By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT - HOUR TWO
APRIL 13, 2009
ATLANTA, GA.
LIVE ON USA NETWORK

[Q5]

-Jack Swagger's ring entrance then took place as Cole reintroduced the show. He talked about how disrespectful Swagger was to Cena a few minutes earlier, not even introducing himself, but instead telling Cena, "The Champ is Here."

4 -- JACK SWAGGER vs. JOHN CENA -- Two Draft Picks at Stake

Swagger showed what would happen if Swagger fought Cena in a real fight, taking him to the mat easily and riding him with amateur mat control with a front chancery. Cena came back with a shoulder tackle. Striker called Cena a "pop culture superstar and box office bomb." Well, the first part, not the second part. Swagger fired back a minute later with a hard clothesline. A loud "Let's Go Swagger" chant broke out. Swagger avoided a corner charge and then applied a full nelson. We got a much to close view of Cena's teeth as he struggled to break free from the hold. They got so close that you can almost read his lips as he began to call the next spot. The camera cut away quickly once they realized Cena was calling a spot. Cena broke into his finishing routine after breaking free. The two shoulder tackles and one side slam didn't seem like enough punishment to drop Swagger for the entire time that Cena played to the crowd for his "You Can't See Me" routine. Cena went for an Attitude Adjustment, but Swagger blocked it and surprised Cena with a boot to the face for a near fall. He the threw Cena into the ringpost. They cut to a break at 5:00.

[Commercial Break]

They showed that during the break Swagger threw Cena into an announce table. Cena made a comeback at 9:00. Swagger caught Cena with a DDT out of nowhere that looked slightly ill-timed and vicious. Cena kicked out at two. Swagger poweslammed Cena for a near fall at 10:00. Cole said he was impressed by the ECW Champ. Cena caught a charging Swagger with an Attitude Adjustment out of nowhere, then applied the STF for the tapout win.

WINNER: Cena in 11:00.

STAR RATING: ** -- Good match. More evidence of Swagger's eventual main event PPV status.

-Two draft picks went to Raw: Matt Hardy first. He stepped out onto the stage in his new ring gear. He mocked Cena by waving his hand in front of his face. Next came Triple H, the WWE Champion. Lawler said, "Raw won the lottery!" Cole said, "Triple H is coming home to Monday nights!" Cole said both the WWE Champion and the World Champion are on Raw. Cole wondered if there was room for both of them. Lawler said you can't shake things up more than this. Cena smiled and shrugged. Edge then jumped Cena from behind in the ring. When Cena made a comeback and attempted an AttAdj, Edge bailed out of the ring and up the ramp. Cena's music played as Edge stared him down.

[Q6]

[Commercial Break]

-Cole and Lawler hyped the acquisitions for Raw so far.

-Backstage Rhodes and DiBiase walked up to Orton. Orton asked them what their strategy is. How about not revealing it in front of the arena full of fans on the big screen, for one? DiBiase said they can't get along because they're egomaniacs. He said they'll do something to get themselves disqualified. Orton liked their plan. "I like it, good stuff," he said.

-Santino Marella made his ring entrance.

[Commercial Break]

-As the bell was about to ring, Beth Phoenix and her intern Rosa Mendez walked out onto the stage. Phoenix talked baby-talk to Santino and said she had a little talk with Vickie earlier. She said besides a draft pick being at stake, if Khali beats him tonight, his twin sister Santina better pucker up because she'll be a guest on the Khali Kiss Cam next week.

5 -- SANTINO MARELLA vs. THE GREAT KHALI (w/Runjin Singh)

Grisham and Ross called this match. They lamented Smackdown's performance in the draft so far. We learned from Grisham that Indian men have an affinity for Italian men. Khali won in less than a minute.

WINNER: The Great Khali in 1:00.

[Q7]

-Smackdown's draft pick: C.M. Punk. My predictions posted yesterday are pretty much dead on so far. No surprises yet. Punk will get a better chance to grow as a character and performer on Smackdown given the glut of established top talent on Raw. Punk walked out onto the stage and played to the crowd with his briefcase in hand.

-Miz and Morrison headed to the entrance tunnel.

