Who? What? Why?
One night after an unforgettable and destructive WWE TLC, the effects of the final pay-per-view of 2012 would still be felt throughout the WWE as the 1021st edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia, PA. Twelve pay-per-views, nineteen new champions, shocking returns, brutal matches, historic title reigns, careers defined, careers ended, and streaks extended, the 2012 Slammy Awards would celebrate all of these moments, matches, and more as RAW would host the ninth edition of the Slammys, featuring the naming of the 2012 Superstar of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Match of the Year, LOL Moment of the Year, Comeback of the Year, Kiss of the Year, Trending Now Award, and the “Tell Me I Did NOT Just See That” Award will all be handed out to the best of the best of 2012! Also, after AJ Lee’s shocking betrayal at WWE TLC, intentionally costing John Cena the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase in a Ladder Match against Dolph Ziggler, what will AJ Lee have to say for herself? What about John Cena? Where does the ten-time former WWE Champion go from here? Also at WWE TLC, The Shield was cracked, but not destroyed as Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns would survive a brutal and chaotic 6-Man TLC Tag Match against Ryback & Team Hell No, managing to secure the victory in their debut match. Will The Shield move on past Ryback & Team Hell No or does the mysterious trio still plan on righting their supposed “injustices”?
Match Results
- Rey Mysterio def. Damien Sandow by pin following the 619 and Bullet Splash.
- Non-Title: Kaitlyn def. Eve by pin following the single-knee gutbuster.
- Non-Title: Kofi Kingston def. Tensai by pin following Trouble in Paradise.
- The Great Khali def. David Otunga by pin following the Khali Chop.
- Brodus Clay def. JTG by pin following the Funkasplash.
- Cody Rhodes def. Sin Cara by pin following Cross Rhodes.
- 6-Man Tag: The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, & Tommy Dreamer def. 3MB by Tommy Dreamer pinning Heath Slater following the Dreamer DDT.
- Non-Title: Ryback def. Antonio Cesaro by intentional count-out.
- Mixed Tag Match: John Cena & Vickie Guerrero def. Dolph Ziggler & AJ Lee by DQ after Big E. Langston attacks John Cena.
Slammy Award Results
- “Tell Me I Did NOT Just See That” Award- Kofi Kingston
- Comeback of the Year- Jerry “The King” Lawler
- Kiss of the Year- AJ Lee & John Cena
- Superstar of the Year- John Cena
- LOL Moment of the Year- The Rock
- Trending Now Award- Ryback
- Newcomer of the Year- Ryback
- Match of the Year- Triple H vs. The Undertaker, Hell in a Cell Match with Shawn Michaels as the Special Referee at WrestleMania.
Detailed Results
One night after they came up short in a Tables Match against Team Rhodes Scholars at WWE TLC, Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara kick off RAW as, with Sin Cara in his corner, Rey Mysterio would go one-on-one with “The Intellectual Savior of the Masses” Damien Sandow, with Cody Rhodes in his corner, in the opening match of the night. In the end, it was Rey Mysterio hitting the 619 on Damien Sandow and following it up with the Bullet Splash en route to picking up the win.
The first Slammy Award of the night would then be handed out as SmackDown General Manager Booker T appears on RAW to present the award for the Most Shocking Moment of the Year, the “Tell Me I Did NOT Just See That” Award. Booker first introduces the nominees- “Rogue referee” Brad Maddox’s low blow that cost Ryback the WWE Title at Hell in a Cell, Daniel Bryan’s eighteen-second loss of the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania, Kofi Kingston walking on his hands to save himself from being eliminated in the Royal Rumble Match, or CM Punk lays The Rock out with the GTS. Before the GM could reveal the winner, a former Superstar returns as the worm-eating, alarm clock-smashing freak known as The Boogeyman returns to RAW, scaring Booker T away with a handful of worms! After The Boogeyman leaves, Booker cautiously returns to hand out the Slammy Award for “Tell Me I Did NOT Just See That” Award. While Booker introduces the winner, Brad Maddox comes out, ready to accept the award. However, it was not to be as Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston wins the “Tell Me I Did NOT Just That” Award for the most shocking moment of the year!
