Cena Outdoes Triple H Again at The Garden; Kofi Brings the Boom!

Piper’s pre-show opening introduced his guest Luis Guzman from the Disney movie “Old Dogs,” and the WWE Hall of Famer, The Iron Sheik. When stating that Hulk Hogan is a legend, The Iron Sheik maliciously retorted that he is more of a legend than Hulk Hogan, “that jabroni.” Recall Morrison calling RAW a poor copy of SNL? Well, the three signed off, “And Live from New York, its Monday Night RAW!!!!”

The Hot Rod greeted MSG and spoke of his career in the WWE. He’s said that he has said things that have gotten him into trouble more times than he can count, but if he had a chance to take any of them back, he wouldn’t, because that’s who he is. He has faced so many men, now either dead or bald; yet, his one request is to have one more match, and not at a big pay-per-view, like WrestleMania or SummerSlam, but right there in the Garden against Vincent Kennedy McMahon. The Chairman declared that he is retired from in-ring action, but Roddy knew that McMahon would have to pay the Piper soon enough.

First Match: (C) The Miz vs. MVP (United States Championship Match). In this impromptu title defense, The Miz kicked off RAW bashing both New Yorkers and The Yankees. And wouldn't you know that MVP, Miz’s opponent, would come out wearing a Yankee cap, even though he resides from Miami, Florida? This is just another instance of pandering to the crowd. "The View's" Sherri Shepherd was in the crowd, supporting MVP. Montel is considered to have the longest United States Title reign in WWE history, beating the late Chris Benoit in a 2 out of 3 Falls Count Match back in 2007. Yet, the Miz proved to be better than the best after pinning MVP with The Skull-Crushing Finale. MVP was moments away to becoming a 3-time U.S. Champion, but shouldn't he be setting his sights on one day becoming the World's Champion?

Second Match: Santino Marella vs. Chavo Guerrero. Purely a filler match to entertain the New York audience, Santino Marella wore jerseys from all the New York teams. Ranging from The Giants, Jets, Mets, Philly's??? Don’t worry New York, that was a tease in order to reveal a Yankee jersey, which he wore throughout the match. Guerrero connected with the Three Amigo suplexes and looked to end the match with a Frog Splash; but with a distraction from the unofficial DX member, Marella forced a roll-up cover on Chavo to win the match.

Promo: DX Addresses small issue. D-Generation X thrilled the audience and broke it down to what would happen at the Survivor Series against John Cena. No matter which one of them wins the match, the WWE Title is coming back to DX. All title matches aside, the real reason they were out was to set Hornswoggle straight, he cannot continue to impersonate a DX member. But it looked as if DX were going to accept Hornswoggle into the DX army, until Triple H turned on and pedigreed Hornswoggle. Good luck to Linda McMahon’s campaign trail if the opposing side decides to generate “Do you want to vote for someone, whose son-in-law attacks midgets?” DX has always thrived on controversy; and despite their love for Hornswoggle, New York loves DX more, and if you’re not down with that, then they have two words for you…

Third Match: (C) Melina vs. Alicia Fox (Divas' Championship Match). The Champion came out first, which is a major sign of disrespect because the challenger is supposed to come out first. The special guest ring announcer for the Divas’ Title match was “30 Rock’s” Judah Friedlander, also known as the World’s Greatest Champion. Alicia Fox was set to have a one-on-one match, until Friedlander announced that the match would now become a Divas’ Lumber Jill match. Why is it that WWE thinks that making a Divas’ match into a lumber Jill match is suppose to be innovative? And apparently, Alicia’s only wrestling move is the Tilt-a-Whirl BackBreaker, but since she’s the only heel on RAW right now, she gets the title shots. Melina retained the title with The Last Call. Instead of seeing Melina’s hand raised in victory, all the divas, which coincidentally are all a part of the Survivor Series Traditional Elimination Match, broke out into a fight, with Mickie’s team maintaining dominance.

Promo: Sheamus’ Open Challenge. After ending the career of Jaime Noble, Sheamus awaits his next victim and calls out to anyone in the RAW locker room willing to test their fate. With no challengers, Sheamus decides to look for challenges elsewhere, in the form of the time keeper and Jerry "The King" Lawler. This in turn brings Matt Striker, from SmackDown, to fill in for King as color commentator. Why didn’t WWE employ this tactic when Lawler was running for Mayor?

Fifth Match: Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne. After having his winning streak broken, Jack Swagger has lost his swag; he no longer has the cocky smile, or the routine pre-match push-ups. And on top of that, he now has to listen to The Miz, who cost him the match last week, at the Survivor Series. Jack Swagger once again executed the Gut-Wrench Powerbomb on the high-flying Evan Bourne.

Piper's Challenge, Enter The Viper. Piper came out in his street clothes waiting for McMahon, instead he was visited by Randy Orton. The Viper really had nothing to lose since he can no longer contend for the WWE Title, so he resorted back to his Legend Killing spree and started taking out “The Hot Rod.” But before Orton could send the finishing blow, Kofi rushed into the ring to break it up. Actually, that’s what was supposed to happen, but Kofi came to the ring late. As Orton was about to kick Piper, he stopped short and gave an awkward kick to the back instead. Kofi unleashed a side of him that we have never seen, shedding his “Jamaican” roots and becoming a real brawler. Two weeks ago, Orton dominated Kofi in the ring, but in the Garden, the fight took place in and out of the ring, and into the stands. The crowd looked on in astonishment as Kofi laid Orton over a table and delivered the Boom Drop that broke them threw the table! Kofi was literally become a superstar in front of our very eyes. People like Randy Orton are the best in what they do because they don’t just win big, they put over a lot of guys, a.k.a. Jeff Hardy, into main event status. At the Survivor Series, how will these two captains clash and who will be the sole survivor?

Main Event: D-Generation X vs. Jeri-Show vs. John Cena and The Undertaker (Triple Threat Tag Team Match). Madison Square Garden is the arena where history is made, so where else can you see two World Champions teaming up against The Unified Tag Team Champions, and the industry’s Greatest Tag Team of all time, except in the WWE? After the competitors were in the ring, the Garden echoed with the Gregorian chants from the Druids, aligning the entrance with rows of lit torches. The most respected professional wrestler in the WWE, The Undertaker, walked slowly down the aisle, soaking in the adoration; and also for the fact that, at MSG, the entrance way is much shorter. As you would expect from a legendary confrontation between these six larger-than-life superstars, shades of past matches were made emanate. Shawn Michaels, who was tagged in, took off his DX wrist bands as a sign of respect to The Undertaker. It’s known that Shawn Michaels is a completely different person when he is in his DX gear, but once he takes them off he becomes “The Show Stopper,” “The Main Event,” “Mr. WrestleMania!” We have not seen Michaels and Taker together in the ring since WrestleMania 25; and what would have been another instant classic, was cut short in order to relive another moment. Two years ago, at the Royal Rumble, John Cena and Triple H were the last two competitors remaining, before Cena would toss the Game over the ropes; and now, two years later, these two find themselves staring each other down, in the same arena, with the same result. While everyone executed their finishers, it was Cena who got the pin over Triple H; but before the night at MSG could end with Cena’s music again, Taker delivered a devastating Tombstone piledriver to the WWE Champion, reminding everyone that this may be the most famous arena in the world, but on this night, it will be known as the garden of evil.

Next Week's Guest: Governor, Jesse "The Body" Ventura

3-Hour RAW Next Week