WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (July 30, 2012) from the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, and features all the fallout from last week's historic 1,000th episode and the first show designed to build directly to Summerslam.
That includes the first promo from CM Punk since he turned heel last week by allowing Big Show to beat down John Cena and attacking The Rock. It was a slow and subtle turn, enough so that some are still questioning if he's actually gone heel. He was working weekend house shows as a babyface so tonight's promo is vital in establishing his new direction.
Pipe bomb?
This also marks the first episode of Raw with AJ in charge and you can bet she's going to find some way to make things hell for Daniel Bryan, who is still pissed that he was left at the alter and cast a long shadow over.
And don't forget about John Cena and his place now that he failed to cash in the Money in the Bank contract as well as Triple H and Brock Lesnar and their various issues as they head to their big match at Summerslam.
All that and more.
Raw starts at 8 p.m. ET on USA, so be sure to make your way back here to chat with all your favorite Cagesiders during the show. It's always a fun time. Raw live blog after the jump.
WWE RAW RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG JULY 30
Geno here. See you tonight, folks.
C.J. Bradford taking over.
Broadcast is live.
Michael Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler inform us that a fire broke out due to a pyrotechnic failure, with video of the blaze. It doesn't seem to be that serious, but the audience had to wait an extra hour to enter the arena.
A video montage plays of the highlights of last week's 1000th episode of Monday Night Raw.
CM Punk's music hits, and he walks out with a solid mixture of cheer's and boo's. He also seems to have cleaned up a bit with a haircut.
Punk talks about everyone in the locker room wanting a "WrestleMania moment," but last week Punk had himself a "Raw Moment that was bigger than most WrestleMania moments." He says that he is uncomfortable with how Raw 1000 went off the air, and calls attention to Lawler's comment that "CM Punk turned his back on the WWE Universe"
He the proceeds to sit down directly on top of the announcers table, and calls out Lawler for jumping to such a conclusion.
Punk calls out The Rock for showing him, the WWE Champions disrespect, for interrupting him last week and placing himself directly into the WWE Championship picture.
"Dwayne does what Dwayne does best; he tried to make the show all about him"
He tells Lawler that the focus and attention of Raw 1000 ended how it should of ended, how every episode of Raw should end. With the attention and focus on the WWE Champion and the best wrestler in the world.
Cue The Big Show's music
Punk and Show stand in the middle of the ring, with Punk accusing Show of trying to steal the spotlight as well.
Big Show then tells Punk, and the audience, that he was the one that was the focus of Raw 1000.
He was the one who cost John Cena the Championship match and made him the first Money in the Bank winner to lose. Show brings up the fact that he hit the WMD on Cena, and Punk still couldn't pin him. In fact, if Show didn't run in a second time, Punk would not still be WWE Champion.
He's not wrong.
Big Show: "I vow that I will be the next WWE Champion"
Punk mocks Show's promise, telling him "The only one winning anything is me."
And with that, here comes John Cena with a run in.
Cena throws a few punches at Big Show and Show runs out of the ring.
A Cena chant fills the arena
"Please introduce the NEW General Manager of Raw, AJ Lee!"
AJ looking very nice in a business suit.
As her first proclamation as GM, she announces John Cena vs. The Big Show for a shot at the WWE Championship at SummerSlam.
Lawler: "What a start to the 1,001 episode of Raw!"
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We come back to a bumper that tells us Raw was the most socially active show on Monday night, beating out every other show combined.
We cut to backstage, with Daniel Bryan standing outside the Raw GM's door. He looks like he's about to open it, pauses, and walks away.
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Santino Marella vs. Alberto Del Rio
Santino Marella comes to the ring as only he can.
Ricardo Rodriquez introduces Alberto Del Rio to the ring, this week sans fancy car. Cole tells us that the fire closed off the backstage area, so he has to walk to the ring traditional style.
Poor dude.
Del Rio quickly gets the upper hand, stomping Santino to the mat. Del Rio then drags Santino to the corner and delivers a few well placed kicks to the midsection. An Irish whip to the opposite corner, but Santino is able to flip Del Rio out of the ring.
We get a well placed commercial break in the middle of the first match of Raw 1,001.