After costing Kaitlyn the #1 Contender’s spot in the Divas Battle Royal on the WWE TLC Pre-Show, Divas Champion Eve would go one-on-one with Kaitlyn in a non-title match. In the end, it was Kaitlyn landing the single-knee gutbuster on Eve en route to pinning the Divas Champion for the win.
In another Slammy Awards surprise, the five-time tag team champions and former D-Generation X members the New Age Outlaws appear on RAW as Road Dogg & Billy Gunn present the Slammy Award for Comeback of the Year with the nominees being the return of Brock Lesnar, the return of “Y2J” Chris Jericho, the one night only return of D-Generation X, and the miraculous return from a near-fatal heart attack of Jerry “The King” Lawler. The New Age Outlaws then announce that Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler is the winner of the Slammy Award for Comeback of the Year!
After winning the first Slammy Award of the night for the most shocking moment of the year, Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston went one-on-one with Tensai on RAW in a non-title match. Kofi Kingston was able to make quick work of Tensai, putting the big man down with Trouble in Paradise en route to picking up the win. After the match, Kofi Kingston’s celebration would be interrupted by Wade Barrett as “The Bareknuckle Brawler” assaulted the Intercontinental Champion on the outside of the ring, sending Kofi head-first into the steel ring post before laying Kofi out with the Bull Hammer Elbow.
The Managing Supervisor of RAW, Vickie Guerrero, then makes an appearance to present the Slammy Award for Kiss of the Year with the nominees being revealed to be between AJ & Daniel Bryan, AJ & Kane, AJ & CM Punk, and the kiss between AJ & John Cena. The Slammy Award for Kiss of the Year then goes to AJ Lee & John Cena for their kiss. AJ Lee comes out to accept the award, but Vickie first demands an explanation for her actions at WWE TLC. However, AJ snatches the award away from Vickie, saying that she has spent the last year caring about what everyone thinks, but she no longer cares at all what the fans, Vickie Guerrero, or anyone else thinks about her. Vickie then calls AJ a “piece of trash”, which sparks an argument between Vickie and AJ. Dolph Ziggler then comes out to separate the two, but AJ Lee says that her kiss with John Cena may have won Kiss of the Year, but it was nothing compared to what she was about to do. AJ then locks a deep kiss in on Dolph Ziggler, who holds AJ in his arms and kisses her back!
With Natalya in his corner, The Great Khali went one-on-one with David Otunga on RAW. In the end, it was The Great Khali laying David Otunga out with the Khali Chop en route to picking up the win.
The nominees for the 2012 Superstar of the Year is then revealed as the 2012 Royal Rumble Winner Sheamus, ten-time former WWE Champion John Cena, World Heavyweight Champion Big Show, and the sixth longest reigning WWE Champion of all-time CM Punk all in the running for the prestigious award. In a gigantic surprise, the legendary, the two-time Hall of Famer, the sixteen-time World Champion himself, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair returns to RAW to present the Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year! Ric Flair then reveals that the Slammy Award winner for 2012 Superstar of the Year is John Cena! Met by a deafening amount of boos, John Cena comes out to accept the award, saying that the man who holds the Superstar of the Year award is the hardest worker in the WWE. Cena then says that he would like to recognize the loyalty of the WWE fans before saying that, out of “respect”, the 2012 Superstar of the Year should be the greatest Superstar of all-time before Cena hands the Slammy Award over to Ric Flair! Cena then makes his exit, but before Ric Flair can comment, he is interrupted by the WWE Champion, CM Punk, and Paul Heyman. Punk says that the Slammy Award does not belong to Flair and the fact that anyone voted for John Cena as Superstar of the Year is “atrocious”, citing that Cena has had the worst year of his life as Cena lost to The Rock at WrestleMania, lost to him at SummerSlam and Night of Champions, lost his Ladder Match at WWE TLC, and is the first man in Money-in-the-Bank history to cash in the opportunity and lose! Punk continues, saying that he never wanted to be like Ric Flair, he wanted to be like himself, adding that he was the Superstar of the Year last year and he deserves to be this year, proclaiming that he has been the WWE Champion for 393 days! Punk then says that he is the man, not John Cena and not Ric Flair. Flair says that Punk cannot even walk and has had to carry the extra “baggage” that is Paul Heyman. Flair continues, saying that he has not been on RAW for a while, but he has been watching what has gone on. Punk then says that, even with one leg, he could still beat Flair up. With that, the two-time Hall of Famer takes off his jacket and tells CM Punk, “let’s do this” before marching to the ring, challenging the WWE Champion to join him in the ring!
