The RAW brand started a short, three day tour in Australia today that will wrap up on Saturday night.
The first show was held earlier today in Brisbane at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre and will be followed by a show tomorrow in Sydney, at the Allphones Arena, and then on Saturday at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
The crew will head back to the United States after the show in time for RAW in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday night.
CM Punk claimed on Twitter that he ended up paying a $500,000 fine for blading on RAW on Monday night, also paying referee Charles Robinson’s fine for apparently being an accomplice.
The WWE champion posted a pic on his Twitter showing the eight stapes which were needed to close the gash on his head after the show was over.
“I paid Charles Robinsons fine. #respect,” he wrote. “And yes, I have more power than you could possibly imagine. 500k fine. Drop in the bucket. Bucket of blood!”
One CM Punk hater came back saying he wished [the cut] was across his jugular instead! Ouch.
WWE Superstars and Divas are not allowed to blade because of the TV PG rating the show carries. When someone bleeds the hard way the match is usually stopped until the wound can be treated and then they can continue if the trainers successfully manage to block the bleeding.
Monday Night RAW scored the second 3.1 rating in a row, with an average of 4,482,000 viewers off hours 2.9, 3.3, and 3.2. Hour one did 4,160,000 viewers, hour two did 4,786,000, and hour three dipped to 4,499,000. The show was very, very slightly up in viewers from last week by about 4,000. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)
WWE Diva Cameron – who dances for Brodus Clay – was arrested in the early hours of August 24 and charged with a DUI in Tampa, Florida.
Cameron – real name Ariane Andrew – was released later on a $500 bond and the arrest report from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s department says that she refused a breathalyzer test.
The 24 year old Diva listed Wells Fargo as her employer rather than WWE in her arrest report. Maybe she was still too drunk to remember where she works.
Somebody call her momma! You can see her mug shot below.
According to a Quinnipiac University poll released today, former WWE CEO Linda McMahon is ahead of her rival, Christopher Murphy, to snatch the Senate seat this November, leading 49% to 46%.
McMahon leads 54% to 42% among men voters although she’s looking the women battle 50% to 46%. She also leads 55% to 40% among possible independent voters. McMahon leads among all income groups, except voters making $50,000 to $100,000 per year. Voters under 35 years old back Murphy 51% to 43% while McMahon leads 54% to 42% among voters 35 to 54 years old. Voters over 55 are split 48% to 48%, making this election too close to call.
“The poll is good news for Linda McMahon. In our first likely voter poll in Connecticut, McMahon has a 3 point advantage in a too-close-to-call-race. Her edge is due to her double-digit lead among independent voters and being close among women, a group she struggled with in her 2010 run,” said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, PhD.
This is McMahon’s second run at the Senate seat as in 2010 she lost the election by 11%.
It looks like the king of the welterweights has been given the go ahead to get back in the gym and begin training. Georges St. Pierre has been out of the Octagon since he defeated Jake Shields at UFC 129 in April of 2011.
St. Pierre has been sidelined after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and back in December of last year, he had a successful surgery by Dr. Neal S. ElAttrache at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic whom he also sent out a thank tweet to today.
“I’m now medically cleared to compete in professional mixed martial arts events- Rendez-vous le 17 novembre, @UFC 154, Montreal,” St. Pierre tweeted.
UFC 154 has been scheduled to take place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada at the Bell Center. The event will be headlined by the returning champ taking on the current interim champion Carlos Condit.
Condit won the championship in a five round unanimous decision over Nick Diaz. That fight irked some fight fans as Condit appeared to spend a majority of the fight running from Diaz. While Condit did land some good shots when they mixed it up it was clear his game plan was to not let Diaz trap him against the cage, which he was very successful at. Condit elected after the fight with Diaz to wait for St. Pierre to return rather than defend the interim title.
The co-main event will feature Johny Hendricks versus Martin Kampmann in a number one contenders bout to see who will face the winner in the night’s main event between St. Pierre and Condit.
Also on the card is Mark Bocek versus Rafael dos Anjos, Tom Lawlor versus Francis Carmont, Mark Hominick versus Pablo Garza, and Antonio Carvalho versus Rodrigo Damm.
CM Punk and John Cena will once again headline another pay-per-view as yesterday on RAW it was announced that the two will battle for the WWE title in one of the main events of Night of Champions.
This year’s Night of Champions show will be taking place at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, which is John Cena’s home state.
The pay-per-view is the only show where all the titles are defended on the same card. It airs on September 16.
A cliffhanger and a question mark loom over tonight’s Raw. The cliffhanger is the pondering that WWE Champion C.M. Punk has about John Cena, and will he name him the #1 Contender for the title?
The question mark is Triple H’s career – “The Game” is set to address the WWE Universe regarding SummerSlam, Brock Lesnar, his future, etc…What will the former 13-time World Heavyweight & WWE Champion have to say?
Plus, following Smackdown’s big backstage brawl between tag-teams, what will their respective General Managers do to determine a team that will face Kofi Kingston and R-Truth for the championships?
Finally, will there be a Wade Barrett sighting, other than promos?
All this and much more, so read on to find out what happens on Monday’s favorite wrestling program…
Monday Night Raw Report for August 27th, 2012 – “An Unanswered Question and An Unanswered Demand”
Introduction Segment: Recap & Welcoming
A video package of last week’s ending with WWE Champion C.M. Punk, John Cena, Jerry “The King” Lawler, and their confrontation airs. The regular Raw video plays and the pyro goes boom, as Monday Night Raw is live from the B.O.O. Harris Bradley Centre.
Michael Cole welcomes us to Raw, then begins to read Jerry “The King” Lawler’s tweet following last week. Lawler rises from the announce table and takes the microphone, entering the ring.
