- Tonight’s WWE RAW kicks off with the usual opening videos as Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler welcome us to Minneapolis, MN. Justin Roberts is in the ring. He brings out tonight’s guest host, former World Champion boxer “Iron” Mike Tyson. Tyson comes out and actually gets a nice pop from the crowd. Tyson says it’s great to be back on RAW. The crowd pops some more for him. Tyson shows a video of when he was on RAW back in 1998. Tyson talks but out comes the WWE Champion Sheamus to interrupt.
Sheamus enters the ring and the crowd boo’s him. Sheamus says Tyson is nothing but a washed up, ex-Champion. Sheamus declares himself WWE Champion and rips off Tyson’s nickname, the baddest man on the planet. Tyson motions towards Sheamus and makes him jump. Sheamus dares Tyson to do it again and said this time, he better make contact. Voices hits and out comes Randy Orton.
Orton comes to the ring and says he’s only interested in the WWE Title. Orton wants Tyson to make him the #1 contender for the WWE Title and Sheamus’ opponent for the Royal Rumble. The music hits and this time out comes John Cena to a big pop. Cena says he’s here to see Mike Tyson and here for the WWE Title. Cena goes on and on before Kofi Kingston makes his way out next.
Kofi talks about Cena and Orton have both been WWE Champion and have had countless title shots. Kofi says he has never had a title shot. A “Cena sucks” chant breaks out. Kofi wants a WWE Title shot and he won’t take no for an answer. Sheamus says since he defended his WWE Title two weeks ago, he wants the Royal Rumble off. Sheamus tells them if they want a WWE Title shot, they need to earn it at the Rumble. Tyson announces Kofi Kingston vs. John Cena vs. Randy Orton tonight with the winner meeting Sheamus for the WWE Title at Royal Rumble.
WWE Divas Title Tournament Match: Kelly Kelly vs. Alicia Fox
Back from commercial and out comes Kelly Kelly, trying to advance in the Divas Title tournament. Her opponent Alicia Fox is out next. The winner of this match will face Gail Kim on next week’s show. The match starts and they lock up, going to the ropes. Alicia works Kelly over in the corner.
Alicia tosses Kelly to the mat and applies a headlock. Kelly counters a move and dumps Alicia to the floor. Kelly leaps off the apron onto Alicia and the floor. Back in the ring and Kelly clotheslines Alicia twice. Kelly hits a big head scissor takedown but gets caught in mid-air by Alicia with a powerbomb for the pinfall and the win.
Winner: Alicia Fox
- Back from the break and we get a video package showing John Cena at the Fiesta Bowl last Monday night.
Legacy vs. Evan Bourne & Mark Henry
Out first for the next match is the team of Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes. Cody takes the mic before the match and talks about he and Ted last week. He says it was Orton’s year last year but this year is different. Ted takes the mic and agrees. He says this year is his year. Cody doesn’t know about this. Ted talks about The Marine 2 and puts it over, saying it’s better than the original Marine. Ted says he’s going to win the Royal Rumble. Cody and Ted have words with each other. Out next comes the team of Mark Henry and Evan Bourne.
Ted and Bourne lock up. Ted beats him down first but gets caught by scissors and a dropkick. Bourne tries a move from the apron but gets rocked in the face by Ted and knocked out of the ring to the floor. The ref is distracted as Cody comes over and hits Bourne. We get a bit of double teaming before Ted applies a headlock to Bourne. Cody comes in with a body slam and a knee drop for a 2 count. Bourne drops Cody with a kick to the head and tags in Henry. Henry comes in and lays out Cody and Ted.
Henry drops Cody again and presses him high and slams him to the mat. Bourne goes up to the top for a move but Ted comes in. Ted kicks Bourne in the gut. Henry charges Ted but gets dumped to the floor. Cody hits Cross Rhodes on Bourne for the pinfall and the win.
Winners: Legacy
- We go backstage where DX are. Triple H is telling Shawn that whatever is going on isn’t a good idea. Apparently Shawn wants to go out and confront Mike Tyson. Shawn says he made peace with Bret Hart last week and wants to do the same with Tyson tonight. Triple H says Tyson is insane. HBK says he saw Tyson’s documentary and thinks he’s a changed man. Shawn walks off and we go to commercial.
