Simply Not The Best?
With the 25th annual SummerSlam in the record books, the 1004th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the Save Mart Center at Fresno State in Fresno, CA. Despite pulling out all the stops in an unforgettable war against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, Triple H would find himself trapped in Brock’s Kimura Lock again, being forced to tap out after “The War Machine” again broke the arm of “The Game” as the match left the world wondering if Triple H’s legendary career is over. After breaking Triple H’s arm and putting his career in severe jeopardy, RAW would kick off with Brock Lesnar and his legal representative, Paul Heyman, as Brock would comment on his triumph over Triple H. A man who knows the Kimura Lock all too well would also let his comments be known as “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels would appear live, via satellite, to discuss the match between his friend, Triple H, and the man who broke his arm last week, Brock Lesnar.
Match Results
- 6-Man Tag: Sin Cara, R-Truth, & Kofi Kingston def. Cody Rhodes & The Prime Time Players by Sin Cara rolling up Cody Rhodes.
- 2-on-1 Handicap Match: Ryback def. Mike Spinner & Andy Tacaris by DQ after Jinder Mahal interferes.
- Randy Orton (with Sheamus) def. Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) by pin following the RKO.
- Damien Sandow def. Brodus Clay by roll-up with the tights.
- Big Show def. David Otunga by pin following the W.M.D.
- Kane & Zack Ryder and Daniel Bryan & The Miz fight to a No Contest after Daniel Bryan flees the arena.
- #1 Contender’s Divas Battle Royal: Kaitlyn def. Eve, Aksana, Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes, Natalya, & Tamina Snuka to become the new #1 Contender for the Divas Title.
- WWE Contract vs. Money-in-the-Bank Contract: Dolph Ziggler def. Chris Jericho by pin following the Zig Zag to terminate the WWE contract of Chris Jericho.
Detailed Results
Just one night after his vicious encounter with Triple H at SummerSlam, where he broke the arm of the thirteen-time World Champion en route to earning a submission victory, RAW kicks off with “The Beast” Brock Lesnar and his representative, Paul Heyman. Heyman says that, eleven years ago, he was a commentator and he witnessed Triple H tear his quadriceps muscle, but “The Game” still finished that match. Heyman continues that a torn quad could not stop Triple H, but Brock Lesnar could and Lesnar did. Heyman then reminds the world that Brock made Triple H tap out at SummerSlam, forcing Triple H to “quit” on his family, his company, and all of the fans. Heyman continues that Brock took Triple H’s “manhood”, leaving Triple H a broken “shell of a man”, saying that Triple H “picked a fight” with Brock and they don’t feel sorry for Triple H. Heyman then says that they are requesting the presence of the referee for the match between Lesnar and Triple H, Scott Armstrong, because Lesnar would like a word with the senior official. Referee Scott Armstrong reluctantly makes his way to the ring as Heyman asks if Armstrong was told by Triple H, before the match, to let Brock and Triple H fight at SummerSlam, regardless of the cost to either man. Brock then corners the referee as Heyman says that Lesnar has “two words” for Scott Armstrong as Lesnar pats Armstrong on the shoulder and tells the referee, “good job”. Armstrong then leaves the ring as Heyman continues to tout his client, saying that Lesnar is the new “King of Kings” and Lesnar is the “conqueror of the WWE”, saying that the fans are now the “loyal subjects” to Brock Lesnar!
After successfully defending the WWE Tag Team Titles against The Prime Time Players at SummerSlam, WWE Tag Team Champions R-Truth & Kofi Kingston would team with “The International Sensation” Sin Cara to face The Prime Time Players and Cody Rhodes in a 6-Man Tag Match. For the third match in a row, Cody Rhodes obsession with Sin Cara’s mask would cost Rhodes the match as, when Rhodes goes for the high-flyer’s mask, Cara counters with a roll-up to pick up the win for his team.
Backstage, David Otunga returns to RAW, appearing for the first time in several weeks, telling RAW General Manager AJ Lee is in need of legal counsel, saying that he could drop a lawsuit at a moment’s notice if someone were to call the GM “crazy”. Not hearing anything past the word, “crazy”, AJ puts David Otunga in a match.
“The Sin City Cyborg” was in action on RAW as Ryback faced the unknown competitors Mike Spinner and Andy Tacaris in a 2-on-1 Tornado Handicap Match. Ryback was moments away from another dominating victory, but Jinder Mahal would attack the monster from behind before locking in the Camel Clutch. However, “The Sin City Cyborg” easily powers out of the Camel Clutch, which causes Mahal to retreat as Ryback finishes the job by hitting both men with a double Shell Shocked as a clear message sent to Mahal.
