• WWE Divas Championship Match
  Eve (c) defeated Maryse

• The Miz (c) (w/ The Big Show) defeated David Hart Smith (w/ The Hart Dynasty and Bret Hart)

• Evan Bourne defeated Carlito

• John Cena (c) defeated David Otunga

• Kofi Kingston defeated Sheamus

• The Bella Twins defeated Gail Kim & Kelly Kelly & Jillian Hall & Rosa Mendes (w/ Santino Marella as the guest referee)

• Randy Orton defeated Batista

What did you think of this episode of WWE Raw? Leave a comment below.

I don’t know what Bret Hart was trying to prove at WrestleMania. He could no longer wrestle and we all knew it. It was sad to see a 52 – year old man walk into the ring with jeans on and have his family beat up on Vince McMahon. Bret was a shell of his former self that night. The Hitman was a great wrestler, but the younger generation will look at this match and see Bret Hart’s lack of wrestling ability. Bret ruined his legacy at WrestleMania XXVI.

I’m glad that Bret is back in the WWE. I’m glad that Bret had closure. However, Bret never should have got back into the ring to wrestle. This past Monday night, Bret supported The Hart Dynasty from ringside. I think that should have been his role from the start of his return. I hope he continues his support for the next generation of Hart wrestlers, because  they are carrying the legacy now.

• Non-title Match
  Sheamus (c) defeated Randy Orton (DQ due to Legacy involvement)

• MVP & Mark Henry defeated The Miz & The Big Show (c)

• Ted DiBiase defeated Kofi Kingston

• Triple H vs. John Cena (interference from Sheamus)

Notes: WWE Monday Night Raw kicked off with a hometown sweetheart singing the national anthem in honor of President’s day. Sheamus came out afterward to face Randy Orton in a non-title match. Orton almost slithered his way to a victory, until Legacy got involved. Ted DiBiase attacked Sheamus behind the referee, but Sheamus pushed him away. Cody Rhodes crept up behind Sheamus and attacked him just in time for the referee to see. The match ended in a DQ. Randy Orton wasn’t too pleased and took his anger out by RKO-ing Cody Rhodes. Ted DiBiase took a big boot in the face from Sheamus. It’s nice to see WWE Raw starting off with a match instead of the guest host.

Bret Hart came out to state that he came to the WWE to make peace with Vince McMahon. Looking back, Vince lied to Bret, spit in his face, and had Batista come after him. Vince McMahon is the world’s biggest liar. He said that it would have been great to have a victory at WrestleMania on more time. Then he said this: “a victory will last a lifetime, but excellence will last forever.” He thanked the fans and the WWE Superstars. Bret said goodbye and left the ring. The Superstars gave Bret one last goodbye backstage. John Cena ran over to Bret to say goodbye and walked him over to his limo. As we were about to see the last of Bret, a car backs up and crashes the limo as he is about to enter. Bret is led into a ambulance on a stretcher. All I can think is: “What the hell?!” This storyline is taking a bad turn. I was looking forward to seeing Bret Hart face Vince McMahon at WrestleMania. Now it seems very unlikely.

The brand spankin’ new unified tag team champions, The Miz and The Big Show…or better known as Show-Miz…came out to face MVP and Mark Henry in a non-title match. Mark Henry almost destroyed The Miz, but was not successful in a pin due to The Big Show’s leg drop. MVP took advantage of the situation and rolled up The Miz for the three count. I feel a feud coming on!

Jerry Springer came out to spoof his talk show featuring Santino and Kelly Kelly as guests. Kelly Kelly admitted to being pregnant. Santino had slept with Kelly Kelly. Michael Cole admitted to sleeping with Kelly Kelly and then Jerry “The King” Lawler came in to say that had slept with her as well. Who knew Kelly Kelly was such a slut. Enter The Bella Twins, Eve, Chris Masters, The Great Khali, & Hornswoggle. It turns out the WWE Superstars got together to freak Jerry Springer out. Wow! Really! What a waste of time?! Afterward, Mae Young came out to slut things up even more.

Wow. This show is going down the crapper fast. Kofi Kingston and Ted DiBiase Jr. had a very short match. Followed by ten minutes of recaps and commercials. John Cena came out to complain. Dave Batista came on the titantron to laugh at Cena. Mr. Orange himself (no, not Orton) challenged Batista to come down to the ring to fight. Batista refused, but said that he would be on Raw next week. At this point I don’t care.

Singer Jewel and her husband Ty will be hosting Raw next week. I will most definitely not be watching WWE Raw next week.

