Event: WWE Monday Night RAW
Airdate: Monday, January 4th, 2010 (USA Network)
Location: The Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio
Results by 411 Mania
“Yes, sir, we promised you a great main event…”
– Raw opens with a nice video package on the returning Hitman, Bret Hart including Montreal 1997.
– Justin Roberts introduces tonight’s Special Guest Host, Bret “The Hitman” Hart! Hart’s music hits and he walks onto the stage to a huge reception. Bret says “I guess Hell froze over!” he says he’s been looking for a way to come back for a few years, but Vince McMahon always stopped him. the fans chant “Welcome back”. He thanks the WWE fans for standing by him and tells them they made him what he is today. He says there are many things he wants to get off his chest tonight, he then calls out Shawn Michaels! HBK makes his way to the ring, Hart says he thinks it’s about time they buried the hatchet, Shawn talks a little about the past, he says he always respected Bret, but doesn’t feel Bret respected him, he says when he thinks of Bret Hart, he doesn’t think of Montreal, he thinks of Anaheim California, he thinks of a 60-minute Iron Man match, he thinks about being told that no one wanted to see that match and that they couldn’t pull it off, but they did. HBK says when he thinks of Bret Hart he thinks of the Excellence of Execution. Bret says Shawn wasn’t the easiest of people to work with back then, Shawn says a lot has happened in his life since Bret last saw him and he’s not the same man anymore. HBK asks Bret if he’s sure and ready to bury the hatchet? Bret says he is going to extend his hand to Shawn Michaels for him to shake, he says it’s not fair that both their careers are labeled with the same thing, Bret extends his hand, Shawn shakes it! The fans cheer, they shake hands for a while, this is definitely a Kodak moment!
Divas match is next!
– Backstage Josh Matthews asks Vince why he didn’t respond to Bret, Vince says he has just come out of a meeting and didn’t know Bret called him out, he says no one calls him out, he says if Bret wants to have a discussion later, then they will, when Vince calls Bret out!
– Jerry Lawler & Michael Cole note Divas Champion Melina was injured over the weekend, so the Divas Championship is now vacated. There will be a 8-Diva Tournament to determine a new champion, starting tonight.
(1) Divas Championship Tournament – 1st Round – Maryse vs. Brie Bella w/ Nikki Bella
Longer match than you would expect with the Bella involved. Maryse dominates the match, Nikki pulls Brie out of the ring and switches, Maryse notices it and delivers the French Kiss to Nikki for the victory.
– After the match, The Miz, who has new entrance music, meets Maryse on the stage, he says if Maryse wins the tournament, he might call her back! He says Maryse has declared 2010 her year, but actually this year, this decade and everything from this point forward is about him, because he’s The Miz, and he’s awesome!
(2) #1 Contenders Fatal Four Way Match for the US Championship – MVP vs. Jack Swagger vs. Mark Henry vs. Carlito
The Miz takes a seat for commentary as MVP comes out to the ring first. Out next is Jack Swagger. We go to commercial break. Back from the break and the match is underway with Carlito and Mark Henry out. Everyone is going at it. Swagger drops Carlito in the ring after MVP for a 2 count. Swagger goes to work on MVP and hits a belly to belly for another 2 count. Henry has been laid out on the floor.
Henry and MVP end up going at it. Henry dumps MVP over the top to the floor. Henry starts going back and forth between Carlito and Swagger. He slams Carlito’s feet into Swagger and goes to slam Carlito. Henry goes with a bearhug on Carlito instead. Swagger breaks the hold and works over Henry. Henry puts Swagger on his shoulders with the Torture Rack. MVP breaks that hold and kicks Henry to the floor. MVP nails the Playmaker on Swagger for the pinfall and the win.
Winner and New #1 Contender: MVP
– We go backstage with Big Show and Chris Jericho. They’re talking about having to win tonight so Jericho can stay on RAW. Jericho says he has a plan. Jericho walks off to offer a deal to Bret Hart and we go to commercial.