- We go backstage where DX are. Triple H is telling Shawn that whatever is going on isn’t a good idea. Apparently Shawn wants to go out and confront Mike Tyson. Shawn says he made peace with Bret Hart last week and wants to do the same with Tyson tonight. Triple H says Tyson is insane. HBK says he saw Tyson’s documentary and thinks he’s a changed man. Shawn walks off and we go to commercial.
- Back from the break and HBK is backstage with Mike Tyson. Shawn says he hopes they can get some closure tonight on their past. Shawn forgives Tyson for knocking him out at WrestleMania 14. Tyson says he doesn’t need Shawn’s forgiveness and enjoyed knocking Shawn out. Tyson says he wouldn’t mind doing it again and they’re at each other’s faces. Chris Jericho walks up. Jericho and Tyson talk about being held down by “the man.” Tyson is now friends with Jericho and has been invited here. Jericho says Tyson has made a match where DX faces tonight and if they lose, Jericho gets a free pass to be on any WWE brand. Tyson says the match will be DX vs. Chris Jericho and Mike Tyson. HBK says this is fine because he owes Tyson one anyway.
- We go to a video package from last week showing Bret Hart’s return and confrontation with Vince McMahon.
Jack Swagger All-American Challenge
We come back from a commercial break. In the ring is Jack Swagger. He declares that he will win the Royal Rumble and then will main event WrestleMania. Swagger guarantees nobody on any WWE brand has the ability to eliminate him. Swagger issues an All-American challenge and says if anyone thinks they can come out and throw him off the top rope, please come try. The music hits and out comes Santino Marella.
Santino says he was about to come out and issue the All-Italian challenge to see if they could throw him off the top rope. The bell rings and here we go.
Swagger charges first but Santino ducks and starts kicking. Swagger rams Santino into the corner then rams him in the opposite corner. Swagger hits the Vader splash in the corner. Swagger picks Santino up and tosses him over the rope but Santino holds on and Swagger hits the floor to win.
Winner: Santino Marella
- Swagger charges the ring as Santino runs off to the back. We get a graphic hyping Mike Tyson’s return to the ring and see Kofi Kingston, Randy Orton and John Cena all headed to the ring as we go to commercial.
#1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match: Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston vs. John Cena
The winner of this match will face Sheamus for the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Out first is Randy Orton followed by Kofi Kingston. Out last is John Cena to the biggest pop of the three. The bell rings and Orton strikes Cena and then Kofi. They get him in the corner and Cena whips him across the ring. Kofi and Cena double suplex Cena. Kofi splashes Orton in the corner and Cena comes right behind him, keeping up with the double team on Orton. Cena hits a suplex and Kofi hits a big uppercut and knocks Orton to the mat.
Kofi and Cena both hit an elbow off the ropes on Orton. Kofi tosses Orton out to the floor. Cena and Kofi acknowledge each other and get ready to go at it. Sheamus appears up on the ramp and distracts Kofi and Cena. Orton comes in from behind and lays both of them out. Orton stomps away on Cena and Kofi as we go to commercial.
Back from the break and Cena is laid out on the floor after getting thrown into the steps and announce table during commercial. Orton wears down Kofi with a headlock in the ring. Cena tries to get in the ring but Orton hits his big DDT off the ropes on Cena. Orton turns around to Kofi flying off the top with a crossbody for a 2 count. Kofi works over Orton with kicks in the corner. Orton hits his backbreaker on Kofi. Cena comes in and hits Orton with a forearm. Orton tosses Cena into the ringpost. Kofi comes up and drops Orton with the SOS for a 2 count. Kofi with a kick to the head. Cena comes over and drops Kofi into the STF. Orton finally gets up and breaks the hold. Cena hits the shoulder on Orton again and the big back drop. Cena hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle and goes for the Attitude Adjustment. Kofi stops the move and lays out Cena. Kofi hits the Boom Drop on Cena. Kofi hits Trouble in Paradise on Cena, knocking him out of the ring. Cena hits a series of punches on Orton in the corner and beats him down. Cody Rhodes comes out of the crowd and kicks the steps into John Cena. Cody hops on the apron and distracts the referee. Ted DiBiase comes from the other side of the crowd and slams Kofi from the top. Orton hits the RKO on Kofi for the pinfall, the win and the title shot.
