CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins
We don’t even go to commercial before the bell rings. Punk and Rollins go at it immediately. Punk almost gets Rollins with the GTS right off the bat, but Rollins escapes out to the floor to recollect himself. We head to a mid-match commercial on that note. When we return from commercial, Rollins is punching away at Punk as we see a shot of Reigns and Ambrose looking on from the floor. Punk and Rollins botch a submission spot on the ropes pretty bad, before ultimately getting it right. Pretty unique submission where Punk ties Rollins up through the ropes. Rollins eventually breaks free and is laying the boots to Punk on the mat. Michael Cole on commentary talks about how both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon have major announcements here tonight on RAW. Punk goes to the top rope but Rollins shoves him off and he crashes hard on the ground outside the ring. On that note, we head to another mid-match commercial. When we return from commercial, Punk is in the middle of a comeback on Rollins, as Michael Cole points out to us. Rollins ends up side-stepping Punk, and Punk runs shoulder first into the steel post inside the ring. Rollins goes for a leg-drop off the middle ropes, but Punk moves out of the way just in time. Rollins avoids another GTS attempt by Punk by rolling through, but Punk clamps down on his legs for a pin attempt. Rollins kicks out at two. A light “this is awesome” chant breaks out. Reigns and Ambrose distract Punk from the floor, allowing Rollins to hit a powerbomb on Punk into the corner. We see Reigns telling Rollins to put him away on the floor. Rollins mocks Punk, calling for the GTS. Punk avoids it, hits him with a running knee and then a short-clothesline. Rollins goes to the top-rope, but Punk stops him. Rollins knocks Punk off the top. Punk gets Rollins in the Anaconda Vice, but Ambrose breaks it up. Rollins hits Punk with a whicked finishing-top move, but can’t get the three-count because Ambrose and Reigns accidentally have the ref distracted. Rollins misses a big splash attempt, instead crashing onto Reigns and Ambrose on the floor. Punk hits him with the GTS. 1-2-3. Punk wins. Great match.
Winner: CM Punk
Backstage: Brad Maddox, The Authority & Daniel Bryan
Backstage, we see Brad Maddox talking to a ref about an Intercontinental Title match tonight. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon walk in. Maddox talks about Kane not being here. Speaking of which, there is a Kane mask in a glass case behind them as they talk. Daniel Bryan walks in and demands a match with Bray Wyatt here tonight. Maddox says he should earn it. If he beats Luke Harper, he gets Erick Rowan. If he beats Rowan, then he gets Bray. Bryan accepts and walks off. Stephanie McMahon says she’s impressed. She says watch and learn as she announces the main event for the Royal Rumble. She walks off as we head to commercial.
Stephanie McMahon’s Blockbuster Announcement
We return from commercial and out comes Stephanie McMahon. McMahon stops at the top of the stage and wishes us all an “incredibly Happy New Year.” Stephanie says when she looks back at 2013 she wouldn’t change anything. She talks about crowning one singular champion. She says let’s celebrate the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Randy Orton. A video package airs showcasing some key moments throughout Orton’s WWE career. When the package concludes, Stephanie continues putting over Orton’s accomplishments. She says at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, Orton will defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a traditional Championship match. It will be Orton against John Cena. Michael Cole concludes by saying, “what a blockbuster announcement.” If you say so!
Backstage: Stephanie McMahon & Triple H
When we return from commercial, Stephanie McMahon is shown walking backstage. Steph asks Triple H how she did. HHH says she did awesome. He says as big as her announcement was, “wait ’til they hear what I have to say.” He walks off as Stephanie wishes him good luck.
