Matches taped on 4/28 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Your Announcers are Jonathan Coachman and Al Snow.

We open with video from the closing moments of last Monday’s Raw-Linda McMahon, making one of her rare appearances on WWE TV, introduced Eric Bischoff to his new co-General Manager: Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Pyros go, Coach welcomes us in and announces Al as our newest Heat color commentator-Al, apparently oblivious to the fates of the last 3 people to occupy that position, seems pleased as punch to be here. We go to work…

1st Match: Lance Storm vs. Spike Dudley. Referee is Nick Patrick.

Good heat for Lance, surprisingly big pop for the youngest Dudley. Pre-match we get footage from last Sunday’s Backlash PPV. Spike’s brothers D-Von and Bubba Ray, after an unsuccessful attempt to wrest the World Tag Team Championships from Rob Van Dam and Kane, abruptly severed their ties with the Bischoff/Morley regime, laying out both Chief Morley (who’d served as guest referee during the match) and his occasional tag partner Lance. We’re reminded the elder Dudz are once again under suspension without pay.

Enough storyline stuff, bell rings, circling into a lockup, Lance goes behind, cinches in a waistlock, slams Spike face first to the canvas. Lance lays in a couple of slaps to the back of the head, gets to his feet, Spike grabs the boots, takes Lance down. Spike gets to his feet, takes a quick stroll down Lance’s spine, Lance up, Spike ducks under a clothesline attempt, trips Lance up, takes him down. Slaps to the back of the head by Spike, both men quickly up, Spike goes for the taunt, Lance wants a test of strength, gets it, forces Spike to his knees. Spike gets in a headbutt to the gut, maintains a hold on the arms, rolls through the test of strength, Lance in agony over the twisting of his wrists. Spike pulls Lance’s hands to the canvas, lets go, gets in a quick stomp. Lance doubled over, Spike grabs the arm, move that I want to describe as a fisherman’s backslide takes Lance down for 2. Lance rolls outside for a breather, Spike scores with a baseball slide to the chest, Lance down outside. Spike ascends a top turnbuckle, Lance gets to his feet, Spike flies, suicide dive sends both men down on the outside. Spike rolls Lance in, follows, goes for the quick cover, just gets 2. Spike gets to his feet, cinches in an armbar, Lance up slowly, knee to the gut forces Spike to break hold. Lance goes for the whip, Spike scores with the battering ram on the rebound, Lance doubled over, Spike looks for the Dudley Dog, Lance wriggles free, puts on the brakes, Spike drops to canvas after being whipped hard into a corner, Lance slowly covers, gets 2. Lance up, Spike to ropes, Lance goes for the boot choke, is quickly warned off by ref. Lance brings Spike up, delayed vertical suplex is good for another 2. Lance tries for the submission with a rear chinlock/modified hammerlock combo hold I have NO idea what to call, Spike gets to his feet, elbows out, Lance quickly whips him into a corner, charges, Spike gets the boot up to the face, Lance knocked goofy, Spike goes up top, hurricanrana follows, Lance down and up. Spike goes off ropes, Lance goes down to a shoulder charge, quickly gets to his feet, Spike again sends him down with a shoulder off the ropes, Spike brings Lance up, shoots him off ropes, Spike scores with the inverted Atomic Drop, clothesline follows, Lance down for 2. Spike quickly up, Lance begs off, Spike connects with the dropkick, sends Lance to a seated position in corner. Spike performs his trademark tapdance on the chest, takes a pose break before a roll-up, Lance kicks out at 2. Spike goes off the ropes, Lance gets to his feet, Spike tries for a sunset flip, Lance keeps his leverage, brings Spike up and sets him on a top turnbuckle. Lance gets in an elbow to the face, ascends 2nd turnbuckle, sets for superplex, Spike fires off punches to no effect, making a meal of Lance’s forehead and ear follows, Spike shoves Lance to canvas, flies, lands feet first on Lance’s chest, quickly covers, Lance gets his foot on the ropes before the count of 3. Spike signals for finisher, gets in a forearm to the back, brings Lance up at ropes, tries for the whip, Lance puts on brakes, Spike leaps atop his shoulders, grabs the ankles, tries for a victory roll, no luck, Lance again maintains his leverage, move can’t be completed. Lance keeps Spike’s shoulders pinned to the canvas for the count of 3.

