Nothing To Lose.
One night after Battleground, the 1063rd edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA. At Battleground, The Authority, Triple H & Stephanie McMahon, left the arena early, leaving RAW General Manager Brad Maddox in charge of the show and what resulted was utter chaos as, in the middle of the main event for the vacant WWE Championship, the GM instructed Big Show to head to the ring and knock Daniel Bryan out. “The World’s Largest Athlete” would comply, leveling Daniel Bryan, but when Brad Maddox brought disgraced referee Scott Armstrong in to count the pinfall, Big Show pulled Armstrong out of the ring, knocking the referee out. Big Show would follow this up with a third knockout that left Randy Orton laid out, ending the title match inconclusively and leaving the WWE Championship vacated! What will be the fallout of Big Show’s actions on RAW? Will The Authority fire Big Show? What will become of the WWE Championship?
Also at Battleground, the future of the Rhodes Family in the WWE was secured as, in an emotionally-charged matchup, Goldust & Cody Rhodes, with the help of their Hall of Fame father Dusty Rhodes, would overcome The Shield, defeating Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns to get their jobs back in the WWE, as well as keeping Dusty Rhodes employed as the head of developmental for NXT. Now that the Rhodes brothers are back in the WWE, what awaits the family under the regime of The Authority?
Match Results
- Dolph Ziggler def. Damien Sandow by pin following the Fame-Asser.
- 6-Diva Tag: Natalya, Jo-Jo, & Eva Marie def. Aksana, Alicia Fox, & Rosa Mendes by Alicia Fox tapping out to Natalya’s Sharpshooter.
- Los Matadores def. Jinder Mahal & Drew McIntyre by Fernando pinning Drew McIntyre following the double-team Samoan Drop.
- CM Punk & R-Truth def. Ryback & Curtis Axel by R-Truth pinning Curtis Axel following the Axe Kick.
- Randy Orton def. Kofi Kingston by pin following the RKO.
- Non-Title: Ricardo Rodriguez (with Vickie Guerrero) def. Alberto Del Rio by roll-up.
- Fandango def. Zack Ryder by pin following the top rope leg drop.
- The Real Americans def. The Great Khali & Santino Marella by Antonio Cesaro pinning The Great Khali following the Cesaro Swing.
- 6-Man Tag: Daniel Bryan, Goldust, & Cody Rhodes def. The Shield by DQ after Dean Ambrose hits Cody Rhodes with a steel chair.
- 6-Man Tag: No DQ: The Shield (with Randy Orton) def. Daniel Bryan, Goldust, & Cody Rhodes by Seth Rollins pinning Daniel Bryan following the RKO on the outside by Randy Orton.
Detailed Results
After the controversial events of Battleground, RAW kicks off with the Principle Owner of the WWE, Stephanie McMahon, who says that she knows that the fans are angry over what happened in the WWE Championship match last night and she knows that Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan are both livid over it. Stephanie then calls Big Show “selfish”, ordering “The World’s Largest Athlete” to come to the ring. Big Show obeys his boss, making his way to the ring and Stephanie tells Big Show that what Big Show did at Battleground was “inexcusable”, saying that Big Show knocked out referees, Daniel Bryan, & Randy Orton. Big Show says that he is sorry and Stephanie says that The Authority has bailed Big Show out on multiple occasions, saying that Big Show cannot even manage himself. Stephanie continues, saying that it is time for Big Show to “man up” and take responsibility for his actions. Enraged over Big Show’s apparent lack of caring, Stephanie pokes the giant in the chest, ordering Big Show to get on his knees and “beg” for the forgiveness of the fans. Big Show smiles and shakes his head at Stephanie and Stephanie says that Big Show has “no soul”. Big Show says that he knocked out Randy Orton because he couldn’t “take it anymore” and he knocked Daniel Bryan out because Stephanie told him to. Stephanie argues that RAW General Manager Brad Maddox was in charge last night, but Big Show says that everyone knows that Maddox is The Authority’s “puppet”, saying the GM works for Stephanie and her “son of a bitch husband”! Stephanie repeatedly slaps Big Show, but Big Show continues to smile, so Stephanie fires Big Show, but that just makes Big Show even happier as the unemployed giant gladly leaves the ring!