Coming back from break, Del Rio is working on Santino's arm before knocking him down and delivering a few more stomps. Santino is able to get to his feet while they exchange punches. Santino tries to pull off the splits, but Del Rio spots it with a nice kick to the head.
Santino is able to get up and pulls out the Cobra, but Del Rio is having none of it. A cross arm breaker on the Cobra, and Santino taps out quickly.
Del Rio gets a mic in his hand. "Santino is beneath me. Sheamus is beneath me. All of you people are beneath me."
He informs us that he is not competing unless it's a World title match, and so will not be competing until SummerSlam.
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We cut backstage again to Bryan standing outside of the Raw GM's door. He paces up and down the hallway, before slamming his hand into the wall.
Will he go in, or won't he?
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We come back from break to the lovely sight of Naomi and Cameron on the apron, and they join Brodus Clay who is already in the ring.
"EXCUSE ME!"
Vickie Guerrero walks down the ramp. She proceeds to tell us that she will be showing us her dance moves.
Picture Elaine from Seinfeld, but somehow worse.
"HALLELUJAH"
Here comes our martyr, Damien Sandow, talking about a crime committed against humanity.
Cut to footage of him receiving a Sweet Chin Music and a Pedigree by Shawn Michaels and Triple H last week.
Sandow suddenly attacks Brodus Clay, easily knocking him down, followed by breaking Clay's gold chain.
Cole: "Something happened to Sandow after last week. He has snapped."
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A recap of Dolph Ziggler and Chris Jericho from last week. Ziggler openly wondering if Jericho is losing his touch, and he recieves a code breaker for his trouble.
It's followed by a recap of SmackDown, where Jericho, wearing Ziggler's pink "Show Off" shirt, attacked the Money in the Bank winner and gave him another another Codebreaker.
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We come back from break to Bryan standing outside of the Raw GM's door. He FINALLY gets the nerves to walk in and berrate AJ.
"Shut up, Daniel!"
Oh snap.
AJ questions him about the men in white coats, and was wondering if he was going to have her legally committed.
"Those were my friends. They were wearing white because they were my groomsmen."
AJ is sick of his lies, and places him in a match against Sheamus.
Daniel: "Is it for the World title?"
Cue AJ leading us in a beautiful, "No! No! No!"
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A video recap of last week's Paul Heyman/Triple H/Stephanie McMahon/Brock Lesnar CON! FRON! TATION!
Cole informs us that WE get to choose the type of match Daniel Bryan and Sheamus are in via Twitter. The choices are a No Holds Barred, Falls Count Anywhere, or a Street Fight.
Cut to backstage, and Josh Mathews grabs Sheamus and asks him what type of match he wants to be involved in.
"This face isn't gonna win any beauty contests. As far as I'm concerned, the rougher the better."
Sheamus starts to walk away, but turns back to tell Josh he's looking a bit nervous and asks if he's doing okay.
What a nice fella Sheamus is.
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We open the second hour with the World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus facing off against Daniel Bryan.
Daniel Bryan tells the arena that he wants everyone to stop chanting YES! and that only he has the right to chant it.
Which means the entire arena starts a YES! chant.
Bryan is losing his head, screaming NO! and running around the ring.
And here comes the Great White.
Cut to footage of SmackDown four weeks ago, when Alberto Del Rio smashed Sheamus head into his car.
Lawler reveals the match stipulations to be.
A Street fight with 73% of the vote.
The arena erupts in a YES! chant, and the match starts.
Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus in a Street Fight
Both men exchange heavy blows, with Sheamus hitting an Irish Curse to gain the advantage.
Sheamus stomps Bryan into the corner, but Bryan is able to fight out of it.
They continue to exchange heavy blows, with Sheamus getting a quick 1 count.
The action falls out of the ring. Sheamus tosses Bryan against barricade, and then another. Bryan tries to charge Sheamus, but gets a backdrop onto the ramp. Sheamus then proceeds to toss Bryan into the WWE sign at the top of the ramp.
Bryan is able to get up, and delivers a few heavy kicks. Sheamus is teetering on the edge of the ramp, and a running drop kick sends him over. Sheamus is quick to grab his ankle.
Hopefully he's just selling the fall.
We come back from commercial with the action back in the ring. Daniel has a a arm lock on Sheamus, which Sheamus is able to overpower. Sheamus gets a running drop kick out of the ring, and Bryan tries to launch himself at him. Sheamus easily catches him out of midair, and again into the barricade Bryan goes.
