Elgin Theater's Production of Aladdin….Toronto…December 2004.…9PM

Director Ted Dykstra: OK people, in your places. Intermission is almost over and we have a show to do. Bret, baby, how's my favorite Genie doing? You nervous about your big stage debut?

Genie Bret Hart: I'm doing alright. It's real exciting.

Dykstra: You'll do just fine. Relax, it's all you.

Bret: Montreal?

Dykstra: What?

Bret: You were saying something about Montreal.

Dykstra: I didn't say anything about Montreal. Listen, just so you don't freak out, there's been some casting changes since the first half of the show. You know, friends of friends and that sort of thing. It's no big deal, really. Just wanted to make you aware of it.

Bret: Cool. The play's still mostly aboot me, right? After all, the Genie is really the star, right? You can't have this play without a Genie. He's the center of everything, right? Right?

Dykstra: Of course. You're the star.

Bret: Definitely. Also, it's tough to read store signs because a lot of them speak French.

Dykstra: (confused) What?

Bret: Oh, I'm sorry. I thought we were talking about Montreal.

Dykstra: No we weren't. Just chill, Hitman. This is a whole new chapter of your life. All that backstabbing and screwing, as you call it, is over. Go out there and have some fun.

Curtain opens. Bret steps out.

Bret: (in a booming voice) Now that I have granted Aladdin his wish of being a prince, he will surely get Princess Jasmine to fall in love with him. I wonder if the young man has returned from his quest.

"Aladdin" walks onstage

Shawn Michaels A.K.A. Aladdin: Hakuna Matada, Jack!

Bret: Hakuna Matada? That's not the line. Hey! Shawn? What the f…?

HBK Aladdin: You know, Genie. The Heart Break Prince may not have the same powers as you, but that doesn't mean you're more powerful than I am.

Bret: Why you…(whispering to himself) Easy, Bret. Be professional. You can get through this. Just be professional.

HBK Aladdin: Hey doofus, aren't you even going to ask me how the ball was?

Bret: Of course, Aladdin. How was the ball?

HBK Aladdin: I went to the ball and got me a piece of Miss Jasmine. The Ball Stopper had her up…all-night-long!

Bret: That's not supposed to be the story, Aladdin.

Pat Patterson A.K.A. Princess Jasmine: Genie, thank you for turning Aladdin into a prince, but it wasn't needed. He had the power to capture my heart the whole time.

Bret: Patterson?

HBK Aladdin: (ignoring Bret) So, what you're saying Jasmine is that I had the power inside me anyway? So it's like the Genie isn't even needed at all. He's obsolete. He's a dinosaur, unworthy of even sharing the same stage as me.

Bret: What the hell is going on!?

Jasmine Patterson: Yes. It makes me wonder why you even rubbed that stupid lamp to begin with. No one needs some big blue piece of crap cluttering up the stage. Screw him.

HBK Aladdin: Yes. Yes. I screw thee, Genie. Suck it!

Bret: (fed up) Alright, this is a load of bullsh…

Jafar A.K.A. Vince McMahon: Close the curtain! Close the damn curtain!

Iago AKA Earl Hebner: Close - the - curt-ain! Close the curtain!

Bret: No! Not again!

Curtain closes. Bret is fuming.

Bret: What the hell?! What the hell?! Shawn! Were you in on this?

HBK: I swear, my hands are clean on this one. No one told me anything, honestly. I knew nothing about it. I also know nothing about the midget they hired to play your part tomorrow night.

Bret: Dykstra, what the hell was that all aboot?

Dykstra: Sorry, Bret. Things happen. People pull strings. You know the deal.

Bret: At least it can't get any worse.

Dykstra: Oh…uh, I guess you haven't met the new theater critic for our local paper.

Ric Flair: Thumbs down! Whoooo!

