Monday Night RAW
Sacarmento, California
October 8th 2012
Commentators: JBL, Jim Ross & Michael Cole
Reported by: David Stephens of WrestleView.com
Opening Segment
John Cena is back in a WWE ring after his absence for a week. He recaps the happenings since his last appearance. He takes a moment to ask out AJ while plugging In-N-Out Burger. He puts over the appearance of Vince McMahon tonight as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger on Twitter. The crowd roars at Cena’s suggestion and he claims that CM Punk has stolen their voice. The crowd responds by chanting for Punk. Cena asks if you are the best in the world but no one wants to watch, what’s the point? Cena says that his match against Punk at Hell in a Cell will be a moment to remember. The reason people don’t like Punk is not because he is a Paul Heyman guy, but because he isn’t a man. Cena tells him to stop being a punk and man up to face him at Hell in a Cell. Cena’s music hits and he heads out of the ring.
Ryback v. Primo & Epico
Both members of the tag team are in the ring at the same time, but the numbers game does not work in their favor. Despite an initial beating of stomps and dropkicks, even culminating in a pin attempt, but Ryback manages to fight his way back. Ryback’s comeback starts with a rear facing atomic drop and a couple of clotheslines. Ryback hits Shellshock and this match is over.
Winner via Shellshock: Ryback
****Commercial****
Brodus Clay v. R-Truth
Truth is arguing with Little Jimmy. He asks for a mic and explains to Brodus that Little Jimmy is going through puberty. So… they start to dance.
Vince McMahon appears on the Titantron and tells them to dance their way to the back because it’s time for his State of RAW address.
Winner via WTF: Little Jimmy*
* Ok, so the match didn’t actually start but if anyone would have won it would have been him. Or Hornswoggle, he wins everything
****Commercial****
State of the WWE
Vince is in the ring and puts over all of the current WWE Superstars. He highlights some of the more eccentric types. Vince says that the most important thing that they have in the WWE is action.
CM Punk comes down to the ring with Paul Heyman and complains to Vince that he has yet to be mentioned in the address. It is up to Punk whether or not he will face Cena in the Cell. Punk puts down the fans and says that they don’t respect him. Punk asks Vince if he respects him. Vince says he respects how long he has been Champion, but he doesn’t respect the fact that he is a Paul Heyman gut. Vince says that in all honestly, he isn’t a CM Punk guy. Punk claims he already knew that, but Vince should be a CM Punk guy. Punk puts himself over as the Best in the World. Punk says that Vince should be kissing his feet and showing him in the respect that he deserves. Punk says that if he doesn’t get the respect that he deserves he’ll do what he did last year and leave with the Title.
Vince asks if Punk is claiming that he is the reason the WWE is successful. Punk agrees. He asks if it’s not him that makes the WWE work, then who?
Vince says that it isn’t just one individual, it is the WWE Universe. McMahon claims that he listens to the fans and right now they are saying that someone needs to shut Punk’s mouth. McMahon says that Punk is nowhere near the caliber of a great like Andre, Hart, Michaels, HHH, etc.
Punk buries the people that Vince just put over. He is getting under Vince’s skin and even goes on to call him a senior citizen. Punk says that Vince has been slapping him in the face for the years… and then proceeds to slap him in the face!
Punk and Heyman head towards the back. Vince gets on the mic and says that he should fire him. Instead, Vince tells Punk that he is going to face him in the ring tonight. Punk might beat him up, but he is going to learn a lesson about respect.
****Commercial****
Titus O’Neill & Darren Young v. Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara
Cara and Young start the match. Cara flips off the top rope with a spinning arm drag and follows up with a hurricarana. Young is tossed out of the ring as Rey pulls down on the rope. Cara leaps out with a suicide dive on Titus outside the ring.
****Commercial****
Back from the break Titus slams Cara down to the mat. Young comes into the ring off the tag and applies a bear hug, of all things. Cara is backed into the corner, but he fight out with a tornado DDT.
Rey comes in off the tag with a seated senton. Rey hits a tilt-a-whirl head scissors and follows with some kicks and a cover. Young kicks out.
Young is able to kick Cara out of the ring, but it culminates with a 619 from Rey Mysterio. Rey goes for the pin and this match is over.
Winners: Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara
Rey and Cara advance in the Tag Team tournament.
# Punk and Heyman are in the locker room. Heyman says that this is a must lose situation. Punk says he’ll just beat up Vince. Heyman retorts that this will complicate things as Vince will obsess over bringing down Punk.
****Commercial****
Sheamus v. Wade Barrett
The initial lock up results in Wade’s back against the corner turnbuckle.