Curtis Axel vs. Dolph Ziggler
After the backstage segment, we see Curtis Axel in the ring with his music playing. A split-screen interview with Axel is shown. Dolph Ziggler’s music hits and out comes Ziggler. Ziggler has a split-screen interview shown as he walks to the ring, too. These are apparently the WWE Superstars’ “New Year’s Resolutions.” The bell sounds and Axel goes to work on Ziggler immediately. Michael Cole reminds us about the beating Ziggler took from Randy Orton on SmackDown last Friday night as Axel throws Ziggler out to the floor. Axel beats up Ziggler on the floor a bit and then rolls him back into the ring. Axel continues to go on work on Ziggler. Michael Cole informs us that we’ll be able to vote for an opponent for Damien Sandow later tonight. The announcers continue to put over Stephanie’s big announcement of the Orton-Cena rematch as Ziggler finally starts fighting back. Ziggler does his speedy ten-punch spot on Axel in the corner and then hits him with a neckbreaker. The two trade some near falls and then Axel hits Ziggler with a neckbreaker of his own. Ziggler hits the Zig-Zag out of the blue. 1-2-3. Ziggler wins.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Fans Choice: Damien Sandow’s Opponent
Fans can vote on the opponent for Damien Sandow tonight on the WWE App. The options for his opponents are Kofi Kingston, The Great Khali and The Miz.
Old School RAW Announcement
We return from commercial to a promo for next week’s “Old School RAW” show, which begins with a big “WOOOO!” and some clips of several past WWE Superstars.
WWE Intercontinental Title:
- Big E. Langston (c) vs. Fandango
After the Old School RAW promo, the I-C champ Langston makes his way to the ring. Out next are Fandango and Summer Rae. Summer’s outfit is absolutely insane this week. Phew. We see clips of Fandango winning last week to earn this title shot. The formal introductions are done, the bell sounds and here we go. A “Summer Rae” chant breaks out almost instantly. Langston out-powers Fandango and throws him around like a rag doll early on. Fandango catches Langston running into the corner with a big boot and follows it up with a spinning kick. Fandango is now in control of the match. Langston fires back moments later with some explosive offense. Fandango rolls out to the floor to recover. Langston goes out after him and runs him over like a truck. Langston slams Fandango back-first into the barricade. Fandango dropkicks the knees out from Langston as soon as he rolled back into the ring. It looked like Langston’s face bounces off of Fandango’s knee on the way down. Ouch. Fandango is now focusing his attack on the leg of Langston. Fandango wraps Langston up in some kind of weird leg submission. Not exactly a figure-four leg lock, but close to it. Langston eventually punches his way out of it. Langston runs after Fandango but misses and nails his shoulder into the ring post and then rolls out to the floor. We head to a mid-match commercial on that note. When we return from commercial, Fandango is still working on the leg of Langston. Jerry Lawler references Anderson Silva’s leg injury from UFC 168 while Fandango continues to work over the leg of Langston. Fandango hits his top-rope leg drop finisher on Langston, but before he can pin him, Langston rolls out to the floor. Back in the ring, Langston starts firing back up a comeback on offense. Langston hits a big splash on Fandango and then takes the straps down. Langston hits the Big Ending. 1-2-3. Langston wins and retains.
Winner and STILL WWE Intercontinental Champion: Big E. Langston
Bad News Barrett & Booker T
Booker T’s music hits when we return from commercial and out he comes with several of the current WWE roster in party hats. He talks about how great 2013 was and says he’s going to do a New Year’s Spinarooni. Before he can, Bad News Barrett pops up next to the stage on a new podium. He says he’s afraid he’s got some bad news. Barrett says the new year is going to bring us one step closer to the apocalypse. Barrett talks about a bunch of political crap for a while, finishing by saying Bad News Barrett will be right here to remind everyone about this stuff.
Backstage: Renee Young Interviews Damien Sandow
Backstage, Renee Young is with Damien Sandow. She talks about the WWE App vote on his opponent for tonight. Sandow talks about being disrespected all year. The Santa match last week, everyone dancing around him at the Tribute To The Troops special, etc. Sandow says if he can’t beat whoever his opponent is tonight, he quits.