Segment #1: Arena Promo
He admits that he may have miss-spoke regarding a remark he made toward WWE Champion C.M. Punk. He says he did apologize to Punk, but then got kicked in the head right after. Instead of apologizing again, Lawler wants C.M. to come out and say “sorry” himself.
The WWE Champion does strut out (with a new look of a recently shaven head) and questions Jerry’s request. He turns it around and claims that “The King” turned his back on the WWE Universe when he “slandered it’s beloved champion.” Due to the lack of respect Lawler showed Punk, as the champion claimed, that’s why he got booted in the head.
However, “The Straight-Edge Superstar” does apologize.
“I am sorry Jerry Lawler. I’m sorry that all it takes to get in the WWE Hall Of Fame is to beat a bunch of nobodies from Memphis. To get into a slap-fight with a Hollywood comedian. To act like a juvenile, infantile 14-year-old for your entire twenty-three year career here in the WWE. I’m sorry that your jealousy and lack of respect for me stems from never being WWE Champion yourself. And I’m sorry that when you finally got your big WrestleMania moment, you couldn’t beat Michael Cole! I’m sorry I’m raising my voice and I’m sorry that you’ve become the WWE’s circus-seal, ready to regurgitate any opinion that’s barked in your ear. Most of all, I’m sorry about the man you’ve become.”
Punk sees that he may have touched a nerve (gee, ya think!) and questions him to fight. “You’re just a commentator, I’m the best in the world, and everybody knows, because they paid to see me, that I would embarrass you, I would embarrass you.”
Lawler reiterates that he wants an apology, not to fight. Punk though says he can see it. He knows that Lawler wants to fight, and challenges him to fight. He leaves him with a decision: “you’re gonna leave embarrassed. You’re either gonna leave embarrassed because I’m gonna beat you within an inch of your life, or you’re gonna leave embarrassed because you wouldn’t fight me. Decision’s yours King. Think about it.”
The WWE Champion shouts out “respect” as he walks up the ramp, while Jerry says he will “think about it” and goes back to the commentator table.
(Great opener segment!)
Commercials.
Match #1: Single – “The All-American-American” Jack Swagger VS. Ryback
Lock up and Swagger tries an easy control with knees. He ducks a clothesline but gets a big boot instead. Ryback slams his head three times on the mat and literately shoves his face onto the canvas. Jack counters with a drop-toehold into the ropes and runs off with a shoulder block. Big scoop slam and Swagger goes for the “Swaggerbomb,” but Ryback attempts a counter. However, “The All-American-American” grabs his feet and goes for the Ankle Lock, but Ryback kicks him off.
Ryback builds up momentum and wants to “finish it!” Ryback hoists Swagger up and drives him with the marching Samoan Drop. Ryback covers and “finishes it!”
Winner via Pinfall: Ryback
Cole & Lawler now speculate on Triple H’s career and hype up his appearance. It also announced that John Cena will take on Intercontinental Champion The Miz, and Jerry Lawler….is still thinking.
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Match #2: Single – Natalya VS. Divas Champion Layla (Non-Title)
Prior to the bout, you must excuse her! Vickie Guerrero marches out and demands this match to be over with quickly, since she has an important announcement to make. The bell rings and Natalya takes down Layla with a sweep of the legs and shoves her to the mat, then stomps on her.
Layla counters an Irish Whip into a roll-up for a near-fall, then springboards off the middle corner rope with a crossbody for another two! The Divas champion rear-bumps Natalya, but gets caught in the ring apron, which Natalya pulled out. Layla shoves off a Sharpshooter, but Layla reverses a suplex into a small package, but only receives two. She then nails Natalya in the head with a high kick and gets the victory!
Winner via Pinfall: Divas Champion Layla
Vickie shoes Layla out of the ring pronto and begins her announcement.
Segment #2: Arena Promo
Guerrero cites last week’s match, between Chris Jericho and Dolph Ziggler. She reviews the stipulations, in which Jericho losing would cause him to be terminated, and if Ziggler lost, he would hand over the Money In The Bank Briefcase to Jericho. She called this an abuse of power by Raw General Manager A.J. Lee and demands a new G.M., who is an “adult” be named.
The Raw G.M. does skip out, and just as she is about to say something, A.J. swerves and slaps Vickie! She then attacks and rolls around with Guerrero, until Vickie leaves the ring. A.J. gets up and smiles, like nothing is wrong.
Segment #3: Video Promo
Cole says that throughout the evening, we will be taking a look at highlights from Triple H’s career. The first up are clips from his run with D-Generation X.
Commercials.
Segment #4: Video Promo
An earlier recording of Daniel Bryan in “Anger Management” classes airs. He protests that he has issues and is not an angry man. “I am fine.” A young boy with a goat mask then walks in, and Daniel goes off, claiming a joke and that he is not a “goat-face.” The “doctor” calms him down to end round one.
Segment #5: Arena Promo
A tweet from WWE Champion C.M. Punk is read and he will let Jerry Lawler have the punch if he chooses to fight Punk. Lawler then stands up on the announcing table and goes through the “accusations” from earlier.
He names those “nobodies” in Tennessee as Jesse “The Body” Ventura, Harley Race, Jack Brisco, “Superstar Billy Graham, Bill Dundee, and the list goes on. Lawler wonders how long Punk may have lasted in Memphis. He might act like a fun-loving 14-year-old sometimes, he has never won the WWE Championship he does respect comedian, the late-great Andy Kaufman.
He says he is a WWE Hall Of Famer, but you don’t get in there unless you stand up when the time is right, to someone who’s younger than you and in the prime of their life.
