCW and take the belt with him. The guy had been loyal for so many years that it was difficult to imagine him stabbing the WWF in the back like that.

But apparently, Vince thought he would.

So he arranged for Bret to lose the championship to Michaels in his home country, in front of thousands of his fans, making it look like Bret tapped out to his own finisher. He repaid years of hard work and loyalty by, yes, screwing the guy who worked that hard, who had been that loyal. By not only arranging for him to lose without his knowledge, but by making him lose to a guy he really didn't want to lose to, by making him lose in a way that made him look bad.

On top of all that, before the match, Shawn literally wiped his ass with the Canadian flag.

Full disclosure, Kevin: I was a huge HBK mark back in the day. (I was even more of a Triple H mark, although considering what a jerk he's turned out to be I'm not particularly proud of that now.) I thought that both Michaels and Hart were great talents. I enjoyed watching both of them wrestle. I became a fan of the WWF while watching Shawn feud with Sid, and when Shawn beat Sid for the belt I was thrilled. So the program that originally piqued my interest in wrestling was one that involved HBK, and not Bret.

Even after Montreal, I thought that D-X in all its incarnations was awesome. And I still enjoyed watching Michaels wrestle, until he dropped the belt to Austin.

Having said that, though, what happened in Montreal was a slap in the face of pretty much every Canadian Bret Hart fan, which is synonymous with saying that it was a slap in the face of every Canadian wrestling fan *period*.

If Michaels were in on it, then despite all of his talent, despite how much of a fan of his I used to be, he was scummy as hell.

I don't go to WWE shows any more, since these days I'm more of a casual fan, but if I'd gone to the one in Toronto, I wouldn't have chanted "You screwed Bret!" at Michaels. After all, I don't know that he screwed Bret. Maybe all of those times when he's said he didn't know what was planned, he was telling the truth.

But if McMahon showed up and a "You screwed Bret!" chant started up? I might be tempted to join in. Because Vince? He absolutely DID screw Bret. It's not Vince's only sin. It's not even his worst. But it's true, and some people have long memories and aren't willing to forgive. Particularly since Vince has never, to my knowledge, apologized or tried to make amends.

its a nice decision from batista.i am his fan and not want him to get inguries.he is the champion in smackdown.i wish him he's nice and should live for more than 100 years safely.
from saikrishnaganesh from india
chennai

I had to watch 2 poorly played football games before I got to RAW,so all I have is a few notes:
Jerry Lawler needs to..whats the word Im looking for..get laid?He acts like he hasnt seen a woman since he wrestled Andy Kaufman.

I also noted DiBiase's messed up ear..and is that a stud in Cody's right nostril?creepy.Maybe my TV is messed up.Oh ya,Cody ripped off Shawn's cool T-shirt thing.I think they got 2 words for each other.

The Canadian sign-guys werent too innovative-every sign had "stratusfaction" on it.Good job,hosers.

Other than that,nothin to write home about.Pretty bad overall.

Batista's just going to ruin SmackDown. He can't wrestle, he can't cut a promo, all he is is big. Boring. Yet they're still gonna have him main event and win the title 20 times a year. So much for the top mid-carders and CM Punk... I hope he gets injured again at a house show or something. Maybe he'll consider ACTUALLY retiring, then.

And why does Cena have to come out everytime just to be there? The Orton-Batista match had nothing to do with him. Him cornering Orton like that made Orton look like the good guy.

On LordsofPain, it was announced that Lillian said it was originally going to be a triple threat. No one told her of the change to a singles match until "the referee" said something after the Triple Threat announcement.

100% Stratusfied!

i found it very hard to stay tuned - RAW has gone back into that disapointment era - where you only watch because - "ok maybe this week itll be better",
but are constantly let down

the only thing carrying the show for me atm is jericho. except i get really anoyed when he often doesnt react to punches.

smackdown atm - top stuff - batista as a character i think is a good move. but to see him wrestle... forget it.

What? No Santino? And I was waiting for him to interact with Trish.
Thank Goodness The Hornswoggle and Chavo feud is over.................

I would not worry 2 much about big Dave's return to Smackdown guys, he will be injured in a month if his past history is any thing to go by. Crowds reaction to Trish was very stange, I reckon Hornswoggle got a bigger pop than her. Hell, how hot did Trish look though? absolutely smokin baby.

Mr Sarcasm - Don't know if any of them are correct or not, but a few possibilities are Larry and Curt Hennig, Ric and David Flair, Jerry and Brian Lawler, Rocky and Dwayne Johnson.

Regarding the lack of reception for Stratus, is it possible that today's younger, PG fans don't remember her?

I think Trish looked way better back when she wrestled, she looks like a porn star now. Which I guess is good in a way, but I want old Trish back!!!

Help me out. Why can't a singles match be a triple threat? Can't you have a triple threat tag team match?

Not excited about the black comedian, huh? Or is it because you can't understand "black" humor?

Now you know how black people felt when Jeremy Piven was host.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Are you serious?

And that, Kev, is why I still don't understand why you don't do a bit more screening when approving comments. While I do appreciate how you let your readers have their say (regardless of whether you agree with them), "Anonymous" up there basically just called you a racist. I think all of your regular readers would overlook it if you reject those types of comments. As always, keep up the great work.

Thanks for the suggestions, Michael, and I should have excluded squash matches because those open a lot of forgettable possibilities, including Larry Hennig during Shawn's rookie years. For that matter, both Grizzly Smith & Jake Roberts may have scored early wins as well (though I think Grizzly was strictly booking by the time Shawn broke in).

Otherwise, we know HBK never wrestled The Rock in a one-on-one match, David Flair was never called up to the WWF/WWE, and Grandmaster Sexay's pushed years were during the 4 years HBK was out, so the DiBiase generational gap may be a first.

BTW, I fully agree with you about the Anonymous comments. Most readers don't use real names in the first place, so if you cannot even commit to a moniker, then I really doubt you believe in what you are saying in the first place.

In Lilian's defense, apparently she was fed the wrong line to make her look bad. Though, I will admit, she's made mistakes before this one, which I'm sure were her own fault.

Cedric the Entertainer = Oxymoron

To Anonymous,

Firstly, I would just like to say that I am Black. You DO realize Kevin (the writer of this blog) has spoken highly of Shaquille O'Neal and much higher than 7 foot one, mind you? As a black person myself, I think your comments are wholly uncalled-for. Yes! Anti-Black racism clogs up much of the internet but there is none here and your implied accusation is laughable. I've visited this blog since the beginning of the year and have never even once remotely felt racially offended on this website.

At the most I've been offended that Kevin thought Undertaker's gimmick was cheesy when I first came to the site which I hope you have got over Kev. You have to learn to like that Dark Side stuff Shame on you. :P That's good entertainment. Anyways, again, I resent you accusing this writer of any racism. I love this blog. It's my favorite. I'm also with MrSarcasm. Make out a moniker!

Anyways, I missed RAW this week so I couldn't comment on anything. DVR, unfortunately doesn't inform it's users when it's ran out of space, so you run out of room unceremoniously and shows don't record. Kev, if only you'd right a blog blasting Time Warner Cable. Anyways, judging from the blog and comments, RAW was pretty decent this week. Not good, not bad but decent.

I look forward to the SmackDown Blog.

Mr. Sarcasm -

Any chance of HBK squaring off against each of the Snukas?