The opening match of the night would be a rematch from the Battleground Kickoff as “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” Damien Sandow would go one-on-one with “The Show-Off” Dolph Ziggler. In the end, it was Dolph Ziggler hitting the Fame-Asser on Damien Sandow en route to picking up the win over “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” for the second night in a row.
Backstage, Stephanie McMahon confronts RAW General Manager Brad Maddox, blaming the GM for what went wrong at Battleground and ordering Maddox to go to the ring and issue a public apology!
In 6-Diva Tag action, Natalya would team with Jo-Jo & Eva Marie to face the team of Aksana, Alicia Fox, & Rosa Mendes on RAW. In the end, it was Natalya locking in the Sharpshooter, forcing Alicia Fox to tap out to pick up the win for the Total Divas team.
RAW General Manager Brad Maddox then comes out to the staging area, apologizing to the fans for what happened at Battleground before making the blockbuster announcement that Daniel Bryan will face Randy Orton for the vacant WWE Championship inside Hell in a Cell in three weeks at WWE Hell in a Cell! Maddox then adds the caveat that there will be a Special Referee for the match and the fans will get to vote on who will be the referee, choosing from three Hall of Famers! The GM then introduces the first of the three candidates for Special Referee, the six-time World Champion Booker T! Booker says that he is a six-time World Champion and they all know that he is going to do the “right thing” for them and is going to do the “right thing for business” if he is voted in as the Special Referee.
After back-to-back victories over 3MB’s Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal on last week’s RAW and SmackDown, Los Matadores would be in action on RAW as Diego & Fernando, with El Torito in their corner, would face 3MB’s Jinder Mahal & Drew McIntyre, with Heath Slater in their corner. In the end, it was Los Matadores hitting the double-team Samoan Drop on Drew McIntyre before Fernando pins Drew McIntyre for the win. After the match, Heath Slater would try to get his hands on El Torito, but the lucha-bull would out-quick Slater, taking the 3MB lead man down with a hurrincanrana.
After Ryback lost to CM Punk at Battleground, Paul Heyman appears with Ryback and Curtis Axel at his side, saying that the record books should read that CM Punk is a “bully” and a “cheater”, citing the low blow that CM Punk used to defeat Ryback at Battleground. This brings CM Punk out to the stage, saying that all he did at Battleground was win and Punk says that he assumes that Heyman, Axel, & Ryback are out there to ask for a rematch, gladly accepting the challenge. Ryback then calls Punk a “bully”, daring Punk to get in the ring and try to bully him. Before Punk heads to the ring, R-Truth comes out and, a few minutes later, a tag team match is made official.
In an impromptu tag team match, the team of CM Punk & R-Truth would face Ryback & Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel, with Paul Heyman in their corner. In the end, it was R-Truth hitting the Axe Kick on Curtis Axel en route to picking up the win for himself and CM Punk.
With Booker T already announced, the second of three Hall of Fame candidates for the spot as the Special Referee for the Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE Championship would be announced as the unpredictable Bob Backlund is revealed as a candidate! After declaring that he does not like to use the word “hell”, Backlund shouts that he will make the best decision for the match and he does not care who wins, vowing to put the Crossface Chicken Wing on any man who gets out of control in the match!
After he was knocked out by Big Show at Battleground, costing him the vacant WWE Title, “The Viper” Randy Orton would go one-on-one with Kofi Kingston on RAW. During the match, Randy Orton would take the match to the outside, hitting the suspended DDT on the floor before rolling Kofi back into the ring, hitting the RKO and securing the victory over Kofi Kingston. After the match, Daniel Bryan would rush the ring, attacking Randy Orton and knocking “The Viper” to the outside of the ring, hurling Orton over the announce table before continuing to ravage Randy Orton. A slew of referees and road agents would then rush out, struggling to keep Daniel Bryan off of Randy Orton, but Bryan would break free, chasing Orton all the way to the back!
