TV PG DV CC entertainment - Last Monday, Coach and Al took over on RAW - so tonight? (:27) open fireworks

Val Venis (Las Vegas, NV, 242 pounds) vs Heat GM Steven Richards (Philadelphia, PA, 230 pounds) - Despite seemingly not being at the booth when we get the far shot of the entrance (and on-site reports noting no one was at the desk for Heat), we do get the desk shot - your announcers are Al and Coach, and the tight shot prevents me from finding out if they just taped this bit when the fans (much less Val) weren't around. They break Heat kayfabe by actually bringing up what happened on RAW in detail, so there's something up. I wonder why they never moved back to the ringside area on RAW, since those two were so hyped to do it before. No skit again? BOOOO. Val takes a glance at Victoria, which annoys Steven. Circle. Val with an armbar, crank, crank, twist, Steven rolls forward to reverse it, crank, crank, twist over and down. Coach says Steven is back after a couple weeks - I guess he was so focused on his own match last week that he forget Steven was on the show (or maybe just because he didn't call it.) Val kips up, reverses the armbar, and Steven slaps him in the face! Steven is very proud of himself. Kick is caught, and Val takes Steven down for punches. Knee drop to the arm, and again. Coach: "All Victoria can do at ringside is watch." Al [quickly adding]: "and bounce." Coach starts to talk about the soldiers invited to RAW, and it takes three seconds for him to realize what Al just said. Up into a headlock, Steven shots Val off and Cal back with a shoulderblock. Off the ropes, over, under, quick stop and right hand. Armbar takedown into a Fujiwara armbar, but Val is no Blue Panther and lets off to put on a hammerlock and drop some knees. Val sets his left foot inside Steven's hammerlocked arm, pauses to taunt Victoria with a hipswivel, and falls backwards, cranking the arm more. Someone's remembering his wacky lucha holds! Steven's in a lot of pain - reverse armbar takedown (or maybe I did that backwards), one two no. I guess he's trying to stop the SteVeeTee? Val with right hands. Corner whip, reversed, Steven charges into a back elbow. Val wants to charge out, but Victoria grabs a leg, Val turns, and Steven clubs him from behind. Al and Coach talking about how all the soldiers were telling them how happy they are that Al and Coach got rid of JR and King - Al says (or says the soldiers said - not clear) that it's like how the soldiers drove Saddam out of Iraq. Steven back suplex, nice. Reverse neckbreaker one two NO. Stomp. Kick. Choke on the middle rope. Al says Steven was mad that HIS announce team was going to RAW, but Al and Coach assured him that they were honoring their contract and weren't going anywhere. Apparently, now that they're evil, they don't seem to think that Steven is crazy for thinking he's GM; they seem to believe it as much as Steven does. Or maybe I've got the cause and effect switched there, HMMMM. Steven with the running sit on the ropes, one two no. Steven picks Val up for some knee lifts. Time for the yelling suplex, but oh no - he can't get Val up because his arm hurts to much. Val escapes into the corner, Steven walks after him and takes a high boot to the shoulder. Val out, and Steven punches him. Val back with another kick to the shoulder. Steven with a right, Val with a kick to the shoulder - this is a mutation of the punch battle. Val out of the corner with a clothesline, right, whip, hard knee, holding run to the other side of the ring knee, back in the middle for the Russian Legsweep one two NO. Steven slows down Val with Al's forward hold - thumb to the eye. SteeVee Tee- but his arm is hurting too much to do it quick, and Val sneaks out - whip, big spinebuster slam one two NO. Rights. Val puts on an - elbowscissors? Al goes with "keylock", which apparently means "something to do with the elbow". Val is in a lot of pain, and Al explains how Steven is being hurt here to Coach. Steve manages to spin near the ropes, but he's just a little short - ah, there we go. Steven's left arm is past useless now. Val picks Steven up in the corner and chops him hard twice. Al: "Great Googly Moogly!" Corner whip, Val charge into a boot to chest, Steven covers with his feet on the middle rope one two Nope, ref catches it. Coach, forgetting who's side he's on, thinks Chad Patten is doing a good job by noticing that.  One of these times, they've got have a match with no rope breaks, so people would go out of their way to put their feet on the ropes for the super amounts of extra leverage is provides and Tajiri could win a match with the Tarantula. Steven argues with Chad, then he and Victoria decide on a different plan. Victoria going up, Steven holds Val, Val gets free and shoves Steven into Victoria, Victoria gets crotched. Val with the half nelson release suplex one two three (6:05) That's quite tragic. Al: "I hate to tell Val this, but the General Manager of Heat, Stevie Richards, is probably going fire you now. Yep, he'll be eating peanut butter sandwiches, he won't be able to afford anything else." Val looks in the crowd to see who wants his towel - Coach actually beats Al to the "he's not giving YOU the towel, you silly announcer" joke. Al: "But I need it! I got to take a shower after work." Val looks like he finally spotted someone - that someone is not Steven, who's forearmed him in the back. Now Steven has the towel - CHOKING VAL WITH HIS OWN TOWEL! Victoria is over to help choke him. Steven pikc sVal up for Vicotral to slap. Reverse neckbreaker with the towel! Play the GM's music!

Sgt. Robert Schroeter says hello to his father and his family.

Tonight: Scott Steiner
Next: Rodney Mack 

More Rundown highlights. 

