Too Soon?
One night after a brutal and landscape-changing Extreme Rules, the 1043rd edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO. At Extreme Rules, the Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship ended inconclusively as, after Ryback drove WWE Champion John Cena through the lighting grid that made up the Extreme Rules stage, Ryback was able to hobble away from the scene, but Cena was not as fortunate as the WWE Champion was carted out of the arena on a stretcher. What is the status of John Cena and how will it affect the WWE Championship? Extreme Rules also saw the most brutal Steel Cage Match in recent years as both Brock Lesnar and Triple H threw everything they had at each other, but, with some crucial help from Paul Heyman, it was Lesnar who was able to put Triple H down with a sledgehammer shot to the jaw and a crushing F-5. Will either Triple H or Brock Lesnar be able to be on RAW? If so, what will they have to say about their brutal Steel Cage Match? Is the intense and personal rivalry between “The Game” and “The Beast” finally over? The biggest winners at Extreme Rules was, without question, The Shield as Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns all got their first taste of WWE gold with Dean Ambrose dethroning Kofi Kingston to become the new United States Champion and Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns ending the over 200 day reign of Team Hell No, defeating Kane & Daniel Bryan in a Tornado Tag Match to become the new WWE Tag Team Champions! Now that The Shield is “gold-plated”, is there any stopping this dangerous and unpredictable trio? When will the former champions decide to have their mandatory rematches for their respective titles? Also, rumors have been making the rounds since Extreme Rules that Paul Heyman has a new “Paul Heyman guy” to reveal to the world! Will we have more information on this new client on RAW?
Match Results
- Chris Jericho & The Miz def. Fandango & Wade Barrett by Wade Barrett tapping out to The Miz’s Figure-Four Leg Lock.
- Sheamus def. Titus O’Neil (with Darren Young) by pin following the Brogue Kick.
- Big E. Langston (with AJ Lee) def. Alberto Del Rio by pin following the Big Ending.
- AJ Lee def. Layla by submission to the Black Widow.
- Cody Rhodes def. Zack Ryder by pin following the Disaster Kick.
- 6-Man Tag: The Shield def. Kofi Kingston & Team Hell No by Roman Reigns pinning Kane following the Spear.
- Randy Orton def. Jack Swagger by pin following the RKO.
- Triple H & Curtis Axel fight to a No Contest after Triple H is unable to continue.
Detailed Results
RAW kicks off with an ambulance driving into the Sprint Center, parking next to the stage before Ryback get out of the back of the ambulance. Ryback then climbs on top of the ambulance, saying that the official ruling in the Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship is a No Contest, meaning John Cena is still the WWE Champion. After exclusive footage is shown of John Cena refusing to be loaded into an ambulance at Extreme Rules, getting off of his stretcher, claiming that he feels fine, Ryback wastes no time in challenging John Cena to a rematch, saying that he is out there to challenge Cena to face him at WWE Payback in four weeks in an Ambulance Match, where the only way to win is to load your opponent into an ambulance and shut the doors! Ryback continues, calling the fans “weak” and saying that they are all “lost souls of society”, saying that Cena is their “hero”. Ryback then says that the notion is “absolutely pathetic” because none of them have any idea about “hard work” before vowing to take Cena and all the fans to the “morgue” at WWE Payback, concluding by saying that there is only one fact of life and that is “Ryback rules”!
After defeating Fandango at Extreme Rules, “Y2J” Chris Jericho would team with The Miz to face the team of “The Dancing Enigma” Fandango, with Summer Rae in his corner, and Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett. In the middle of the match, Wade Barrett would be tagged into the match and Fandango would immediately lose interest, opting to take a microphone and pronounce his name to the crowd before dancing with Summer Rae at ringside, music and all! With Fandango refusing to help out his tag team partner, Wade Barrett’s fate was sealed as, while Fandango dances, Chris Jericho hits the Codebreaker on Wade Barrett, tagging in The Miz, who locks in the Figure-Four Leg Lock, forcing the Intercontinental Champion to tap out to pick up the win for his team. After the match, Chris Jericho & The Miz would exit the ring, surrounding Fandango, but Fandango would flee, leaving Summer Rae alone! Jericho would then court Summer Rae and Summer would take the bait, but Y2J would put his hand in the face of Summer before walking away from Summer, tricking and embarrassing Fandango’s dance partner!