The Big Show’s music hits and he waltzes on down to the ring.
Undeterred, the action resumes in the ring. Sheamus drops Wade to the mat with a side headlock. The move isn’t broken until Barrett pushes Sheamus towards the corner (after much struggling). Sheamus fights back with an elbow. Cole mentions that Sheamus was made fun of as a child for his pale skin and red hair. Go figure.
Sheamus connects with a suplex, but Wade kicks out of a cover. Sheamus knees Wade in the gut as we head to commercial.
****Commercial****
They are brawling outside of the ring as we come back. Wade kicks the steel steps into Sheamus before rolling him back into the ring. Cover, but Sheamus kicks out. Wade kicks Sheamus in the face.
Sheamus is groggy on the apron as Wade nails him hard in the face via a boot. Wade heads to the top rope and leaps, but Sheamus moves out of the way. JBL scoffs at the rookie mistake. Sheamus hits a shoulder block followed by a high knee lift. He sets Wade up on the apron and clubs across his chest repeatedly.
Tensai runs in out of nowhere and ruins a perfectly fine match. He goes after Sheamus and Wade joins in. Big Show figures, why not me, and heads into the ring. Sheamus attempts a Brogue Kick, but Show catches his foot and tosses him out of the ring. Sheamus hits his head hard.
Show heads back up the entrance ramp. Sheamus gets back into the ring.
****Commercial****
# Punk is with AJ in her office. Punk asks if she’s given any thought to him beating up an old man on RAW. AJ isn’t going to stop the match from occurring. Punk lets her know that tonight will be a night to remember.
****Commercial****
Antonio Cesaro makes fun of American’s for being fat while ordering from a concession stand. His says it’s for swine.
Antonio Cesaro v. Tyson Kidd
Cesaro hits him in the chest and takes him down to the mat. Kidd flips off the top rope for a sunset flip variation. Cesaro regains control with a couple of hard punches and drops Kidd in the corner. Kidd’s neck is laying over the apron as Cesaro stomps upon it.
Kidd gets to his feet and kicks Cesaro in the chest. Cesaro responds by knocking him out of the ring. Antonio follows after, only to be met with a flying kick. Kidd gets him back in the ring and rolls him up. Cesaro kicks out. Kidd kicks him in the neck and then attempts a springboard elbow. Cesaro responds with his signature uppercut. Cesaro hits the neutralizer and this match is over.
Winner via Being Very European: Antonio Cesaro
****Commercial****
Dolph Ziggler & Alberto Del Rio v. Daniel Bryan & Kane
Ziggler hits an arm drag. Ziggler drops him to the mat, but Bryan gets to his feet and rakes the arm of Ziggler. Rio gets the tag but Bryan takes him out with a Leg Sweep. Kane comes into the match and punches him relentlessly.
Kane fakes a tag to Bryan and whips Rio into the ropes. Ziggler comes in off the running tag, only to get head-butted. Kane connects with a dropkick to the seated Dolph. Kane tosses Ziggler out of the ring and tags in Bryan. Daniel runs off the apron with a running knee.
****Commercial****
Kane hits a big boot on Ziggler and tags in Bryan. Bryan hits a big splash to Dolph in the corner. He attempts a hurricarana from the top rope but Ziggler rolls it into a cover. Bryan kicks out. Ziggler dropkicks Bryan to regain control.
Del Rio comes into the match up to work on Bryan before bringing back Ziggler. Ziggler leaps for a drop elbow then tag in Rio. Bryan is met with a snap suplex and a cover. Bryan kicks out. Bryan charges at Rio in the corner, but Rio moves out of the way. Ziggler gets the tag and tries for a cover. Bryan kicks out.
Kane is fuming on the apron. Rio gets the tag and attempts a cover. Rio hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and again goes for the cover. Kane runs in to break it up. Rio pulls Bryan towards the corner and tags in Dolph. JBL berates Ziggler for his showing off, which he deems unnecessary.
After working over Bryan, Ziggler tags in Rio. Cover, but Bryan kicks out. Rio squats behind Bryan and applies a headlock. Kane is running around on the apron.
Kane finally gets the tag and he splashes Rio in the corner. Ziggler gets the tag as Kane grabs Rio by the throat. He grabs Ziggler as well, but Ziggler escapes tries to pin the big man! Kane kicks out. Ziggler is planted with a sidewalk slam. Kane heads to the top rope, but Bryan tags himself in. He flies off the top rope and goes for the cover. Rio makes the save. Kane tosses him out of the ring. Vickie is in with a distraction and Ziggler tries a roll up. Bryan kicks out and Kane tags himself in. Kane hits a chokeslam and this match is over.
