Crazy, stupid love.
Six nights before Money-in-the-Bank and two weeks before the 1,000th episode of RAW, the 998th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO. After her shocking actions on last week’s RAW when she shoved WWE Champion CM Punk off of the top rope, who fell on Daniel Bryan before both men crashed through a table, what will the Special Referee for the WWE Championship match at Money-in-the-Bank, A.J., have in store for both Superstars on RAW? Also, with a contract for a guaranteed shot at the WWE Championship on the line in the WWE Championship Contract Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match, what will go down between John Cena, Kane, Big Show, and Chris Jericho as the four former champions prepare for the dangerous and exciting match? With no announcement made, the world is left wondering, just who will be the Interim General Manager of this week’s RAW? After legends like Vader, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Sycho Sid, Doink, and Diamond Dallas Page have re-emerged for special appearances on RAW over the last few weeks, what past RAW Superstar will appear in celebration of the upcoming 1,000th episode of RAW?
Match Results
- Non-Title: Sheamus def. Jack Swagger by pin following the Brogue Kick.
- Dolph Ziggler & Tensai (with Sakamoto) def. Christian & Tyson Kidd by Tensai pinning Christian following the Tenson.
- Brodus Clay def. Drew McIntyre by pin following the Funkasplash.
- John Cena & Kane and Chris Jericho & Big Show fight to a No Contest after Big Show pulls John Cena out of the ring.
- Money-in-the-Bank Qualifying Match: Sin Cara def. Heath Slater by pin following the Cara Go-Round to qualify.
- WrestleMania Rematch: Michael Cole def. Jerry “The King” Lawler (with Booker T) by disqualification after the anonymous General Manager reverses the decision.
- Mixed Tag Match: CM Punk & A.J. def. Daniel Bryan & Eve by A.J. rolling up Eve.
Detailed Results
After sending both CM Punk and Daniel Bryan through a table on last week’s RAW and locking lips with both the champion and challenger on last week’s Super SmackDown Live, RAW kicks off with the Special Referee for the WWE Championship match at Money-in-the-Bank, A.J. The unhinged Diva says that being the Special Referee means that she can “greatly affect the outcome” of the title match and the thought of that is “overwhelming” and “emotional”. A.J. then introduces WWE Champion CM Punk, who makes his way to the ring. The WWE Champion asks A.J. what she wants and A.J. says that Punk showed his true feelings for her on SmackDown when he suggested that she needs professional help. A.J. then disputes that she does not need any professional help because she has full control of all her “mental faculties”. An emotional A.J. continues that no one has ever cared about her, much less showed “compassion and concern” like Punk did and, when she kissed him, she knew it and she knew what she had to do. A.J. says that Punk’s eyes send love straight into her heart and he fills her with “passion” and “desire”, saying that the WWE Champion turns her “on”. A.J. then says that she now knows what she “has to do” before the unbalanced Diva gets down on bended knee and asks CM Punk to marry her!
Before a shocked and confused CM Punk can respond, Daniel Bryan rushes out, shouting “no”, saying that he cannot allow A.J. to make the “biggest mistake” of her life. Bryan accuses Punk of “playing” A.J. since A.J. is the Special Referee for their title match, saying that he has “never stopped caring” for A.J. and Punk only cares about himself. The WWE Champion says that Bryan knows nothing about him and he certainly knows nothing about how he feels about A.J. Bryan then dares CM Punk to say “I do” and claims that, while Punk sees A.J. as a Special Referee, he sees her as a “special person”. Things then continue to get more bizarre as Daniel Bryan says that he woke up this morning and had the same plan as A.J. before Bryan gets down on one knee and proposes to A.J.! Punk calls Bryan’s bluff, saying that Bryan does not even have a ring before telling A.J. that the two of them should talk about things in the back, but Bryan tells Punk not to “talk down” to his “future fiancée”. A familiar but long absent sound then rings throughout the arena before Michael Cole gets up from his seat and reveals that he has just received an email from the anonymous RAW General Manager! Cole then unveils the anonymous GM’s laptop stand, reading the GM’s email that reveals that he/she is running RAW this week before the anonymous GM announces the main event as WWE Champion CM Punk will team with A.J. to face Daniel Bryan and Eve in a Mixed Tag Match! Bryan says that he should get to team with A.J., but the GM stands by his decision. After hearing this news, A.J. says that she is really happy to have the match because she believes that “everything happens for a reason”, vowing to walk out of the arena tonight with her “future husband”!
After a vicious attack with the hood of a car by Alberto Del Rio on last week’s Super SmackDown Live, an angry Sheamus was in action on RAW as the World Heavyweight Champion went one-on-one with “The All-American American” Jack Swagger in a non-title match. Sheamus makes quick work of Jack Swagger, blasting Swagger with the Brogue Kick en route to picking up the win. After the match, Alberto Del Rio appears on the Titan Tron, saying that, last week, he did to Sheamus what no man has ever done by assaulting Sheamus and leaving him in a heap and, this Sunday at Money-in-the-Bank, he will take the World Heavyweight Title from Sheamus. The World Heavyweight Champion responds to this by hitting a second Brogue Kick on Jack Swagger!
It was announced during RAW that the one and only “People’s Champion” The Rock will be a part of the gigantic 1,000th episode of RAW spectacular in two weeks, joining other huge stars such as Brock Lesnar and D-Generation X!