Damien Sandow vs. The Great Khali
Michael Cole reminds us that Damien Sandow promised to quit if he can’t win this match. Jerry “The King” Lawler reveals the results from the WWE App poll, which were as follows: Kofi Kingston 28%, The Great Khali 39% and The Miz 33%. With that said, The Great Khali comes out as we see Sandow look disappointed. The bell rings and Sandow tries to go to work on Khali but Khali out-powers him. Khali backs him into a corner and chops the hell out of him. Khali hits him with another one. Sandow rolls out to the floor to regroup. Sandow dropkicks the leg out from Khali. Khali is now grounded as Sandow continues to focus his attack on the big man’s leg. A “let’s go Sandow” chant breaks out in Richmond. Sandow continues working over the leg of Khali as a small “Khali, Khali” chant breaks out and then quickly dies down. Now an “Ole’, Ole’, Ole’” chant breaks out, as the fans seem to be getting bored with a very slow-paced match. For the last several minutes Khali has just laid on the ground as Sandow beats up his legs. Sandow hits the “Elbow of Disdain” for a near fall. Khali chops Sandow and is now getting up. Khali clotheslines Sandow down. Khali goes for the big karate chop but Sandow avoids it. Sandow smashes Khali’s head into the turnbuckle and rolls him up. 1-2-3. After the match, the announcers make a big deal about Khali having his shoulder up during the pin. They even show a replay to prove it.
Winner: Damien Sandow
R-Truth vs. Brodus Clay
R-Truth, along with Xavier Woods and The Funkadactyls, are shown walking backstage heading to the ring. Michael Cole points out that Truth will battle Brodus Clay when we return from commercial. When we return from commercial, R-Truth is finishing up his entrance. Brodus Clay is already in the ring. Xavier Woods joins the RAW commentary team for this match. Clay goes to work on Truth right at the opening bell. Clay is dominating a one-sided match the entire time. Finally, Woods leaves commentary and stands up on the announce table. The Funkadactyls come out dancing. This distracts Clay, allowing Truth to pin him. 1-2-3. R-Truth wins with help from Woods and The Funkadactyls.
Winner: R-Truth
Triple H’s Blockbuster Announcement
Triple H is shown backstage walking to the ring. Apparently his “blockbuster announcement” is coming up after the break. We head to commercial. When we return from commercial, Triple H’s theme music hits and out comes “The King of Kings.” Triple H goes all the way to the ring, unlike Stephanie, who remained at the top of the stage for her announcement. HHH talks about 2013 being an epic year, but he guarantees us 2014 will be unlike anything we have ever seen before. HHH says with that in mind, please help us welcome “this man” back to WWE. Brock Lesnar’s theme music hits and out comes “The Beast In Carnate.” Lesnar is joined by Paul Heyman. Both guys head to the ring. Heyman shakes HHH’s hand and HHH hands him his mic. Lesnar stares down HHH. HHH walks over and extends his hand. Lesnar shakes it. HHH smiles and leaves.
In-Ring Segment: Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman & Mark Henry
Heyman begins speaking. Heyman says “the best is back.” Heyman says his client wants to make his mission clear. Heyman says Lesnar is not here to settle old scores. Heyman says Lesnar isn’t here to settle Heyman’s scores. He says he has a forgiving heart. Heyman says this isn’t about him, it’s about his client — “Buuurrrock Lesssnar.” Heyman says Lesnar is here to declare his desire to be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Heyman says whoever emeges from the match between John Cena and Randy Orton at Royal Rumble as the winner, well they’re technically the loser because they have to face the self-declared number one contender, Brock Lesnar. Lesnar takes the mic and says he doesn’t care if it’s Orton or Cena. He says there is nobody that can stop him. Lesnar says he doesn’t have to win the Royal Rumble to be deserving of a title shot. Lesnar says the line of contenders starts behind him. He dares anybody to come down to the ring and do something about that. Heyman says we might as well say goodbye right now because nobody is going to take that challenge up. As Heyman wraps things up, Mark Henry’s music hits and out he comes. Henry comes to the ring and Lesnar blasts him before he can even get into the ring. Henry fights back on the floor, throwing Lesnar over the barricade and into the crowd. Lesnar gets up and spears Henry through the barricade and then lets out a high-pitched squeel/scream. Lesnar hits an F-5 on Henry on the floor and then lets out another scream. Heyman tells Lesnar no more. WWE trainers check on Henry as Lesnar’s music hits and he and Heyman leave.