Winners: Kane & Daniel Bryan
****Commercial****
# Ross is in the back with Vince and puts him over for the nice things that he said after RAW went off the air. Ross says that as a friend he doesn’t think Vince should wrestle. Vince simply asks him to call his match tonight. Vince tells him to give him a “McMahon, McMahon” roar. Ross goes off in character. Vince then tells him that it doesn’t matter what he thinks.
****Commercial****
Larry King Now
Larry King with his wife are seated at a table on the ramp. He begins an introduction but The Miz comes out and says he doesn’t need an intro. Miz announces that today is the greatest of all days because it is his birthday. Larry tries to interrupt but Miz won’t let him. Miz commands him to lead the audience in singing Happy Birthday. King decides to bring out a new guest that isn’t boring. Kofi Kingston comes out and starts an interview. Miz interrupts and puts down both of the other men. Miz tells King that he has had more Championships than wives. He continues to goad him on. King’s wife stands up and throws water in the face of The Miz. Miz looks ready to attack so Kofi hits a pre-emptive strike. They fight off the side of the stage.
****Commercial****
Zack Ryder & Santino v. Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow
Ryder is fast at the start against Rhodes and punches him across the skull. Damien gets the tag and stomps on Ryder. Rhodes is brought back in and stomps across the gut of Ryder. Ryder kicks out. Rhodes punches him in the head before tagging in Sandow. More isolation and the tag is thrown back to Rhodes. Rhder drops him face firsrt to the mat and tags in Santino. Rhodes hits a hip toss followed by a headbutt. Santino reaches for the cobra, but gets caught with a disaster kick. This match is over.
Winners: Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow
Rhodes and Sandow move on to finals of the tag tournament to face Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara next week on RAW.
Slater, Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre run down to the ring to attack Santino. They dance and play air guitar after the match.
# Heyman is in with Vince and says that he didn’t know this match would be going down tonight. He begs Vince to let him broker the peace between Vince and Punk. Vince says Heyman has been poisoning Punk for years. Heyman claims he is here for Vince and not Punk. He doesn’t want Punk to do to Vince what Brock Lesnar did to his son in law, HHH.
****Commercial****
Eve Torres def. Kaitlyn
Layla joined in on commentary for this match and jaw jacked with Bradshaw.
# Josh Mathews tries to ask Alberto Del Rio a question in the back, but Rio says that he is not interested. Mathews says it is about a tweet from Randy Orton saying he will be at Smackdown this Friday.
****Commercial****
# Bryan walks up to Larry King and his wife in the back. He asks how Larry King got over when David Letterman said he looked like an owl. Bryan proceeds to hit on his wife. Kane then comes into the shot and says he has carried his goat face ever since they got the Titles. They bicker over who is truly the tag team Champions. King walks away.
# Heyman tells Punk to deliver Vince such a beating that he will be such a miserable beaten old man that he can never make a decision again in his life. Punk says he will enjoy every single second.
****Commercial****
While Vince is making his way down to the ring, CM Punk attacks him from behind. He lands elbow after elbow to the boss. Punk rolls him into the ring. Vince manages to get to his feet and knocks Punk to the mat. They roll around a bit until Punk kicks him in the back of the head. Punk gloats over the fallen McMahon. Punks kick him out of the ring and then slams his head across the announce table. Punk yells into one of the headsets, “what a maneuver”. He lifts McMahon up onto his shoulders, but Vince fights off and shoves Punk into the steel post.
Vince throws Punk over the table. He grabs a mic and says now he is going to show Punk respect. He leaps over the table and onto Punk. Vince throws him back into the ring and follows after, but not before grabbing a kendo stick.
Vince swings at his foe, but Punk scurries out of the ring. Punk tells Heyman to come and bring him the Title. Vince cuts him off, takes the Title, and punches Heyman in the face. Vince places the Title on the mat and stands over it with his foreign object. Punk looks under the ring and finds a kendo stick of his own. Punk heads towards the steps and climbs into the ring.
They begin to beat each other relentlessly with the kendo sticks. Punk drops his and falls to his knees, begging for McMahon not to hit him. Vince comes over, but Punk nails him with a low blow. Punk grabs both sticks and hits Mr. McMahon. Punk signals for the GTS. Punk lifts up Vince, but Ryback’s music hits and he comes out to make the save! Ryback slides into the ring and Punk heads out. Cena appears from behind Punk and throws him into the ring. Ryback starts to attack him, but Punk slips out of the ring and escapes through the crowd.