RAW Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero made an appearance on RAW, announcing that, later on in the night, Jack Swagger will be in action and the fans will get to vote for Swagger’s opponent via the WWE App as they will get to choose between The Great Khali, R-Truth, and Missouri’s own Randy Orton!
In an exclusive video from the Extreme Rules post-show, Mark Henry was shown leaving the trainer’s room after his Strap Match loss to Sheamus and, when the trainer asked where Henry was going, Henry responded by saying he’s “going home”!
One night after besting Mark Henry in a Strap Match at Extreme Rules, Sheamus was in action on RAW as “The Celtic Warrior” would go one-on-one with a training partner of Mark Henry and one-half of The Prime Time Players, Titus O’Neil, with Darren Young in his corner. During the match, Sheamus would go for his Battering Ram move, but when Sheamus goes to launch himself into the ring, Darren Young grabs the leg of Sheamus, allowing Titus O’Neil to nearly pick up the win. However, the three-time World Champion would battle back, ultimately putting Titus down with the Brogue Kick en route to picking up the win.
As confirmed prior to RAW going on the air, the current manager and representative of both CM Punk and Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, would unveil his newest client on RAW! Paul Heyman would confidently walk to the ring, brimming with confidence. Heyman says that, when a “Paul Heyman guy” exposes their heroes, then he gets a chorus of “boo’s”. Heyman continues, saying that, at Extreme Rules, a true “Paul Heyman guy”, Brock Lesnar, defeated Triple H in a Steel Cage Match, saying that the record books will not show the “boo’s” of the crowd, it will show that Brock defeated Triple H. Heyman then says that Triple H will go down in history as a “loser” in his rivalry with Brock Lesnar. Heyman continues, saying that, now that Brock Lesnar has “fulfilled his obligations” to WWE, it is time for “something new”. Heyman then says it is time for the “YouTube clip” that everyone will look back on ten years from now and see it as the night history was made. Paul Heyman then introduces the newest “Paul Heyman guy”, which is revealed to be the third-generation Superstar, the son of “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig and the grandson of Larry “The Axe” Hennig, Curtis Axel! Axel would join Heyman in the ring as Heyman says that he received the same chorus of “boo’s” in 2002 when he introduced Brock Lesnar to the WWE and he received the same reaction when he brought CM Punk to the WWE in 2006. Heyman then touts his new client, saying that Curtis Axel’s “pedigree” alone should already have him in the main event picture, but in the WWE, being a third-generation star is an “albatross” that sinks stars to the bottom. Heyman says that Curtis Axel wants to make his own “legend” in the WWE and that is why they have taken “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig’s name and Larry “The Axe” Hennig’s name to bestow a new name and a “new brand” on the man formerly known as Michael McGillicutty as Curtis Axel has arrived!
Before Paul Heyman can continue selling his new client, Curtis Axel, to the crowd, Heyman is interrupted by an unexpected arrival as “The Game” Triple H makes his way to the ring. Triple H says that Heyman can really whip up a “batch of Kool-Aid”, paying no attention to Curtis Axel, as “The Game” tells Paul Heyman that he is not “embarrassed” in the least about losing to Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules. Triple H admits that Brock beat him, but he beat Lesnar at WrestleMania, saying that Brock “limped away” from Extreme Rules. Triple H continues, saying that nothing would make him happier than to come out there and “beat the living crap” out of Heyman! However, Curtis Axel steps forward, getting right in the face of the thirteen-time World Champion, saying that, if Triple H wants to talk to Heyman, he is going to have to talk to him first! Triple H does not falter in the face of the young gun, slapping Axel across the face before Triple H says that he will be in action later tonight against the new Paul Heyman guy, Curtis Axel! Triple H then vows to kick Curtis Axel’s “ass” in the match and, then, after the match, he will kick Paul Heyman’s “ass”!
After forcing Jack Swagger to say the words “I Quit” to become the new #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, “The Mexican Aristocrat” Alberto Del Rio, with Ricardo Rodriguez in his corner, would go one-on-one with World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler’s right-hand man, Big E. Langston, with AJ Lee in his corner. During the match, AJ Lee would throw Ricardo Rodriguez’s bucket into the ring, distracting the referee long enough for Big E. Langston to deliver the thumb to the eye, following it up with the Big Ending to pick up a big victory over the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title!
