By Wade Keller, Torch editor

KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT (hour three)
NOVEMBER 3, 2008
LIVE FROM TAMPA, FLA.

[Q9]

-Jim Ross walked out at the start of the final hour. He got a standing ovation. He shook hands with Lawler, Cole, and then Tazz. Ross said it's great to be back on Raw, but he added a plug for Smackdown saying, "Well, it's no Friday Night Smackdown, but I'm biased." Do I smell Shane and Steph arguing over whether Ross should return to Raw, and something happening that ends up with Raw back on Raw? The segment with Shane and Steph at the end of hour two was quite interesting and can set the stage for some intriguing ongoing storylines. I hope they have a master plan for this and aren't just making it up as they go along. McMahon storylines have such low credibility at this point with fans that they'll actually lead somewhere because of the limo angle and the latest disappearance by McMahon (remember the magical things happening that were never addressed with things tipping over and people getting to the backstage area, etc.?).

7 -- UNDERTAKER vs. JBL

Ross called Undertaker "a seven foot walking weapon." He hit his top rope walk into a forearm. JBL came right back with a clothesline. Undertaker came back with a big chokeslam. When he set up a tombstone, JBL escaped and fell to ringside at 4:00. JBL got himself intentionally counted out.

WINNER: Undertaker via countout in 5:00.

-Michaels stepped out and threw a smiling, gloating JBL back into the ring where Taker gave him a Tombstone. Michaels and Taker then had a staredown, foreshadowing something in the future, perhaps. Ross said Taker has to turn his attention to facing Vladimir Kozlov on Friday on MyNetworkTV. Ross said Undertaker may perhaps be the greatest of all time.

-Chris Jericho was shown for the first time all show pacing backstage. Shane walked in and asked where Stephanie went. Jericho said she was there, but she's gone now. He said he wanted to know what he had to say. Shane said if Jericho retains his title tonight, he will defend it at Survivor Series against John Cena. Jericho said he will beat Batista and regain his title and will then beat Cena at Survivor Series. "Karma has a way of writing itself, doesn't it, Shane?" Shane wished him luck, but also expressed confusion at Jericho's mention of the word "karma."

[Commercial Break]

[Q10]

-A clip aired from episode #305 in 1999 of the Steve Austin beer bash, spraying beer from a truck all over The Rock Vince McMahon, and Shane McMahon.

-Kung-Funaki and Hornswoggle danced in the ring. The Boogeyman came out from under the ring and joined them in a dance in the ring. Goldust, Jesse, and FEstus followed. Then came Sgt. Slaughter, Hacksaw Duggan, Dusty Rhodes, and Teddy long. Lilian joined the fun, too. Then Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler entered. Oh my God, they made Cole dance. Goldust then danced with Cole, who acted really uncomfortable. The music stopped and Ron Simmons stepped out of the year 2007 and said, after the obligatory dramatic pause, "Damn!" The music started again and everyone went back to dancing. There's some serious acid being injected in these "idea meetings" with the Raw team.

-A clip aired of episode #775 of Ric Flair saying farewell earlier this year.

[Commercial Break]

-A clip aired from episode #530 of 2005's Edge-Lita wedding, interrupted by Kane popping up through the canvas of the ring.

-They showed member of the Tampa Bay Bucaneers having a fake brawl with one another at ringside.

8 -- KOFI KINGSTON & REY MYSTERIO vs. KANE & MARK HENRY

They replayed Evan Bourne suffering an ankle injury when landing awkwardly on ECW last week. Cole said Bourne suffered ligament damage and will be reevaluated later. Henry seemed upset with Kofi replacing Bourne. Kane beat up Rey early. Kane took some shots. Kofi hot-tagged in. He got in early offense, but Henry caught a flying Kingston in mid-air. Rey dropkicked Kofi's back, trying to knock him onto Kofi, but Henry didn't budge. Kane then clotheslined Rey. Henry powerslammed Kofi for the win.

WINNERS: Henry & Kane in 2:00. How does that do anyone any good to squash Kofi like that? You'd think WWE thinks the way to really boost business is to have the same old stale names squash any young exciting wrestler who gains any momentum.

[Q11]

-As Kane beat up Rey at ringside after the match, The Great Khali came out and chopped him down. Then he entered the ring and went after Henry, setting him up for a Rey 619. Rey hit it. Khai then chopped Henry down and raised his arms, marking his official babyface turn. Rey stared at Khali, who stared back. Rey broke into a smile. The good news is we didn't have to suffer through a Khali Kiss-cam.

[Commercial Break]

-A video package aired celebrating the 800th Edition of Raw once again. When they mention that it has outlasted shows such as "Friends" and "Gunsmoke," it begins to send a bit of an unintended message that "maybe Raw's time has come."