Backstage, “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” Dolph Ziggler confronts Chris Jericho, demanding a SummerSlam rematch from “Y2J”. AJ Lee then skips onto the scene, making a career-altering rematch between the two as Chris Jericho will go one-on-one with Dolph Ziggler and, if Dolph loses, then Jericho gets Ziggler’s Money-in-the-Bank briefcase, but if Jericho loses, then his contract will be terminated!
After being cheated at the end of his World Heavyweight Title match at SummerSlam, “The Mexican Aristocrat” Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez appear on RAW. Del Rio says that he was “robbed” at SummerSlam by Sheamus and by the referee before Del Rio shows photos from SummerSlam where Del Rio’s foot was on the bottom rope while the referee still counts the three for Sheamus. Del Rio then demands a rematch for the World Heavyweight Title right now, but RAW General Manager AJ Lee comes out, saying that she has no control over the World Heavyweight Championship as that is SmackDown General Manager Booker T’s department. The GM then says that, since Del Rio is already dressed to compete, then Del Rio needs an opponent before AJ brings out “The Viper” Randy Orton!
Per the orders of RAW General Manager AJ Lee, “The Mexican Aristocrat” Alberto Del Rio, with Ricardo Rodriguez in his corner, would go one-on-one with “The Viper” Randy Orton on RAW, with World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus a guest on commentary. During the match, Ricardo Rodriguez would attempt to interfere in the match, but Sheamus would get up from his seat, scaring Rodriguez away. However, the situation on the outside would distract Randy Orton long enough for Del Rio to hit the Back Stabber, but Orton would get his foot on the bottom rope and the World Heavyweight Champion quickly alerts the referee to the foot on the rope. This would keep the match going as Orton would hit the RKO en route to picking up the win over Del Rio.
Two weeks after being assaulted by Damien Sandow, “The Funkasaurus” Brodus Clay would go one-on-one with “The Intellectual Savior of the Masses” Damien Sandow. In the end, it was Damien Sandow catching Brodus Clay off-guard with a roll-up, hooking the tights for added leverage to pick up the win over “The Funkasaurus”. Brodus Clay was not done with Damien Sandow, however, as Brodus hits the Funkasplash on Sandow after the match.
One week after Brock Lesnar used the Kimura Lock to break his arm, Hall of Famer “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels would appear, live via satellite, on RAW. Shawn Michaels says that he knows that is going through Triple H’s head right now, saying that all the thoughts of retirement are usually kept in private. HBK continues that you cannot prepare to face your own “professional mortality”, saying that he knows what Triple H is feeling and Triple H is a “warrior” as “The Game” always left it all in the ring. Michaels says that he wanted to support his friend, but he became a “distraction” for Triple H, saying that he did not tell Triple H the truth last week as Triple H needed him to say that Triple H could not beat Brock Lesnar. HBK then says that it is never easy to tell a friend that he cannot succeed, saying that he has always been “proud” of Triple H. Michaels then concludes by saying that he and the fans “love” Triple H before congratulating Triple H on a “job well done”.
Per the orders of RAW General Manager AJ Lee, the returning David Otunga would go one-on-one with an angry giant in the form of “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show. In the end, it was a dominant victory for the seething giant as Big Show levels David Otunga with the W.M.D. en route to picking up the win.
In an effort to quell the anger issues of Kane and Daniel Bryan, AJ Lee would team Kane and Bryan up with former rivals as “The Big Red Monster” Kane teamed with the man he once shoved off of the stage in a wheelchair, Zack Ryder, to face Daniel Bryan and the man who coached Bryan during NXT Season One before Bryan would surpass him by taking his United States Title, Intercontinental Champion The Miz. After inadvertently colliding with The Miz, Miz would refuse to tag Daniel Bryan in before Miz walks out on his tag partner. Bryan then flees from Kane, which enrages “The Big Red Monster” as Kane attacks his own tag partner, Zack Ryder, laying Ryder out with a chokeslam. Kane then goes on a rampage outside of the ring, ripping the announce table to shreds and even putting is hands on a crew member before setting his sights back on Ryder, spiking Ryder with the Tombstone Piledriver in the center of the ring!
With AJ Lee waiting to hear who CM Punk will select as the new #1 Contender for the WWE Title, WWE Champion CM Punk appears backstage and reveals that he is selecting none other than John Cena as the next challenger for his title! Punk then states that he will call Cena out later on and may even get the respect of the former champion.