***

Keep in mind that I've never actually seen Aladdin, the movie or otherwise. I got the names of "Iago" and "Jafar" from an online search. So if it doesn't follow the story, you know why. Forget all that. Tonight is Raw at Madison Square Garden. It's the Monday show back in the Big Apple. I'll never forget going to Monday Night Raw at the Manhattan Center once. A drunk guy stumbled up to the line and asked "Have you people seen my wife? She's fat and has a moustache." We laughed and said no. He stumbled a few feet down the line and threw up. Ah, New York fans. We're all crazy. Crazy like Triple H at the prospect of defending his title at Taboo Tuesday? Crazy like Kane at the thought of getting revenge on Gene Snitsky for taking the life of his unborn baby? Crazy like Christian with the desire to defeat Shawn Michaels? Nah. They're just plain old crazy. Let's watch Raw. Ready? Go.

Recap of Randy Orton telling Ric Flair that he's a true legend, but he's become Triple H's lapdog. Flair responds by attacking him and then playing fetch.

Raw Theme Plays. WWE should splice a picture of Emmanuel Lewis into the Raw opening montage and see if anyone notices.

You're in the Garden, baby! Jimmy Jam Ross and Jerry the King Lawler are in MSG with a big show. We're going to see the Heartbreak Kid, Aladdin himself, Shawn Michaels take on Christian. Jim Ross calls Shawn a "Hall of Famer." You know, calling a guy that isn't in the Hall of Fame a "Hall of Famer" cheapens the luster of the honor that men like Pete Rose deserve.

WWE Unabridged 2004 Dictionary

Evolution; evo·lu·tion noun: A mystery

Ric Flair and Triple H are here and Slick Ric has the stick. Let him clarify something, last week he called Triple H the "greatest wrestler alive." However, he was wrong. He meant to say that Hunter is the "greatest wrestler of all time!" Crowd boos and Flair continues. He's a true legend, Randy Orton's not. In fact, because Ort is such a pansy, Eric Bischoff has barred him from the building for safety purposes. Let's get something straight here. Randall hasn't beaten any legends. Ric says that Shawn Michaels isn't a legend and Mick Foley "definitely isn't a legend." He doesn't mention the Genie, but instead goes on a strange, strange tirade that leads to a peculiar analogy for a wrestling match.

"So in my eyes, in my eyes, you look at me and say Legend. I look at you and say virgin. You are a virgin at killing legends. And you know how many virgins I have made holler, scream, and bleed all night long? God! That's my specialty and I've got you at Taboo Tuesday, Orton.

- Ric Flair, 9:07PM

(JG Note: Oh man. Ugh. It's like hearing your dad say horribly graphic things. Even Jerry Lawler said "Oh my." Comparing his match with Randy to sex with a virgin is just weird. They already have Heidnereich. They need another male-sodomizer gimmick?) Naitch says that popping newcomers is his specialty. You got a match with Ric at Taboo Tuesday. The fans can choose the stip. It can be a falls count anywhere match, submission match, or cage match. He then says that at Taboo Tuesday, Orton will be his "virgin all night long. Whoo!" Disturbing, Ric. Disturbing. Please, stop. You're making my ears bleed.

We shoot to Triple H, who proceeds to give a two minute infomercial for Taboo Tuesday. He mocks the setup of having fans vote. How can they have the power? How can they choose the winner? What if it comes down to one vote? Basically, this was a reverse psychology commercial for the pay-per-view. He did it well, though, eliciting responses from the audience on each question. He asks the crowd if they like having power. When they responded, he said "To quote an overpaid Hollywood actor, it doesn't matter what you like!" Ouch. Before this Taboo and Rock bashing can continue, help comes in the form of Chris Jericho's boofy new hairdo.

Y2J is on the stage and he has a microphone in hand. He assures me that this is not a rerun. It's Triple H once again bitching and moaning. Chill, Hunter. This is Monday, not Tuesday. Taboo is still a few weeks away, but you seem nonplussed with the concept. Voting is good. Chris takes an MSG poll on what fans think of the Game. They boo at the thought of him being the greatest of all time or alive. Instead the consensus was that Triple H was "the biggest horse's ass that ever walked the face of this earth." (Wade Keller Note: Damn! That was going to be the next Torch Instant Poll.) I bet you wonder who though of the idea for fans voting, huh? Well, the man who came up with the concept for this pay-per-view was…Chris Jericho! Y2J+4 thought that fans needed a chance to vote. He proposed it to Vince McMahon. He made it happen. Come that Tuesday in Texas, CJ will laugh as the Cerebral Assassin tastes defeat. This caused Ric Flair to go buck. His veins popped out and he was really doing the whole Judge Smails from Caddyshack thing. (JG Note: See picture.) Just as the Virgin Killer was about to have an aneurysm, Jericho split. Ric called him a coward. But then….