Moments after assisting Big E. Langston in Langston’s defeat of Alberto Del Rio, the #1 Contender for the Divas Title, AJ Lee, was in action on RAW as AJ went one-on-one with Layla. In the end, it was AJ Lee using her new submission maneuver, the Black Widow, to force Layla to tap out to pick up the win.
After losing to The Miz on the Extreme Rules Pre-Show, second-generation star Cody Rhodes was in action against Zack Ryder on RAW. In the end, it was Cody Rhodes hitting the Disaster Kick on Zack Ryder en route to picking up the win. After the match, Ryback marches to the ring and, after Cody Rhodes quickly flees the ring, “The Sin City Cyborg” sets his sights on Zack Ryder. Ryback would then send a message to John Cena through Zack Ryder as Ryback drills Ryder with the Meat Hook Clothesline before driving Ryder down with a heinous powerbomb! Ryback was not through, however, as Ryback picks the helpless Ryder back up, driving him down with Shell Shocked before tossing Ryder out of the ring. Even after that, Ryback was not done as “The Sin City Cyborg” puts the prone Zack Ryder on his shoulders, carrying Ryder to the staging area and loading him into the ambulance and shutting the doors before the ambulance backs out of the arena.
Before facing Kofi Kingston & Team Hell No in 6-Man Tag action, The Shield spoke on RAW as new United States Champion Dean Ambrose says that no one “believed” in The Shield, saying that John Cena, The Rock, Ryback, & The Undertaker did not believe in The Shield and they were all victims of the “swift arm of justice”. New WWE Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins then says that they can all see what a “cohesive unit” looks like, saying that The Shield is “unbreakable” and they are the “future”, adding that it is just the “beginning”. The other half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, Roman Reigns, saying that they are the “dogs” that runs the “yard” and, now, they have the “collars” to prove it!
One night after they lost the United States and WWE Tag Team Titles, respectively, to The Shield, Kofi Kingston would team with Team Hell No to face the new United States Champion Dean Ambrose and the new WWE Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns, The Shield, in a 6-Man Tag Match. During the wild match, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns would take out Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston on the outside, leaving Kane and Roman Reigns alone in the ring for a short time. However, when Kane winds up for the chokeslam, Dean Ambrose tries to interfere, but is caught by an uppercut from Kane. Then, with the referee trying to get Dean Ambrose out of the ring, Seth Rollins would come off of the top rope with a knee to Kane, allowing Roman Reigns to hit the Spear on Kane en route to Reigns pinning “The Big Red Monster” to pick up the win for The Shield!
Backstage, one of WWE’s trainers confronts Triple H in the locker room, telling “The Game” that the WWE doctor does not think that Triple H should compete tonight. However, the WWE COO says that, unless the doctor wants to seek employment elsewhere, he is going out there and he will compete.
After losing the “I Quit” Match to Alberto Del Rio at Extreme Rules, “The Real American” Jack Swagger, with Zeb Colter in his corner, would go one-on-one with the man that the fans voted into the match, “The Viper” Randy Orton. At the end of a grueling, intense match, it was Randy Orton hitting Jack Swagger with the RKO en route to picking up the win.
Then it was time for the main event as, for the first time in three years, Triple H would be in action on RAW as “The Game” would go one-on-one with Paul Heyman’s newest client, the third-generation star, Curtis Axel! During the match, Triple H would dominate Curtis Axel, but in the middle of the match, “The Game” would appear winded as he repeatedly had to stop to take breaths and would shake his head, trying to shake something off. Curtis Axel would catch Triple H with a clothesline on the outside of the ring before Curtis heads back into the ring, but when “The Game” tries to get back on the ring apron to continue the match, he cannot muster the strength to climb up. Triple H would try splashing water on his face and sitting down for a few minutes, but every time he tried to get back into the ring, he was unable to do so. The on-scene doctor takes a look at Triple H and calls the match off. Triple H would then try to stand, but would immediately collapse to the floor, looking at the doctor and the referee with a far-away look in his eyes, apparently suffering from some sort of head trauma. Triple H makes one last attempt to get to his feet, but just falls down again as the doctors do their best to try and help Triple H to the back.
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