TV REVIEW: WWE Raw - October 26th, 2009

Buffalo, New York 

In the wake of WWE Bragging Rights, John Cena is your new WWE Champion whilst The Big Show, fresh from turning his back on his Raw team-mates, is the most reviled man on the roster. 

With NASCAR’s Joey Logano and Kyle Busch hosting, new number one contenders to Cena’s title are announced and the Raw roster looks for revenge against The World’s Largest Athlete.

Chris Jericho & The Big Show discuss Bragging Rights 

Proudly clutching the Bragging Rights trophy he and Team Smackdown won the night before, Chris Jericho makes his way to the ring with The Big Show. Teasing the inevitable fall-out between them, Big Show declares that he turned his back on Raw not out of loyalty to Jericho, but because Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long promised him a shot at The Undertaker's World Heavyweight Championship if he did.

Cue the arrival of tonight's hosts, NASCAR drivers Joey Logano and Kyle Busch, who fumble through their lines en route to booking Big Show vs. Triple H and Jericho vs. Kofi Johnson Kingston. 

Unified Tag Team Champion Chris Jericho vs. Kofi Kingston 

If you want to get your wrestling show underway in fine fashion, book Chris Jericho in your opening contest. Working with the ever-popular Kingston, the Unified Tag Team Champion puts on a good show in this enjoyable opener. So too does Kingston himself; overcoming the dominating Jericho to finally pick up the win thanks to Trouble in Paradise.
Your Winner: Kofi Kingston 

As Kingston celebrates in the post-match, Randy Orton arrives on the scene and hurls the popular star off the stage. Nobody knows why, so after the commercial break, he explains; Kofi Kingston interfered in Orton's match last night, Orton is no longer champion, ergo, it's all Kofi's fault.

Hoping to cheer their leader up, Rhodes and Dibiase present him with a racing car adorned with his likeness. They also promise to get the WWE title back in the legacy camp.

The Miz & Jack Swagger exchange words

Back in the guest-hosts’ office, Logano and Busch are discussing some race with Eve when Jack Swaggers strolls into the picture and demands a title shot against John Cena.

Before long, The Miz joins the party and insists that he should be the one who challenges Cena for the WWE title. After all, he was the only Raw superstar to win any of the inter-brand matches at Bragging Rights. The two squabble over the affections of Eve as the NASCAR blokes announce that they’ll be picking Cena’s next opponent later tonight.

Mixed Tag Team Match: Santino Marella & Divas Champion Melina vs. Chavo Guerrero & Jillian

Marella and Melina get the better of their opponents in an utterly pointless, yet still mildly entertaining bout, complete with obligatory Hornswoggle cameo.

The little leprechaun does absolutely nothing of note, but his mere presence is enough to distract Jillian and Chavo and ultimately leads to their downfall.
Your Winners: Santino Marella & Melina 

After the match, Hornswoggle is served with a Cease and Desist Order from D-Generation-X.

Legacy Challenge John Cena

Hijacking Cena’s microphone time, Legacy members Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes issue a challenge to the new champion. Cena, however, insists that if the "Baby Oil Boys’ Club" want a title match, they’ll have to earn it, starting with a match against MVP and Mark Henry.

Ted Dibiase & Cody Rhodes vs. M.V.P & Mark Henry

In a short, forgettable encounter, Rhodes and Dibiase look to prove themselves as worthy contenders to the WWE thrown with a win over the popular MVP and Mark Henry.

Yet their opponents have no intentions of rolling over and handing them the win, and after a valiant struggle, MVP scores the pinfall over Dibiase.
Your Winners: M.V.P & Mark Henry 

Randy Orton arrives in the post-match to complain about his lack of a rematch against Cena. The Viper is interrupted by Kofi Kingston, still angry at Orton for attacking him earlier in the show.

What follows is a brilliant promo from Kingston as he destroys Orton’s new racing car.

Non-Title match: United States Champion The Miz vs. Evan Bourne 

For reasons that will only make sense at the outcome of this contest, Eve is your special guest ring announcer.

After special guest ring announcing, the lovely Diva takes a seat at ringside to watch a short-but-fun bout with lots of back-and-forth action between the high-flying Bourne and the ever-cocky Miz.

The ending sees Jack Swagger arrive on the scene to announce that nobody cares about the match taking place in the ring (he has a point) and that everybody is instead watching Swagger and Eve.

Upset at this interruption, Miz heads outside to confront The All-American American, and consequently loses the match via count-out.
Your Winner via Count-out: Evan Bourne 

For those of you wondering, next week’s guest hosts are none other than The Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osborne and his wife, the incredibly annoying Sharon.

Sheamus vs. Jamie Noble

Last week, your writer read an interview in Power Slam magazine with none other than Triple H in which The Game had nothing but high praise for The Celtic Warrior.

This week, Sheamus turns up on the same show as Vince McMahon’s son-in-law. Funny that, isn’t it?
At least Sheamus looks good in his debut, squashing poor Jamie Noble in short time.
Your Winner: Sheamus 

Main event: Unified Tag Team Champion The Big Show vs. Triple H

Before this one gets properly underway, Triple H has a surprise in store for his opponent; they’re now about to compete in a lumberjack match, with a Raw roster, angry at Big Show for the Bragging Rights double-cross, serving as the lumberjacks.

(Blatant continuity error: how come Kofi Kingston was wearing a tracksuit when he destroyed Orton’s car, and yet he’s now back in the same wrestling attire he wore in his match earlier?)

Out-numbered and wanting no part of what’s about to go down, Big Show’s partner, Chris Jericho, takes his titles and the Bragging Rights trophy and hilariously makes his exit.

Shawn Michaels then introduces our special guest referee, WWE Champion John Cena, and what follows is a fairly entertaining match in which, despite the odds stacked heavily against him, Big Show manages to dominate his foe.

As The World’s Largest Athlete attempts a cover, referee Cena conveniently gets a sore arm and is unable to finish the count. An angry Big Show is then attacked by half the roster, superkicked by HBK and pedigreed by Hunter to lose the match around the fifteen-minute mark.
Your Winner: Triple H

Afterwards, hosts Logano and Busch announce the Survivor Series main event: John Cena will defend the WWE Championship in a Triple Threat match against Shawn Michaels and Triple H.

Final Thoughts:

The fallout from Bragging Rights gave WWE the opportunity to freshen up the Raw hierarchy; introducing new storylines, elevating new stars and generally taking the show in a new direction.

You could argue that they failed to do that, since we’ve still got Cena once again holding the gold and Triple H back in the world title picture.

---

Forgetting about that for a moment, things at least seem to be moving in the right direction, with Miz and Swagger generating a lot of interest in their recent rivalry, Legacy slowly edging their way to the main event and, of course, Kofi Kingston’s new-found feud with Randy Orton.

Make no mistake about it, Kingston’s exchange with Orton was the highlight of an otherwise mediocre show and, providing he doesn’t get mercilessly destroyed each time, his upcoming series of matches with The Legend Killer should prove to be the making of a new star performer on Monday nights.

And that’s certainly something worth looking forward to.