…he comes back with a chair. The Highlight of the Night wields the steel weapon and approaches the two Evolvers in the ring. As he gets halfway up the ramp, Batista attacks from behind. Davey B reaches to toss Chris into the ring, but almost loses his grip on the shiny slippery clothes. (JG Note: Now I get what the shiny clothes are for. They're for defense.) The Three Amigos pound CJ, but Chris Benoit makes the save. Unfortunately for Team (Use to be from) Canada, Evolution takes control. Suddenly, they're joined by the third member of their Canadian Club…Edge!

Edge runs in and joins the brawl. He sets his sight on Triple H, and takes him down with the Spear. The crowd doesn't react much as it wasn't overly obvious who it was at first. Once his music played, it was clearer. Chris, Chris, and Edge stand tall while Evolution backs away. Hey Raw, sell me something!

Commercial Break. Buy the new WWE action figures. It's just like the real thing. You can buy the Ultimo Dragon figure and never use it. Then one day, you can just chuck it.

Backstage, Coachman is with Christian and Tyson Tomko. Christian doesn't sweat the Boy Toy. Shawn's loss to Razor Ramon at MSG's WrestleMania X ladder match is nothing compared to Christian's victory ten years later in the same building. He talks about people carrying a "torch" for Shawn. He says that tonight he's taking that "torch." (JG Note: Probably because this week's the Fantasy Draft issue. That's a good one.)

Shawn Michaels: Hey, aren't you my opponent tonight?

Christian: Yeah. I'm Christian.

Shawn Michaels: Why does everyone say that when I talk to them? I'm not gonna try to convert you. Stop being so damn defensive!

(1) Shawn Michaels pinned Christian after Sweet Chin Music Jim Ross called Shawn a "Hall of Famer" again. Now I think I'm missing something. The match built up well and both guys had a chance to do their thing. I'm really behind a feud like this one. Christian needs a feud with Shawn to make himself seem more credible. Michaels needs Christian to avoid getting stale in terms of opposition. With Tyson Tomko at ringside, it opens up the chances for Tomko to move up just by being a part of it all. I have to say, Jim Ross is a serious professional and I'm not being sarcastic. During this match, there was a sign that said "JR For President." He didn't even mention it. If I were doing commentary and saw a sign requesting me to be President, I'd go nuts. "Check it out, King. Me for president. See that? Check that sign out. Seriously, look. I'm the man. Who's the man? Me. I'm the man. Booyah! President me!" Jim didn't do that, which is commendable. Halfway home, HBK set up the CLB for some Sweet Chin Music. To avoid contact, Tyson pulled his little buddy from harm's way. In retaliation, Aladdin hit Ty with the kick and sent him to la-la land. As the match continued, it just got better. Had they had slightly more time, it would have been a great one. However, for a TV match, it was good and more than you normally get wrestling-wise on the show. A Ross described "photo finish" saw Sister Christian hit Michaels with the Unprettier and get a narrow two count. Shawn took the momentum, though, and hit his UnAmerican opponent with a flying elbow followed by his melodic foot. The Source of All Strength comes out on top. Good match. Hakuna Matada.

Commercial Break. Ad for the new Mortal Kombat game. Remember when it was a big deal that Mortal Kombat had Fatalities? Now every game has people getting killed in it. Ah, it's the end of the world and we're all invited.

Coming up tonight: Chris Benoit meets Batista…then they have some coffee. Also Triple H faces Chris Jericho!