Triple H came out to face John Cena. Sheamus interfered in the match and beat the crap out of Cena and Triple H. He mostly focused on Triple H. End of show.

This show was disappointing on so many levels. The WWE is giving me so many reasons not to watch.

What did you think of this episode of WWE Raw? Leave a comment below.

• First Round – Women’s Championship Match
  Maryse defeated Brie Bella (w/ Nikki Bella)

• Four Way Match for no.1 Contendership for United Stated Championship
  MVP defeated Mark Henry & Carlito & Jack Swagger

• Unified WWE Tag Team Champions
  D-Generation X (c) defeated Big Show & Chris Jericho

• Sheamus (c) defeated Evan Bourne

• Randy Orton defeated Kofi Kingston

Notes: Wow! Bret is back! When I first heard about the news of Bret coming back to the WWE. I thought to myself: “I’ll believe it when I see it!” Well I believe it now. Bret Hart came out to a screaming crowd and thanked them for never forgetting him. Then he called out Shawn Michaels to bury the hatchet. Shawn Michaels admitted his hand in the Montreal Screwjob and said that Bret deserved it. The crowd booed him. However, he did say that he admired Bret. They spoke about the Montreal Screwjob weighing on their careers. Bret offered his hand in friendship and Shawn waited a few seconds to accept. As they where going their separate ways. Shawn stopped a few minutes and then gave Bret a hug. What?! I was hoping that Shawn might give Bret the sweet chin music or Bret might punch Shawn. They hug?! Well, at least they bury the hatchet in public. Some part of me is thinking that this is a work. Who am I kidding? This is a work!

MVP is now the no. 1 contender for the US Championship. He has to go against his own partner Mark Henry to get the top spot. So…I guess their not friends anymore.

Chris Jericho visited Bret Hart backstage and suggested that Bret should out to screw DX as revenge. Bret refused and said that he wants to go past the Montreal Screwjob. Jericho couldn’t believe what he had said. I’m hoping that it does happen. It would make things more interesting.

The Unified Tag Team Championship match began around the 10:00 hour. It was quite sad to see Hornswoggle escort DX to the ring. DX would have never done something like that 10 years ago. Chris Jericho mocked Hulk Hogan during the match by doing his old routine of holding his hand to his ear. Jericho attempted to put DX into the walls of Jericho a few times during the match with no luck. Hornswoggle got in on the fun by attacking The Big Show once and attempting to attack Jericho. However, Jericho kicked Hornswoggle in the head. Ouch! Poor little guy. Good thing he had on a helmet. Eventually, Triple H pinned Jericho and the sexy beast crawled out of the ring a loser. Goodbye Jericho. You will be sorely missed on Raw.

Randy Orton confronted Vince McMahon and asked if he could punt Bret Hart in the head. Vince said that he despised Orton more than Bret for what he did to his family. Orton said that he would fight Bret Hart on Vince’s behalf, but he would have to be entered into the Royal Rumble as number 30. McMahon refused the offer, saying that he had his own security tonight. Orton walked along and Ted DiBiase Jr. and Cody Rhodes stopped him in the hallway. They mentioned his match with Kofi later on. If Kofi won later on, Cody and Ted would have to kick Randy out of Legacy. Randy Orton looked pretty pissed, but I admire Ted and Cody for having the balls for calling their leader out.

Another guy with some balls, Evan Bourne. Evan interrupted Sheamus and challenged him to match. He said that Sheamus won the belt, because he was given the opportunity. Evan suggested that he could beat Sheamus if given the opportunity. Sheamus laughed it off and accepted the offer. To bad for Evan that Sheamus beat him to a pulp. Poor Evan. He loses…once again. I was kind of hoping he would beat Sheamus in this match.

Ted DiBiase, Jr. and Cody Rhodes sat ringside to evaluate Randy Orton in his match against Kof Kingston. Kofi gave Orton quite the fight, but lost the match. Randy pinned Kofi with a angst look at DiBiase and Rhodes.

Vince McMahon came out and said that he was not going to call out Bret. He wished the crowd a Happy New Year and reminded everyone that Mike Tyson was hosting Raw next week. Bret wandered out and walked into the ring to confront Vinnie Mac. Vince looked a little afraid that Bret might put him into a sharpshooter. Bret wanted to make a truce and put the past behind him. Vince looked a little bit more comfortable standing next to “The Hitman” and started to kiss his ass. Bret liked what he was hearing. Vince extended his hand in friendship and Bret accepted. They rose their hands in victory, but then Vince kicked Bret in the gut.

