Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix appeared on screen. Santino said that people have been laughing at him all year and now he was going to have the last laugh. He had a secret to tell the children about Santa Claus. Beth asked Santino if he was sure he wanted to do this. Santino said he wanted her to "shutta her face."
John Cena entered and stopped Santino dead in his tracks. Cena said Santino was upset at Santa because he did not get the Barbie Dream House he asked for as a kid. Santino challenged Cena and a partner to face him and Beth. Cena looked over at Goldust. Santino specified, "Someone with ovaries." Cena agreed. Santino said he would win and then tell the secret.
The opening video aired and fireworks lit up the stage. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler welcomed us to the show.
Kane and Kelly Kelly came out to the ring. Kane said Stephanie McMahon told him to apologize, so he did. He then told Kelly she owed him an apology because she lied to him about The Miz.
Shawn Michaels came out to the ring. He was booed heavily by the crowd.
1. Shawn Michaels defeated Kane in a Race to the Rumble match in 5:31. Luckily, Kane held the title for one day in 1998, because if he had not, he would not be able to participate in this tournament. King said he always wished for Kelly to show him some affection, but not now after what Kane has done to those she likes. Cole said he was checking her out on the internet and looking over his shoulder. Whether he was looking out for Kane or his wife, nobody knows.
The match went back and forth for the first few minutes. Kane went for a chokeslam and Michaels countered it into the Crippler Crossface. Kane fought out and tried another chokeslam. Michaels slithered out and hit Sweet Chin Music for the win.
JBL watched on the backstage monitor and the announcers ran down the rest of the Race to the Rumble.
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Footage aired of the past few weeks of history between Batista and Randy Orton. Batista's status tonight was questioned after Orton punted him last week.
Kofi Kingston came out to the ring and they ran an 80s style split screen promo. Kofi basically wished everyone a Merry Christmas.
2. Kofi Kingston defeated Manu (with Cody Rhodes) in 3:21. King said he wanted to ask Dusty Rhodes if he was proud of Cody. Manu used his power early, but Kofi was impressive utilizing his quickness. The finish came when Manu held Kofi up for a Samoan Drop, but Kofi countered it into a slam and modified crucifix pin for the win.
Backstage, John Cena apparently asked Kelly Kelly to be his partner tonight and she accepted.
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Backstage, Sim Snuka told Randy Orton he should consider him to be a member of his new group. Manu and Rhodes approached. Orton stared down Manu and said maybe they did need a new member.
Another DX commercial aired, but King prefaced it by reminding us it was filmed "weeks ago." When Triple H brought up the Elimination Chamber, Michaels cringed. H made fun of spending time with in-laws. They traded playful slaps and even made fun of their 2002 SummerSlam match. They "fought" before plugging the site.
CM Punk was talking to Shawn Michaels backstage. Triple H approached Michaels and told him they needed to talk. H said Michaels was not accepting his calls so he had to come to Raw to see him face to face. Michaels told Triple H he knew H would help him, but he had to handle this his own way. He said he knew what he was doing. H said he hoped so.
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3. Melina and Mickie James defeated Layla and Jillian Hall in 3:55. Jillian was singing during the break. William Regal joined the announce team. After a solid match with one botched move, Melina hit her finisher on Jillian for the win.
The announcers plugged the rest of the card again.
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Footage was shown of Mike Knox obliterating Rey Mysterio last week.
4. JBL defeated Rey Mysterio by disqualification in a Race to the Rumble match in 12:32. Mysterio had the 619 set up early in the match. JBL retreated to the outside and Rey hit a springboard move from the apron.
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JBL was in control coming back from commercial. He hit a fallaway slam when Rey tried a high crossbody for a nearfall. JBL threw Rey to the floor and Rey injured his knee. He barely beat the count back in.
JBL toyed with Rey back in the ring. He hit a series of short closelines for a long two count. He applied a torture rack and although Rey fought out, JBL locked in a sleeper. Rey fought out and hit a seated senton, hurricarana, and a bulldog for a nearfall.
JBL attempted a fallaway slam that would have deposited Rey to the floor, but Rey countered with a tornado DDT. He set up JBL for the 619 and right before he hit it, Shawn Michaels pulled JBL from the ring. He then slapped JBL, so the referee called for the bell and awarded JBL the match.