Last week, Lita no-showed. This week we caught up with her and Todd "Grishy" Grisham. Grishy thanks her and understands that the last six months have to have been painful for her. Lita says that she got herself in a "predicament" with Kane and Matt. While she was once disgusted over the prospect of birthing Kane's baby, she came to dig the idea. She felt her baby move inside her. She wanted nothing more than to pop that baby right on out. Now she'll never know what her baby looks like or hold her "baby boy." Her "baby boy" was taken away from her. Hmm. You know that line they can't cross? They're walking on it. Grishy says that Gene Snitsy is claiming to not be at fault, which drives the Big Red Wife into a yelling fit. She says that Snitsky was going to be hurt, so she saved him. How does he repay her? He hits Kane in the back with a chair and kills her baby! (JG Note: Kane shouldn't have been carrying the baby in his back.) So, even though she hates her lawful wedded Monster, she will cheer him on tonight. Leets repeats "Snitsy is a dead man!"

Eric Bischoff is backstage, talking to a hand. The hand has long painted nails, but the rest of the mystery guest is off camera. Easy E welcomes her aboard and says he will see her at Taboo Tuesday. Suddenly, his wacky neighbor John Coachman rushes in. Coach expresses shock over this hidden woman. How can Bischy hire her? Does he feel that he can trust her? Shut up, JC. Bischoff is going to be making a major announcement involving his nephew Eugene and their match on pay TV. Coachman accepts this answer and voices concern over his assignment to interview Gene Snitsky. Last thing that Johnny wants is to get involved in all this violence. EB obliges and gives the task to Jim Ross. He dismisses Coachman and goes back to his lady friend. If you haven't figured out that it's Carmella by now, then I don't know what to tell you. The Sooner and Baby Killer…next!

Commercial Break. Optimum Online is more than 150 times the speed of dial-up. You hear that? Your phone's a punk.

OK, we have some ideas for this new guy's merchandise. Ready? "Snitsky 3:16 Says I Just Killed Your Baby."

How about something a bit more original?

Jim Ross is in the ring and calls out to Gene Snitsky. Snitty shows up with a baby carriage which, if it wasn't for Ric Flair's virgin-popping monologue, would have been the most insane part of the show. For the second time tonight, Lawler is shocked. He questions the sanity of someone that would mock such a horrible act like hurting the unborn devil spawn of a man who extorted sex from Lita. After shushing Jim Ross's questions twice, Snitz finally tells him his stock response, "It's wasn't my fault!" Before J.R. can point to those that disagree, someone who disagrees showed up…

Al, where am I?

OK, Sam, apparently it's 2004. You're a wrestler named Kane. Ziggy says that there's a 35% chance you're supposed to kill that Gene Snitsky guy. But wait, Sam….beep - beep - babooo…Ziggy says that you forced this woman to marry you and now she's cool with you because you fell on her stomach and made her lose her baby. Sam! This isn't making any sense! Sam! Sam!

Kane comes running towards the ring, and Snitsky tosses the carriage at him. The Monster dodges the flying stroller and continues under the ropes. Gene now has a lead pipe in his hand and uses it to take down the Big Red Dentist. Crushing down on Kane with the pipe, Snitsky contorts his face and plays off that he's insane. The King sells it as such and the bleeding Kane-o sells his beating. We're all left amazed as Mean Gene has taken down the Machine. I liked this angle and thought that having Snitsky beat up Kane was the perfect route to go. That being said, I can't fathom how they expect people to cheer for the monster that's been built up as villain for the last few months. WWE would have a better shot of turning Lita heel and keeping the Monster as is. It doesn't seem they're going that direction, though. They're going in a strange direction that makes Kane a hero just because…well, just because. I don't like that direction, but if it has to be the one they're taking, then this was a good segment. Get what I mean? No. To hell with it. Watch the commercials.

Commercial Break. Castrol GTX Startup features "advanced start up protection." Shouldn't the original Castrol have had that? I don't even know what advanced start up protection is, but damnit, I want it. I'm tired of regular old start up protection.

Before the break, Snitsky spanked Kane.

(2) Batista defeated Chris Benoit via disqualification when Randy Orton interfered Batista is getting a fairly good nudge lately with a win over Randy Orton and now a kinda sorta win over Chris Benoit. With Orton now out of the Evolvers, Tista has a chance to shine on his own and show off his solo ability. With less members of the group, Ric Flair focuses on his own conflicts and goes without teaming with Dave every week. The match wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything amazing. The point was to get to the finish which saw the Wolverine hit Batty with a Rolling German Suplex, which got no reaction. The Crippler signaled for his Swan Dive Headbutt, but saw Batista regaining his composure. Benoit then hit another German and knocked Ric off the apron. Chris turned back around and slapped an armbar on Tista. This move was countered as Dave propelled Benoit through the ropes to the attacking Ric Flair. After Flair did his worst, he tossed the Rabid One back into the ring. All looked dark for the Atlanta resident until Randy Orton showed up and attacked. The bell rang and Eric Bischoff came out.