– Back from the break and Chris Jericho walks in to speak with Bret Hart. Jericho talks about training at the Dungeon. Jericho says he knows deep down that Hart still despises Shawn Michaels. Jericho asks if Bret will be the special guest referee for their match against DX tonight. Jericho wants Bret to ring the bell against DX to make up for Montreal. Bret says he doesn’t want this Montreal thing to keep coming up, he wants to put it to bed. Bret says he wants peace. Bret says he doesn’t want to be perceived by the fans like they see Jericho. He calls Jericho a hypocrite and says he better win his match by himself tonight. Bret says if he remembers right, he was the one in the Dungeon who yelled the loudest and it was Davey Boy Smith’s kids who stretched Jericho out. Jericho leaves pissed off.
– We go to Hornswoggle looking at the new WWE Mattel figures. Triple H walks up and they go over the different toys sitting there. Shawn Michaels walks in and asks Triple H why he talks to Hornswoggle like a child. Triple H brings in Santino Marella, dressed as Chris Jericho. Santino mocks Jericho. Triple H tells Hornswoggle to attack. Hornswoggle jumps off the table and attacks Santino Jericho. We go to another break and get ready for the tag title match.
WWE Unified Tag Team Title Match: DX vs. Chris Jericho & Big Show
Back from the break and the WWE Unified Tag Team Champions DX are introduced first. Hornswoggle comes out with them throwing glow sticks to the crowd. Out next is the team of Jericho and Big Show. HBK and Show start the match off and go back and forth. Triple H is tagged in and DX goes for a double team suplex. Show counters and suplexes both of them as we go to commercial.
HBK goes for Sweet Chin Music but Show counters and nails a chokeslam for a 2 count. Jericho comes in and goes for the Walls but HBK flips out. HHH is tagged in and hits the Pedigree on Jericho but Show breaks the pin. Show goes to chokeslam Shawn again. HHH stops it and hits the Pedigree on Show. Jericho comes from behind and pushes HHH into HBK. Jericho with a 2 count on HHH. Jericho and HHH are both down in the ring now. Jericho gets a 2 count on HHH. Hornswoggle comes back in and goes for a superkick but Jericho kicks him in the face. Triple H goes for a Pedigree but Jericho tries for the Walls. HBK hits Sweet Chin Music on Jericho to let Triple H get the pinfall and the win.
Winners: DX
– After the match, DX take the mic and give Jericho a DX farewell from RAW. Jericho walks up the ramp with his head down as the crowd boo’s.
– We go backstage where Vince McMahon is coming out of his dressing room. He’s met by Randy Orton. Orton has an offer for Vince but Vince cuts him off. Orton says Bret is the one WWE Legend he hasn’t put to rest. Orton says once he beats Kofi tonight, he will walk to the ring and kick Bret in the head. Orton wants to be #30 in the Royal Rumble for helping Vince out. Vince tells Orton to never confront him again and shuts his door. Orton walks over and meets with Legacy. They say they will be ringside at Orton’s match tonight and if he doesn’t beat Kofi, they’re going to kick him out of Legacy. They walk off leaving Orton pissed. We go to commercial.
– Back from the break and out comes the WWE Champion Sheamus. Cena takes the mic and says John Cena couldn’t beat him last week on RAW. Sheamus said he did exactly what he said he would. Sheamus says his next title match is at the Royal Rumble and he won’t be defending it against Cena. Out comes Evan Bourne, interrupting Sheamus. Bourne says the only reason Sheamus has the belt is because someone gave him an opportunity. Bourne says he knows he can beat Sheamus and wants a shot right now. Sheamus rips on Bourne and calls a referee to the ring.
Sheamus vs. Evan Bourne
Bourne enters the ring and they start going at it. Bourne knocks Sheamus into the ropes but ends up on the apron. Bourne drops Sheamus with kicks and goes to the top and hits the SSP but only gets a 2 count. Bourne goes back up and Sheamus catches him in mid-air and slams him. Sheamus starts stomping and dropping knees on Bourne now. Sheamus hits the big kick and the Celtic toss for the pinfall and the win.
