Shameless Champion.
One night after a historic WWE TLC yielded the first ever WWE World Heavyweight Champion, the 1073rd edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. For the first time in eleven years, WWE has but one major champion as, at WWE TLC, Randy Orton survived a hellacious TLC Match against John Cena to unify the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship, solidifying his name in history as the first WWE World Heavyweight Champion in history! What will the “undisputed face of the WWE” have to say on his first RAW as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion? What will The Authority have to say about the historic night at WWE TLC?
Match Results
- Non-Title: Big Show & Rey Mysterio def. Goldust & Cody Rhodes by Rey Mysterio pinning Goldust following the Big Show-aided splash.
- Dolph Ziggler def. Fandango by roll-up.
- Big E. Langston & Mark Henry def. The Real Americans by Big E. Langston pinning Antonio Cesaro following the Big Ending.
- Ryback & Curtis Axel (with Brodus Clay) def. Tons of Funk by Ryback pinning Tensai following Shell Shocked.
- 6-Man Tag: The Shield def. CM Punk & The Usos by Roman Reigns pinning CM Punk following the Spear.
- 6-Diva Tag: AJ Lee, Tamina Snuka, & Alicia Fox def. Natalya & The Bella Twins by AJ Lee pinning Nikki Bella following the Shining Wizard.
- Non-Title: Daniel Bryan def. Randy Orton by DQ following an intentional low blow.
Detailed Results
With a host of WWE Superstars and Divas lining the stage including John Cena, Daniel Bryan, R-Truth, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, Brodus Clay, Tensai, The Bella Twins, Intercontinental Champion Big E. Langston, WWE Tag Team Champions Goldust & Cody Rhodes, Sin Cara, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Ryback, The Real Americans, and The Shield, among others, RAW kicks off with The Authority in the ring as WWE Principal Owner Stephanie McMahon welcomes everyone to a historic edition of RAW. Stephanie then says that every Superstar from the past and every Superstar in the future will all pay homage to one man. WWE COO Triple H then says that, at WWE TLC, they crowned a Champion of Champions and they are all there tonight to “honor” the brand new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Triple H then introduces the man who made history by unifying the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship at WWE TLC, the first ever WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Randy Orton.
The new champion pauses on the stage to hold both title belts high, right in front of the man he defeated at WWE TLC, John Cena, as well as the rest of the WWE roster. After joining The Authority in the ring, Randy Orton says that it is a nice feeling when his “faith” is rewarded, but says that the fans never did have faith in him. The new WWE World Heavyweight Champion then says that he proved that he has earned everything in his career when he retrieved two championships and made them into one. Orton continues, saying that the Superstars and Legends that stood in the ring last week have not accomplished what he has accomplished. The champion then says that it is appropriate that the roster is standing on the stage and he is standing in the ring because it represents how much better he is than all of them! With Triple H & Stephanie McMahon standing behind him, Orton says that he is the “most powerful” person in the ring and he is the Champion of Champions, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
John Cena then interrupts the new champion, calling Randy Orton an “idiot” and saying that, since Orton has a tough time speaking, he will give everyone the “cliff notes”. Cena then rattles off “Viper, Viper, Viper, handcuffs, face of the WWE, greatest of all-time”, saying that he saved Orton the “embarrassment” of speaking and saved the fans about twenty minutes of their time. Cena continues, congratulating Orton on his big win, but says that Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin said it best when he said that being the champion means putting the gold on the line every night. Cena then tells Orton to either “put up or shut up”, but Orton is quick to try and put Cena’s rematch off, even trying to get Triple H to postpone it. However, Cena says that he is not talking about a match for himself, saying that, while he does want to be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, he promised someone last week that he would get the first title shot if he was the victor and that man is Daniel Bryan!
As the crowd erupts in “yes” chants, Orton says that he does not care what the fans think, but Cena fires back, saying that Orton cares about being champion and Orton cares about being the “greatest of all-time”. Cena then proposes that Daniel Bryan face Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tonight on RAW, asking if Orton is “scared”. The champion says that he does not have to listen to anybody, but this is where Stephanie McMahon reminds Orton that he does have to listen to The Authority! Stephanie then has a private conversation with her husband as Orton continues, saying that there is no way that The Authority can think that him defending the title against Daniel Bryan tonight is what is “best for business”. Orton then turns to face The Authority as Triple H says that he does not believe that Daniel Bryan “deserves” a title shot, but Stephanie says that the fans did vote for Daniel Bryan to be the 2013 Superstar of the Year. Triple H then says that he always listens to the WWE fans and, if the fans want the match, then he cannot think of a better way to kick off the new era of the Champion of Champions than with a huge main event. Triple H then rules that, tonight, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton will go one-on-one with Daniel Bryan in the main event of the evening!
One night after successfully retaining the WWE Tag Team Titles against three other teams in a Fatal 4-Way Elimination Tag Match at WWE TLC, WWE Tag Team Champions Goldust & Cody Rhodes would face one of those three teams in Big Show & Rey Mysterio in a non-title match, as voted on by the WWE fans. In the end, it was Big Show blasting Goldust with the Knockout Punch before tagging in Rey Mysterio, who climbs on top of Big Show’s shoulders to deliver a big splash, pinning Goldust for the win.