Vince has a mic and says he hopes that Punk learned a message tonight. Vince says that Hell in a Cell Punk will either face Ryback or Cena. The decision is Punk’s. If he can’t make it by next week, then Vince will make the choice for him.
David’s Thoughts
When considering the opening of the show, I’m going to be blunt – Cena’s opening was kind of lame. It was simply your prototypical John Cena promo. I don’t think the segment was all that necessary, but they are trying to do everything that they can to boost the ratings tonight so I suppose I understand the intent. His only other appearance on the show was at the end when he tossed Punk back into the ring for Ryback to feast upon. I get that the WWE is worried about the ratings but there was really no reason for Cena to be on the show tonight. He could have easily appeared via satellite. Personally I say let the poor guy rest, then when he eventually did come back after 3-4 weeks it would mean more.
As for the whole rating debacle that is currently occurring – what did the WWE expect to happen? In the past, the three hour RAWs have generally had lower ratings than the two hour RAWs because of the lower draw of the first hour. Historically, that has been the case. Factor in Monday Night Football and RAW was inevitably going to have poor ratings this fall.
This brings me to the biggest story of the night, which didn’t even occur on RAW. Brian Gerwitz, head writer of WWE RAW for the past ten years was fired from that position and sent home from RAW tonight. Reports are still trickling out, but as of this posting the word is that he is still technically employed as a consultant. To say I’m shocked would be an understatement.
I’m not there day to day so it’s difficult to say if Gerwitz deserved this demotion. It’s so easy for people to put up blogs or comment on posts exposing their vitriolic beliefs, and yet they don’t have a clue what really went down behind the scenes. (Heck, this could have nothing to do with the wrestling product whatsoever for all that we know) I’d urge a bit of patience until all of the details are released. Or troll away; I don’t care how you waste your time.
As for other happenings on the show…
I expected Ryback to bust out hydropump during his appearance tonight. He reminds me of Blastoise for some reason. See now this is just getting me off on a tangent in my mind about which Pokémon best fit certain wrestlers. Santino as Jynx? Big Show as Snorlax? The list goes on.
I expect Rey and Cara to emerge victorious in next week’s finals for the Tag Team Tournament. I see more value in them running with the belts in comparison to the Rhodes Scholars. I have to admit that as much as I know the breakup of Daniel Bryan and Kane is inevitable, I’m hoping they run it for a bit more mileage. They are just plain funny. If they do end up losing the Titles, I’m just glad it’s not to the Prime Time Players. Always looking for the positives over here.
I just read on Wrestleview that Little Jimmy is going to be on the next season of ABDC.
Now, that’s not true. But if it was Lil Mama would be all over him. (You’re welcome one person that knows what the hell I’m talking about)
Vince’s state of the WWE only lasted about two minutes before CM Punk’s interruption. The crowd was absolutely roaring when Vince challenged Punk to a fight. I’m not sure what got in to Sacramento tonight, but they were on fire.
As for the fight itself, it was a bit sad to watch Vince McMahon in the ring. Yes, he did a good job… for his age. When I realized I was adding a qualifier to the performance I started to step back a bit and notice just how out of breath he was at times. I did chuckle when he tried to jump over the table and instead kind of surfed the cover until he landed on Punk. It’s not believable that Vince stands a chance in the ring with a youthful and successful opponent anymore. It’s cool from a nostalgic sense, but that’s about it.
The most important thing to happen on RAW may well have been in the final moments of the show. CM Punk had run into the crowd to avoid becoming Ryback’s latest TV dinner. Apparently Punk doesn’t like being frozen pudding. That stuff never thaws out correctly. Even if it does microwave suitably, who honestly enjoys cheap microwaved pudding?
For those who missed it, Punk clobbered a fan standing behind him. Now, I hope that the “fan” happens to be a plant, because if not you can forget River City, we have trouble right here in the WWE.
I’m a Punk supporter, but if he punched a fan and it was not a plant, there are very few circumstances in which I feel he shouldn’t be punished. Don’t expect Vince to take it lightly that one of his wrestlers punched a paying customer amidst his wife’s election campaign. A lawsuit against Linda’s former company of that nature would be a devastating October surprise for her opponent.
David Stephens
Follow me on Twitter!@TheDaveStephens
The Teacher’s Lounge (Saturday)
“The Teacher’s Lounge” is a weekly podcast archived every Saturday on the Wrestleview Radio Network featuring hosts David Stephens and “Mr. V” Anthony Valvo. The show reviews all of the news from the week, tosses out Gold Stars and Detentions, PPV previews and special guests. Past Interviews include: Colt Cabana, Hernandez, Sara Del Rey, CZW Owner DJ Hyde, Shane Douglas & more!