A nice spot with Sheamus delivering his Irish Hand Grenades while Bryan is hanging over the barricade, and is followed by a suplex onto the ground. Bryan crawls back into the ring, and Sheamus brings a kendo stick in with him. Bryan is able to get his hands on it, though, and proceeds to smack Sheamus.
Bryan grabs a chair and sets it up in the corner. The pause allows Sheamus a chance to get up, and catches Bryans next attack with the kendo stick. A scuffule over the weapon sees Sheamus falling head first into the chair.
That gets a two count for Bryan.
The action falls again outside of the ring, with Sheamus teasing a slam into the steel steps. He switches directions, and tries to ram Bryan into the ring corner. Bryan is able to avoid it, and Sheamus' head again meets hard steel.
Bryan drags the steel steps into the ring, but Sheamus is quick to follow. A back and forth has Sheamus standing on top of the steel steps setting up for a White Noise, but Bryan is again able to escape his grasp.
He's not so lucky as Sheamus turns around and quickly delievers a Brogue Kick.
That gets the three count. Sheamus is the winner.
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We come back from break with Daniel Bryan still in the ring with a mic in hand, complaining that he broke his neck.
"I'm not leaving this ring until I get a doctor!"
Another recap of the opening of the show.
Bryan is still in the middle of the ring, writhing in pain.
Kofi Kingston's music hit, and out walks him and R-Truth in a suit.
Kofi asks Bryan to do us all a favor, and just get out of here. R-Truth agrees, and tells Bryan to skedaddle.
Bryan asks where Little Jimmy is, and starts to talk to him. He then punts the imaginary friend out of the ring.
I think. I couldn't really see.
R-Truth and Kofi rush out of the ring to take care of Little Jimmy, with Truth screaming at Bryan "What's wrong with you?"
Bryan: "What's wrong with me? You are consoling an imaginary child!"
And out come the men in the white coats to take Truth away.
AJ's music hits, and out comes the New Raw General Manager. She informs the men in the white coats that it is Daniel Bryan who needs help.
"You see Daniel, you seem a little unstable tonight. And in the interest of a safe working environment, I think you need to undergo a psychiatric evaluation."
She tells the men in the white coats to escort Bryan out of the ring. Bryans reluctantly walks up the ramp towards AJ, and a stare-off ensues. Finally Bryan walks towards the back, with AJ waving him goodbye.
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We come out of the break with the news that Mr. McMahon will name the new SmackDown General Manager next Friday.
Truth pulls up a chair next to the announcers table and sits Little Jimmy down, making sure he's okay.
A quick Tout package of members of the WWE Universe telling us their feelings about CM Punk.
Out comes AW to introduce Darren Young and Titus O'Neil, the Prime Time Players.
Titus O'Neil vs. Kofi Kingston
Kofi tries to jump around, but Titus is able to catch him and slam him to the make.
AW is mic'd up and supplies his running commentary.
Titus gets the quick one count, and goes back to lifting Kofi around the ring. Kofi is able to counter, and both men fall to the floor. Kofi starts to get fired up, jumping around the ring and doing what Kofi does. He lands the Boom Drop, but AW tries to interfere.
AW while throwing his shoe at Kofi: "Your momma!"
What?
Kofi throws the shoe back, but the distraction leads to Titus getting the pin.
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Backstage, CM Punk and John Cena are facing off. Punk tries to plead his case to Cena telling him that he did sit back and watch Big Show interfere, but any man would have done the same in his position. Punk tells him that he has no problems with Cena, and he'll be watching Cena's match against The Big Show tonight.
Punk: "I know you're upset at yourself because I did in one night to Rock what you couldn't do in one whole year. But you just gotta let it go."
A quick pat on the back, and Punk leaves.
Cena is oddly quiet during that interaction.
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A bumper informs us that Raw 1000 was the most watched show on all of cable television.
Cole is apologizing for AW's remarks, which means something probably get cut out.
Heath Slater is standing in the ring, and we get a recap of last weeks beat down of the "One Man Band."
"Now that the legends have finally gone back to the retirment home, I can finally get my career back on track"
Slater challenges any current WWE superstar to a match.
"I HEAR THE VOICES IN MY HEAD"
The Viper is back!