“C.M. Punk, I know I’m not the best in the world, but I don’t think you are either. So I’ve never backed down in a challenge in my life, and I’m not gonna start tonight. So you wanna know Punk if I’ll fight you? You damn right I’ll fight you tonight!”
Lawler walks to the back as Cole hypes up the impending contest.
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Match #3: Single – John Cena VS. Intercontinental Champion The Miz (Non-Title)
Collar-elbow tie-up and a side headlock takedown by The Miz. Cena whips Miz into the ropes and leapfrogs him into a side headlock takedown of his own.
Commercials.
Miz apparently avoided receiving the A.A. (it was not seen because of bad camera work, who were focused on Cole and new commentator for the night, Josh Matthews – oops!) Cena hits the bulldog off the ropes but only gets a one-count. Miz is whipped off the ropes but comes back with a couple of kicks and gets a near-fall! The I.C. Champion measures Cena in the corner and runs at him with a clothesline, then dives off the top-rope with an on-target axe handle.
Miz clamps on a grounding rear-chinlock, as the fans chant “Lets go Cena/Cena sucks.” Cena reverses a suplex into one of his own, but gets caught with a back/neckbreaker combo by “The Awesome One.” 1 – 2 – Cena kicks out! Straight kick to the face, but Cena gets the shoulder up again! Miz is looking frustrated now.
Cena reverses another kick into the STF submission, but Miz crawls and breaks it with the ropes. Cena staggering to get up and walks right into a DDT. 1 – 2 – John kicks out! Miz again sets up Cena for the Skull-Krushing Finale, but Cena reverses into another A.A. try, but Miz gets out of that into a front-slam.
This time, Cena ducks out of a running clothesline in the corner and “powers up.” A couple of shoulder blocks and the spin-out back-drop, plus a 5-Knuckle Shuffle and the Attitude Adjustment complete the bout!
Winner via Pinfall: John Cena
Time for the poll of the night – this one involves Lawler & Punk in either a “Tables Match,” “Steel Cage Match,” or “No-Disqualification Match.” (Considering I have yet to see a cage, I wonder which one will win out!)
Segment #6: Video Promo
More highlights of Triple H’s career played, this time a general montage of his “Cerebral Assassin” ways.
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Segment #7: Video Promo
Another airing of Daniel Bryan’s “anger management” class is shown, this time where his rips on Raw General Manager A.J. for making him go there, among putting him in matches and leaving him at the altar. The doctor informs Bryan that their last patient is about to join the group, who of course is Kane. The “Big Red Machine” takes a seat, despite the fear of the other patients and Daniel’s disapproval.
Match #4: Single – “The One-Man Band” Heath Slater VS. Santino Marella
A few comedy bits ensue before Slater gets control and dominates. He chokes and slaps Marella against the ropes and slingshots him. (Note, the crowd chants “boring” and I agree, but not because of Slater.) Marella fires up to the point where he puts on “The Cobra,” which again gets distracted by Aksana, but instead he still manages to get the job done over Heath with the Cobra Chop!
Winner via Pinfall: Santino Marella
Commercials.
Match #5: Tag-Team – “The Funkasaurus” Brodus Clay (with “The Funkadactyls” Naomi & Cameron) and Sin Cara VS. Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes
Before the match, Rhodes cuts a small promo ripping the Milwaukee people, comparing them to Brodus’ girth and Car’s “hideous looks.”
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Live again, Rhodes has Cara locked in a rear-chinlock and tries to unmask him. Knee-to-the-face for a one-count from Cody. Sandow is tagged in and he drops Cara with a Russian Legsweep and a spinning elbow drop. Rhodes back in and works over Cara, but Sin shoves him against the ropes and sends him flying with a Hurricanrana. Cara manages to crawl and slap hands with Brodus to trade.
Clay dominate with a running powerslam, but Sandow breaks up the pin and kicks away at his knee. Cara breaks that up and dives off the top rope onto Damien on the outside. Brodus headbutts Cody and splashes him for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winners via Pinfall: “The Funkasaurus” Brodus Clay (with “The Funkadactyls” Naomi & Cameron)
As usual, the winners celebrate and dance with young fans.
Segment #8: Video Promo
The last installment of “Anger Management.” The doctor asks Kane to remove his mask and then tell the group about himself. He does so, and then proclaims “I’m the devil’s favorite demon.” Doctor wants him to share, which Bryan says “this is a bad idea,” and shakes his head.
Much like the movie “Austin Powers International Man Of Mystery” with the character Dr. Evil in his session, Kane recalls his entire history from birth to now, including “for reasons never quite explained, I have an unhealthy obsession with torturing Pete Rose.”
The doctor decides to end the session and then asks his patients to make an “anger collage.” Bryan questions what it is and then the doctor himself, saying he looks like “Mr. Rogers with a cheap sweater, horrible pants…” as they walk out the door.
Harold, another patient, thanks Kane for sharing, and Kane responds by grabbing him by the throat, “no problem Harold.” (This was actually really funny, mainly due to Kane.)
Up next, Daniel Bryan is in the arena and will take on one-half of the tag-team champions. Also, another of Triple H’s greatest moments will play.
Commercials.
Segment #9: Video Promo
As mentioned above, a montage of “The Game’s” monumental achievements in his wrestling career are shown.
Match #6: Single – Tag-Team Champion R-Truth (with Tag-Team Champion Kofi Kingston) VS. Daniel Bryan
Daniel opens the contest with a sportsmanship fist-bump with R-Truth. Lockup and a hammer lock by both, into a side-headlock takedown. Truth wants another fist-bump, but gives it to “Little Jimmy” instead and Bryan headbutts and kicks away at him. Truth boots Bryan in the face then runs out of the corner with a clothesline.