Winner and New #1 Contender: Randy Orton
- After the match, Legacy pose with Orton in the ring. Sheamus stares down and locks eyes with Orton from the stage.
- We go backstage with Mike Tyson and Josh Matthews. Hornswoggle come sup and starts throwing DX chops at Tyson. Tyson tells Hornswoggle if he sees him during the match tonight, he is going to rip Hornswoggle’s intestines out and jump rope with them, among other things. Hornswoggle runs off scared as we go to break.
- We go backstage where The Miz is with his United States Title. He says when he first came to WWE, nobody respected him and nobody could stand him. Miz talks about once getting chicken crumbs in a referee’s bag and being banned from the WWE locker room for 6 months. He does a JBL impersonation. Miz says he’s such a star now that he doesn’t even use the locker room, he has his own private room. Miz walks out to the arena where the fans boo him. He congratulates MVP on being the #1 contender and being another person who gets humiliated by Miz. Miz makes his way to the ring, talking about how he is a better person than MVP. Miz says everyone in the locker room will respect the United States Champion because he’s The Miz and he’s awesome. MVP comes out and says he doesn’t hide his past. He says he’s worked hard for everything he has and worked hard to be accepted back into society and earn the respect of the WWE Universe. MVP makes his way into the ring now. MVP takes off his jacket. The crowd starts to really get behind this. MVP actually says Miz reminds him of a “monkey flicking poop.” MVP starts talking again about being in prison for 9 1/2 years in Florida. MVP says he survived in a world Miz only saw on TV. MVP says his real world is different from Miz’s real world. MVP dares Miz to see how tame he is. They really lost the crowd for a minute or two. Miz goes at MVP but he throws THE MIC at Miz’s gut and it causes Miz to step back. They go at it until MVP kicks Miz out of the ring with a boot to the head.
WWE Divas Title Tournament Match: Eve Torres vs. Katie Lea Burchill
Back from some plugs and a commercial break and Eve Torres makes her way out to the ring. Katie Lea is already waiting in the ring while Maryse is on commentary. The bell rings and Katie Lea tries for a quick pin. Katie Lea puts a knee in Eve’s back. Eve fights out and fights Katie Lea off. Katie catches her with a backbreaker and a 2 count.
More back and forth action until Eve hits a pair of dropkicks. Eve goes down and Katie gets another 2 count. Eve rolls Katie up out of nowhere for the pinfall and the win.
Winner: Eve Torres
- After the match, Eve rolls out of the ring and taunts Maryse at the announce table. They will face each other on next week’s RAW.
- We go backstage with Carlito and Gail Kim. Carlito wants a date after he wins the Royal Rumble. Vince McMahon walks by and is headed to the ring as we go to commercial.
- Back from the break and out comes Vince McMahon to the ring. He says the rumors of him hiring extra security to keep Bret Hart away are false. The crowd starts chanting “we want Bret.” Vince says Bret isn’t here tonight because he’s intimidated. Vince said last week, he screwed Bret. Vince says Bret wanted to play nice and he doesn’t play nice, forgive or forget. The crowd starts chanting boring. Vince says Bret won’t be here this week, next week or any other week. Vince says if Bret wants closure, he will never be seen in the WWE again. Vince’s music hits, he smirks at the crowd and heads to the back.
- We go backstage where Mike Tyson and Chris Jericho are sparring. Back to commercial break.
DX vs. Chris Jericho and Mike Tyson
Back from the break and out comes the WWE Unified Tag Team Champions DX. They cut a promo and HBK tells The Undertaker that he wants his answer on their WrestleMania match next week. Out next comes Chris Jericho. If Jericho wins this match, he gets to be on any WWE brand he wants. Out next comes Jericho’s partner, Mike Tyson, in a black T and pants.
Tyson and Michaels start the match. Tyson locks up and HBK goes down. They lock up again and go to the ropes. They lock up a third time and Tyson shoves HBK back to the mat. HBK charges Tyson but runs into a big right hand. Triple H is tagged in and he comes face to face with Tyson. They lock up and go to the corner. They exchange shoves and Tyson gets pissed. They lock up again and go to the corner. Jericho tags himself in and works over Triple H.