Winner: Lance Storm.

During the match Coach and Al hinted that Stone Cold has already made his presence felt as Raw co-GM (case in point-I remember reading on a very recent house show report that Bubba Ray and D-Von claimed they’d already been reinstated by the Rattler.) More on Austin and Bischoff later, for now we break.

We return to footage from last Monday-some veterans of the Iraqi war were in the house for Raw.

Back to the ring…

2nd Match: Ivory vs. Molly Holly. Referee is Jacqueline.

Mild heat for Molly, OK pop for Ivory. Bell rings, usual bit of circling into a lockup, Ivory goes behind, applies the waistlock, takes Molly down. Waistlock is maintained, Molly gets to her feet, scores with the armdrag, Ivory down, Molly retains hold of the arm, can’t get Ivory’s shoulders to the canvas. Ivory somersaults through, applies a hammerlock, Molly gets to her feet, manages to turn to face, reaches under the leg, takes Ivory down. Molly cinches in an armbar, Ivory somersaults through, Molly wrenches the shoulder, Ivory remains down, Molly covers, just gets 1. Molly brings Ivory up, wristlock is applied, Ivory flails around in a vain attempt to break free, she finally gets to ropes, grabs hold, flips through the wristlock, takes Molly down with an armdrag. Both women down and up, Ivory charges, Molly drops to knees, shoves Ivory face first into 2nd rope. Ivory down, Molly gets in a quick boot before bringing her up in a corner, goes back to work on the arm before being warned off by ref. Molly STRAIGHT back to work on the arm in the corner, another warning follows, Molly wrenches the shoulder before backing off. Molly goes for the armdrag, scores big time, Ivory down for 2. Molly brings her up for more work on the arm, sit-out armdrag sends Ivory down for 2. Molly up for yet MORE work on the arm, Ivory slowly gets to her feet, forearms to the face force Molly to break hold. Ivory scores with a knockdown forearm to the face, follows up by bringing her up, Death Valley Driver is good for 2. Ivory brings Molly up, sets for DDT, Molly evades, sends Ivory face first to canvas with a wrench of the arm. Molly goes to ascend top turnbuckle, Ivory approaches from behind, sets her on shoulders, Electric Chair into a bridge is good for the 1-2-3.

Winner: Ivory.

Before we break, we get a quick clip from last Monday. World Champion HHH and Ric Flair were challenging RVD and Kane for the tag titles when the camera cut backstage to Shawn Michaels on his celphone informing parties unknown ‘He’s in the ring right now. He’s a sitting duck.’ Break.

Call of the Night: At last Sunday’s Backlash PPV, Kevin Nash, Booker T and Shawn Michaels took on HHH, Ric Flair and Chris Jericho in a 6-man tag match. Ref bump and a sledgehammer shot to Big Kev helped Hunter and co. pick up the win.

Coach and Al return for more Raw recap. We go to footage of the aforementioned tag titles match. End saw Hunter hitting Kane with the Pedigree and getting ready to put things away-when Kevin Nash, sledgehammer in hand, made his way down the ramp. Hunter performed the ol’ scalded dog routine and hightailed it backstage, Big Kev followed, tag champs quickly hit Flair with their Chokeslam/5 Star Frog Splash combo to pick up the win and retain their titles. In the back, Hunter jumped in a limo, Nash bashed in a couple of windows with the sledge before it peeled out of the arena.

Coach and Al guess we’ll see a continuation of the Nash/HHH saga tomorrow night. Break.