Two slaps and a tornado elbow for a two-count from Truth! Truth holds onto the ropes then chucks Daniel out of the ring. Another harsh slap and Truth takes a microphone, inciting a “yes” chant from Milwaukee. Bryan takes the mike and snaps, repeatedly screaming “no”, but also gets counted-out in the meantime!
Winner via Count-out: Tag-Team Champion R-Truth (with Tag-Team Champion Kofi Kingston)
Daniel snaps again, taking out the steel steps and having a tantrum in the ring.
Up next, Triple H!
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Segment #10: Arena Promo
Donned in a suit (minus jacket, but cast on left arm added), Triple H soaks in the adoration from the crowd and slaps many hands in the aisle on the way down. To add effect, Cole & Matthews are giving him a “standing o” too. He cuts to the chase and wants to kill the suspense right away. “Am I going to retire?”
HHH starts at the beginning, citing two things he wanted to accomplish: “one, was try to step foot in this ring and create something that people would never forget, and the other was to retire from all of this before all of this retired me.”
“The Game” says that everybody comes to a crossroad in their career and they have to ask themselves, is it time? Time is the one thing that no one can fight and it will win.
“I never wanted to be the guy that was just hanging out. Never wanted to be the guy that hung on too long, the guy that was just waiting for the nostalgia pop, never wanted to be the guy that was quite frankly getting in the ring ’cause someone was willing to write him a check. I never wanted to hang on too long, I didn’t want to be the guy that was just too beat up and too crippled inside to be able to hold his own kids. I never wanted to be the punch-drunk fighter that couldn’t have a life when this was over. That being said, for the first time in my career, I find myself at that crossroad.”
Triple H says that Brock Lesnar has made him ask the question, “am I done?…” “I don’t know. I’m beat up, I’m probably more tired than I’ve ever been in my life, I’m broken again. What I want to do is I want to come out in this ring and I want to be ‘The Cerebral Assassin’, I want to be ‘The King Of Kings,” I want to be ‘The Game,’ I want to be ‘Triple H,’ I want to tell you ‘I am going to rise up again and I am going to kick Brock Lesnar’s ass, because that is what I do!'”
“That’s what I want to do, but I can’t. And the truth is because I don’t know if I can.” Triple H says that if he can’t say he can be better than before and beat Brock Lesnar, then maybe he’s answered his own questions. “You can do it” chants ring out now.
“The Game” takes a minute now to say “thank you” to all of us. Triple H says that despite our feelings for them, “every superstar that walks down that ramp, every person that steps through those ropes into this ring, does so for one reason. They put their bodies, their health on the line. They leave it all in this ring. They sweat, they pay the price, they sacrifice everyday for one thing, and that is for your entertainment. And trust me, every single person stands back there behind that curtain and right before their music hits, when they’re alone and they’re inside of themselves and there’s no one else around, they question themselves, they question whether when they walk out that curtain anyone will care.”
“And I can honestly say that for my entire I feel like every time I walked out that curtain, all of you have cared. And that’s gotten me through all of it. When I was exhausted from the road, when I was broken, when I was beat up, when muscles were torn, when bones were broken, what got me through all of it, was all of you and all of your reactions, and for that I can honestly say ‘thank you from the bottom of my heart.’ ‘Thank you for letting me play the game.’ You all gave me the reaction every night and for that I will never, ever forget each and every one of you. And hopefully, if I’ve succeeded at all in my career, then hopefully I have done something in this ring, and hopefully in some way, you’ll never forget me. Thank you.”
Triple H drops the microphone, listens to the applause and calls of his name, gives the fans some more hand-slaps, turns around on the stage, and walks away.
Commercials.
Match #7: Tag-Team – “The Showoff” Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) VS. Randy Orton and World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus
Prior to the match, Ziggler comes out with Jericho’s music, then cuts a small promo. He says that “Y2J will not be seen at this time because of me. I cost him his WWE contract, and you will never, ever see Jericho again.”
Orton and Ziggler start it off. Randy drops Ziggler with a shoulder block then a clothesline after Dolph leapfrogs him. Springboard suplex, then Orton tosses Del Rio out of the ring. Sheamus follows up with a diving shoulder block off the apron to take out Del Rio. Powerslam from Orton, but Ziggler rolls out of the ring for a break.
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Alberto chucks Orton back in the ring and Dolph takes control, wearing him down with a rear-chinlock and knee-to-the-gut. Del Rio is tagged and he hammers away on Orton’s left arm, hoping to weaken it for his submission later. Orton rolls over Del Rio in the corner for a roll-up but only gets two. Randy manages to throw Alberto over the ropes and slowly crawls to Sheamus.
The World Heavyweight Champ unloads and cleans house on both Ziggler and Del Rio. Dolph slides out of a fireman’s carry, but gets slammed with the Irish Curse backbreaker. 1 – 2 – Del Rio breaks it up. Ricardo tosses the briefcase to Ziggler, but Orton catches him in a backbreaker and Sheamus nails the Brogue Kick to cover and get the W!
Winners via Pinfall: Randy Orton and World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus
Segment #11: Locker Room Promo
Jerry Lawler is telling someone that while he appreciates this person being back there, he doesn’t want his help. The camera reveals it to be John Cena. Lawler states that if Cena helps, then Punk will throw it in his face that he needed aide to beat him. Lawler says he needs to beat C.M. Punk on his own. Cena tells him “good luck,” slaps his shoulder and walks off.
Commercials.