Crutches and all, CM Punk makes his way to the ring, having a hard time getting into the ring. CM Punk would then use one of his crutches to jab Ric Flair in the mid-section, before breaking a crutch over Flair’s back! The WWE Champion would then mock the legendary strut of “The Nature Boy”, but when Punk raises the crutch to deal the final blow to Flair, Flair catches Punk with a thumb to the eye. Then, as Punk makes his retreat, Flair gets a hold of Paul Heyman, locking Heyman in the legendary Figure-4, making Heyman tap out with all of his might! After Heyman rolls out of the ring to deal with the tremendous pain in his legs, Ric Flair addresses Jerry Lawler, saying that it is great to see “The King” and they are never going to lose him or Lawler. “The Nature Boy” then says that he told Vince McMahon that, when he dies, he wants to die in the middle of a WWE ring or with a woman from Philadelphia! Flair says that he has had more fun in Philadelphia than any man should have. Before the Hall of Famer can continue, the self-proclaimed “shield from injustice” makes their way to the ring through the crowd as Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns ready themselves for an attack on “The Nature Boy”, who stands his ground and waits for The Shield! However, Flair would have backup in the form of Team Hell No as a six-man brawl breaks out, similar to the six-man war at WWE TLC. After Dean Ambrose lays Ric Flair out, The Shield focuses on the WWE Tag Team Champions, taking Kane and Daniel Bryan out of the equation. The trio then isolate Ric Flair as Roman Reigns dismantles the announce table. Before The Shield can do the unthinkable by driving “The Nature Boy” through the announce table, “feed me more” blares throughout the arena as Ryback marches to ringside and, with Team Hell No back in the fray, Ryback & Team Hell No pick up where they left off at WWE TLC as they hammer away at The Shield before Ryback hoists Seth Rollins high above his head, dropping Rollins face-first onto the announce table! The Shield then retreat through the fans as Ric Flair celebrates with Ryback & Team Hell No in the ring as all four men stand tall, having thwarted a sinister plan by The Shield.
With Cameron & Naomi in tow, “The Funkasaurus” was in action on RAW as Brodus Clay went one-on-one with JTG. In the end, it was Brodus Clay squashing JTG with the Funkasplash en route to picking up the win.
The unusual pairing of Santino Marella and Tensai, who is wearing an ice pack on his head as a result of Trouble in Paradise from Kofi Kingston, appeared on RAW to present the Slammy Award for LOL Moment of the Year. After calling Tensai, “Albert”, Santino does his best Tensai impersonation, saying that, in Japanese, Tensai means “Fat Albert”. This angers Tensai, but Santino says that is what is on the teleprompter with Tensai pointing out that there is no teleprompter. The nominees for LOL Moment of the Year are then presented as The Rock’s river disposal of John Cena merchandise, Team Hell No’s anger management sessions, Randy Orton dumping hot coffee and chili on Ricardo Rodriguez before shoving Matt Striker’s face into some cake, and Vickie Guerrero’s spastic dancing were all nominated. Santino Marella then announces that The Rock is the winner for LOL Moment of the Year with Santino accepting the award on The Rock’s behalf.
After Rey Mysterio defeated Damien Sandow earlier in the night, Rey’s tag team partner, Sin Cara, with Rey Mysterio in his corner, would go one-on-one with Cody Rhodes, with Damien Sandow in his corner, on RAW. In the end, it was Cody Rhodes planting Sin Cara with the Cross Rhodes en route to picking up the win.
