Welcome to WWE Monday Night RAW! Tonight is our special Tribute to the Troops edition and everything will never be the same again. Keep it here for the updates.
Taped from Tikrit, Iraq
Your commentators are Michael Cole and Jerry “The King†Lawler
Randy Orton comes out to the ring for our opening match up. His opponent is none other than Chris Jericho!
Randy Orton v. Chris Jericho
The bell rings and both men lock up in the center. Neither make ground as they circle the ring. Jericho follows up with the first move of the match, the armdrag. Another lockup takes both men to the corner, to which Orton takes control. Irish whip to the other corner and Jericho bails. Randy runs into an armdrag into an armbar. Jericho lets go and quickly follows up with a low dropkicking the champ silly. Jericho goes back on the arm until Orton follows up with several rights before taunting. Orton sends Jericho to the ropes, but Jericho nearly gets Orton in the Liontamer. Orton gets to the ropes, but ends up paying for it with a baseball slide and a springboard dropkick.
On the outside, Jericho snaps a picture of Orton. Jericho pays for it upon his return to the ring with a spike DDT. We take an ad break.
Commercials.
Back to the show as Jericho tries to fight back against Orton, but he is DENIED! Orton takes his shots at Jericho. He misses the knee drop as Jericho gets back up. Jericho is sent to the ropes and Orton applies the sleeper. Jericho tries to bust out of the hold and nails a reverse suplex! Both men are down until seven. Jericho lights up with the knife edge chops and he takes Orton down! Orton back up…MISSILE DROPKICK for two! Orton misses a dropkick and Jericho looks for the Liontamer again, but Orton rolls him up for two. Bulldog connects, as does the Lionsault…for TWO! Orton thumbs the eye and he nails the modified backbreaker before stalking his prey. RKO try is countered to the Liontamer! JBL comes out to interrupt this mat classic.
Winner: Chris Jericho via DQ ***1/4
Jericho beats up on JBL until Orton nails the RKO! Jericho gets back up in time for the CLOTHESLINE FROM HELL!
Next Monday: Ric Flair takes on Triple H in a Career Threatening Match!
Commercials.
We are back and we are treated to a video of the superstars spending time with the troops.
Commercials.
Tomorrow Night on ECW: The Best of ECW 2007.
We are back and the #1 Contender to the WWE Championship and Intercontinental Champion, Jeff Hardy makes his way to the ring. His opponent swaps spit…ahhh nevermind.
Jeff Hardy v. Carlito
Both men jockey for position, until Carlito plays chicken and uses the ropes as his friend. Carlito gets dropkicked on his ass. Hardy works over Carlito, nailing a shoulderblock. Carlito doesn’t jump high enough on the leapfrog and he gets powerbombed for his troubles. Whip to the ropes, Carlito tries to evade Hardy, but he gets slammed face first on the mat! Carlito escapes the pin attempt at two. Carlito sends Hardy to the ropes, but Hardy slides out of the ring and interacts with the troops! Carlito takes offense to this and he chases Hardy around. Hardy nails a flying clothesline before taking the action back inside the ring. Ten punches to the head, but Carlito moves out of the way of the turnbuckle clothesline! Carlito is in control-NO! WHISPER IN THE WIND by Hardy! Hardy is back up and he nails the wraparound clothesline for two! Turnbuckle dropkick connects this time for two! Carlito counters the Twist of Fate into a twisting Overdrive for two! Lillian gives Carlito an apple and he looks to spit apple at Hardy, but Hardy nails the jawbreaker! Twist of Fate CONNECTS, as does the Swanton Bomb. He gets the three!
Winner: Jeff Hardy **3/4
More troop video is shown.
Commercials.
We get a video of the hard life out on the war zone.
Vince McMahon makes his way to the ring, getting a warm reception from the crowd! He puts over the armed forces, saying that the WWE supports them. He is out here to introduce the divas.
Kelly Kelly & Layla v. Mickie James & Maria
This will be interesting to see if Kelly and Layla get along tonight, given their history of hate. We take a commercial before the match.
Commercials.
We are JIP and Layla takes down Maria! Maria returns the favor and the divas roll around the ring. Layla tags in Kelly and she looks to kick Maria, but Maria catches her off guard. Maria takes Kelly and she tags in Mickie James. Kelly counters an Irish whip, but the handspring elbow misses BAD. Maria rides cowgirl on Kelly and she nails a neckbreaker. Layla breaks up the pin attempt and all the divas are in the ring. Layla is in one corner and Kelly is in the other corner. Mickie and Maria do STEREO BRONCO BUSTERS! Vince McMahon interrupts the match.