Winner: Sheamus
– We go ringside with Cole and Lawler where the talk about the late Steve “Dr. Death” Williams. They show an “In Memory of…” graphic as we go to commercial.
– We go ringside with Cole and Lawler where the talk about the late Steve “Dr. Death” Williams. They show an “In Memory of…” graphic as we go to commercial.
– Back from the break and Cole and Lawler talk about Shawn and Bret burying the hatchet earlier. We go to a video package talking about the Montreal screwjob.
Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston
We go to the ring where Kofi Kingston is making his way out to a nice pop. Back to commercial break.
We go to the ring where Kofi Kingston is making his way out to a nice pop. Back to commercial break. Back from the break and Randy Orton makes his way to the ring next. Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase are sitting at ringside watching the match. The bell rings and they lock up. Kofi hits first with a knee to the gut and right hands. Kofi comes off the second rope with a firearm but Orton applies a side headlock. Orton off the ropes with a shoulder block. They run the ropes, Kofi leaps a few times and drops Orton with an elbow. Kofi with a splash in the corner. Kofi clotheslines Orton out to the floor and dropkicks him back towards the table as Legacy watches on.
Orton goes to DDT Kofi back in the ring but Kofi counters. Kofi dumps Orton back to the floor in front of Legacy as we go back to commercial.
Back from the break and Orton has Kofi in a headlock. During the break, Orton knocked Kofi off the top and into the fan barrier outside. Orton starts stomping away on Kofi now. Orton works over Kofi in the corner and unloads with right hands, beating Kofi to the mat. Orton catapults Kofi’s neck under the bottom rope and gets a 2 count. They go back and forth until they collide in the center of the ring. They trade right hands and Kofi unloads with kicks and chops. Kofi with a big dropkick. Kofi leaps into the corner with right hands and a big uppercut. Kofi hits the Boom Drop and goes for Trouble in Paradise. Orton rolls to the floor but Kofi dives over the ropes onto him. Kofi hits a big crossbody from the top but only gets 2. Orton goes for the RKO but Kofi counters and hits the SOS but only for another 2 count. Orton goes for another RKO but Kofi goes for Trouble in Paradise. Orton blocks it and hits the RKO for the pinfall and the win.
Winner: Randy Orton
– After the match, Orton walks to the back while Legacy look at him from the other side of the ring. We see Vince McMahon heading to the ring as we go back to commercial.
– Back from the break and Vince McMahon makes his way to the ring to a nice pop. Vince wishes everyone a happy New Year first. He says there’s no real reason for him to call Bret Hart out tonight because Bret and Shawn have already put the Montreal situation to rest tonight. Vince agrees that the Montreal incident is basically over. Vince thanks Bret for being the host tonight and announces Mike Tyson as next week’s host. The crowd boo’s at Tyson’s name.
Bret makes his way to the ring and takes his coat off. Vince says the fans probably want to see Bret put him in the Sharpshooter. Vince says he doesn’t want to provoke Bret tonight and wants Bret to be a bigger man. Vince wants to get some things off his chest and says he really thinks Bret screwed Bret. Vince talks about Montreal a bit. Vince talks about Bret disrespecting him when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Vince apologizes. Bret says he has a lot to say to Vince but he came here tonight to find closure to the whole situation. He says he’s half-way there. Bret says Vince wants it to be laid to rest as bad as he does. Vince says he thought he was going to come out here and kick Bret in the guts and laughs it off. Vince talks about Bret saying Vince was like a father to him. Vince nominates Stu Hart into this year’s WWE Hall of Fame. Bret says he appreciates that and says it will mean a lot to the Hart family and friends. Vince thanks Bret for all his contributions to WWE.
Vince thanks Bret for being the best there is, was and ever will be. Vince takes their mics and throws them away. Vince raises Bret’s arms and they pose for the fans. Out of nowhere Vince kicks Bret below the belt and lays him out. Vince leaves the ring and heads to the back as the crowd boo’s him. Bret gets up and watches Vince walk up the ramp as RAW goes off the air.