Big Red Backup.
The 1080th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from CenturyLink Center Omaha in Omaha, NE. After their rematch for the WWE Tag Team Titles was brought to an abrupt halt by Brock Lesnar, who destroyed Goldust & Cody Rhodes with a steel chair in protest of being told “no” by The Authority, the former champions would get another shot at regaining the gold as Goldust & Cody Rhodes would again challenge The New Age Outlaws for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but this time, to prevent any outside interference, the match would be contested inside a Steel Cage!
On SmackDown this past Friday night, the final two participants were confirmed for the Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship as “Captain Charisma” Christian and one-half of The Real Americans, Antonio Cesaro, will join John Cena, Sheamus, Daniel Bryan, and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton inside the Chamber in three weeks at WWE Elimination Chamber! What will the reigning champion have to say about having five challengers inside the demonic structure?
Match Results
- 6-Man Tag: The Shield def. Big E. Langston, Rey Mysterio, & Kofi Kingston by Dean Ambrose pinning Big E. Langston following the Headlock Driver.
- Christian def. Jack Swagger by roll-up.
- WWE Tag Team Championship: Steel Cage Match: The New Age Outlaws (c) def. Goldust & Cody Rhodes by Billy Gunn (c) pinning Cody Rhodes following the FameAsser to retain.
- Titus O’Neil def. Zack Ryder by pin following the Clash of the Titus.
- Sheamus def. Curtis Axel by pin following the Brogue Kick.
- 6-Man Tag: The Wyatt Family def. R-Truth, Xavier Woods, & Dolph Ziggler by Bray Wyatt pinning Dolph Ziggler following the Sister Abigail.
- Naomi def. Aksana by pin following the split-legged moonsault.
- Non-Title: Daniel Bryan def. Randy Orton (with Kane) by pin following the running knee.
Detailed Results
Amongst raucous chants for CM Punk, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton kicks off RAW, saying that The Authority is “up to something”, accusing Triple H & Stephanie McMahon of trying to take the WWE World Heavyweight Title away from him. Orton then asks how many times he has to defeat John Cena or Daniel Bryan and the same goes for Sheamus, Christian, and Antonio Cesaro. The champion continues, saying that he is going to be victorious at WWE Elimination Chamber, just like he is going to be victorious at WrestleMania over the “jacked-up, musclebound, genetic freak” Batista. Orton says that, back in their Evolution days, they were equal, but now, he is “just plain better” than Batista. Orton proclaims that he is the “greatest Superstar of this generation or any other” and is also the “main attraction” of RAW. The Authority then make their way out to the stage and, as the CM Punk chants build back up, Stephanie tells Orton that he is being “paranoid”, reminding the champion of all the things that they have done for him. Triple H then says that complaining about being treated unfairly and overcoming “impossible odds” does not sound like something the “face of the WWE” should be saying. The COO then says that maybe they should consider putting their “faith” into someone else! Stephanie then informs Randy Orton that, in the weeks leading up to WWE Elimination Chamber, he is going to be facing each of his Chamber challengers in singles competition and his opponent tonight will be Daniel Bryan! Stephanie then says that, if Bryan can beat Orton, then they may have their new “face of the WWE”. Triple H himself then leads the crowd into a “yes” chant, leaving an enraged Randy Orton in the ring.
After insisting, and eventually receiving, a match against The Wyatt Family for WWE Elimination Chamber on SmackDown, The Shield was in action on RAW as United States Champion Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns would face the team of Intercontinental Champion Big E. Langston, Rey Mysterio, & Kofi Kingston in a 6-Man Tag match. During the match, Roman Reigns would set up for the Spear to Big E. Langston, but Dean Ambrose would tag himself into the match, hitting the Headlock Driver, pinning the Intercontinental Champion and taking the pinfall away from his teammate. This leads to a post-match argument between the two, but Seth Rollins is able to calm things down and keep The Shield on the same page for the time being. The Wyatt Family then appears on the Tron as Bray Wyatt says that The Shield are “pawns”, who claw their way to that one beautiful moment where they “sacrifice” themselves in the name of their “king”. Bray says that their moment is closer than they think and he will watch his enemies “drown”. Luke Harper then says that, what The Shield does not realize is that Bray has always been their “king” before Erick Rowan advises the trio to “run”.
Bad News Barrett would make an appearance on RAW to berate all the people who watched yesterday’s Super Bowl game, saying that, due to their eating habits during the game, they likely won’t make it until next year’s Super Bowl. Apparently fed up, Jerry “The King” Lawler stands up and tells Bad News Barrett that, hopefully, Barrett won’t make it until next week.
For the first time since his return to action on SmackDown, “Captain Charisma” was in action on RAW as Christian would go one-on-one with the man he defeated to gain entry into the Elimination Chamber Match in four weeks, Jack Swagger, with Zeb Colter & Antonio Cesaro in his corner. In the end, it was Christian surprising Jack Swagger with a roll-up, scoring the win over Swagger, much to the disappointment of Zeb Colter and Antonio Cesaro.