With Divas Champion Layla a guest at ringside, seven Divas would battle as Eve, Kaitlyn, Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes, Natalya, Aksana, & Tamina Snuka would compete in a Divas Battle Royal with the winner being named the #1 Contender for the Divas Title. The first two Divas to go were Aksana and Rosa Mendes as they battled each other out of the ring. After Tamina Snuka eliminates Natalya and Alicia Fox, Kaitlyn eliminates Tamina Snuka, leaving only Eve and Kaitlyn in the match. Kaitlyn is then able to power Eve over the top rope to become the new #1 Contender for the Divas Title.
In a shocking Tout sent out by Paul Heyman on behalf of Brock Lesnar, the self-proclaimed new “King of Kings” Brock Lesnar announces that he has done everything he has set out to do in the WWE, so he is leaving the WWE and he is “never coming back”!
In a rematch from SummerSlam, the career paths of two of the WWE top Superstars would be forever changed as “Y2J” Chris Jericho would go one-on-one with “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” Dolph Ziggler in a WWE Contract vs. Money-in-the-Bank Contract Match where, if Jericho wins, then Jericho will earn Ziggler’s Money-in-the-Bank contract, but if Dolph wins, then Jericho’s WWE contract will be terminated. In the end, it was Dolph Ziggler hitting the Zig Zag on Chris Jericho en route to picking up the win, retaining his Money-in-the-Bank briefcase, but also being responsible for the termination of Chris Jericho’s WWE contract! After the match, the now unemployed Chris Jericho would leave a lasting impression on everyone, most of all on Dolph Ziggler as “Y2J” blasts Dolph in the spine with the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase before laying Ziggler out with the Codebreaker!
After defeating John Cena and Big Show in a Triple Threat Match at SummerSlam, WWE Champion CM Punk appeared on RAW to call out his handpicked #1 Contender, John Cena. The WWE Champion first exits the ring to confront Jerry “The King” Lawler again, recalling several weeks ago when the Hall of Famer said that Punk turned his back on the fans. The champion then demands an apology from Lawler, but John Cena interrupts the proceedings, which brings CM Punk back into the ring. Punk accuses Cena of stealing the spotlight before saying that, since WrestleMania, he has been taking a “back seat” to Cena, Triple H, and The Rock. Punk continues that he is the WWE Champion, but he is frequently asked why he was not in the main event and he says that he lets Cena go on last out of “respect”. Punk then says that taking the back seat no longer makes sense seeing as he has defeated Cena on three different occasions over the last year, saying that he has been giving respect since holding up the WWE last year. The WWE Champion continues that he will defeat Cena again, but no matter how many times he beats Cena, the fans still overwhelmingly support Cena. Punk then reveals that Cena can have a shot at the WWE Championship, but only if Cena publicly admits in front of everyone that CM Punk is the “best in the world”!
Cena states that he has not been the WWE Champion for nine months and their rivalry is based on one word, “respect”. Cena then says that he cannot call CM Punk the “best in the world” because he believes that he is the best. Cena continues that every Superstar must believe that they are the best or else they should not be in the business. Cena then says that CM Punk has been the champion for 274 days, but the only thing that anyone remembers is when Punk left the WWE as the champion over a year ago. Cena then says that he is confident that he will get another shot at the WWE Championship, so Punk can select anyone else as the next contender. Cena continues that, if Punk is able to walk into Night of Champions in Cena’s hometown of Boston and walk out as the WWE Champion, then that will be the moment that defines Punk’s “existence”. Cena then tells Punk that, if Punk does not choose to face him at Night of Champions, then Punk has no “respect” for Cena and no “respect” for himself!
Cena then exits the ring, leaving CM Punk alone in the ring, but the WWE Champion does not address what Cena had to say. Instead, CM Punk calls Jerry Lawler into the ring to finish their discussion. The Hall of Famer enters the ring and Punk says that “The King” owes him an apology and, while Lawler gives Punk an apology, but the champion is not done with Lawler as Punk tells Lawler to publicly state that CM Punk is “the best in the world”. However, the Hall of Famer says that he cannot say that Punk is the best in the world before Lawler tries to leave to return to the announce position, but as soon as “The King” turns his back, the WWE Champion kicks Lawler in the back of the skull! CM Punk then hovers over the fallen Hall of Famer, glaring out at the WWE fans.
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