Diva Search: Todd Grisham gets interrogated. So would a few million other guys.

Jeff Hardy & Shawn Michaels meet backstage. They're teaming against Orton & Kennedy in tonight's main event. More campaigning for Cyber Sunday, and questions of trust between HBK & the IC champ.

Cody Rhodes is reading a preview copy of the new WWE magazine (issue 500) when he is approached by the World's Greatest Tag Team. Cody faces Shelton Benjamin tonight, so the former tag champs figure they can start early by getting inside the head of the rookie. Not so fast. Cody rags on Shel's bleached blond hair, calling him a "total tool". Benjamin suggests that after the match, Cody could dye his hair to look more like his father. All Charlie Haas does is snap his fingers, as if he's trying to be more black.

Jonathan Coachman & William Regal are in the GM's office, and the subject of course is Hornswoggle. Vince McMahon is "out of the country", and it appears Coach will face 'Swoggle in the latter's 1st match on Raw, but Coach tricks Regal by making it 'Swoggle vs. Umaga. Regal just walks away, perhaps plotting how to help the former cruiser champion.

Match 2: Cody Rhodes vs. Shelton Benjamin (w/Charlie Haas) We've been down this road before. Benjamin goes to work early, targeting the left leg of Rhodes, who fights back and reciprocates, as Benjamin is now selling a leg injury as well. Cody hits a bulldog for 2, and the next thing you know, Benjamin winds up in a familiar position----in the loss column. Winner: Cody Rhodes.

Post-match, Haas jumps in and suddenly it's 2 vs. 1 until Hardcore Holly, who'd beaten Rhodes three times in the last four weeks, makes the save. Well, Holly & Rhodes began teaming at house shows on the recently concluded European tour, so respect has been earned after all.

Match 3: D. H. Smith vs. Carlito D. H. Smith is Harry Smith, son of the late Davey Boy Smith, the British Bulldog. I would assume his full name is David Harry Smith, hence the initials, in memory of his father, to whom he dedicates his first match on Raw. It's taken this long for him to make his debut, so it should be worthwhile. Pretty good match, and Carlito, himself a 2nd generation wrestler (son of Carlos Colon), makes the perfect opponent. The former US & IC champ breaks out the springboard elbow, but only gets a pair of one counts from ref Marty Elias. One jump too many, however, gets Carlito in trouble, as Smith scores with his father's finisher, the running powerslam. Winner: D. H. Smith.

Beth Phoenix & Candice Michelle are virtually nose-to-nose backstage, and the women's champion, Phoenix, promises to make Candice bow down to her. The former champion, of course, doesn't see it that way.

Umaga's on his way to the ring, with Coach as his manager du jour. One leprechaun due for slaughter----NEXT!

Match 4: Hornswoggle vs. Umaga (w/Jonathan Coachman) The expression on the face of ring announcer Lillian Garcia spoke volumes. There was no energy when she introduced 'Swoggle, knowing what was about to happen. Luckily, the leprechaun only teased stepping through the ropes. Instead, he scurried off, but Coach wouldn't take the bait this time. He got only as far as the foot of the ramp before Triple H's theme erupted, and the Cerebral Assassin returned after being off last week. That led to a pull-apart between HHH & Umaga that took forever to break up. Winner: None. The match never started.

The three remaining Diva Search contestants, Brooke, Eve, & Lena, are on stage with Todd Grisham. Lena is eliminated, which is too bad, because she was the hottest of the three. That leaves Brooke & Eve in the finals next week, and each was given 30 seconds to campaign for votes. Neither of them, really, was impressive.

Randy Orton & Ken Kennedy meet in the champ's dressing room. Orton tries to give the fans a little reverse psychology by explaining to Kennedy that people don't like him (not entirely true), and thus won't vote for him. I'd like to see the fans stick it to the system and let the pride of Green Bay be the challenger. With Raw so thin on the face side at the moment, it wouldn't hurt to have Kennedy straddle the fence. He promises to be in it to win it as Orton's partner, but after the match, all bets are off. Orton warns against it, saying Kennedy doesn't want him for an enemy. Oh, this is sweet.

Match 5: Santino Marella (w/Maria) vs. Ron Simmons Return match for these two. The last time, Marella ran like a scalded dog. Let's see if he can back up his tough talk toward Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Simmons this time. Before the match, and before Simmons even came out, Marella pimped the WWE magazine, then complained that he got no mention in it, but Austin was mentioned several times. He called himself the greatest superstar in WWE, which is of course akin to writing a check with your mouth that your butt can't cash. Enter Simmons, and the fight is on, but it isn't much. Marella's best move was a single leg takedown that would lead to just a 2 count. He blocked a corner charge by Simmons with a low blow, and that led to the ref calling for the bell. Winner: Ron Simmons via DQ.

Triple H interview. If he had it his way, his match vs. Umaga at Cyber Sunday would be a first blood steel cage streetfight, because it won't matter to him. Be'lee that, playa.

Match 6: Beth Phoenix vs. Candice Michelle (WWE women's title, best 2 of 3 falls) According to Jim Ross, this is the first time in the nearly 15 year history of Raw that there's been a 2 out of 3 fall match for the women's title. Hey, anytime they can go old school is cool with me. 1st fall is a near-total squash. Candice managed to climb the turnbuckles and hit a huracanrana, but could go no further than that, and the Glamazon put her down with a tree slam. Beth is up 1-0 as we go to break.

Back from commercial, and Beth has Candice in a Boston Crab, or at least about 3/4 of the way there, trying to get a submission. None is coming, and Candice eventually works her way out of it. She tries valiantly to fight back, and gets a few near falls. She goes upstairs, thinking perhaps of a missile dropkick. However, Beth hits the ropes, forcing the challenger down, and hard. Candice lost her balance and landed face first on the mat, knocked out cold. Phoenix did the only thing she could do under the circumstances, and pull the challenger to the center of the ring, then make the cover. Winner: Beth Phoenix, 2-0.

Candice is being placed on a board and will be stretchered out as a precaution. Have to believe she suffered a concussion.

Match 7: Mr. Kennedy & Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels & Jeff Hardy Easily the best match on the show. Tonight's show started hot, and finishes the same way. Great back and forth between the two teams, and total continuity on both sides, with no hints of double-crosses. Orton did as little as possible, as the emphasis was on the three candidates vying to challenge him on Sunday. It came down to Hardy & Kennedy. HBK cleared Orton out of the ring and they started brawling on the floor. Meanwhile, Hardy set up for the Swanton, but Kennedy climbed up to try to cut him off. Jeff pushed him back down and hit the Swanton dead center. Ballgame. Winners: Shawn Michaels & Jeff Hardy.

Post-match, Orton went for an RKO on Hardy, but instead ate the superkick from HBK for the 3rd straight week. That pretty much tells who gets the title shot right there, kids.