This is was a good episode. However, I wasn’t expecting this episode to be great. The way that Raw has been in the last few weeks hasn’t been good. I watched Raw over TNA iMPACT! for Bret Hart and I was satisfied. It seems that they are building a Vinnie Mac vs. Bret Hart brawl at WrestleMania and I am excited about that.

I would like to add that this was an exciting night for wrestling. I will give my TNA iMPACT! review soon.

What did you think of this episode of WWE Raw? Leave a comment below.

• Unified WWE Tag Team Champions
  D-Generation X (c) vs. Big Show & Chris Jericho

• Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston

• Bret Hart returns to the WWE

“So I was figuring on going back to work with Vince [McMahon], and you know, up until about a month before I signed the TNA contract with [TNA president] Dixie Carter, I had been talking with Vince, back and forth. I wasn’t trying to leverage anybody, but I was just trying to see where the best place was to go and Vince McMahon wanted me to come back for 25 years. I’m 56 years old. He offered me a 25-year contract. He needs the Hulk Hogan names and the marks and the licensing, which I own, and I understood that business part, but the more I thought about the nepotism and the good old boy system there … I know that story.” (Hogan)

Hogan said that he didn’t want to hurt McMahon, but to put out a good wrestling brand. He mentioned that Vince McMahon bringing Bret Hart back was a win for TNA. However, Hogan said that he was happy for Bret Hart:

I think it’s awesome — I think it’s great. I think that’s another win for us. I think being able to talk to Spike TV and getting a chance to go up against the monster and Spike TV putting us on Monday nights, and letting us take this and having the fans — they’re going to have to make a choice on that night. And I think that’s a victory for us. The fact that Vince would do something he swore he would never do — bring Bret Hart back — you know, because I was originally supposed to host the Monday Night Raw in Madison Square Garden a couple of weeks ago, and then they wanted to shoot an angle with me and Vince and bring me back into the whole fold. So I think Bret Hart coming back, I’m happy for Bret. I’ve heard through the grapevine, through some of his family members, because I’m friends with them, that he’s excited about coming to the Raw, that’s all he talks about is coming back. So I think he’s got it back in his blood and I think that’s a great victory for us that they had to bring Bret Hart back to go against us. That’s another victory for us, so I’m excited about it, I’m very happy for Bret. I didn’t want to see him always be bitter about the business. (Hogan)

Hogan ended the interview by mentioning he was in a good place personally with his new fiance.

Go to Fanhouse.com to read the entire interview.

_{Hogan, Hulk. Fanhouse.com, 03 Jan 2010. Intervew by Ariel Helwani. 03 Jan 2010. Web. 4 Jan 2010. <http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2010/01/03/hulk-hogan-ready-to-kick-off-fresh-start-with-tna-wrestling/>.}

Still, iMPACT! has nothing on WWE Raw. The guest host on January 4^th is the best is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be…Bret “The Hitman” Hart. This is will be an important episode of Monday Night Raw, because this will be the first appearance by Bret Hart on the show since the infamous Montreal screwjob. Hart has made rare public and WWE television appearances since Survivor Series 1997. He accepted a place on the WWE Hall of Fame a few years ago, but did no appear at WrestleMania the next night along with all the other hall of famers. The fact that Bret Hart has rarely appeared on television in the last few years makes January 4^th all the more special.

In addition, Bret Hart has reportedly signed a contract with the WWE that will last until after WrestleMania. Rumor has it, he will push the Hart Dynasty towards a match at WrestleMania against a team of Vince McMahon’s picking. That is why I will be tuning into WWE Raw on January 4th to watch Bret Hart start his road to WrestleMania.

Of course, TNA’s special three hour iMPACT! will repeat on that same week on Thursday. I feel that I can watch the entire show on Thursday anyway.

What show will you be watching? Choose an answer in the poll below or leave a comment.

What do you think about this news? Are you as skeptical as I am?

Go to WrestlingInc.com for more information.

Go to WrestleReunion.com for more information about Demolition and WrestleReunion 4.

Stan Hansen wrestled a few years in Japan under New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. In the US, he wrestled under such promotions as the AWA and the WWWF. Hansen is a wrestling legend in his own right and will be joining other wrestling legends like Koko B Ware, Road Warrior, Bret Hart, and others at the convention.

Go to WrestleReunion.com to find out more information about Stan Hansen and about the convention.