The 944th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the Thomas & Mack Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Las Vegas, NV. With RAW emanating from “Sin City”, the Superstars and Divas of RAW were at the mercy of the RAW Roulette wheel as a spin of the wheel determines their fate for the night. RAW also featured a very special appearance as 2011 WWE Hall of Fame inductee, “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels would return to Monday Night RAW. Also, after a text voting error led to Mason Ryan mistakenly facing Evan Bourne during RAW Power To The People when Sin Cara was actually the one who got 90% of the votes, the situation was remedied on RAW as Sin Cara and Evan Bourne would go one-on-one.
Match Results
- RAW Roulette Match: Mystery Opponent: Kane def. CM Punk by intentional count-out.
- RAW Roulette Match: No Count-Outs: Sin Cara def. Evan Bourne by pin following the Cara Go Round.
- RAW Roulette Match: Non-Title: Player’s Choice Match: Vickie Guerrero Banned: Kofi Kingston def. Dolph Ziggler by pin following Trouble In Paradise.
- RAW Roulette Match: Steel Cage Match: Alberto Del Rio (with Mark Henry) def. Big Show by escaping the cage.
- RAW Roulette Match: Non-Title: Submission Match: Kelly Kelly def. Nikki Bella by submission to a Boston Crab.
- RAW Roulette Match: Tornado Tag Match: Rey Mysterio & Alex Riley def. The Miz & Jack Swagger by Rey Mysterio pinning Jack Swagger following the Bullet Splash.
- RAW Roulette Match: Non-Title: Tables Match: R-Truth (with CM Punk) def. John Cena
Detailed Results
The show kicks off in a major as the 2011 WWE Hall of Fame inductee, “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels, kicks off Monday Night RAW. Michaels states that he tried to “stay away”, but he just “couldn’t do it” before asking how he could “leave all this”. Michaels continues, saying that he “missed” the fans as they made him who he is today and they have made him “Mr. Hall of Fame”. Michaels then states that he is tired of seeing Guest Hosts shamelessly plug their various projects before plugging his new show on The Outdoor Channel. The Hall of Famer is then interrupted by the arrival of the #1 Contender for the WWE Title, CM Punk, and The New Nexus, WWE Tag Team Champions David Otunga & Michael McGillicutty. CM Punk asks the fans if they are “happy” to see Shawn Michaels before reminding Michaels and the fans that July 17 is his “last day” in the WWE. Michaels responds by saying that never having to see or hear Punk again is a “win-win”. Punk states that Michaels left the WWE as a “loser” by losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania while he will be leaving the WWE as the WWE Champion. Punk continues that he is leaving the WWE because of the fans and that they would rather stand on their feet and cheer Shawn Michaels then to try and get the “future” to stay.
Shawn Michaels then tells CM Punk that, the reason the fans cheer him, is because they know that he is “better” than Punk. Punk refutes that Michaels “was better” than him before asking Michaels if that is a “challenge”. CM Punk then starts to explain that he and Michaels are “a lot alike”, but Michaels interrupts and states that, they have “similarities”, but they are “not alike”. Michaels then states that Punk’s got his “style” and he’s got his before the Hall of Famer delivers Sweet Chin Music to David Otunga! Punk then tells Michaels that he just made the “biggest mistake” of his life. The anonymous General Manager of RAW then chimes in with an email that announces that they are going to make the last three weeks of Punk’s career count before informing Punk that he will compete in the opening match and that match will be determined by the spin of the RAW Roulette wheel. Backstage, the designated spinner of the RAW Roulette wheel, Booker T, shows some of the possibilities, from a “On A Pole” Match to Falls Count Anywhere and even a Pillow Fight, but a spin of the wheel lands on a question mark. Booker T explains that it means that Punk will have a “mystery opponent” before revealing that Punk is getting a “trip to hell” as Punk will go one-on-one with “The Big Red Machine” Kane. As a fearful CM Punk is watching the Tron, Shawn Michaels delivers a second rendition of Sweet Chin Music to Michael McGillicutty before wishing Punk “good luck” with his match!
