One Must Choose.
Three weeks before Hell in a Cell, the 1011th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento, CA. For the first time since RAW’s 1000th episode in July, WWE Chairman & CEO Mr. McMahon returns to his creation, Monday Night RAW, to deliver the State of the WWE Address! What will the Chairman have to say about the current state of his company? What are Mr. McMahon’s thoughts on the unbalanced RAW General Manager AJ Lee? Also, with WWE Champion CM Punk repeatedly refusing to face him inside the Hell in a Cell structure for the WWE Championship, the convalescing John Cena will kick off RAW to discuss his recovery process and the actions. The #1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament has come down to four teams as Rhodes Scholars, Zack Ryder & Santino Marella, The Prime Time Players, and Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara have all advanced to the Semi-Finals and, on RAW, one of these four teams will make it to the Finals, coming one step closer to becoming the new #1 Contenders for the WWE Tag Team Titles at Hell in a Cell.
Match Results
- 2-on-1 Tornado Handicap Match: Ryback def. Primo & Epico by pinning Primo & Epico following the double Shell Shocked.
- #1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament: Semi-Final Match: Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara def. The Prime Time Players by Rey Mysterio pinning Darren Young following the 619 & Bullet Splash to advance to the Finals.
- Non-Title: Sheamus def. Wade Barrett by DQ after Tensai interferes.
- Non-Title: Antonio Cesaro def. Tyson Kidd by pin following the Neutralizer.
- Non-Title: Kane & Daniel Bryan def. Alberto Del Rio & Dolph Ziggler (with Ricardo Rodriguez & Vickie Guerrero) by Kane pinning Dolph Ziggler following the chokeslam.
- #1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament: Semi-Final Match: Team Rhodes Scholars def. Team CoBro by Cody Rhodes pinning Santino Marella following the Disaster Kick to advance to the Finals.
- Divas Championship: Eve (c) def. Kaitlyn by submission to an ankle lock to retain.
Detailed Results
As promised, RAW kicks off with the recovering John Cena, who says that having the last week off felt like a year and, after giving some commentary on some of the happenings in the WWE as of late, Cena says that he doesn’t have a “voice” and neither does the fans. Cena continues that CM Punk has stolen their voices, saying that Punk is now the “voice of the selfish” and every day that he holds the WWE Championship, Punk garners “respect”. Cena says that the fans will remember some of CM Punk’s most epic moments and, if CM Punk vs. John Cena inside Hell in a Cell takes place, then that will be another one of those moments. Cena continues that some people turn their nose up at Punk because the WWE Champion is sometimes “not a man”, concluding by telling Punk to “be a man” and agree to define his “legacy” inside Hell in a Cell. Cena then exits the ring as “The Sin City Cyborg” Ryback makes his way down the ramp, passing John Cena on his way to compete in the opening match of the night.
After being defeated by Ryback on SmackDown, Primo would enlist the help of his cousin and tag team partner, Epico, as Primo & Epico faced “The Sin City Cyborg” Ryback in a 2-on-1 Tornado Handicap Match. Despite using the two-on-one advantage early on, the unreal strength of Ryback would dominate the former tag team champions as Ryback drops both Primo & Epico with Shell Shocked, pinning both men to pick up the win!
Brodus Clay was set to take on R-Truth on RAW, but before the match, R-Truth rushes the ring, apparently in pursuit of his imaginary friend, Little Jimmy. Truth then tells “The Funkasaurus” that they can fight anytime, but Little Jimmy is going through “puberty”. Truth then asks Brodus and the Funkadactyls to dance with Little Jimmy with all five of them dancing in the ring. Mr. McMahon then appears on the Tron, telling the group to dance out of the ring because it is time for his State of the WWE Address!
For the first time in three months, WWE Chairman & CEO Mr. McMahon would appear on RAW to deliver the State of the WWE Address! McMahon states that there is room for everything in the WWE from dancing invisible children, angry vegans, giants, and everything in between. The Chairman continues that the fans want to see “the best against the best”. McMahon’s mood is then ruined by the interruption of WWE Champion CM Punk and his associate, Paul Heyman, as the WWE Champion comes face-to-face with the WWE Chairman. McMahon says that he is trying to deliver the State of the WWE Address and Punk has “disrespected” him. Punk responds by saying that McMahon took a shot at him because he will not face John Cena at Hell in a Cell. Punk continues that Cena could not get the job done at Night of Champions and Cena does not deserve any more title opportunities. Punk then says that no one backstage and no one in the crowd respects him before asking the Chairman if he respects Punk. McMahon says that he respects that Punk has been the WWE Champion for 323 days, but he does not respect the fact that Punk is a “Paul Heyman guy”, admitting that he is not a “CM Punk guy”. Punk says that he is no longer a “spoke on the wheel”, he is the wheel, saying that he is the “best thing” that Mr. McMahon has got in the WWE! Paul Heyman tries to calm CM Punk down, but Punk refuses, saying McMahon should get on his knees and thank Punk for everything he has done for the WWE. Punk continues, saying that no one cares about Jim Ross or Jerry Lawler or anyone else because they want to “appreciate” him, just like McMahon should appreciate him. The WWE Champion then threatens to do what he did last year, leave the WWE with the title, but this time, he won’t come back.