-Cole and Lawler were shown at ringside talking about the ramifications of Batista vs. Jericho, with the announcement that Jerich would defend against Cena if he won. They threw to a video package on John Cena's early time in WWE. JBL said he didn't think Cena had a chance to make it. Triple H said he just wanted it and you couldn't deny him. They visited the rap gimmick with friends saying Cena was "always into the hip-hop." Batista said Cena's true colors came out. Jericho said he was creative and had a lot of different ideas. It ended with a clip of Jericho announcing that Cena had been drafted to Raw.

-Backstage, Steph walked into the room with Shane. He asked where she's been. She said, "Around." He asked how she liked his announcement about Cena getting a title shot. Steph said it's one thing to surprise the Superstars, which is great, but keep her in the loop next time. Shane said, "I just wish dad was here to see that." Steph paused, then forced out, "Absolutely." She added, "I think dad would be very proud of us right now." They talked about him like he was dead. He was just on the "Today Show" last week. They really need to respect their audience enough to clarify the status of the Mr. McMahon character and stop pretending that they can run parallel worlds where Vince McMahon represents WWE publicly off of the WWE shows, but is talked about like he's dead or in a coma on WWE shows - when he's talked about at all, that is.

-An ECW commercial aired again. Just the generic one on Matt Hardy.

[Commercial Break]

[Q12]

-A clip aired of Raw #671 from 2007 when they visited the troops.

9 -- BATISTA vs. CHRIS JERICHO - World Hvt. Title match

Full ring intros aired for both Jericho and Batista. The ref held the belt in the air, then the bell rang to start the match at 51 minutes into the hour. Batista powered Jericho to the mat. Jericho went for a quick escape seconds later. Batista held onto him and dragged him back to the ring. Batista dominated Jericho for a few minutes, including throwing him into the side of the cage. The crowd chanted "Ba-ti-sta." At 4:00 they cut to a break.

[Commercial Break]

Back live, Jericho put Batista into the Walls of Jericho. Jericho demanded the door be opened as he crawled toward it. Batista powered out of the Walls of Jericho and then kicked him right toward the door. Jericho was supposed to get hung up in the ropes, but he didn't and he almost inadvertently fell to the floor to win the title. In a clumsy moment of embarrassment, he had to literally stop himself from hitting the floor for no good reason other than it wasn't the planned finish. Batista caught up to him and grabbed his leg to "stop him." That segment won't be replayed.

[Q13]

Jericho struggled to get all the way to the floor once Batista grabbed him. As Batista grabbed Jericho's tights, Lawler said: "Jericho might come completely out of his trunks. It'd be worth it to win the world title." Jericho might disagree with that. Jericho slid Batista's leg out of the cage door and then slammed the door on his leg. He did it twice, then dragged Batista back into the ring and continued to focus on his leg. Batista single-arm slammed Jericho to the mat and made the cover. Jericho kicked out. The mic picked up Batista calling the next spot. He threw Jericho into the corner and hit a clothesline. Batista's leg gave out under him as he went for a spinebuster. Jericho scored a two count at 11:00. Batista went for a spear a minute later, but Jericho side-stepped it and Batista flew into the cage. Jericho climbed to the top of teh cage. Meanwhile, Batista opened the cage door and grabbed Jericho. "How brillian was that?" asked Cole. Cool spot. Batista threw Jericho back into the ring. Problem is, Batista then re-entered the cage when he had a clear path to victory. Batista returned to the ring and hit a spinebuster. Lawler said if he were Batista he would have left there. Cole said he wanted to decisively beat Jericho. Batista set up a BatistaBomb. Jericho countered by grabbed onto the side of the cage and trying to climb up and out. Batista followed him to the top at 13:00. They exchanged blows on the top rope. Jericho got knocked to the mat. Batista crotched the top rope. That looked nasty. As Batista gasped, Jericho climbed to the top of the cage. Batista climbed to the top. Lawler asked, "How is Batista able to stand." Batista set up a Batista Bomb off the top. Jericho held onto the support cables. He pulled off a metal cable ring and KO'd Batista with it. Batista dropped down and seemed out of it. Jericho slowly crawled over the top and began to climb down. Batista recovered and grabbed Jericho by the throat through the cage. Jericho kicked himself free, dropped down, and won. A disbelieving and now bloodied Batista looked down as Jericho was awarded the belt. Jericho had just bragged in a media interview that Raw was becoming more kid-friendly and hadn't featured blood in a long time.

WINNER: Jericho in 15:00.

STAR RATING: ***1/2 -- Good cage match. Dramatic finish. The botch where Jericho stopped himself from winning was pretty bad, though.

-Cole asked fans to join them next week "because we've only just begun."

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