Layla and Zack Ryder then appear to present the Slammy Award for the Trending Now Award for the Hashtag of the Year with the nominees being revealed as #FeedMeMore, #PeoplePower, #LittleJimmy, and #WWWYKI. The winner was then announced as Ryback for the #FeedMeMore hashtag.
One night after using a supersized steel chair on Sheamus to finally put Sheamus down for a three-count in their Chairs Match for the World Heavyweight Title at WWE TLC, World Heavyweight Champion Big Show, with his giant steel chair in hand, appeared on RAW. Big Show says that he is not upset about not getting voted the Superstar of the Year because he is still the World Heavyweight Champion and none of them can dispute that he is the most dominant athlete in the WWE today. As the fans fire up a “boring” chant aimed at the World Heavyweight Champion, “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus makes his way to the ring. Sheamus tells Big Show that he has “no regrets” about their match at WWE TLC and it was probably the most physical match of his career. Sheamus then admits that Big Show was the “better man” at WWE TLC, saying that, for now, Big Show deserves to be the World Heavyweight Champion. Sheamus then extends his hand, offering to shake the hand of the champion with Big Show accepting the gesture. Sheamus was content to just leave the ring, having shown himself to be the bigger man, but the World Heavyweight Champion would not leave well enough alone as Big Show hurls insults at Sheamus, asking Sheamus what made him think that he could ever win against him. The hot-headed Irishman responds by charging Big Show, taking the World Heavyweight Champion down the mat before sizing Big Show up and slamming the giant steel chair right onto the back of Big Show, putting the exclamation point on the attack by blasting Big Show with the Brogue Kick! With the giant prone and laid out in the ring, Sheamus and the crowd in Philadelphia all had the same feeling and that feeling soon became a reality as “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” Dolph Ziggler, bandaged leg and all, makes his way to the ring with a referee in tow, ready to cash in his Money-in-the-Bank opportunity! Dolph would hand the briefcase over to the referee, but before the bell could ring to officially start the match, John Cena rushes out, taking Dolph Ziggler down with a clothesline. Ziggler then rolls to the outside of the ring, but Cena follows, grabbing Ziggler and twice tossing him into the ringside barricade. John Cena then exits the ring, but with Dolph Ziggler laid out and Big Show getting to his feet, the moment had passed for Ziggler’s cash-in and, fortunately for Ziggler, the bell never rang, so Dolph is still the holder of the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase.
Backstage, Dolph Ziggler confronts the Managing Supervisor of RAW, Vickie Guerrero, demanding to know why she allowed John Cena to cost him the World Heavyweight Title. Not in the mood to hear anything from Ziggler, Vickie asks Dolph what happened in the Ladder Match at WWE TLC and asking how Dolph’s kiss with AJ was! Ziggler then asks what Vickie thought she was doing when she interfered in the Ladder Match, saying that Vickie has a Board of Directors to “answer to”. Vickie argues that she was doing her job, adding that there was no disqualification in the match. Vickie then asks Dolph how he got AJ to help him last night, but Ziggler says that he had “no idea” that AJ was going to interfere at WWE TLC. Dolph then says that their relationship is over, so it doesn’t matter, but Vickie avoids giving a straight answer, adding that Vickie’s “jealousy” is getting “tired, old, and just plain ugly”, just like Vickie! The seething Vickie then says that she will give Dolph his shot at revenge when Dolph actually teams with AJ to face John Cena and Vickie Guerrero!
After losing to The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, & The Brooklyn Brawler in a 6-Man Tag Match at WWE TLC, 3MB would be looking to rebound as Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal, & Drew McIntyre faced The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, and their mystery partner, the extreme Philadelphia legend and “The Heart and Soul of ECW” Tommy Dreamer! The match would break out into a brawl that would end with Tommy Dreamer coming off of the top rope, taking out all three members of 3MB. Alberto Del Rio would set Heath Slater up for the cross armbreaker, but Del Rio decides to let the legend have the glory as Del Rio tags Tommy Dreamer in, who hits the Dreamer DDT on Slater en route to picking up the win for his team.