Surrounded by a bevy of security, Uncle Eric called for Orton to be ejected from the Garden. The enforcers in black "SECURITY" shirts escorted him away, but were stopped when Flair and Batista ran through everyone and attacked Randy. (JG Note: For some reason, security guards remove the good guy. When the bad guy attacks and hits the security guards during a melee, no one removes them. You'd think that knocking out a guard should be grounds for ejection, right?) Order is somewhat restored and the evil duo retreat.

Commercial Break. The guy in the new series "Dog" looks like Diamond Dallas Page's huge evil brother.

Eric Bischoff is still here and someone's done and given him a microphone. You want some announcements? Fine. How's this one? At Taboo Tuesday, Gene Snitsky will face Kane! What's more, it'll be a Weapon of Your Choice Match. The fans get to decide if that weapon will be a lead pipe, a steel chair, or a steel chain! I thought he said steel chair twice - seriously. I had to rewind it. I was expecting choice C to be a baby carriage. Didn't you? I would have voted for baby carriage. Who's going to vote for a steel chair match? Where did the chain come from? As if that didn't know your socks on your ass, check this one out. Also at Tabby T-Day, every Raw Superstar who's not committed to another match will be on the ballot to challenge Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Title! You decide Y2J's fate at Double T. (JG Note: According to WWE.com, that list is: A-Train, Al Snow, Chuck Palumbo, Garrison Cade, Mark Henry, Maven, Rhyno, Rob Conway, Rodney Mack, Rosey, Shelton Benjamin, Steven Richards, Sylvan Grenier, Tajiri, Test, Hurricane, Tyson Tomko, Val Venis, and William Regal. I left off the divas, the injured guys, announcers, the Rock, and Mick Foley. I don't know about you, but I'm going with Palumbo on this one. He should drive a bus across America like Lex Luger and petition for this match. They could call it the Chuck Bus.) Now that we took care of all that, we can focus on Eugene. Gene, get yourself out here now!

Eugene is in the house and he's pleased as punch to be here. Bischoff tells his nephew that someone backstage has a crush on him. That woman is dying to meet him. You want to meet her? Huh? Do you? OK…you twisted Eric's arm. Here's your future girlfriend, Carmella!

Carmella is back! Carmella is back! By God, Carmella is back! OK, it wasn't that exciting. Carmy shows up and this whole thing seems a bit sketchy. Apparently she's had her eye on Eugene for a while. Bischy tells Gene that Carm should have won the Diva Search, instead of Christy. In fact, while these people didn’t vote for her, it doesn't matter because she was in Playboy - which gets a pop. Mella takes the stick and tells Eugo that she finds him "hot." The only thing, though, is that she really likes is bald men. If the fans vote for a haircut match at the pay-perview and if Eugene throws his match with Uncle, he could have his head shaved. Then Miss #2 will love him. Sound good? Eugene says it sounds good, but first requests that his girlfriend kisses him now. (JG Note: How funny is it that Eugene figured out that this was a set up in five minutes, but Robin Green strung along Rick Steiner forever?) Carmella made an attempt, but couldn't go through with a kiss. No problem, Gene will settle for seeing her "boobies." Mel isn't feeling this. She erupts. No one is in her league! Eugene and the fans all wish they could have her. Bischoff steps in and commends his new Diva, assuring her that her match with Christy is on. He then tells his nephew that not only does Carmella not like him, but no one likes him. Awww. Gene looks dejected when suddenly unfamiliar music plays.

Christy Hemme is in the house! She stands face to face with Carmella and pushes her to the ground. As Eric and his Playmate regain their composure, Hemme plants a peck on Eugene. The announcers are stunned, but not nearly as stunned when Crazy Christy jumps onto him and plants a monster kiss. The funny thing is that Eugene and Christy look like a more believable couple than Carmella and Eric. Hemme and Dinsmore leave together while Bischoff and Gutter Girl glare at them.