Match #8: “Long Island Iced-Z” Zack Ryder VS. David Otunga
(Kane comes out before this contest and sits on commentary. Josh is stands away from the table, as does Cole.) Otunga is aggressive and all over Ryder with kicks, a clothesline, and a shoulder block. Suplex from David for a two-count. Zack counters with a faceplant, but Otunga yanks him off the middle rope. Out of nowhere, Otunga misses a clothesline and Ryder drives him down with the Roughryder Leg Lariat for the victory!
Winner via Pinfall: “Long Island Iced-Z” Zack Ryder
Post-match, Kane wants to chokeslam Ryder, but has second thoughts and switches to Otunga, slamming him down by the throat.
Backstage, WWE Champ C.M. Punk is warming up with kicking practice against a pad.
Up next, the poll results will be revealed.
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It is made known that Smackdown General Manager Booker T. has booked (pardon the “pun”) Dolph Ziggler to take on Randy Orton this Friday on Smackdown!
Segment #12: Arena Promo
Well, I was wrong, as Lawler and Punk will go on in a Steel Cage Match. Raw General Manager A.J. Lee then announces that C.M. Punk will defend his WWE Championship at Night Of Champions against….John Cena!
The main-event is next!
Commercials.
Match #9: Single (Steel Cage) Jerry “The King” Lawler VS. WWE Champion C.M. Punk
Punk stands and demands Lawler to take the first shot. “The King” obliges and punches down C.M. The WWE Champ comes back with kicks and knees in the corner, and then a neckbreaker. Punk continues to pound away on Lawler, then tear at his mouth. He now toys with Jerry, just lightly kicking him around the ring, and yelling “I’m the new king of Memphis, Tennessee.” Punk punches away a bit more, then begins to ascend the top rope, where he turns around, hops down, and runs at Lawler in the corner.
“The Straight-Edge Superstar” goes to the top again, but Lawler trips him up and attempts to crawl out the cage, but is pulled back in. Repeated elbow drops from C.M. and a neckbreaker, but Lawler shoves him into the steel mesh fence. Lawler starts punching now, and takes Punk down with a clothesline. He climbs the turnbuckle and hits the Fist Drop! 1 – 2 – C.M. Punk gets the shoulder up!
Punk is busted open, but cuts off Lawler before he can escape and runs at him with a knee-in-the-corner. The WWE Champion signals for the Go-To-Sleep, picks up Lawler and locks him in the Anaconda Vice instead, forcing Jerry to tap out!
Winner via Submission: WWE Champion C.M. Punk
Post-match, Punk grabs a chain from under the ring, re-enters and locks the cage. He holds up Lawler by the head and demands him to say “I’m the best in the world.” Lawler responds with “hell no,” and Punk beats on him some more.
Punk reiterates his favorite statement and reiterates the punishment on Lawler. Cena runs down and orders the cage to be opened. Cena is yelling at Punk from the outside that he is “way out of line.” As the cage is being raised, Punk rolls out, collects his WWE Championship and walks off with his hand held high. Cena is in the ring with officials, tending to Lawler as Raw fades to black.
End Of Raw.
This was an “meh kind of…” Raw. I say that because while the promos were great, most of the matches were kind of “throw-away.” More explanations below.
Excellence: Opening promo – C.M. Punk was awesome in his “apology” to Lawler, bringing up all of his real-life faults and failings. This type of talk starts to make you hate him because you know he is throwing stuff in people’s face and basically bullying them. Heel turn starting to be accomplished. Lawler’s response was equally great because he stood his ground, and then made us wait for a while before his decision. And his deciding promo was also well-done because he stood up for all he believed in and had done in his career.
Ryback/Swagger – actually a bit of competition this week for Ryback, and was a pretty decent match ta-boot!
The “Anger Management Classes.” At first, I thought this would end up being too “hokey”, but Bryan really made it work with his personality, and then Kane, completely ripping off the movie I mentioned in the original recap above, was brilliant and really funny, all while speaking like Kane – serious! It just made me laugh and actually made these go over well. Also, Daniel losing the way he did was great too, because it continued and played up his “anger” storyline perfectly.
Triple H’s promo – no matter his career, both in and out of the ring, and what people (and you) may think/say about him, you CANNOT DENY that he is one of VERY FEW (probably the TOP THREE) that you sense has a GENUINE love and passion for professional wrestling, and it shined through in his speech tonight. That is why I basically quoted word-for-word what he said, to display that DESIRE and LOVE for this business. Enough said! (Oh, and of course he’s coming back – got to get that revenge match!)
Main-event – Heel turn for WWE Champion is now accomplished! C.M. Punk toying with Lawler during the match, and then beating him down after in the locked cage solidified his bad guy persona. Finally, (even though I’ll tell you next week for sure when they’re in Chicago), it looks like he will be a true heel with no “grey.”
Bogus: Except for the two in Excellence, the rest of the matches for different reasons. Layla/Natalya, Slater/Marella, & Otunga/Ryder were fillers with no “spark”; getting bored of the Rhodes/Cara & Brodus/Damien feuds – time too move on for Sandow and Cody; the tag-team bout with Sheamus/Orton & Ziggler/Alberto was too short, and didn’t like Dolph taking the pinfall. He beat Jericho last week, but can’t win against Orton in tags? Something wrong with that!
However, my biggest beef is the Cena/Miz. And I think you know why! But just in case, The Miz – the INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION – has eaten ANOTHER LOSS! And this particular bout seemed a waste and just “thrown out there.” Cena didn’t even make an appearance until this match and it felt like he was just another guy on the roster. No usual fanfare or hype for him this week, until near the end of the show. Again though, The Miz, who is the I.C. Champion SHOULD NOT be LOSING these matches. It DISCREDITS HIM AND THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!
And I’m done ranting for this week! Unfortunately, while there was some good on Raw, there was definitely a lot of not-so good, as demonstrated in my “Bogus.” So, here’s hoping they improve for next week and until then, as always, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans!