As determined by the spin of the RAW Roulette wheel, the opening match of the night saw the #1 Contender for the WWE Title, CM Punk, going one-on-one with “The Big Red Machine” Kane. In the middle of the match, CM Punk opts to walk out on the match, taking a count-out loss to Kane. With only three weeks left before his final night in the WWE at Money-in-the-Bank, what does CM Punk have in store for RAW?
After an error in last week’s text voting led to Mason Ryan getting mistakenly voted in over Sin Cara, who actually scored 90% of the votes during RAW Power To The People, the fans got the match they wanted as “The International Sensation” Sin Cara squared off with Evan Bourne in a high-flying, fast-paced match with the RAW Roulette wheel determining that the match will be competed as a No Count-Out Match. In the end, it was Sin Cara hitting the Cara Go Round on Evan Bourne en route to picking up the win.
Backstage, Kofi Kingston is set to spin the RAW Roulette wheel to determine what type of match he will face United States Champion Dolph Ziggler in, but Dolph’s “associate”, Vickie Guerrero, interrupts and spins the wheel herself. However, the wheel lands on “Player’s Choice”, meaning that Kofi got to choose the match type with Kofi choosing to face Dolph in a one-on-one match with Vickie being banned from ringside.
The field for the RAW Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match was revealed during RAW as R-Truth, “The Mexican Aristocrat” Alberto Del Rio, “The Master of the 619” Rey Mysterio, Evan Bourne, Alex Riley, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, and last year’s winner of the RAW Money-in-the-Bank contract, The Miz, will all compete in the grueling Ladder Match with the winner earning the RAW Money-in-the-Bank contract, which guarantees it’s holder a WWE Title match at any time he chooses for the next year! Who will win this year’s RAW Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match and earn a guaranteed WWE Title shot?
After Vickie Guerrero spun the RAW Roulette wheel, inadvertently scoring Kofi Kingston the Player’s Choice of having Vickie Guerrero banned from ringside, Kofi went one-on-one with United States Champion Dolph Ziggler in a non-title match. In the end, it was Kofi Kingston hitting Trouble In Paradise on Dolph Ziggler en route to pinning the United States Champion.
Backstage, Alberto Del Rio confronts Booker T regarding his rematch against Big Show on RAW, but after Booker explains that he is just there to spin the RAW Roulette wheel, Del Rio turns his attention to flirting with Maryse. Del Rio then opts to have Maryse spin the RAW Roulette wheel, but Del Rio is left speechless when the wheel lands on a Steel Cage Match!
Then it was time for a rematch from Capitol Punishment would take place on RAW as “The Mexican Aristocrat” Alberto Del Rio squared off with “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show and, as determined by a spin of the RAW Roulette wheel, the match was contested inside the unforgiving Steel Cage. During the match, the ominous presence of Mark Henry was felt as “The World’s Strongest Man” makes his way to ringside. Shortly after this, Big Show delivers a superplex to Alberto Del Rio inside the ring and, with both combatants down, Mark Henry chose his time to strike. In one of the most incredible feats ever seen, Mark Henry rips the door of the Steel Cage clean off of its hinges, chain and all, before Henry brings the cage door in with him. Mark Henry then proceeds to deliver a kick to the skull of Big Show as Alberto Del Rio escapes the cage to win the match. However, the bigger story becomes Mark Henry’s total annihilation of Big Show as “The World’s Strongest Man” uses the door of the steel cage to ram Big Show all the way through the wall of the steel cage, leaving Big Show broken and the world stunned! Mark Henry seems dead set on completely eradicating Big Show, but has he finally done so with this incredible feat of strength and destruction?
One week after the fans voted her into a Divas Title match against then champion, Brie Bella, ultimately allowing her to claim the Divas Title, the new Divas Champion, Kelly Kelly, went one-on-one with Brie’s twin sister, Nikki Bella, in a non-title match and, as determined by the RAW Roulette wheel, the match was a Submission Match. In the end, it was Kelly Kelly picking up an impressive win, using a Boston Crab to force Nikki Bella to tap out. After the match, Brie Bella attacks Kelly Kelly from behind before The Bella Twins stomp away at the Divas Champion, but Eve makes the save, preventing any serious damage from being done. Can Kelly Kelly retain the Divas Title when she defends against Brie Bella at Money-in-the-Bank?