Back for more recap from last Monday. Raw opened with a new segment, ‘Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel’. Last week’s guest was Bill Goldberg, who was questioned as to why he came, uninvited, to WWE. Christian then took the stage to get in his 2 cents, taunting Bill about drawing boos at Backlash. Bill quickly got sick of the bigmouthed duo and invited them to come get their butts kicked-Jericho backed off, while Christian made his way down, Rosey, Jamal, Rico, Victoria and Steven Richards providing back-up. However, only Wacko Stevie had the guts to actually, you know, enter the ring. Goldberg quickly treated him to the spear as the gutless wonders backed off in abject terror. Later, Bill and Booker T traded notes about being newcomers to WWE-Book showed his class by extending his welcome to Raw. Next segment saw Booker and Christian going one on one until Rico, Jamal and Rosey interfered on the latter’s behalf. Post-DQ beatdown was halted when Goldberg arrived to make the save. Rico took the spear, Jamal the jackhammer (impressive!), Christian clotheslined Bill out of the ring and bailed. Goldberg quickly recovered, speared Rosey through a guard barrier and made his exit through the crowd.

And speaking of the burly Samoans….

3rd Match: Rosey and Jamal vs. Arch Kincaid and Jason Pacaro. Referee is Charles Robinson.

Arch and Jason already in the ring, low heat for the 3 Minute Warning boys-Rosey walks to the ring with a noticeable limp, presumably due to taking the spear last Monday.

(Commentary: But I thought all of tonight’s matches were taped before Raw went on the air last week…)

Anyway, bell rings, Jamal and Jason start, latter ducks under a clothesline, throws a couple of forearms to the face, Jamal shrugs the shots off, throws a forearm of his own, miraculously Jason stays on his feet. Jamal whips him into neutral corner, charges, Jason sidesteps, Jamal into turnbuckles. Jason tags in Arch, they go for the double-team whip to the ropes, Jamal easily puts on the brakes, sends both men down with a pair of clotheslines. Ref shoos Jason out of the ring, Arch crawls toward the ropes, Jamal gets in a quick boot before bringing him up, textbook body slam follows, Arch down. No cover, Jamal backs up to a neutral corner, charges in, drops the knee, Arch rolls clear, Jamal says ‘OW’, no other effect. Arch still down, Jamal drops a forearm to the face, brings Arch up, slams him right back down and drops a pair of elbows. Jamal taunts Arch to his feet, scores with a straight punch for a knockdown, Arch wisely tries to roll out of the ring, Jamal holds him back with a tug on the tights. Jamal props Arch up in neutral corner, whips him to opposite, charges, Avalanche sends the seemingly-unconscious Arch sprawling to the canvas. Jamal brings him up for another slam, Arch floats over, manages to tag in Jason before falling to the canvas. Jamal gets in a forearm shot to the side of Jason’s head before simply hoisting him up and tossing him back first to the center of the ring. Jamal notices Arch seated in the corner, decides to break off from Jason to administer the Butt-Splash of Obvious Total Death, guessing Arch is done for the evening. And after an elaborate sidewalk slam and the 1-2-3, so’s Jason.

Winners: Rosey and Jamal. (And yep, Rosey was never tagged in.)

Post-match Rico comes to the ring to congratulate his pals. Straight to break.

Coach and Al return to explain the whole ‘Austin as co-GM’ situation. Last Monday’s Main Event saw Trish Stratus taking on Bischoff. Odd match came about due to Trish requesting a shot at Jazz and her Women’s Championship. Eric, in complete slimebag mode, told her she could have the match next week provided she get a win over himself-BUT if she lost, she’d had to spend the night with him. Trish agreed, match ended up being a screw-job for the ages-right before the bell rang Eric decreed a no-DQ affair, and after run-ins by Jazz and Victoria on his behalf Eric picked up the easy win. As Eric gloated, Linda McMahon appeared on the Titantron and made her way to the ring. Eric’s attempt to kiss butt met with no success, WWE’s #1 lady quickly informed him his recent despicable behavior had earned him a partner as GM-Stone Cold. Show ended with Austin offering a handshake and Eric nervously accepting-until the Rattler reminded him their partnership didn’t officially start until the next morning and delivered the inevitable Stunner.

Coach mentions Austin has been spending some time at WWE HQ-looks like changes may be on the way. Final break.