[Commercial Break]

-WWE Fact: WWE WrestleMania 25 had more people in attendance than the (1) 2008 MLB All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium; (2) Madonna's Concert at Dolphin Stadium; (3) 2009 Super Bowl at Ramond James Stadium; (4) 2009 NCAA Final Four at Ford Field. Of course, each of those has to do with the fact that WWE offers floor seating up to ringside and the other venues didn't or were just smaller. But it's still a good fact to throw out there for p.r. purposes. There's nothing unimpressive about WWE's WrestleMania brand and the paid crowds it draws, nor should it be taken for granted as there have been a lot of eras of wrestling where promotions struggled to fill 15,000 seat arenas for big shows.

6 -- MIZ (w/John Morrison) vs. KOFI KINGSTON

Cole and Lawler joined Matthews and Striker in calling this one. Nice action early. Striker made a reference to Dwight Schrute from "The Office." Lawler said, "Who?" Striker reaction was mine. Just an exhaling sad, "Ohhh." Lawler tried to cover his lack of knowledge of the greatest sitcom perhaps ever that's in the top ten conversation pieces of anything pop culture oriented each week by saying to Cole that Striker knows a lot of useless trivial info. Lawler looked really out of touch there. I wonder if anyone who knows him will be giving him a DVD set of "The Office." I think he'd really like it. I could cut Lawler slack for not knowing, say, who Adam Lambert is, but Dwight Schute? Come on, watch some of the top TV shows and at least read "Entertainment Weekly" to keep up with things and be relevant to Raw's target demo. Miz settled into a long chinlock. Kofi hit a top rope bodyblock, but Miz rolled through with a near fall. They battled over a backslide at 7:00. Kofi turned it into a Russian leg sweep and a standing double legdrop for a near fall. Miz ducked Kofi's 360 degree round kick. Kofi rolled through on a pin attempted by Miz and then scored a near fall. Morrison shoved Kofi off the second rope, and the ref saw it and called for the DQ.

WINNER: Kingston in 8:00.

[Q8]

-Raw thus got another draft pick. It was The Miz. Miz and Morrison looked like they just found out the 100,000 dollar lottery ticket they just scratched off was a gag gift. They hugged. Miz then attacked Morrison with a kick to the gut and a Reality Check. Striker said Miz wants to be a top tier prime time player on Raw. Lawler said, "I'm beginning to like Miz."

-Cole plugged that the 15 man battle royal was up next.

[Commercial Break]

7 -- 15 MAN BATTLE ROYAL

Representing Raw: Big Show, MVP, Shad Gaspar, J.T.G., and Mike Knox. Representing ECW: Finlay, Tyson Kidd, Paul Burchill, Mark Henry, and Ricky Ortiz. Representing Smackdown: Carlito, Primo, Chavo Guerrero, Edge, and R-Truth. There were almost as many announcers as wrestlers. Ortiz and Burchill were eliminated right away. Henry tossed out Knox next. Show eliminated Chavo. Henry eliminated Shad. Show tossed out Primo. Show eliminated Kidd seconds later. Henry eliminated J.T.G. The focus was on Henry and Show. Show eliminated Carlito with a shove to his throat. Edge eliminated Finlay. It came down to Edge, Henry, and Show. Edge showboated, but then he turned around and faced an angry Henry and Show. Ross called them "two large carnivores." Show KO punched Henry off the ring apron. It came down to Edge and Show. The announcers talked about the forgotten storyline of the Show and Edge romantic triangle with Vickie. Show charged at Edge, but Edge ducked and Show tumbled to the floor. Show threw a fit at ringside.

WINNER: Show in 5:00.

We suggest these recent related articles...

PARKS'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 10/8: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Thursday show, including Roman Reigns & Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt & Braun Strowman

METZGER'S ROH TV REPORT 10/4 & 10/7: IWGP World champ Okada vs. Roderick Strong main event, plus Briscoes vs. Time Splitters, more from "Field of Honor," Overall Reax

MCMAHON'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 10/7: TNA Title Series kicks off, Bound for Glory fall-out, more; Overall Reax