The Chairman asks if Punk thinks he is “indispensable” and Punk responds by saying that he is the reason that Mr. McMahon still makes money and is able to afford a private jet because he is the best in the world. Punk then asks McMahon who makes the company go around and the Chairman says that the company is not running because of him or Punk, it’s because of the fans. McMahon continues, saying that the fans want to see Punk get his mouth shut and Punk is nothing like the greats of WWE’s past like Andre The Giant, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Punk admits that he is nothing like those guys because he has worked hard to get where he is today, saying that Stone Cold Steve Austin got to where he was at by taking “shortcuts” and running away from fights. Punk then says that Stone Cold got famous by beating up a “clueless, inept millionaire”! Punk continues that the same millionaire has become more “clueless”, but now he is a “senior citizen”. Punk continues to taunt the Chairman, asking if McMahon is “mad”, saying that now the Chairman knows how he feels when the fans disrespect him. Punk then says that the Chairman has been metaphorically slapping him in the face for years. The WWE Champion then does the unthinkable by slapping his boss across the face, knocking Mr. McMahon to the mat! Punk then says that, now, that’s a slap to the Chairman’s face. Punk and Paul Heyman then leave the ring, but the proud Chairman gets to his feet, saying that he ought to fire CM Punk, but that firing him would be too easy. Mr. McMahon then says that he will fire Punk if the WWE Champion does not fight him in the ring tonight! As Paul Heyman pleads with CM Punk not to fight the Chairman, Mr. McMahon decrees that, if Punk does not fight him by the end of the night, then he will fire Punk and teach the WWE Champion a lesson in “respect”! On the staging area, Heyman is absolutely against the idea, but Punk just smiles and tells his associate that everything is going to be “fine”. What will be the ramifications of CM Punk facing Mr. McMahon?
Then it was time for a Semi-Final Match in the #1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament as The Prime Time Players would face Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara with the winning team advancing to the Finals. In the end, it was Rey Mysterio hitting the 619 on Darren Young, following it up with the Bullet Splash en route to picking up the win for himself and Sin Cara as the masked team advances to the Finals to face either Rhodes Scholars or Zack Ryder & Santino Marella!
The World Heavyweight Champion was in action on RAW as Sheamus went one-on-one with “The Bareknuckle Brawler” Wade Barrett in a non-title match. Early on in the match, the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title, Big Show, makes his way to ringside. During the hotly contested match, Tensai would rush out, looking for revenge for the Brogue Kick on SmackDown. Wade Barrett and Tensai would then stomp away at Sheamus as Big Show watches with a smile on his face. The gutsy World Heavyweight Champion would manage to fight back, hitting the Brogue Kick on Tensai and taking Wade Barrett out of the ring. However, Big Show enters the ring and Sheamus attempts the Brogue Kick, but the giant catches the foot of Sheamus, sending the World Heavyweight Champion out of the ring on his head!
Backstage, WWE Champion CM Punk confronts RAW General Manager AJ Lee, asking if the GM is going to let Punk put Mr. McMahon in a wheelchair on her show. AJ asks the WWE Champion if he is “scared” to fight the Chairman and Punk says that he was trying to save AJ’s job, but now, whatever happens will be AJ’s fault.
The United States Champion was in action on RAW as Antonio Cesaro faced Tyson Kidd in a non-title match. In the end, it was Antonio Cesaro hitting the Neutralizer on Tyson Kidd en route to picking up the win.
“Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” would team with “The Mexican Aristocrat” on RAW as Dolph Ziggler & Alberto Del Rio, with Vickie Guerrero & Ricardo Rodriguez in their corner, faced the WWE Tag Team Champions, Kane & Daniel Bryan, in a non-title match. At the end of a chaotic match, it was Kane planting Dolph Ziggler with a chokeslam en route to picking up the win for himself and Daniel Bryan.
Backstage, Hall of Famer Jim Ross is talking to WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon as J.R. tells the Chairman that McMahon has “nothing to gain” by getting into the ring with CM Punk, citing what happened to Jerry Lawler after Lawler got into a confrontation with the WWE Champion. At McMahon’s demand, the Hall of Famer belts out a classic “McMahon, McMahon, he’s beating CM Punk like a government mule!” J.R. then says that he still doesn’t think McMahon should go through with it and the Chairman breaks loose with an “it doesn’t matter what you think!”
