Jolly Old St. Mick.
The 1022nd edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, on Christmas Eve, from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA. On a very busy night for the big man, the one and only Santa Claus would take the time to bring some Christmas cheer as “Jolly Old St. Nick” appears as the Guest Host of RAW! Also, after making his intentions clear to get his rematch for the WWE Title on the first RAW of 2013 in two weeks’ time on January 7, will Ryback get his Christmas wish of another title shot against CM Punk? Will the WWE Champion be physically able to defend the title against “The Sin City Cyborg”?
Match Results
- Kane def. Cody Rhodes by pin following the chokeslam.
- Santa’s Helper 8-Diva Tag Match: Kaitlyn, Layla, Natalya, & Alicia Fox def. Eve, Aksana, Rosa Mendes, & Tamina Snuka by Kaitlyn pinning Eve following the single-knee gutbuster.
- Lumber-Jack Frost Match: Non-Title: Sheamus def. Big Show by pin following the Brogue Kick.
- Zack Ryder def. David Otunga by pin following the Rough Ryder Leg Lariat.
- Kofi Kingston & The Miz def. Antonio Cesaro & Wade Barrett by The Miz pinning Wade Barrett following the Skull Crushing Finale.
- Tryout Match: The Great Khali (with Hornswoggle) def. Brad Maddox by pin following the Punjabi Plunge. As a result, Brad Maddox does not earn a WWE contract.
- Daniel Bryan def. Damien Sandow by submission to the No Lock.
- 12 Days of Christmas 12-Man Tag Match: Brodus Clay, Tyson Kidd, Justin Gabriel, Santino Marella, and Jimmy & Jey Uso def. 3MB, Tensai, & The Prime Time Players by Jey Uso pinning Heath Slater following the Superfly Splash.
- Miracle on 34th Street Fight: John Cena (with Santa Claus) def. Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) by pin following the Attitude Adjustment.
Detailed Results
Before he makes the most important trip of the year, the Christmas Eve edition of RAW kicks off with the man himself as “Jolly Old St. Nick” Santa Claus would appear as the Guest Host of RAW, kicking off the show. In the middle of handing out presents to the crowd, Alberto Del Rio’s music would hit with Ricardo Rodriguez set to introduce his boss, but “The Mexican Aristocrat” would make a major mistake in his timing as Del Rio accidentally drives his car right into Santa Claus, running down Kris Kringle! To make matters worse, Santa would land on the concrete floor before an entire Christmas tree fell on Santa’s head! Referees and EMT’s immediately rush to his holly jolly aid as Del Rio and Rodriguez are both shocked and sickened by what just happened. EMT’s are able to load Santa onto a stretcher as “Jolly Old St. Nick” gives the fans a thumbs up to signify that he is going to make it.
Backstage, SmackDown General Manager Booker T exits the trainer’s room to let the locker room know that Santa is not looking so good right now with Alberto Del Rio saying that “technically”, it wasn’t his fault. However, Booker says that Santa told him that, tonight on RAW, Del Rio will be in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight against John Cena!
After getting injured by Kane last month, Cody Rhodes would go one-on-one with one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, “The Big Red Monster” Kane, on RAW. During the match, Cody Rhodes would expose two of the ring turnbuckles and, in the end, that would be Rhodes’ downfall as, when Rhodes tries to send Kane into the exposed steel, Kane counters, sending Rhodes chest-first into the exposed steel turnbuckle and following it up with the chokeslam en route to picking up the win.
The Divas were in the Christmas spirit as RAW would feature a Santa’s Helper 8-Diva Tag Match as Layla, Kaitlyn, Natalya, & Alicia Fox faced the team of the Divas Champion Eve, Aksana, Rosa Mendes, & Tamina Snuka. In the end, it was Kaitlyn hitting the single-knee gutbuster on Eve en route to pinning the Divas Champion to pick up the win for her team.
With a host of lumberjacks surrounding the ring, including 3MB, Brodus Clay, Tensai, Tyson Kidd, Justin Gabriel, & The Prime Time Players, it was time for the first ever Lumber-Jack Frost Match between World Heavyweight Champion Big Show and “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus! Despite Big Show’s best efforts and the best efforts by some of the lumberjacks, Sheamus was able to land the Brogue Kick on Big Show en route to pinning the World Heavyweight Champion to pick up the win.
Harvard Law graduate David Otunga appears on RAW to comment on the accident involving Santa Claus earlier in the night, claiming that Alberto Del Rio was simply fulfilling his “contractual obligations”. Having heard enough of Otunga, Zack Ryder interrupts as Ryder and Otunga went one-on-one on RAW. In the end, it was Zack Ryder hitting the Rough Ryder Leg Lariat on David Otunga en route to picking up the win.
In tag team action, Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston would team with the man he defeated for the title, The Miz, to face United States Champion Antonio Cesaro and “The Bareknuckle Brawler” Wade Barrett. In the end, it was Kofi Kingston hitting Trouble in Paradise on Wade Barrett that would allow The Miz to take advantage, hitting the Skull Crushing Finale on Wade Barrett en route to picking up the win for himself and his former rival.