WWE Rewind: From last Monday, the French team of Sylvan Grenier and René Dupree made their Raw debut with an old-school style beatdown of Scott Steiner.

4th Match: Rico vs. Maven. Referee is Chad Patton.

Looks like Rico and his buds have been hanging out in the ring all through the preceding recap! Maven gets a nice pop as he walks to the ring, ref quickly tells Rosey and Jamal to take a walk. They sullenly comply as Rico protests, Maven enters, bell rings, Rico gets in a bit more kvetching before laying into Maven with a slap to the face and a knee to the gut. Maven to ropes, Rico gets in a forearm to the face, Maven gets whipped off ropes, Rico misses with a clothesline, Maven goes off opposite ropes, Rico turns, goes down to a dropkick. Both men down and up quickly, Maven connects with another dropkick, Rico bails, heads up the ramp, Maven gives chase, tosses him back in, tries to follow, Rico drops the elbow, Maven rolls to apron, Rico to canvas. Both men up, Maven scores with an armdrag, Rico down, Maven follows up with an armbar. Rico gets to his feet, fakes trying to get to the ropes, instead tries for an armdrag-Maven rolls through, maintaining the armbar. Rico again gets to his feet, forces Maven to ropes, ref calls for the break. Rico gets in a knee to the gut, attempts a whip, Maven puts on the brakes, ducks under a clothesline, sends Rico down with another armdrag into an armbar. Rico gets to his feet, Maven wrings the arm, Rico gets out with my all-time favorite move, the ol’ thumb to the eye. Rico gets in a knee to the gut, Maven doubled over, Rico grabs the arm, steps over, scores with his trademark back calf kick to the face, Maven down for 2. Rico gets to his feet, lays in a pair of quick boots before laying in a rear chinlock, ref calls for the break when Rico adds in a raking of the face. Maven gets to a kneeling position, Rico again rakes the face, elbow drop to the forehead follows, Maven crawls toward ropes, gets in a quick kick to the chongs. Rico responds with a rear chinlock as Maven is tied up in the ropes, ref calls for the break, Rico gets in a nice chop to the neck before complying. Maven drops to canvas, Rico covers for 2. Both men attempt to get to their feet, Rico gets up first, Maven fires off forearms from the kneeling position, Rico keeps him down with another rake of the face. Rico gets in a straight punch to the side of the head, Maven crawls to corner, Rico brings him up, attempts whip, reversed, Rico to corner, Maven misses with a clothesline as he rebounds, Rico scores with a back kick to the gut, Maven doubled over. Rico sets him for what looks like a slight variant of the Edge-O-Matic, scores, Maven down for 2. Rico brings Maven to a seated position, wrenches the neck, Rico gets to his feet, elbows out, goes for the kick to the gut, Rico catches the boot, Maven connects with the enzugiri, both men down. Maven crawls to corner, Rico gets to his feet, charges, Maven scores with a drop toe hold, Rico goes face first into 2nd turnbuckle. Rico slowly to feet, Maven goes off ropes, Rico goes down to an elbow to the face, gets up slowly, Maven scores with a spinning calf kick, Rico down for 2. Maven tries to bring him up, Rico fires off a chop to the throat, tries for a whip, reversed, Rico off ropes, Maven brings him up, Rico gets pancaked to canvas. Maven ascends a 2nd turnbuckle as Rico gets to his feet, flying bulldog sends him right back down, Maven covers for 2. Maven goes up top, Rico staggers to his feet, Maven goes for the missile dropkick, Rico side-staggers, Maven to canvas. Both men up slowly, Rico goes for the desperation high spinning kick to the face, scores, Maven down for the 1-2-3.

Winner: Rico.

Coach and Al quickly hype tomorrow night’s Raw to end the show.

Short form match results (all victories by pinfall):

1. Lance Storm defeated Spike Dudley.

2. Ivory defeated Molly Holly.

3. Rosey and Jamal defeated Jason Pacaro and Arch Kincaid.

4. Rico defeated Maven.

(Credit: 1wrestling)