Randy Orton walks down to the ring, taking his time to soak in the arena's cheers. Cincinnati is popping like crazy for his return.
Heath Slater vs. Randy Orton
Slater gets the upper hand early, but that is quickly squashed as Orton goes through his finishing sequence. Power Slam, 2nd rope DDT, pounding his fists to the mat.
An RKO to finish Slater off.
And the 'Nati absolutely loves it.
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We go backstage to Daniel Bryan sitting across from a doctor. Bryan tries to tell him he shouldn't be here, but the good doctor just wants to ask him a few questions.
"Is your name Daniel Bryan?"
"Yes"
"Are you a vegan?"
Yes"
"Were you a former World Heavyweight Champion?"
"Yes"
"Is it true that you and AJ did not get married last week?"
"Yes. Yes. YES! Anymore questions? YES! YES! YES!"
We go to commercial with Daniel Bryan screaming "YES!" over and over.
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"BREAK THE WALLS DOWN!"
We are informed that this will be a tag team match as Chris Jericho walks to the ring. They cut back to Jericho delivering a pair of Codebreakers to Dolph Ziggler.
Christian's music hits, and we have the faces of this tag team match.
We're shown Christians loss to The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship last week, and we can guess who they will be facing off against tonight.
The NEW Intercontinental Champion The Miz makes his way to the ring, followed by Dolph Ziggler
Chris Jericho and Christian vs. The Miz and Dolph Ziggler
Christian and Ziggler start things off for us. Ziggler starts mouthing off, and receives a slap across his face. A quick back and forth, and The Miz finds his way in.
He lands 5-6 punches, and tags himself out.
Christian gets up and tags in Jericho, with Ziggler tagging Miz back in.
Jericho gets Miz down for a two count, and gets Miz into the corner for a few chops. Miz is able to reverse and tags in Ziggler. After a brief back and forth both Ziggler and Miz find themselves clotheslined out of the ring by Jericho, with Christian flying from the top rope on top of them as we go to commercial.
We're back live with The Miz locking up Jericho in a headlock. Jericho is able to fight out of it, and gets a two count on the roll up. But Miz quickly regains control, and it's back to the headlock. Jericho lifts Miz up and slams him down, and both men are down.
They are able to get to their respective corners, and it's Christian that takes advantage. The Miz is able to distract Christian with the IC title, and a beautiful drop kick by Ziggler gets him a two count.
Miz gets tagged in, and quickly gets his own two count. He continues to control the pace, with another two count followed by a headlock. Christian tries to power out of it, and sends The Miz through the ropes. Christian is almost able to get that tag, but The Miz is able to get up and pull Jericho off the apron. The heels drag Christian to their corner, keeping him away from his partner.
Ziggler gets the tag, and shows off his vintage headlock headstand. There's a small botch that no one would have noticed, but Lawler is pointing out for some strange reason.
Both men are down, but are able to get to their corners. Jericho with the hot tag and hits a Lionsault on The Miz. He goes for the pin but Ziggler is able to break it up. Christian his a spear that Ziggler sells beautifully. Miz tries to set up for a Skull Crushing Finale, but Christian interferes when the ref isn't looking. Jericho is able to hit the Codebreaker, and that gets the three count.
As Jericho is standing in the ring, Ziggler comes from out of nowhere to smack Jericho in the head with the Money in the Bank briefcase. The crowd goes dead silent before the boo's start. Ziggler slowly backs away down the ramp as Jericho lays in the middle of the ring.
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Daniel Bryan is back with the good doctor, this time going through a Rorschach test. One of them happens to look like a goatface, and Bryan loses his mind.
"Did Charlie Sheen put you up to this?"
He calls out for Charlie, which probably isn't helping his claims that he is sane.
He quiets down, head in his hands.
"I'm the one who's winning. I'm the one who's winning..."
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Cole leads us in another Tout segment about who is more unstable, Daniel Bryan or AJ Lee.
There guys in a row adamantly claim AJ is more unstable.
Tensai is waiting in the ring as Tyson Kidd comes down the ramp for our next match.
Tensai vs. Tyson Kidd
Kidd tries to get the early advantage, but Tensai is easily able to overpower him.
And the "Al-Bert" chants start to fill the arena.