Despite repeatedly failing to earn a WWE contract, Booker T would grant Brad Maddox’s wish of getting another Tryout Match on RAW and Maddox’s opponent would be one of Santa’s “elves” and it would be revealed that the largest elf ever, The Great Khali, would be Brad Maddox’s opponent! During the match, Khali’s little helper, Hornswoggle, would attack Maddox on the outside. However, this would raise the ire of Maddox as the confident hopeful targets the knee of The Great Khali and would have the advantage over the towering elf, but the arrogance of Maddox would cost him as his posing for the fans would allow Khali time to recover and, in the end, Khali would drop Maddox with the Punjabi Plunge en route to putting Maddox out of commission for the win!
On his 400th day as the WWE Champion, CM Punk would appear on RAW, with Paul Heyman in tow, just two weeks before he defends the WWE Title against Ryback on the first RAW of 2013. The WWE Champion says that “Christmas has been ruined”, but not because Santa Claus got ran over by Alberto Del Rio, but because he, the “undisputed best in the world” is unable to compete on Christmas Eve. Punk continues that Ryback is the reason that he is unable to compete and he cannot even walk without the use of his crutches, saying that Ryback “effectively ruined” not only Christmas, but Hanukkah as well! Punk says that, instead of suspending or fining Ryback for injuring him, Ryback gets “rewarded” by getting a WWE Title match. Punk says that there is “no proof” that he has anything to do with either Brad Maddox or The Shield because he had nothing to do with them or their actions. Punk continues, saying that he has not been cleared to compete and that Ryback is “living a lie” by thinking that he has a title match. Punk then says that he is already in a bad mood for the holidays because of having to undergo painful rehabilitation. Paul Heyman then speaks on CM Punk’s behalf, saying that Punk has been the victim of a “conspiracy” to take the WWE Title away from Punk. Heyman continues, saying that Ryback has already had two opportunities to win the WWE Title, but failed both times. Punk then says that, no matter what happens to him, he will always be better than Ryback because he is the “best in the world”. Having heard enough from the WWE Champion, Ryback makes his way to the ring with Paul Heyman threatening to sue Ryback if he puts his hands on the injured champion. Ryback barks that he does not need to put his hands on Punk because he has already received his “Christmas present” as, if CM Punk is medically able to compete in two weeks, and he should be, then he will challenge CM Punk for the WWE Title in the match that they were originally supposed to have at WWE TLC as the WWE Championship will be on the line in a Tables, Ladders, & Chairs Match! The first RAW of 2013 is certain to be one of the most memorable, but will CM Punk be medically cleared to defend the WWE Title against Ryback in a TLC Match in just two weeks?
With a beard that even Santa would approve of, Daniel Bryan was in action on RAW as one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions went one-on-one with “The Intellectual Savior of the Masses” Damien Sandow. In the end, it was Daniel Bryan locking in the No Lock on Damien Sandow, forcing the intellectual to tap out to pick up the win.
In a huge Christmas-themed match, “The Funkasaurus” Brodus Clay would team with Tyson Kidd, Justin Gabriel, Santino Marella, and Jimmy & Jey Uso to face 3MB, Tensai, & The Prime Time Players in a 12 Days of Christmas 12-Man Tag Match! At the end of a chaotic match, it was Jey Uso landing the Superfly Splash on Heath Slater en route to picking up the win for his team.
Then it was time for the main event as, after accidentally running down Santa Claus earlier in the night, “The Mexican Aristocrat” Alberto Del Rio, with Ricardo Rodriguez in his corner, would go one-on-one with John Cena in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight! During the match, John Cena would slide to the outside of the ring to open up an early Christmas present, a steel chair! Cena would use the gift, driving the steel into the mid-section and the back of Del Rio, but Ricardo Rodriguez would pull the referee out of the ring, saving his boss from being defeated. Rodriguez then presents Del Rio with his own Christmas present, but all Del Rio finds inside the box is a pumpkin pie! Del Rio then tries to pie Cena, but Cena ducks and Del Rio puts the pumpkin to Rodriguez! Shortly after this, the fight would resume on the staging area, where Cena gets another gift, a television monitor, using it to waylay Del Rio, who lands in a pile of presents. Further interference from Rodriguez would allow Del Rio to regain the advantage, but when Del Rio opens another Christmas present from his personal ring announcer, there is a teddy bear inside! Del Rio tries to make the best of a bad situation by tossing the bear at Cena, who laughs it off. Cena then bounds Rodriguez with a holiday wreath and a box over the head. As the fight heads back to ringside, Cena would head back to the stage to try and find another helpful gift. After flattening Del Rio with a Christmas tree, Cena would find a unique, albeit useful, present in the form of a bowling ball, which Cena would use to jingle Del Rio’s bells! Cena continues to strike gold with his Christmas gifts, unwrapping a fire extinguisher, using it to douse Del Rio. Rodriguez would then return to the ring, managing to put Cena to sleep with a sleeper hold, but Rodriguez would relinquish the hold when he heard the jingle that signaled the arrival, and revival, of the one and only Santa Claus! With revenge on his mind, “Jolly Old St. Nick” would waylay Ricardo Rodriguez with his famous red sack of toys before presenting a Christmas Socko, jamming it deep into Del Rio’s gullet, allowing Cena to take advantage, hitting the Attitude Adjustment and picking up the win in the Miracle on 34th Street Fight!
What did you think of the Christmas Eve edition of RAW? Post your comments in the box below.