Backstage, after spinning the RAW Roulette wheel for Rey Mysterio, with the wheel making his tag match a Tornado Tag Match, Booker T was met by an old friend as the one and only Diamond Dallas Page reunites with Booker! The two WCW legends catch up on some memories from their days on WCW Monday Nitro, which currently has a DVD set out chronicling the best of RAW’s former competitor, all hosted by DDP himself. However, the cocky Drew McIntyre interrupts and alleges that some of the Superstars are referring to DDP and Booker as “relics”, but a boot to the face of McIntyre shuts “The Chosen One” up as Shawn Michaels delivers Sweet Chin Music to McIntyre. Michaels then tells Booker and DDP that he has never seen anything of WCW Monday Nitro because he was “working that night”, but says that he is sure that it is “very exciting”!
As determined by the RAW Roulette wheel, a Tornado Tag Match took place on RAW as four of the eight participants in the RAW Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match faced off as The Miz teams with Jack Swagger to face Alex Riley and “The Master of the 619” Rey Mysterio. At the end of an exciting and hard-fought match, it was Rey Mysterio hitting the 619 on Jack Swagger with Alex Riley following it up with the A-Driver and Rey finishing it off with a Bullet Splash en route to picking up the win for himself and Alex Riley. Will one of these Superstars win the RAW Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match at WWE Money-in-the-Bank?
Then it was time for the main event, as in a non-title rematch from Capitol Punishment, WWE Champion John Cena went one-on-one with R-Truth and, as determined by the RAW Roulette wheel, the match would be a Tables Match. During the match, John Cena was set to put R-Truth through a table, but at the last minute, CM Punk rushes out and pulls the table out of the ring, costing Cena the match. Cena then pursues Punk, which gives R-Truth the chance he needs to recover as Truth spears Cena through a table, allowing Truth to pick up the win.
After the match, CM Punk grabs a microphone and takes a seat on the staging area and, as only a man three weeks away from leaving the company can do, the #1 Contender for the WWE Title tells everyone his true and honest opinions. Punk reveals that he actually “likes” John Cena, more than most of the people in the back. Punk continues that he “hates” the idea that Cena is the “best” because Cena is not as he is the “best”. Punk then candidly states that Cena is better than him at something and that is “kissing Vince McMahon’s ass”, adding that Cena is almost as good at that as Hulk Hogan and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson were! Punk then states that he is the “best wrestler in the world” and he has “since day one”, but he has been “vilified” since then. Punk then states that former WWE employee and former ECW owner Paul Heyman saw “something” in him. Punk continues that he is a “Paul Heyman guy”, just like Brock Lesnar was, who “split”. Punk then states that, unlike Lesnar, he will leave the WWE as the WWE Champion.
CM Punk continues that he has “grabbed” Vince McMahon’s “imaginary brass rings”, but the only thing that is “real” is him and, for the past six years, he has proven that he is the “best” on the mic, the “best” in the ring, and even the “best” on commentary! Punk then states that, no matter how many times he “proves it”, he is “barely promoted” and is not in any “movies” or on any “crappy show on the USA Network”. Punk continues that he has not appeared on Conan or Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, even though he should be. Punk then declares that the fact that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is in the main event of next year’s WrestleMania and he is not makes him “sick”! Punk then blames the fans for being part of the reason for his departure because they drink out of the WWE Collector’s cups then “shove” them into his face, wanting an autograph so they can go and “sell it on eBay” instead of getting a “real job”.
CM Punk then reiterates that he will leave the WWE with the WWE Championship, stating that he may take it with him to New Japan Pro Wrestling or he may take it back to Ring of Honor with him! Punk continues that, after he leaves, the fans will still “pour money” into the WWE because he is “just a spoke on the wheel”. Punk continues that Vince McMahon is only a “millionaire” and not a “billionaire” because of “yes men” like the VP of Talent Relations, John Laurinaitis, who tells Vince everything he “wants to hear”. Punk then verbally attacks the McMahon family by boldly stating that maybe the company will be better after Vince McMahon is “dead”, but then the WWE will be ran by Vince’s “idiotic daughter” and his “doofus son-in-law” and the “rest of his stupid family”. CM Punk then gets ready to “move on to a personal story about Vince McMahon”, but before Punk can continue, his microphone is cut off and the show ends abruptly!
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