With Vickie Guerrero a guest on commentary, four of the seven participants in the World Heavyweight Championship Contract Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match faced off in tag team action as Intercontinental Champion Christian teams with Tyson Kidd to face Dolph Ziggler & Tensai. In the end, it was Tensai hitting the Tenson on Christian en route to picking up the win. After the match, Tensai targets the man who defeated him last week, Tyson Kidd, as Tensai tosses Kidd into the ringside barricade before powerbombing Kidd on the ring apron and hitting the Tenson on Kidd on the floor, much to the impression of Vickie Guerrero!
An argument between Michael Cole and Jerry “The King” Lawler at the announce table over who should be the permanent General Manager leads to Cole inadvertently splashing water all over the Hall of Famer. The anonymous GM then chimes in with an email that Cole refuses to read, but Lawler does read it, revealing that “The King” will go one-on-one with Michael Cole in a WrestleMania Rematch! After Cole protests, demanding that the anonymous GM change the match, the GM leaves it to the WWE fans to make the call as the GM tells the fans to go to WWE.com and vote for whether or not they want to see Cole face Lawler.
“The Funkasaurus” was in action on RAW as Brodus Clay went one-on-one with Drew McIntyre. Brodus makes quick work of the former Intercontinental Champion as Brodus hits the Funkasplash on Drew McIntyre en route to picking up the win.
Before he joins Big Show, Kane, and Chris Jericho in the WWE Championship Contract Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match at Money-in-the-Bank, John Cena appears on RAW. Cena says that the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match is a “brutal, punishing match”, but yields an incomparable opportunity at the WWE Title. Cena continues that anyone can become “ruthless” when vying for the contract, saying that every Superstar who has won the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase has gone on to win the WWE or World Heavyweight Title. Cena re-iterates that, at Money-in-the-Bank, he promises to stop Big Show and he will do whatever he has to do to become the next “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank”, promising victory in the four-man Ladder Match.
Six nights before they go to war in the WWE Championship Contract Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match, John Cena would team with his former rival, “The Big Red Monster” Kane to face the former tag team partners, Chris Jericho and “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show! During the match, John Cena hits the Attitude Adjustment on Chris Jericho, but Big Show pulls John Cena out of the ring and hurls him into the barricade before Show takes Kane down, as well. With the match out of control, the referee calls for the bell. After the match, Big Show slides two steel ladders into the ring before Show drives a ladder into the chest of Kane, as well as Chris Jericho. Show then drags Jericho over to a ladder and lays Jericho in the middle of the ladder, using the ladder to sandwich Jericho between the layers of steel! Cena then makes the save, using a ladder to send Big Show careening out of the ring!
It was revealed on RAW that one more Superstar will be added to the World Heavyweight Championship Contract Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match and a Money-in-the-Bank Qualifying Match determined the eighth Superstar in the match as Sin Cara went one-on-one with Heath Slater. In the end, it was Sin Cara hitting the Cara Go-Round en route to picking up the win to join Damien Sandow, Tyson Kidd, Christian, Santino Marella, Tensai, Cody Rhodes, and Dolph Ziggler in the World Heavyweight Championship Contract Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match.
After the match, a frustrated Heath Slater demands that any former champion come out there and he will beat them, but the former champion that Slater got was none other than the second-longest reigning WWE Champion in history, Bob Backlund! Despite Slater’s best efforts to embarrass the professional and collegiate champion, Backlund would lock in the Crossface Chicken Wing on Slater, forcing the brash Superstar to tap out!
Despite Michael Cole’s begging, the WWE fans would unanimously vote that they wanted to see the WrestleMania Rematch between Michael Cole and Jerry “The King” Lawler and, with Booker T and Josh Mathews on commentary, the match would take place. Early on, Michael Cole tries to escape the ring, but Booker T tosses Cole back in and, shortly after this, “The King” sends Cole for the ride with a classic Airplane Spin before pinning Cole for the win. After the match, in a scene very similar to that of WrestleMania last year, the anonymous RAW General Manager chimes in and, due to Booker T’s interference, awards the match to Michael Cole via disqualification. Santino Marella then comes out and, with the help of Jerry Lawler, gets Hornswoggle from under the ring as Hornswoggle is revealed as the anonymous GM and Hornswoggle kicks Lawler and Cole in their shins before escaping the ring.
Then it was time for the main event as WWE Champion CM Punk teams with A.J. to face the team of the #1 Contender for the WWE Title, Daniel Bryan, and former Executive Administrator, Eve, in a Mixed Tag Match. During the match, Daniel Bryan refuses to take the tag from Eve, which leads to A.J. rolling Eve up to pick up the win for herself and CM Punk. After the match, Daniel Bryan tells A.J. that he just proved that she means more to him than a match before saying that they should leave and go get married. Before A.J. makes a decision, CM Punk says that Daniel Bryan just wants to curry favor with A.J. so she will help him become the WWE Champion. Punk then says that he does not care if what he is about to say costs him the WWE Title before Punk says that he does not want to marry A.J., saying that at least he cares enough about A.J. to tell her the truth. A.J. responds by slapping the WWE Champion across the face, which puts a big smile on the face of Daniel Bryan, but A.J. slaps Bryan across the face as well! A.J. then leaves the ring, chanting “yes”, again leaving everyone in a state of bewilderment.
What did you think of this week’s RAW? Post your comments in the box below.