The WrestleMania special Rock vs Cena on NBC this past Saturday did just a 0.9 rating and an average of 2,720,000 viewers.
The yearly special was considered to be something extra special this year with the marquee match between the two however it failed to live up to the expectations and even lost out to last year’s WrestleMania special which did 3,640,000 viewers.
The show placed NBC in third place in network ratings for the night behind CBS and ABC. (Rating from Zap2It.com)
Former WWE Intercontinental champion and Diva Chyna is about to have her next adult movie released by Vivid Entertainment, a movie which carries title of “Chyna Is Queen Of The Ring”
Released for your viewing pleasure online on September 4 and in stores on September 12, this XXX parody will see Chyna battle WWE Superstars look-a-likes including her ex boyfriend Triple H, Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Ric Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bret Hart, Iron Sheik, Doink, John Cena, Gene Okerlund, Vince McMahon and Stephanie McMahon.
“This movie made me feel sexy and wanted,” said Chyna. “I was glad it was a long shoot because I was totally turned on and having so much fun laughing a lot with the guys. I think adult movie fans will go crazy over it!”
The cast of “Queen of the Ring” includes Lisa Ann as Stephanie McMahon, Valerie Kay as Ring Girl, Ron Jeremy as himself, Alex Sanders as Ric Flair, Anthony Hardwood as Triple H, Cyrus King as Stone Cold Steve Austin, Evan Stone as Vince McMahon, Marco Banderas as Iron Sheik, Ralph Long as Doink, Sledge Hammer as The Rock, TJ Cummings as John Cena and Tommy Pistol as Gene Okerlund.
Days after UFC President Dana White canceled the UFC 151 pay-per-view from Las Vegas which was set for next Saturday, Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones apologized for refusing to fight Chael Sonnen, a decision which led to the cancellation of the show.
White was pretty straight forward, blaming Jon Jones and his trainer Greg Jackson for pulling the plug on the show, saying that there has never been a case where the champion refused to fight.
“Carrying the cross for my company’s decision. If someone has to take the blame, I will accept full responsibility for the way UFC 151 was canceled,” Jones wrote on his Twitter account yesterday.
“I want to sincerely apologize to all the other athletes/fans who’s time and money was waisted,” he added.
Jones said he feels terrible about the way he handled the situation and while the apology will not bring back the show, it’s a small step forward for the champion who has a long way to go to fix his relationship with the company and its President.
Fighters who were scheduled to participate on the card took it to Twitter to blast the champion, noting that they were going to lose money despite still having bills to pay.
There’s a new, easier way to distinguish who’s who when it comes to the Bella Twins. No, not a tattoo, not a new hairdo from one of them, but one of the twins is now sporting a set of brand spanking new boobs.
That’s right, Nikki Bella is now looking rather large in the chest department, definitely “out-growing” her twin sister thanks to plastic surgery.
The Score in Canada, which carries WWE programming in the country, published some side by side photos of the twins and the former WWE Divas also appeared at the Wizard World Chicago Comic Con in two killer blue dresses and Nikki made sure she got those boobs out for the camera!
You can see the video and photos below.
Triple H will be appearing on Monday Night RAW tomorrow to address the WWE fans following his loss to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam last week.
The WWE.COM website has played up the injury saying that Triple H suffered a broken arm thanks to Lesnar’s Kimura Lock, the second time that the company has played up the angle that Lesnar broke his arm.
At the end of the SummerSlam pay-per-view, Triple H stayed in the ring to get the sympathy reaction, something that Chris Benoit used to do after a very long match which usually resulted in defeat. The only difference is that while fans cheered Benoit, Triple H actually got booed by fans as well, certainly not the reaction that he was hoping for.
It is expected that HHH and Lesnar will battle once again in the future.
If for some reason you missed the Rock vs Cena match at WrestleMania, tonight its your chance to watch it for free on broadcast television.
Starting at 9PM ET, NBC will be airing a one hour Rock vs Cena special including the full match that closed the pay-per-view.
The preview says that this will be a never-before-seen look at the historic match with footage from the year-long angle mixed with some of the most popular music from today.
TNA’s IMPACT Wrestling rating saw a nice increase this week mostly thanks to the hype of the angle between the Aces & 8s and Sting, Hogan, etc teaming up to take them out.
This week’s show did a 1.15 rating and a total of 1,717,000 viewers, an increase of almost 300,000 viewers from the previous week. (Ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research and put online by PWInsider.com)
The new WWE app for iOS is doing good in the iTunes chart, with the one for iPhone sitting in the tenth place while the iPad version is in the twelfth place at time of this writing.
Released last week, the app is taking very positive reviews with fans enjoying the Superstar bio and photos, news, social media integration and tons of video clips which could be streamed to anyone’s television with the Airplay and Apple TV.
The free app is listed under the entertainment category, which is a harder category to score a top placing due to the amount of popular apps in the section.
On the Google Play store, the official WWE app is currently in number seventeen in the Entertainment category.
WWE Hall of Famer and former Diva Tammy Sytch has been released from rehab after spending over a month in a facility paid for by WWE.
Sytch – better known as Sunny – was rushed to the ER last month after drinking a considerable amount of Vodka. After the word about her problem got to Tommy Dreamer, Dreamer called WWE to help her out and within thirty minutes she was booked in a rehab facility. WWE went as far as picking her up from her home apart from picking the overall tab.
“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, free and sober at last,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
The pregnant storyline on IMPACT was written out of television yesterday after the actress portraying the character of Claire Lynch quit her role.
The actress – Julia Reilly – is from Florida and in the past two weeks her online properties were shut down after her identity was leaked online.