RAW would feature a very special guest as the host of the new Hulu Plus series, Larry King Now, the legendary interviewer, Larry King, appears on RAW alongside his wife to interview Intercontinental Champion and Twitter rival The Miz. Before Larry can do the introduction, the Intercontinental Champion comes out, saying that it is the greatest day of the year, his birthday. King argues that he has it on good authority that no one cares about his birthday! Larry then says that he is replacing a boring guest with an interesting guest as the broadcast legend brings out Kofi Kingston. Kofi says that the “good word” is that RAW is in Sacramento. The Miz then butts in, saying he cannot tell who is more irrelevant, the “has-been” Larry King or the “never-was” Kofi Kingston. Miz continues, saying that King wishes that he was as good as The Miz at his age. Miz then says that he has had more championships than Larry King has had wives! Larry then starts to get out of his seat, but the Intercontinental Champion threatens to “divorce” Larry’s head from his body. This riles up Mrs. King as Larry’s wife stands up and throws water in Miz’s face! Miz then looks ready for a fight and Kofi gives him one as Kingston knocks Miz off of the stage before diving off onto the Intercontinental Champion before the fight continues to the back!
Then it was time for the second Semi-Final Match in the #1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament as Team Rhodes Scholars, Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow, would face Team CoBro, Zack Ryder & Santino Marella, with the winners advancing to the Finals to face Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara on next week’s RAW. In the end, it was Cody Rhodes hitting the Disaster Kick on Santino Marella, pinning Santino to pick up the win for himself and Damien Sandow as Team Rhodes Scholars will face Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara in the Finals on next week’s RAW with the winning team challenging Kane & Daniel Bryan for the WWE Tag Team Titles at Hell in a Cell! After the match, the group known as Encore, Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal, & Drew McIntyre, attack Santino Marella, beating down Santino.
Backstage, Paul Heyman confronts Mr. McMahon, saying that he did not know that CM Punk was going to challenge McMahon and that he is there for the Chairman’s sake. McMahon says that Heyman has been “poisoning” Punk’s mind for years, Heyman then says that he is the “voice of reason”, telling McMahon to not let CM Punk do to him what Brock Lesnar did to McMahon’s son-in-law, Triple H!
After being taken out at Night of Champions by an unknown assailant, Kaitlyn would return to action on RAW to challenge the woman who took advantage of her injury to win the Divas Title, Eve, for the Divas Championship, with former champion Layla a guest on commentary. Throughout the match, Eve would focus on the injured ankle of Kaitlyn and, in the end, Kaitlyn would have no choice but to tap out to an ankle lock by Eve as Eve retains the Divas Title. After the match, Eve refuses to let go of the hold, but Layla rushes the ring, forcing the break. Eve then appears to show concern for Kaitlyn, but Layla shoves the Divas Champion before tending to Kaitlyn.
Then it was time for the unlikely main event as, at the behest of the Chairman himself, WWE Champion CM Punk would go one-on-one with the sixty-seven year old Mr. McMahon. However, during the Chairman’s entrance, CM Punk would strike from behind, pummeling his boss before rolling McMahon into the ring. The Chairman then gets back to his feet as McMahon takes the WWE Champion down with boss and employee exchanging blows with each other, but CM Punk quickly puts the Chairman down with a kick to the skull. Punk then bounces McMahon’s head off of the announce table before Punk hoists the Chairman up for the GTS. However, the bloodied boss fights out of the move before tossing the WWE Champion over the announce table! McMahon then dives over the announce table, popping Punk repeatedly with a microphone! The grisly owner then grabs a kendo stick from under the ring, but before the Chairman can use it, Punk makes a quick retreat as Punk and Heyman look ready to leave the fight. However, McMahon exits the ring, slapping Heyman down and grabbing hold of the WWE Title belt. With the title belt lying in the middle of the ring, Punk dares the champion to come in and get his title with Punk getting his own kendo stick. Punk enters the ring and is immediately caught with kendo stick shots from the Chairman, but when McMahon goes for the final shot, Punk catches his boss with a low blow! With the advantage once again, the WWE Champion grabs both kendo sticks, waylaying McMahon with several stick shots. Punk then hoists McMahon up for the GTS again, but Ryback marches to the ring in pursuit of the WWE Champion! Punk then makes quick exit, but John Cena comes out and tosses Punk back into the ring, drilling Punk with a clothesline before the WWE Champion is able to make another retreat, this time through the crowd. Mr. McMahon then lays an ultimatum down for CM Punk, telling Punk that he will either choose to face John Cena or Ryback at Hell in a Cell and, if Punk does not make the decision by next week, then McMahon will choose for him!
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