Commercial Break. Now instead of buying an old Atari system for $4, you can play all the games without the use of a console, just a controller. They cost $19. That, my friends, is capitalism.

(3) World Tag Team Champions La Resistance defeated Hurricane & Rosey when Rob Conway pinned Hurricane Anyone else noticing how Rob Conway is changing his look every other week? He was clean shaven. Then he had a lumberjack beard. Then he had no beard and greenish yellow hair. Now his hair's back to normal and the beard's back. Did he have makeover coupons that were expiring? This was the natural next step in Cane and Rose's story. Last week's win over Rhyno and Tajiri had to lead to a match with the champs. There wasn't anything too special during the actual contest. The Resisters got the win after hitting Hurricane with the Au Revoir.

After the bell, there was a mini-brawl that saw Rob Conway get onto Rosey's back and move his mask. Blinded by the missing eyeholes, Rose stumbled around and grabbed the first thing he could find. After a vicious sidewalk slam, Roosevelt adjusted his mask to see that he had just flattened his heroic partner, Hurricane Helms. Oops. Do they make a Hallmark Card for that sort of thing?

Video package of WWE's charity work with the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Commercial Break. Vignette for Simon Dean. These packages are some of the better pieces WWE has put together in a while. The whole thing seems genuine right down to the background music. I hope he can keep this character fresh after he makes his ring debut.

Backstage, the Coach is standing by with Edge. Coachman asks why the Edgeman feels that he should be picked to challenge Triple H instead of Chris Benoit and Shawn Michaels. Edgy says that while Benoit and HBK have gotten numerous shots against the Game, he's had none. Hasn't he earned it? The E-Man has faith that the people know he, out of the three, deserves this match. Good spot. Edge didn't play a heel necessarily, but the outcome of the Taboo voting might decide where he goes after this.

Backstage Eric Bischoff is surrounded by all the guys I listed a few paragraphs ago, the challengers to Chris Jericho's title. Had I known that they were going to film a friggin' segment with all the guys in it, I wouldn't have wasted my time going through the WWE.com list. Splendid. All these guys will have a chance to see the Intercontinental Champion up close and personal. Tonight, they will all be lumberjacks for his match with Triple H. Everyone's excited and all begin to cheer. All, that is, except for Shelton Benjamin and Batista. They each have a fixed glare on the other, meaning that they are either staring each other down or falling deeply in love. Take your pick.

Commercial Break. I…I don't know how you got in here. Take whatever you want. OK. Thank you, a breakfast sandwich. Now please, don't hurt us. No! No! Please, Burger King! No!

Trish Stratus comes to the announce table and joins the Kingly Cowboys. They watch a recap of last week's stripping of Christy Hemme. Afterwards, she paraded around proudly. What did Trish think of that?

"She's actually quite a slut. I mean, look at her, look at this. Look at her strutting her stuff. Please! Oh my God, only a slut would do that. Slut. Slut. Slut."

- Trish Stratus, 10:47pm

(4) Stacy Kiebler pinned Molly Holly Stacy Kiebler is getting a pretty steady push in the women's division. She's definitely improved in the ring and with a tiny female roster, everyone can have a shot at being champ at least once. At one point, Holly was knocked from the ring, prompting Trish to leave her chair. Kiebler tossed Miss Molly back in the ring, but was susceptible to Stratus's attack. Stacy turned to argue with Trisha, but caught Molly sneaking up in the corner of her eye. The bald Holly Cousin once again did her part for the big picture and allowed Kiebs to straddle her face, hold her arms down with her knees, and hook her legs for the pinfall. Another win for Miss Hancock. Forget Goldberg. Stacy Kiebler - Who's Next!?

Up next, the Lumberjack Match between Chris Jericho and Triple H. They show a picture of all the lumberjacks. Coach's with them. I didn't count him in my list because I classified him as an announcer. Silly me.

Commercial Break. Clearasil now has a formula for men. Up until now, boys have been using the girls formula? Why wasn't anyone made aware of this earlier?