After their tag title match was disrupted by Brock Lesnar last week, the rematch would take place on RAW as Goldust & Cody Rhodes would challenge The New Age Outlaws for the WWE Tag Team Championship inside the Steel Cage and, in this particular Steel Cage Match, the match must end via pinfall or submission! During the match, Cody Rhodes would climb to the top of the cage, leaping off of the cage with an incredible moonsault to Road Dogg. However, Rhodes would hurt himself nearly as much as Road Dogg and Billy Gunn would take advantage, hitting the FameAsser on Rhodes, pinning Rhodes for the win to successfully retain the WWE Tag Team Titles for The New Age Outlaws.
After his shocking abandonment and assault of Darren Young on SmackDown, bringing an end to The Prime Time Players, Titus O’Neil was all on his own on RAW as “The Real Deal” went one-on-one with Zack Ryder. In the middle of the match, The Miz would take it upon himself to walk out to ringside and put on a headset at the announcer’s desk. The Miz says that Titus O’Neil “barks like a dog” and Zack Ryder created a “fake internet championship” and they get to be on RAW, but he doesn’t, saying that there is “something wrong with that picture”. The Miz then drops the headset before walking to the back as the match continues. In the end, it was Titus O’Neil hitting the Clash of the Titus on Zack Ryder, pinning Ryder for the win.
In a special dance-off competition, Santino Marella would pull NXT’s Emma from the crowd to compete in the dance-off against Summer Rae. Despite a bizarre dance, Santino would convince the fans to vote for Emma as the victor, effectively embarrassing Fandango & Summer Rae.
In his first one-on-one match since his return at the Royal Rumble, “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus would go one-on-one with Curtis Axel, with Ryback in his corner, on RAW. In the end, it was Sheamus blasting Curtis Axel with the Brogue Kick, ensuring victory for “The Celtic Warrior”.
Now that he is faced with six potential opponents for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, the winner of the 2014 Royal Rumble Match, “The Animal” Batista, made an appearance on RAW. Before Batista can even speak, he is interrupted by Alberto Del Rio, making his way to the ring, telling Batista that they need to talk about their “unfinished business”. Batista says that his return has absolutely nothing to do with Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio says that, while Batista was sitting on his couch waiting for his movie agent to call him for the past four years, he was winning championships. Del Rio continues, telling Batista that being “famous” does not make you a “champion”. Del Rio then calls Batista a “filthy Chihuahua” who is afraid of Del Rio. Batista again says that he does not have a problem with Del Rio, but Del Rio decides to cheap-shot the #1 Contender. “The Animal” would fight back, however, nearly putting Del Rio down with the Batista Bomb, but “The Mexican Aristocrat” slips away as an angry Batista dares Del Rio to get back in the ring.
After The Shield emerged victorious in 6-Man Tag action earlier in the night, The Shield’s opponents at WWE Elimination Chamber would aim to do the same as The Wyatt Family, Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, & Erick Rowan, would face the team of R-Truth, Xavier Woods, & “The Show-Off” Dolph Ziggler in a 6-Man Tag match. In the end, it was Bray Wyatt putting Dolph Ziggler down with the Sister Abigail, pinning Ziggler to pick up the win for The Wyatt Family. After the match, The Shield would appear on the Tron as Dean Ambrose says that they don’t live in Bray Wyatt’s “fantasy world” of “lamb masks and haunted rocking chairs”. Seth Rollins then calls Bray the figment of his own “imagination” and Roman Reigns says that, at WWE Elimination Chamber, “playtime is over”.
The Divas were in action on RAW as, with Divas Champion AJ Lee a guest on commentary, with Tamina Snuka at her side, Naomi, with Cameron in her corner, would face Aksana, with Alicia Fox in her corner. In the end, Naomi would hit the split-legged moonsault, pinning Aksana for the win.
Then it was time for the main event as WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton would face one of his five challengers inside the Elimination Chamber in four weeks, Daniel Bryan, in a non-title match. Throughout the match, Daniel Bryan would target the left leg of Randy Orton while “The Viper” would target the left arm of Bryan, but in the end of a grueling battle, Director of Operations Kane would make his way to the ring. However, Daniel Bryan would not wait around to see what his former tag partner would do as Bryan knocks Kane off of the ring apron with a dropkick before diving to the outside, taking out both Kane and Randy Orton. Bryan would then roll Orton back into the ring and Kane would again try to take Daniel Bryan out, but Bryan would dodge Kane and send the Director of Operations into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Randy Orton would try to surprise Daniel Bryan with the RKO, but Bryan would counter, ducking Orton hitting the running knee, pinning the WWE World Heavyweight Champion in the middle of the ring! After the match, Randy Orton would come back into the ring, sparking a brawl between Orton and Bryan before Kane comes in and joins Orton as, together, the champion and the Director of Operations put the boots to Daniel Bryan before Kane plants Daniel Bryan with the chokeslam. Kane and Randy Orton then stand together in the center of the ring over a fallen Daniel Bryan.
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