During yesterday’s IMPACT, it was revealed that she was never really pregnant and was put up for the task by Daniels and Kazarian. She also “drugged” AJ Styles so she could take scandalous photos of him for blackmail.
The actress never appeared at the show with another individual playing the role of her attorney wrapping up the storyline for her.
It looks like Dolph Ziggler is not only the “show off” in the ring, but apparently he is one in bed too, and in this case, it kinda backfired on him.
Comedienne Amy Schumer – a regular on Comedy Central Roasts and a contestant on Last Comic Standing – was on Howard Stern show to discuss several topics, including her ex boyfriend and Money In The Bank winner Dolph Ziggler.
Schumer said that while she did like Ziggler, the theatrics in bed were “too athletic” for bed and decided to break things off via a text message. Schumer said that Ziggler took the breakup good and described him having a “very tender heart.”
“It wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t for me,” said Schumer. “The sex was too athletic. Always. The first time, I was like, ‘Oh, this is cool. Nobody’s ever ragdolled me.’ He was spinning me like a Globetrotter. I was like ‘Oh my God!’ I felt so petite!…It was exciting…It wasn’t that crazy, but it felt like we were wrestling,” the busty 31 year old blond said.
Schumer said that she ended up with Ziggler after he kept messaging her on Twitter and admitted that the on the first date, she ended up in bed with him.
“The first night he held my hand he was inside me,” said Schumer!
Eventually Schumer returned with her ex boyfriend and fellow comedian Anthony Jeselnik, another regular on Comedy Central Roasts.
Did you miss Impact last night? Were you too drunk or high to remember the whole thing? No worries, because I am the BEST IN THE WORLD at writing wrestling reports and after a lengthy hiatus I am back on the job!
Actually, I’m really just tied for best in the world with the other W-O reporters, but “Tied for best in the world” would never work as a catch phrase or a t-shirt, so I’m just going to lovingly stroke my ego and call myself the best in the world anyway.
Impact begins with Aces and Eights (in poker, a hand consisting of black A’s and 8’s is called “Dead man’s hand”) riding around in motorcycles outside the arena, and is followed by a recap of all their recent attacks.
In the Impact Zone, the Insane Icon Sting walks to the ring with several members of the TNA roster following him. Sting calls out James Storm, the man falsely accused of being behind Aces and eights, and Storm comes to the ring. After being attacked last week, Storm is no longer under suspicion, and he wants to turn this wrestling show into an “ass kicking show!”
I think wrestling shows are supposed to be ass kicking shows anyway, but I understand what he means.
Two member of Aces and Eights finally show up and are immediately beaten down by the TNA wrestlers. The two men are unmasked and are not people I recognize. They appear beaten and bloodied, but oddly happy. Apparently they just earned a merit badge from their fellow thugs for coming out and getting their asses kicked. They claim that the rest of their gang is going to make sure it’s a long, painful night for everyone.
Commercial
When we return, Miss Tessmacher comes to the ring for the first match of Open Fight Night. Tessmacher calls out her mentor and best friend, Tara, to see if she can beat her. Taryn Tyrrell (formerly known as Tiffany in WWE) is announced as the special knockouts referee. The two women start of slow and exchange armdrag takedowns; Tara eventually gets Tessmacher in a headlock.
Tessmacher fights out and Tara knocks her down with a shoulder block. The two women exchange hip tosses and then Tara hits Tessmacher with a front slam and covers her for a two count. Tara pushes Tessmacher to the corner and Tessmacher fights out with a forearm shot. Tara hits Tessmacher with a chop and Tessmacher responds with a pair of clotheslines.
Tessmacher stays on the attack, land a dropkick, and then shoulder blocks Tara in the corner. Tess climbs to the top rope and hits Tara with a face plant. Tessmacher climbs back to the top but Tara cuts her off with a punch and follows up with a superplex for the win! The two friends hug after the match.
In the back, Sting is talking to the three men still scheduled to face D’Angelo Dinero in the Bound For Glory (BFG) series. The Pope has been injured at the hands of Aces and Eights, so Sting is going to have them wrestle each other instead, so they won’t lose an opportunity to earn more points. The three men are Robbie E, RVD, and AJ Styles.
Commercial
Match #2: AJ versus Robbie E versus RVD.
AJ and RVD team up against Robbie and hit him with several punches, knocking him back and forth between them and eventually knocking him to the floor. RVD and AJ trade headlocks before AJ lands a kick and a chop. RVD gets AJ in a body scissors and takes him down for a two count. Robbie re-enters the ring and RVD and AJ hit him with a double hip toss. AJ suplexes Robbie and sends him back to the floor.
RVD puts AJ in a headlock and wrenches it tightly until AJ is able to fight his way out of it. AJ dropkicks RVD to the floor and Robbie comes back in. Robbie knocks AJ down with a clothesline and then stomps him. Robbie hits AJ a couple more times and then goes after RVD when Van Dam tries to re-enter the ring. AJ hits Robbie with a punch, a chop, and then a running forearm. Robbie responds with a shoulder block.
Commercial
When we return, Robbie and AJ are in the ring and Robbie appears to be in control. AJ starts to fight back but misses a flying forearm. Robbie knocks AJ down again and then puts him in a headlock. AJ escapes with a jawbreaker, but Robbie quickly responds with a back elbow. RVD pulls Robbie out of the ring and onto the floor and then pummels him. Styles slingshots himself out of the ring and takes out RVD and Robbie E at the same time. AJ rolls RVD back in and then hits him with a neckbreaker.