Result: No Contest NR
Vince says that Santa won’t be in Iraq this year, but lo and behold, Santa IS HERE. This year’s Santa is wearing a sling on his arm, a la John Cena. He calls Vince out for being bad. Vince has always hated Santa since when he was a child. Vince likes naughty magazines! Vince calls Santa a fake. Santa responds by reading a letter written by the child Vince McMahon. “Old as Dirt†chants fly around Iraq. Vince wanted a giant rooster and a red rider BB Gun. Vince unmasks Santa and it is John Cena! The one-armed Cena hoists McMahon in the air for the F-U! Cena enlists the divas to distribute the gifts to the troops.
A video of the troops in combat is shown. They are big in the community.
Royal Rumble promo. Michael Buffer gets superkicked by HBK, which is worth the whole commercial.
Commericals.
Welcome back to the show. Earlier in that day, they had a re-enlistment ceremony. This is followed by a picture montage of the troops around Tikrit.
Commercials.
Another video plays. This video is the set up for WWE Tribute to the Troops.
Rey Mysterio v. Mark Henry
The bell rings and Henry shoves Mysterio on the mat. Mysterio throws some punches, before getting tossed on the mat again. Henry corners Mysterio and he nails a couple headbutts. Mysterio works with the knees, but Henry presses Mysterio, slamming him face first on the canvas. He gets a two count before going back to work on Mysterio. Henry gets Mysterio in a bearhug, but Mysterio BITES Henry to break free! He pays for it with a vicious clothesline. Henry gets two out of it. Henry looks for the splash, but Mysterio moves out of the way! West Coast Pop connects for two! Mysterio takes advantage of Henry being at the corner. Henry gets hanged up…619 Connects, followed by Droppin’ Da Dime! Henry shoves Mysterio, but Mysterio chop blocks Henry’s knee and HE ROLLS HIM UP FOR THREE!
Winner: Rey Mysterio **
A video highlighting the usage of IUDs in the battlefield plays. This is followed by a video of nighttime in the battlefield.
Commercials.
John Cena is at Patrol Base Olson. He introduces Jeremy Haley of Illinois. He is a specialist for the Armed Forces. He says hello to his family.
RAW Rebound: Last week, Ric Flair narrowly beat Umaga via countout. His next opponent will be against Triple H next week!
We get another video spotlighting Chris Jericho in his first trip to Iraq.
Commercials.
We are back and it’s time for a Degeneration X MAIN EVENT! Michaels looks like he’s a kid at Christmastime. HHH has the microphone. He gets the troops all pumped up.
Degeneration X v. Umaga & Mr. Kennedy
We take a commercial break before this match.
Commercials.
We are JIP as Kennedy is being shown up by Michaels. Michaels scoop slams Kennedy before taking to the air. The elbow lands and he tunes up the band. Umaga runs in while the referee restrains HHH. Kennedy covers Michaels after the Umaga clothesline and he gets two! Kennedy works on Michael’s back before tagging in Umaga. Umaga nails the headbutt, followed by a splash. He nails a knee to the chest and ANOTHER splash on Michaels for two! Michaels battles back, but Umaga is too strong. Kennedy gets tagged in and he continues to go to work on Michaels, getting a two count. Kennedy as an armbar locked in, but Michaels gets back to his feet. They trade blows, but Kennedy pokes the eye and tags in Umaga. Umaga takes Michaels down on the canvas before applying the neck pinch. Michaels battles back, but Umaga nails a quick headbutt before tagging in Kennedy. Kennedy and Michaels trade blows once again. Green Bay Plunge CONNECTS, but HHH breaks up the count. Umaga is tagged in and he goes for the flying headbutt, but he MISSES! Kennedy and HHH gets tagged in and HHH goes after Kennedy! High knee connects on Kennedy. KNEE SMASH connects on Umaga! Umaga gets hanged out to dry on the steel ring post. HHH nails the Spinebuster on Kennedy, but Umaga stops the Pedigree! Samoan Spike try fails as Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music! Kennedy turns around for SWEET CHIN MUSIC! The Pedigree connects and Kennedy gets pinned!
Winners: Degeneration X ***
Triple H and Shawn Michaels invite the troops to the ring to celebrate.
Show over.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
