(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The one chief complaint of 2009, at least in regard to the WWE Championship, is this: “We’ve seen it before!” After Bragging Rights was over, we were left with the hope that we would see something different now that the Orton/Cena rivalry is over. After tonight’s episode of Raw, I guess we won’t be.
Tonight on Raw, we saw a loose storyline play itself out that would bring us to the determination of the new #1 contender for John Cena’s WWE Championship.
The hosts, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch, came roaring into the arena in stock cars painted up in the "Smackdown Vs. Raw 2010" theme. You could plainly tell they were nervous in the early going, as one of them botched Kofi Kingston's name. The first match is between Kingston and Chris Jericho.
This is a decent match with a lot of back and forth. They didn't seem to really mesh until the end of the match, but it was well-worked by both I thought. Jericho showed he is a veteran who is confident in his position by allowing the Kofi to pick up a win in a meaningful two segment match. However, as Kofi is leaving the arena, he is attacked by Randy Orton and thrown off the ramp.
The championship storyline starts when Joey Logano and Kyle Busch were talking to Eve in a backstage segment. Jack Swagger makes his way into the room and introduces himself. He goes on to point out how similar they are; they’re young, successful champions and proven winners. Logano cuts to the chase and asks what Swagger wants. Swagger said he wants John Cena tonight for the WWE Title.
Busch reiterated that Cena wrestled for an hour the previous night and he “didn’t know about that.” Logano then speaks up and says that the two drivers will be booking the next championship opponent tonight. Swagger then decides he’s going to flirt with Eve Torres when The Miz barges in.
Miz reminds everyone that he was the only one from Raw to win a match last night and fully expects to be Cena’s #1 contender at Survivor Series. Miz also fully expects to win because after all, he is The Miz, and he is…awful, as the crowd filled in. Miz then takes Eve by the hand and kisses her, and Eve makes a good sell on wanting to throw up.
Moving on, Hornswaggle makes an appearance in the mixed tag match between Melina and Santino Marella against Jillian Hall and Chavo Guerrero. 'Swaggle causes a distraction that in turn causes Melina to miss her finish, but none the less Melina and Santino pick up the win. Hornswaggle, dressed in DX gear, celebrates with them at the end of the match.
While celebrating, a man in a suit appears, delivers an envelope to ‘Swaggle, and leaves. 'Swaggle opens it and goes to Jerry Lawler for interpretation. Lawler says that it's a cease and desist letter that bans Hornswaggle from wearing DX gear. ‘Swaggle walks away, confused.
Later, just as the ring announcer was prepared to bring John Cena to the ring The Legacy interrupts. DiBiase and Rhodes make their case – saying that Randy Orton could not compete for the title, but they could. DiBiase and Rhodes were determined to bring the title back to Legacy. A challenge was issued to Cena to take on one, or both, of them.
Cena hits the ring, and denies their match, telling them they needed to lace up their boots and get in line. He asks “has the Baby Oil Boys Club earned anything?” and got a resounding “NO!” from the crowd. Cena goes on to introduce their opponents, Mark Henry and MVP in a tag match. This match would loosely be a part of determining who would face Cena next, and the team of MVP and Henry picked up the win.
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