Rodney Mack (Lafayette, LO, 250 pounds, w/Theodore Long) vs Jason Pocaro (232 pounds, already in the ring) - Al and Coach talk about having seen the Rundown and the critics and on and on and on. There was no explanation about Rodney's personality doing a 180, was there? I guess with Mark Henry, they could have only one brooder. Circle. Lockup, Rodney with an armbar, Jason pushed down, Jason kips up, Jason pushed down again. Stomp. Lockup, Rodney with a headlock, around into a hammerlock, Jason reveres, Rodney reverses and forearms Jason in the back. Jason into the corner, Rodney walks in and gets booted. Jason to the second rope - flying nothing is completely exposed as nothing because Mack waits for him to land before throwing the clothesline. (I guess we could say "he sidestepped the axhandle" if we wanted to be really kind, but no one does.) Rodney with many elbow drops, including a jumping one. Spinebuster slam one two three (1:19) Did we ditch the BlackOut? And Theodore Long's mic time?

Next: Christian goes up - how will he come down?

Pretty fine, thanks for asking. (2:29)

RAW: Christian (c) vs Rob Van Dam for the IC Title
RAW: Jim Ross vs Coach (c) for the RAW Announcer Position
The theme, according to Coach and Al, is "Undeserved second chances."

Tonight: Scott Steiner
Next: Shane's non-revenge

Y2J falling from high places onto safe places

Shane thinks Coach doesn't care about how he's doing. I don't think the Coach is the only one. (2:54)

Rico (Las Vegas, NV, 238 pounds) vs Arch Kincaid (226 pounds, already in the ring) - Announcers make fun of both participants hair. People boo Rico, which is something Coach and Al say they're not used to. They thank the fans. Lockup, no Rico ducks under and does the Jeff Hardy pose. Lockup, Arch with a headlock, crank, crank, crank, crank, Rico grabs Arch's butt. Arch is displeased and goes to hide on the middle buckle. Al gives the "Rico is just playing headgames." Rico gets a talking too from Charles Robinson. Lockup, Rico with a headlock, shot off, back with a shoulderblock. Off the ropes, over, into Arch's arm, and a kiss for Arch. Arch complains about the kiss. I complain that I still have two more minutes of it. Hey, a humping waistlock. Arch escapes, spanks Rico, and Rico enjoys it. Arch tries to make peace and gets slapped. Slap back. Slap by Arch. Rico slap ducked, and Arch gets in another slap. Drop toe hold, armdrag, hiptoss one tow no. Arch with a whip, quick reverse into a knee, and there's the step over mule kick. Stomp. Right. European uppercut to the head. Forearm. Choke on the middle rope. Al and Coach both say they vote. Can't we check that if we're bored? Not quire bored enough. Forearm to the chest. Rico: "You all suck." Rico to the middle rope, axhandle. One two no. Please hit the spin kick. No, he's taking his time following up. Arch is due one more comeback anyway. Slapping Arch. Arch fights back with elbows. Rico manages an eye poke, spin kick to the head (seemed to miss), right, one two no. Neck vice, NO. Al is saying that Rico needs to finish him off too. Arch trying to rally the crowd, but for all Rico's shenanigans, no one cares now. Arch elbow out. Whip, reversed, there's Gunn's hiptoss into a neckbreaker one two no. Rico pauses to annoy the crowd. Al: "The crowd not happy with Rico's impression of the X-Man, Wolverine." Coach finally points out that Jackie Gayda isn't here. Elbow drop. Rico going up for the moonsault, taking a day and a half - so it misses like always. Coach doesn't know what "twenty to thirty seconds" actually is. Arch with an inverted atomic drop. Atomic drop. Rico off the ropes, into a backdrop one two no. Corner whip, reversed, Rico charges into a boot, Arch out with a running forearm one tow no. Rico to the second rope, flying nothing gets a dropkick. Rico will finally hit the standing spin kick to finish it one two three. (6:51) I hope Rico gets over so he's never on this show. At least with this gimmick.

Specialist Christopher Kerregan says hello to Mom, Scott, and Lita. Wait, LITA?

Next: Chris Jericho has a PLAN.

RAW Live
Monday - Chicago, IL [RAW]
Friday - Guelph, OH
Saturday - St. John's, NF
Next Sunday - Moncton, NB
Next Monday - Uncasville, CT [RAW] - they're not just listing it as Mohegan Sun anymore?

WMXIX Eric almost gets beheaded by the bottom rope

Jericho vs Goldberg (2:49)

Next: Scott Steiner

Scott Steiner/Test/Stacy Keibler video has to be played three times to make it worth it, I guess. (2:04)

Crowbar (already in the ring, w/the same music, 241 pounds) vs Scott Steiner (275 pounds, Detroit, MI) - Coach: "What the hell is that?" Al: "Well, Crowbar was a former start in WCW." Coach: "I know, but still - what the hell is that?" No Test or Stacy. Crowbar tries to get the jump on Steiner, but misses a clothesline and gets chopped for times. Whip, overhead belly to belly suplex. Steiner yells at Crowbar to get up and clotheslines him out. Coach doesn't watch Velocity still. Crowbar whipped into the steps. Barricade smash. Throw to the ground. Scott in and out to break the count. Suplex on the ramp! Steiner does push ups. Scott brings Crowbar back in. Clothesline for Crowbar. Bicep kiss elbow drop. One - no, he wants push ups. Scott with a kick, Novacaine, one two three (1:39) Hey, you got in as many moves in that match as Crowbar did.

RAW hype: Ladder Match, Announce Match