Team Total Divas vs. Team Not Total Divas
Eva Marie starts things off for her team. Kaitlyn starts things off for her team. The announcers argue a bunch about a ton of different topics, talking about pretty much any and everything except the action in the ring. Summer Rae is in the ring now beating up Cameron. She quickly tags out to Aksana. Aksana goes to work on Cameron. Cameron finally makes the tag to Nikki Bella who clotheslines Aksana down. All ten Divas end up in the ring. When the smoke clears, Nikki and Aksana remain. Summer Rae comes up on the apron screaming, but Bella knocks her off. Aksana uses the distraction, however, to pick up the pin over Nikki.
Winners: Team Not Total Divas
Backstage: Brad Maddox & The Authority
Backstage, Brad Maddox apologizes for the referee screwing up the pin in the Great Khali and Damien Sandow match to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Stephanie says she’s impressed with him tonight. Maddox says he’s got their favorites ready to come back at Old School RAW next week.
Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper
Daniel Bryan makes his way to the ring. We head to commercial. When we return from commercial, The Wyatt Family make their entrance. Remember, the rules here state that if Bryan defeats Luke Harper, who he will be facing first, he then has to beat Erick Rowan next. If he can beat them both, he gets to get his hands on Bray Wyatt. The bell sounds and Bryan runs right at Harper and goes straight to work. Bryan throws a ton of kicks at the legs of Harper early on. Bryan puts Harper in a surfboard type submission hold, which Harper survives. Harper is now dominating Bryan, beating him from one side of the ring to the other. Harper hits Bryan with a gator roll now, as he continues to punish the smaller guy. Bryan starts to make a comeback, but ends up getting stopped short by Harper, who is now beating up Bryan some more as we head to a mid-match commercial. When we return from commercial, Harper is still beating up Bryan. We see some footage from the WWE App of Harper working over Bryan on the floor during the break. Bryan is using his speed now and seems to be in the midst of a legit comeback this time. Bryan ducks as Harper runs at him, pulling down the top rope and sending Harper flying out to the floor. Bryan hits a typical DB-dive through the ropes onto Harper on the floor. He rolls in the ring and immediately hits a second running-dive onto Harper on the floor. Bryan hits a missile dropkick on Harper off the top rope. Bray Wyatt is shown shouting instructions to Harper from his rocking chair at ringside as Bryan continues to kick Harper all over the ring. Harper hits a huge seated-powerbomb on Bryan off the top rope for a near fall. Ouch. We get some much-deserved replays off that. Harper is now stalking Bryan and picking his shots, as he’s once again in control of the match. Bryan ends up catching Harper out of nowhere with the “Yes! Lock.” Harper escapes and nails Bryan with a big boot to the face. Bryan hits the Running Knee out of nowhere. 1-2-3. Bryan wins.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan vs. Erick Rowan
As soon as Bryan wins, Erick Rowan comes in and attacks Bryan from behind. The ref pushes Rowan into the corner and forces him to allow Bryan up before starting the match. The bell sounds and Rowan jumps right back on top of him. Rowan throws Bryan out to the floor. Rowan throws Bryan into the ringside steps. Rowan hits a weird slam on Bryan on the announce table. We get a shot of Bray Wyatt looking on, smiling at what Rowan is doing to Bryan. On that note, we head to a mid-match commercial.
0 comments:
Post a Comment