In a rematch from the WWE TLC Kickoff show, “The Show-Off” Dolph Ziggler would go one-on-one with Fandango, with Summer Rae in his corner, on RAW. In the end, it was Dolph Ziggler redeeming his loss on the Kickoff show, surprising Fandango with a roll-up, quickly getting the three-count to pick up the win.
Following a successful defense of the Intercontinental Title against Damien Sandow at WWE TLC, Intercontinental Champion Big E. Langston would team with “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry to face The Real Americans, Jack Swagger & Antonio Cesaro, with Zeb Colter in their corner. At the end of a hard-hitting match, it was Big E. Langston planting Antonio Cesaro with the Big Ending, pinning Cesaro for the win.
With R-Truth & Xavier Woods guests on commentary, Brodus Clay & Tensai seemingly worked things out as Tons of Funk, with The Funkadactyls in their corner, would face Ryback & Curtis Axel in tag team action. During the match, Tensai would go for the tag to Brodus Clay, but Brodus would back away, refusing to take the tag. This would lead to Ryback putting Tensai down with Shell Shocked, pinning Tensai for the win as Brodus Clay looks on. After the match, Brodus would sever his ties with Tensai, squashing Tensai with two Funkasplashes! Having seen enough, R-Truth & Xavier Woods rush the ring, taking Brodus out of the ring with a double dropkick. Then, despite Brodus’ protests, The Funkadactyls would dance with R-Truth & Xavier Woods in the ring.
Fresh off of his miraculous win over The Shield in a 3-on-1 Handicap Match at WWE TLC, “The Best in the World” CM Punk would make an appearance on RAW moments before taking part in a 6-Man Tag Match against The Shield. Punk says that, while he does not much believe in Christmas miracles, but he got one last night at WWE TLC when he defeated The Shield. Punk continues, saying that he knows that The Shield will come out there and make “excuses”, but it is not about The Shield, it is about The Authority. Punk says that a “certain somebody” is trying to sweep him under the rug and make him go away, saying that he has a long history of not getting along with authority. Punk says that he showed this last week when he punched Triple H right in his “stupid mouth”, saying that, instead of the COO putting him in a 16-on-1 Handicap Match, they should settle things like mature gentlemen and Triple H should come out there and confront him. Punk says that, unless Triple H is “afraid” of what Punk might say, then the COO should come out there.
After waiting for a few minutes with no Triple H in sight, CM Punk says that he is not surprised that Triple H did not come out there, but that is when Punk is greeted with an unexpected surprise as WWE Hall of Famer and Triple H’s best friend Shawn Michaels comes out! “The Heartbreak Kid” makes his way to the ring to confront the man he hit with Sweet Chin Music last week. Michaels says that he understands CM Punk’s problem with authority, saying that Punk should have a problem with him, not Triple H, since he is the one who kicked Punk in the face last week. Punk says that, since it is Shawn Michaels, he can give him a “pass” for what he did last week, but if HBK ever tries to kick him again, he is going to kick Michaels back! Michaels claims that kicking Punk in the face “pained” him more than it pained Punk. The Hall of Famer then introduces Punk to his opponents, The Shield, before exiting the ring.
Following a confrontation with Shawn Michaels, CM Punk was in action on RAW as “The Best in the World” would team with The Usos to face all three members of The Shield, United States Champion Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns, in a 6-Man Tag match. In the end, it was Roman Reigns making up for his mistake at WWE TLC, blasting CM Punk with the Spear, pinning Punk to pick up the win for The Shield.
After defeating Daniel Bryan at WWE TLC, The Wyatt Family appears on RAW as Bray Wyatt says that Daniel Bryan is a “liar” and he now understands what they must do with Luke Harper saying that, if Daniel Bryan refuses to walk with the “reapers”, then he will “burn with the saints”.
In 6-Diva Tag action, Divas Champion AJ Lee would team with Tamina Snuka and Alicia Fox to face Natalya and The Bella Twins on RAW. After Tamina Snuka delivered a straight kick to the face of Nikki Bella, AJ Lee would follow this up with the Shining Wizard, pinning Nikki Bella for the win.
In an angry backstage interview with Renee Young, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton asks how many times he has to beat the “sawed-off loser”, Daniel Bryan. Orton then says that he truly knows what is “best for business” and this is for every fan of the WWE and every person in the WWE to “bend over and kiss my ass”
Then it was time for the main event of the evening as the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton would go one-on-one with Daniel Bryan in a non-title match. At the end of an awesome, back-and-forth match between longtime rivals, both Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan would give it their absolute all in a thrilling match, but just when it looked like Daniel Bryan was closing in on the victory, Randy Orton would go low, hitting Daniel Bryan with an intentional low blow to get himself disqualified! Livid over what just took place, John Cena rushes the ring, taking it to Randy Orton and knocking Orton out of the ring, but when Cena turns his back to tend to Daniel Bryan, Orton would spot his opening to strike, planting Cena with the RKO! Orton then stands in the center of the ring with his titles held high as Cena remains motionless and a ringside doctor tends to Daniel Bryan.
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