(5) World Champion Triple H pinned Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho in a Lumberjack Match after Jericho was Gored by Rhyno Everyone was out for this one. I gotta be honest, I'm getting burnt out on these Lumberjack Matches. I like the concept, but too much is too much. This one served a definite purpose, though. It gave Chris Jericho's Taboo Nominees a chance to show that they are all out for the big money match. It also allowed for a solid show ender that wrapped up a pretty good night. Things seemed a bit rushed at times, but it told it's story good enough. Chris Jericho kept finding himself tossed to the outside and beaten . Everyone had a chance to take a piece of the IC Champ, from Rob Conway to Steven Richards to Rodney Mack. It was like a big party with Jericho playing the role of the piñata. Y2J found himself being kicked by Christian towards the end. Rhyno made the save, tossing the CLB aside. Unaware that the Man Beast had saved him, Fozzy hit him with a baseball slide. The action continued with CJ locking the Game in the Walls of Jericho. Ric Flair jumped on the apron, but found himself dropkicked down by Chris, who sprung to the top rope and came down upon him and five others. He then reclaimed the buckle and nailed Trips with an elbow. H went down and the referee turned his back to stop Christian from interfering. Seeing an opening, Rhyno ran in and speared down the King of Bling Bling. Yes - Rhyno. Trippy rolled over and covered the Manitoban. One, two, three. Ding.

After the bell, chaos erupted. Everyone brawled with everyone. Then, like a Bat out of Hell, Randy Orton rushed the ring. He cleared the chaos and stood tall. Rosey approached to calm him down and ended up on the business end of an RKO. From the floor, Shelton Benjamin tossed the Coach into the ring and smiled. Ort proceeded to give him an RKO as well. Jim Ross screamed "RKO Mania!" Whatcha gonna do when Cowboy Bob's kid runs wild on you? Randy stands alone as we fade to black.

All in all… This was one of the best Raws WWE has put on this year, if not the best. It figures they'd follow up to last night's $35 No Mercy with a free show that blows it out of the water.

The Chris Jericho-Triple H opening segment was great and managed to showcase someone else WWE could viably insert into a main event. They match between the two was good, but as has been the case in a world of diminishing title prestige, a Champion versus Champion match just doesn't mean much anymore. They should have hyped the situation more and really presented it as a match that could go either way. Knowing full well that Jericho and Hunter are booked in separate title defenses for Taboo Tuesday kills any outcome anticipation tonight. Rhyno's match closing interference was good, though, as it showed that anyone could be a potential challenger for Y2J's title on pay-per-view. (JG Note: I know. Play along.)

Randy Orton's grand finale RKOFest was a nice touch. It's segments like this that Randy needs if he's going to overcome this tough position and not become just another upper mid-card almost.

I'm not a big fan of bringing Carmella in, but it's all good I suppose. At this point, I'm just glad that the Diva Search Survivors are doing something storyline-related instead of eating pies with their butts. Christy has an enormous amount of potential and has great charisma. Carmella…was in Playboy. Well, there ya go.

Michaels-Christian was another high point. The two put on a really good match and helped to advance their budding feud. While the CLB lost, he still put on a strong enough showing that it won't really be held against him by fans in upcoming rematches.

Gene Snitsky beats down Kane. Nice. I genuinely liked this segment. Not for Kane, but for Snitsky. Big Red emerged from this pummeling looking like a little girl. Gene-o came out like a monster. Watching the demon that forced Lita to marry him and swore to kill Snitsky get beaten down by Snitsky while Lita cheers him on wasn't so great. It was simply Gene using a Big Red Stepping Stone. Tonight Snitty got over big and Kane fell down hard. It makes that whole "gave his notice" rumor seem a bit more intriguing.

Altogether, this was a solid edition of Raw. The Madison Square Garden crowd wasn't popping for much. I don't know what to tell you. Every time WWE comes here, they promise that the Garden will go nuts. That's a lot of pressure. Hey, at least they didn't chant, "You sold out" to anyone this time. Good show. See you guys next week. Be well.

WorldWrestlingInsanity.com is not affiliated with any wrestling promotion.