Tensai is continues to dominate the match while Cole makes fun of Sakomoto's name
Kidd gets a quick roll up for two, and is able to land a swift kick to the head. Tensai puts an end to that comeback quickly, though, and jumps on Kidd for a three count.
He doesn't seem to be quite down though, and continues to beat the crap out of Kidd. After a devastating backbreaker, the ref revesrses his decision and declares Kidd the winner of the match.
They can do that?
Tensai is pissed, and takes his anger out on Sakomoto.
Poor guy.
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The good doctor declares Daniel Bryan as 100% sane, and tells him they are all done as he walks out.
Bryan: "I knew I was sane"
Before Bryan can leave, though, red lighting fills the room and in comes Kane.
"I'm your anger management therapist"
Kane slams Bryan's head against the wall and walks out of the room. Bryan is left laying on the ground, holding his head.
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We are informed by a bumper that WrestleMania DVD is still the #1 selling sports DVD, outpacing even the Super Bowl DVD.
We get another video recap of Triple H/Paul Heyman/Stephanie/Brock Lesnar from last week. This is the third one of the night.
CM Punk's music hits and the WWE Champion makes his way to the announcers table. It seems he'll be watching the main event of John Cena vs. The Big Show from ringside.
Big Show makes his way down to the ring first, but stops by Punk to give him some choice words. Punk tells him he's there just to watch the match, and he should be worrying about John Cena.
Cena's music hits, and Cincinnati goes wild for him.
Cole starts questioning CM Punk about what he said about The Rock earlier tonight. Punk tells him that The Rock belonged on the show, but not in the WWE Championship match.
John Cena vs. The Big Show
Both men trade punches, but Show lands a headbutt that puts Cena on his back. Dueling "Let's go Cena/Cena sucks" chants fill the arena.
Cole continues to build up Punk's long title reign. If Punk holds onto the strap for another month, he will have surpassed Cena's, John Bradshaw Layfield, and Yokozuna reign.
Show continues to control the pace of the match, until Cena is able to jump on the giant's back and put him in a head lock.
Punk informs me that it is actually a neck crank. An announcer calling the moves, what a thought.
Show tries to throw Cena off him, but Cena is able to regain his grip. He continues to try to choke out the Big Show, who finally falls to his knees. Show looks like he's gonna pass out to the hold. He falls onto his back, and Cena quickly goes for the pin.
Show throws Cena off him after a two count and we go to commercial.
We come back with Cena starting his five moves of doom, but Show refuses to go down to the flying shoulder block. Show continues to dominate the match, all the while mouthing off to Punk.
Show to the arena: "This is easy!"
He charges Cena in the corner, with Cena countering with a pair of sneakers to the face. Cena lands a couple of punches, but Show quickly locks in a bear hug. Now it's Cena who looks like he's a bout to pass out.
Cena is able to land a couple of elbows, and tries to lift Show up for a body slam. Show, however, simple falls on top of him for a two count.
Show calls for a choke slam, but it's countered into a (horrible) DDT. Both men struggling to get to their feet. Cena tries a desperation rush, but Show is able to lift him up and deliver a side slam.
Show climbs to the second rope, but Cena is able to move out of the way before the giant comes crashing down. Cena takes advantage of the mistake, and lands a five knuckle shuffle. He starts to Hulk up, but Big Show is able to land a choke slam for a near fall.
Cena and Show leave the ring, enter the ring, and leave the ring again. Show gets thrown into the post, but when Cena tries to take advantage of the dazed Show he gets tossed over the announcers table and into CM Punk.
Show gets back into the ring, but Cena is juuuust able to beat the 10 count.
The Big Show goes for the WMD. Cena ducks it and picks him up for the AA.
And Punk comes flying into the ring to push them both down. He delivers a huge kick to the side of Show's head. Punk stares at both men laying in the ring.
He grabs his belt and a mic and starts to speak.
"And the winner of this contest is....
Nobody. They're both losers"
Punk walks down the ramp to the back, but AJ walks past him
"CM Punk is wrong. They're not losers. They're both winners."
Pause
"That's why CM Punk will defend his championship at SummerSlame against The Big Show"
Pause
"And John Cena."
Punk comes rushing out from the back to yell at AJ
"You can't do this to me! I am the WWE Champion! Show me some respect!"
Fade to black.