After nearly costing Big Show the World Heavyweight Title earlier in the night, Sheamus appeared on RAW to present the Slammy Award for Newcomer of the Year with the nominees being revealed as the reigning United States Champion Antonio Cesaro, “The Funkasaurus” Brodus Clay, “The Intellectual Savior of the Masses” Damien Sandow, and “The Sin City Cyborg” Ryback. Sheamus then unveils the Slammy Award winner for Newcomer of the Year as the formerly undefeated juggernaut known as Ryback wins the award. Ryback then accepts the award, saying that the late, great Owen Hart used to say, “enough is enough and it’s time for a change”, adding that he is that “change”.
Ryback was also in action on RAW as “The Sin City Cyborg” went one-on-one with United States Champion Antonio Cesaro in a non-title match. During the match, Ryback would set Antonio Cesaro up for the Meat Hook Clothesline, but the United States Champion would take a walk, walking out on the match, giving Ryback the win by count-out.
The Hall of Fame trio of “Good Ol’ J.R.” Jim Ross, “Mean” Gene Okerlund, & Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat then appear on RAW to present the final Slammy Award of the night, the 2012 Match of the Year with the nominees being revealed as the End of an Era, Hell in a Cell Match with Shawn Michaels as the Special Referee between Triple H and The Undertaker at WrestleMania, John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules, Sheamus vs. Big Show for the World Heavyweight Title at Hell in a Cell, and The Rock vs. John Cena at WrestleMania. The three Hall of Famers then reveal that the winner for 2012 Match of the Year is Triple H vs. The Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell with Shawn Michaels as the Special Referee at WrestleMania. “The Game” himself then returns to RAW as, haircut and all, Triple H accepts the Slammy Award! Triple H says that, at WrestleMania, he got to be a part of something that was simply “magical” and to get to share that moment with Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker made it even more special. Triple H continues that he will never forget that night and it was truly the “end of an era”. Triple H then assures the fans that they have not seen the last of The Undertaker!
The cameras then catch an assault-in-progress backstage as The Shield has Tommy Dreamer down on the concrete floor of the parking garage! Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns slam Dreamer into the side of a semi-truck trailer, stomping away at the legend before launching “The Heart and Soul of ECW” into the steel door of the parking garage! When Ricardo Rodriguez arrives on the scene, The Shield deals the same punishment to Rodriguez, hurling the personal ring announcer into the steel door! Referees and officials then finally break up the assault.
Before the main event, AJ Lee orders two stage hands to slide a ladder into the ring, which they do, and AJ climbs to the top of the ladder. AJ says that she is just “full of surprises”, saying that people have been asking her why she did what she did at WWE TLC, but AJ says that the answer is “obvious”. Before AJ can reveal her answer, Vickie Guerrero interrupts, saying that no one cares what AJ’s reason is, telling AJ to get off of the ladder so they can have their match.
Then it was time for the bizarre and volatile main event as John Cena would actually team with the Managing Supervisor of RAW, Vickie Guerrero, to face the team of “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee in a Mixed Tag Match. During the match, AJ Lee and Vickie Guerrero tumble in the ring, but once AJ gets away, AJ walks out on the match! After a stare-down from Dolph Ziggler, Vickie Guerrero also walks out on the match, leaving Cena and Dolph to settle it! Later on in the match, John Cena would successfully lock the STF in on Dolph Ziggler, but before Ziggler could tap, Cena spots AJ Lee leading a huge mystery man to the ring. Michael Cole then identifies the man as NXT’s Big E. Langston, who enters the ring, targeting John Cena as Langston hits an avalanche splash on Cena and follows it up with a modified powerslam! As a confused Dolph Ziggler looks on, Big E. Langston stands over John Cena as AJ Lee skips in circles around her large ‘associate’! What is the connection between the powerhouse Big E. Langston and AJ Lee? Why did AJ sick Big E. Langston on John Cena?
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