The third and final candidate in the vote for the Special Referee for the Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE Championship was then revealed to be none other than “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels! Michaels says that he and Triple H are close, personal friends, but what they are talking about tonight is “business”. HBK says that, even though he trained Daniel Bryan, he will not let that, nor his friendship with Triple H, sway him one way or the other. Michaels then says that, if he is voted in, he guarantees that a new WWE Champion will be crowned because he does not care what is “best for business”, he will do what is best for the fans!
One night after a successful title defense against Rob Van Dam in a Hardcore Rules Match at Battleground, the World Heavyweight Champion would be in action on RAW. Before the match, SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero would come out and announce that Del Rio’s opponent would be his former employee, Ricardo Rodriguez! After the bell rings for the match to begin, Vickie Guerrero drops a major bombshell on Alberto Del Rio, announcing that Del Rio will defend the World Heavyweight Championship at Hell in a Cell against John Cena! This would leave Del Rio in a state of shock, allowing Ricardo Rodriguez to roll Del Rio up for the win! After the match, Alberto Del Rio would annihilate Rodriguez, wrapping a steel chair around the arm of Rodriguez, repeatedly stomping the chair before locking in the cross armbreaker on the trapped arm until referees are finally able to pull the World Heavyweight Champion off of Rodriguez.
“The Lord of Dance” was in action on RAW as Fandango, with Summer Rae in his corner, would face Zack Ryder. In the end, it was Fandango landing the leg drop off of the top rope en route to picking up the win.
Then it was time to reveal who the fans voted in as the Special Referee for the WWE Championship match inside Hell in a Cell in three weeks as the fans overwhelmingly vote in “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels as the official in charge of deciding the match for the vacant WWE Title!
In a rematch from Battleground, The Real Americans, with Zeb Colter in their corner, would face The Great Khali & Santino Marella, with Hornswoggle in their corner. In the end, it was Antonio Cesaro swinging the giant Khali around with the Cesaro Swing, pinning Khali for the win. After the match, Cesaro would give the same treatment to Hornswoggle before Santino intervenes.
The Miz was set to host Miz TV on RAW, but before The Miz can even complete a sentence, The Wyatt Family comes out as Bray Wyatt sits in his rocking chair as Luke Harper & Erick Rowan try to get their hands on “The Awesome One”. However, The Miz quickly slides out the ring, getting a few shots in on Bray Wyatt, opening up a path to escape from The Wyatt Family as Bray Wyatt bends backwards, laughing maniacally at The Miz.
With WWE COO Triple H finally arriving in the arena and opting to be at ringside, it was time for the main event as Daniel Bryan would team with the newly re-employed Goldust & Cody Rhodes to face The Shield in a 6-Man Tag Match. As expected, the match would descend into chaos and, with Daniel Bryan locking in the Yes Lock on Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose would introduce a steel chair into the match, driving it into the mid-section of Cody Rhodes, resulting in a disqualification win for Daniel Bryan, Goldust, & Cody Rhodes.
However, WWE COO Triple H would order the match to be restarted with no disqualifications, saying that he does not want RAW to end inconclusively like Battleground did last night. The match restarts and the chaos resumes, but among the chaos, Randy Orton runs in from the crowd, hitting an unsuspecting Daniel Bryan with the RKO on the arena floor! Orton then rolls Bryan back into the ring, allowing Seth Rollins to pin Daniel Bryan to pick up the win for The Shield. After the match, Triple H gives the “go ahead” to The Shield to initiate their assault and Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns do just that, tossing Daniel Bryan and Cody Rhodes out of the ring and targeting Goldust, pummeling “The Bizarre One”. However, the unemployed Big Show comes out, causing Triple H to head into the ring, hiding behind The Shield. Big Show initially deals with The Shield with ease, but the trio quickly regroups, beating the giant down as Triple H takes off his jacket, shouting at The Shield to “finish it”. However, Big Show tosses The Shield to the wayside again, emerging from beneath the black-clad champions to come face-to-face with Triple H. Big Show wastes no time in leveling the COO with the Knockout Punch! After Big Show leaves the ring, Daniel Bryan enters the ring with a big smile on his face, looking down at Triple H before chanting “yes” along with the fans.
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