WWE
Raw
WWE Raw #813 comes to you live from Toronto, Ontario. I had my chance to score tickets, but I was under the impression that this was a house show. Live and learn my friends.
Cena/Glamarella
Great opening from Santino here. Unfortunately, this is the main event for tonight.
HBK defeats Kane in the Race to the Rumble
Kane apologizes for his actions last week. Decent match, but it was very short. “You screwed Bret” chants for most of it.
Kofi Kingston defeats Manu w/ Cody Rhodes
Terrible match. Kofi botched at least three moves – just off the top of my head, he botched his “booah-booah” legdrop, and he botched a reverse irish whip into the turnbuckle. Before the match, they had a clip of Kofi wishing all of his family in Jamaica Happy Holidays, which is nobody, since he’s not actually from there.
Backstage
Cena shaking hands with Kelly Kelly.
Backstage
Sim Snuka asking Orton to join The Legacy. It doesn’t conclude, but Orton yells at Manu for losing. This could be huge for The Legacy if Snuka could get in, but they already have enough fat people (see: Manu). The stable really lacks without Ted DiBiase though. I wonder if they can transplant some of Manu’s fat into Cody Rhodes to make him weigh more than 110 lbs.
DX Commercial
This one was actually pretty good compared to some of the other stuff. Still overkill though.
Backstage
HBK/Punk/HHH. Triple H and HBK start bickering about money problems, and Triple H wonders why HBK didn’t go to him first rather than JBL, which was what was also on my mind. What could HBK possibly be doing for JBL? His finances? Heartbreak Hotdogs?
Mickie and Melina defeat Jillian Hall and Layla
Melina looked good here. Unfortunately, Mickie took a big fall off the top rope to the mat, and she got hurt. She was limping the rest of the way, and didn’t do much else. After the match, she was crying, and Melina was crying with her. Possible broken leg? Or just great acting? Stay tuned to VoV for updates.
JBL defeats Rey Mysterio in the Race to the Rumble
Very long match, and no long match is good with JBL in it. HBK interferes slaps JBL, giving him the win by DQ.
Randy Orton defeats Batista in the Race to the Rumble
Batista loses by forfeit. Keep reading for why. Orton cuts a promo after the decision and gets a huge crowd pop.
Backstage
Kelly Kelly meets Dolph Ziggler. MizMo confront Kelly Kelly about Miz getting ruined by Kane, so they say that they trashed her room. Weak. It’s cool that they’re using Extreme Expose as an angle here, but still.
Y2J defeats CM Punk in the Race to the Rumble
Y2J got a huge pop – he’s from Winnipeg, so the Canadian fans kept him hot. The crowd was cheering “Y2J” throughout the entire match. Good match though, with a great finish.
Backstage
Kelly Kelly runs to her car and leaves the match with Cena. They show her car which is blocked off by a WWE 18-wheeler on one side, and a concrete wall on the other, so I don’t know how she expects to leave.
John Cena & Trish Stratus defeat Glamarella via pinfall
Awful match, but Trish returns, so it’s all good. Trish is very short, and without makeup, lacked the hotness she had back in the day. Unforgiven 2006 was her last match, where she made Lita tap out to a sharpshooter in Toronto, Canada. I was there for that, but missed this. It evens out, kinda. Cena got huge heat tonight, but Santino got the pop of the night.
Final Thoughts
There were four Race to the Rumble matches; two of them sucked, and one didn’t even happen. Talk about disappointment. The Punk/Y2J match was easily the match of the night, but the HBK match was too short, while JBL’s was too long with a bad finish. Raw had a lot of potential, but none of it came through. Trish returning, even if it was for just one match, made the entire show worthwhile.
High Point: Punk/Y2J
Low Point: Kofi/Manu
Final Score: 8
– Raw Superstar Batista is expected to miss several months of ring time as a result of a torn hamstring. The injury began giving him problems during last month’s European tour and has worsened since. His injury is serious enough that he is expected to undergo surgery soon. Randy Orton’s punt kick to his head last week on Raw was the storyline reason for Batista’s disappearance from television. Batista is expected to be out of action until June at the latest, with a worse case scenario being August. Of course, he will be missing WrestleMania 25. No word yet on whether WWE will acknowledge the legitimate reason for Batista’s absence or if they will just pin the reason down on Randy Orton.
– WWE has scrapped developmental project Hade Vansen. Vansen was originally supposed to work an angle with The Undertaker, but Vince McMahon pulled the plug on that idea. Vansen was supposed to be a knockoff of TNA’s Fallen Angel character. In addition, Kevin Thorne and developmental wrestler Black Pain each had new characters, but they too were scrapped.
– SmackDown! Superstar Ron "R-Truth" Killings was held at the Canadian border upon his arrival in Toronto this morning. Killings was refused entry into Canada and sent home as a result. He obviously won’t be appearing at tonight’s Raw/SmackDown television taping in Toronto. Further details have yet to be disclosed regarding why he was barred from entering Canada.
– SmackDown! Diva Victoria has officially denied rumours of retirement.
– The WWE Tribute to the Troops show scored a 3.4 rating.
MLB
– According to the Washington Times, "there will be an announcement today regarding the future of" Mark Teixeira and "there are strong indications that the Red Sox will announce that they have landed" him. With the Angels dropping out of the bidding war and the Yankees yet to make a significant offer, Teixeira is seemingly left choosing between the Red Sox or playing close to home with either the Orioles or Nationals. Boston is said to have offered an eight-year/$170-180MM deal.
– According to the Post-Gazette, the Pirates have agreed to terms with C Ryan Doumit on a three-year/$11.5MM deal with a club option for 2012 and 2013. Doumit gets a $300K signing bonus, $2.05MM in 2009, $3.55MM in 2010 and $5.1MM in 2011. The club option for both years will have to be exercised or rejected after 2011. If picked up, Doumit would get $7.25MM in 2012 and $8.25MM in 2013. If declined, Doumit would receive a $500K buyout and become a free agent. Doumit does have a history of injuries, so he was wise to sign on.
– Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman has denied rumours in the Impacto Deportivo that the team is on the verge of signing OF Manny Ramirez. New York may indeed end up with Ramirez, but there’s been nothing to indicate that they’re far enough along in talks that a deal could be completed this soon.
NHL
– Blue Jackets’ rookie F Derek Brassard is officially out for the remainder of the season. Brassard will undergo shoulder surgery to repair a separated shoulder that he suffered in the first period of Thursday’s 6-5 shootout win over the Stars. He was currently leading all first-year players in scoring with 10 goals and 25 points in 31 contests. He also had an impressive plus-12 rating this season.
– Leafs’ top prospect G Justin Pogge backstopped the Maple Leafs to a 6-2 victory over Atlanta on Monday. Pogge was making his NHL debut – he allowed two goals on 21 shots to collect his first career win. Pogge posted a 10-9-3 record with a 2.86 GAA in 22 games in the AHL this season. With G Vesa Toskala nursing a groin injury, and G Curtis Joseph struggling this season, the Leafs opted to test their young netminder. He’ll likely see a bit more action throughout the season, but don’t count on him staying with the club for the rest of the year.