Robbie E climbs back up to the apron and AJ clotheslines him off it. RVD goes to the top rope, hits AJ with a thrust kick, and then follows up with Rolling Thunder. Robbie re-enters the ring and RVD knocks him down with a leg lariat and then hits him with a standing moonsault. Van Dam backdrops Robbie to the floor, and then AJ hits RVD with a moonsault into an inverted DDT.
RVD lands a kick and then climbs to the top. AJ tries to cut him off, but RVD pushes AJ to the mat. RVD hits AJ with the frog splash, but Robbie pushes RVD out of the ring and covers the stunned AJ for the win! Robbie E gets a big upset win and 7 points in the Bound For Glory series, but he’s still too far behind for it to matter.
Commercial
Jeff Hardy calls out Big Robbie T. Robbie T comes out wearing a sweater that perfectly matches the sweater of his soul mate, Robbie E.
Match #3: Very short match. Hardy lands a series of punches and Robbie responds with a clothesline and a front slam. Hardy responds with an elbow followed by ‘whisper in the wind’. Hardy hits Robbie with several clotheslines, the Twist of Fate, and the picks up the win with a swanton bomb.
Commercial
Sting again calls out Aces and Eights and tells them he’s easy to find.
We see a recap of the painfully awful “Claire/AJ” storyline. After the short but painful recap, Jeremy Borash is in the ring to announce the results of AJ’s paternity test and calls AJ to the ring. AJ claims he has no memory of the night in question, but promises to accept his responsibilities if it turns out he is the father. Daniels and Kaz come to the ring to yell at AJ and call him a deadbeat dad. They also claim that Claire can’t be there because the stress AJ has put her through has caused a placental disruption and she’s in the hospital.
At this point a woman I’ve never seen before enters the ring and takes the mic from Daniels. She claims to be Claire’s lawyer and reads a written statement from Claire. The statement basically says “this storyline is retarded and we are killing it now. Your welcome.” Actually what it really said is that she was never pregnant and was just helping Kaz and Daniels blackmail AJ, but it would have been better my way.
In the back, Aces and Eights confront Sting. Hulk Hogan comes from behind them and attacks. After they’ve been knocked down, Hogan says if they ever even look at his daughter again, he’ll cut out their hearts and feed them to his dog.
Commercial
After the break, we see a brief video tribute to Alex Silva, recent Gut check winner. The next Gut Check participant is Chris Louie, and his opponent is Gunner.
Match #4: Chris takes Gunner down with an armdrag and then hits him with a shoulder block. Gunner lands a kick to the gut and then the two men exchange punches. Chris hits Gunner with a dropkick, Gunner responds with a clothesline and goes for a cover, getting only two. Gunner hits Chris with a couple elbow shots and then whips him into the corner.
Gunner lands a couple strikes and then whips Chris into the opposite corner. Chris retaliates with a series of clothesline and a Samoan Drop. Chris goes to the top but misses with the big splash. Gunner hits Chris with a Fireman’s carry slam for the win.
Commercial
In the back, ODB is calling her husband, Eric Young, and asking where he’s been. She wanted him to get some beer and fried chicken, and she tells him her fish are jumping. I don’t know what that means, I really have no idea; but I suspect it’s dirty.
Back in the ring, Mr. Anderson is calling out his last BFG opponent, Bully Ray.
Match #5: The match starts of slow, with the two men mainly just jockeying for position. Eventually Anderson gets a headlock and Bully Ray fights out and knocks Anderson down with a shoulderblock. Anderson gets behind Ray, but Ray reverses it and clubs Anderson down to the mat. Anderson hits Ray with a kick, Bully responds with a backdrop suplex.
Commercial
When we return Bully Ray is in control. Ray unsuccessfully goes for a cover, and then steps on Anderson’s head. Ray bodyslams Anderson but then misses a corner slingshot splash. The two men get up to their knees and exchange a series of punches. They get to their feet and continue exchanging punches with Anderson eventually getting the advantage. Anderson hits Bully Ray with a clothesline and a neckbreaker.
Anderson gets Ray up on his shoulders but can’t hold the weight; Anderson collapses under Ray’s weight and gets flattened. Ray hits Anderson with a neckbreaker and then climbs to the 2cnd rope. Anderson cuts Ray off and hits him with a rolling fireman’s carry slam. Anderson climbs to the top rope but Ray knocks him off by pulling on the ropes. Ray props Anderson back up on the turnbuckle and then superplexes him.
In the back, Aces and Eights get jumped by several TNA wrestlers as the match continues. Bully Ray hits Anderson with a Bully bomb but only gets a 2 count. Anderson hits Bully with a DDT and then follows up with a swanton, but only gets a two count. The two men get back to their feet Anderson misses with a clothesline but then hits with the Mic Check for the win!
After the match, Aces and Eights congratulates TNA for winning most of the battles so far tonight, but they promise to unleash hell in 3 and a half minutes.
Commercial
When we return Sting is in the ring with most of the TNA roster and he’s calling out Aces and Eights again. He says it’s been over three and a half minutes and he wants to know where they are. Then they come out, and there are a lot of them. The TNA roster has the upper hand at first and several of the gang members have been unmasked, although I still don’t recognize any of them. More and more members of Aces and Eights come out, with many of them attacking AJ Styles, Hogan and Storm in the back.
Back in the ring, World Champion Austin Aries, Jeff Hardy, and RVD are standing tall in the ring, but even more people are coming out of the crowd to attack them. Eventually, they knock RVD and Hardy out of the ring and isolate Austin Aries.
They bring in one of the metal security barriers and pin Austin’s hand and arm in it, then break his arm with a steel chair. Bully Ray comes to save Aries wielding a steel chair and a chain. Aces and Eight’s bail out of the ring and leave the arena. As Impact goes off the air, the triumphant thugs ride off on motorcycles.