Footage of Kennedy's new movie was shown.
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The footage of Orton punting Batista was shown once again. Randy Orton made his way out to the ring.
5. Randy Orton defeated Batista by forfeit in a Race to the Rumble match in :00. The announcer announced Orton the winner because Batista could not compete.
Orton took the microphone and listed the impressive accomplishments on his resume, but said kicking Batista in the head was the greatest moment of his career. He said he won the World Heavyweight Championship in this exact arena and the crowd popped. The next night, Batista turned on Orton. Orton has been dreaming of this for four years. He said Batista came full circle and is still taking a back seat to Orton. He said when Batista returns, Orton will be the World Heavyweight Champion once again.
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Backstage, Dolph Ziggler introduced himself to Kelly Kelly. He walked away and another finger tapped her shoulder. "I get it! Your name is Dolph Ziggler." She turned around to find The Miz and John Morrison. Miz "thanked" Kelly for Kane's attack last week. Morrison informed her that someone burglarized her hotel room. "Happy holidays Kel," Miz said as the pair walked away.
6. Chris Jericho defeated CM Punk in a Race to the Rumble match in 14:44. Jericho was predictably very over with the Canadian crowd. Jericho grounded Punk with a headlock takeover. Punk countered out and hit the same move. The speed picked up and Punk scored a couple of nearfalls.
Jericho turned the tides and hit a nice vertical suplex for a two count. Punk hit Jericho with a sick kick to the face. The referee checked on Jericho.
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Back from commercial, Jericho hit a series of kicks to Punk's head and a gutwrench suplex for a nearfall. When Punk came back, the crowd booed. When Jericho was on top, the crowd cheered. Jericho set up a superplex but Punk pushed him to the mat. Punk hit a high crossbody for a long two count.
Punk hit a snap powerslam that Cole thinks is called a scoop slam. Jericho tried a Lionsault, but Punk caught him and tried the GTS. Jericho flipped out of it and locked in a half crab, which he turned into the Walls. Punk struggled but Jericho was able to get the second leg.
Punk powered out of the move after about a minute. He then hit a knee lift for a very nearfall. Punk hit his corner high knee. He went for the springboard closeline but Jericho countered it midair with the Codebreaker for the win.
Cole and King showed a graphic of the four winners tonight. Michaels, JBL, Orton, and Jericho will participate in the fatal fourway next week. Jericho held his head as he walked to the back and the crowd chanted his name.
Kelly Kelly was fully dressed and on her way out of the building. Todd Grisham asked about her tag team match. She said she talked to John Cena and he understood.
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Cole and King wondered who was going to take Kelly's place in tonight's match. They shifted gears to talk about the Tribute to the Troops show they broadcast. Footage was shown of comments from President Bush and various moments of the trip.
An outside shot of the city of Toronto was shown. John Cena walked through the backstage area with a confident smile on his face.
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7. John Cena and Trish Stratus defeated Glamorella in 4:24. The fans chanted for Santino and he said he appreciated it. He introduced Rosa Mendez, the weird fan that has been following around Beth. He said Rosa was the second biggest Santino Marella fan, but second place wasn't so bad. He said Canada was second to the United States in everything, but both of them were behind Italy.
Santino went back on his word and said he was going to tell the secret about Santa Claus right now. Cena told the music guy to hit his music as soon as Santino was about to say it. Cena said he found out the secret. Cena said the secret was that Santa was in the building tonight. Cena pointed to him in the front row. He said before he took his seat, he gave Cena an early Christmas present in the form of a new tag team partner.
Trish Stratus's music hit and she came out to a huge pop. Cena and Santino started the match but Trish and Beth were quickly in the ring together. Trish hit her spots and looked fantastic in doing so with little to no ring rust. Santino went to the top, but Trish crotched him and hit her handstand hurricarana. Beth took over at that point. When Trish tagged in Cena, the crowd was pissed.
Cena went to work on Santino but Beth interfered. Trish came in and hit the Chick Kick on Beth. Cena hit the FU for the win. After the match, Cena paraded Trish around the ring so she could take in the cheers.
