WWE Raw 04/02
We are live in: Miami, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler
_______________________________________________
(Note: My report doesn’t do this show justice without hearing the awesome Miami crowd.)
We start with a cold open backstage. Members of the WWE roster from both Raw and Smackdown are sitting and chatting amongst one another. They suddenly go silent as the camera swings to the right. WWE Raw and Smackdown General Manager John Laurinaitis is standing alongside David Otunga with a big smile on his face.
He says that last night, he made WrestleMania history when he became the General Manager of Raw and Smackdown arguably making him the most powerful person in WWE; a power he will not abuse. A power he’ll give to the people, and he will give the WWE Universe exactly what they want to see. For instance, Santino Marella, the former team captain of Team Teddy, will defend his United States Championship against Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger in a triple threat match.
Ziggler and Swagger clap and laugh with approval while Santino looks upset. Then, a voice pipes up from the crowd asking for John Laurinaitis’ attention.
John says he’s not taking any questions until he’s finished.
WWE Champion CM Punk steps out from the group and walks closer to Laurinaitis, the WWE Championship on his shoulder.
He says it’s more of a statement rather than a question, so he hopes he doesn’t mind him interrupting, but he speaks for all the fans in the WWE Universe, as well as the vast majority of everybody sitting here today, when he says that despite the fact that he’s the General Manager of both Raw and Smackdown, they all consider him to still be a giant tool box.
Most of the roster laughs.
Laurinaitis says he knows Punk is a prankster who’s always telling jokes.
Punk says that he likes a good rib as much as anybody else, but…he wasn’t joking.
Laurinaitis says he’s not joking either when he says that he’ll be defending the WWE Championship tonight against “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry.
The camera cuts to Henry staring at Punk like he was fresh meat.
Laurinaitis says that’s a good use of power. That’s giving the people what they want. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a new era. And that era is…people power.
A few members of the roster clap while others sit or stand motionless.
The Raw theme starts.
Cut to the arena. Pyro goes off.
The Rock comes out. He heads to the ring and grabs a microphone as the fans cheer and chant him on.
Fourteen months ago, The Rock came back to the WWE, and they did it all: birthday parties, history lessons, Rock concerts. They electrified and sold out arenas across the country. But it wasn’t until last night, where The Rock stood before a history making 78,000 at Sun Life Stadium victorious at WrestleMania that The Rock was able to stand here tonight in front of all of them and say…
FINALLY, The Rock has come back…home!
Just so they think he’s not crazy, every time he holds his arms up he’s showing his goosebumps.
Rock shows his arm to the camera.
There is one man who The Rock has to thank. That man is John Cena. Last night at WrestleMania, Cena brought it to The Rock like never before. Cena, after two AA’s, after a big leg drop off the top that nearly took the Rock’s head off, after The Rock had the STF applied to him in the middle of the ring, while Cena was applying the STF, Rock had a JHC moment which was “Jesus H. Christ get this guy off me!”
John, at the end of the day, it was an honor that The Rock could compete with him at the biggest match of all time. Win or lose, at the end of the day, the most important thing is what they did last night, that being that they made history at WrestleMania, and they did it for the fans. The Rock wants to thank John Cena, thank his friends who came from all around the world, his family who came to watch The Rock last night, but most importantly he has to thank the people. Thank the million (AND MILLIONS) of The Rock’s fans. In 1995, Rock was cut from the Canadian Football League. Do you have any idea how much you have to SUCK to get cut from the Canadian Football League? It’s because of them that The Rock can stand here today as the most electrifying man in all of sports entertainment, but more importantly, he stands as their people’s champion.
And for those who think that this is the end, well The Rock says he guaran-damn-tees that this is just the beginning. The Rock, every since last night, Rock has had this vision. He went out to Miami last night to celebrate his victory, doing a little salsa, a little merengue, and he woke up with a vision. He woke up telling people about this vision and they said that vision is impossible. What they fail to realize is that The Rock wipes a monkey’s ass with the word impossible! Would they like to hear The Rock’s vision?
The vision is that The Rock will walk down that aisle as the Jabroni beating, pie eating, trail blazing, eyebrow raising, one vision in mind, don’t need no revamping, The Rock’s gonna be…WWE Champion! Team Bring It worldwide, thank you, I love you, that will come true one day.
IF YA SMEEEEELL…WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING!
Rock exits the ring. He goes over to a fan with a “Rocky Please Hug Me” sign and kisses her on the cheek before leaving.
We get a clip from a month ago on Raw when Cena said that his back is against the wall, and that if Rock beats him, he’ll lose everything.
The big question tonight is what Cena’s reaction will be to losing.
Back in the arena, United States Champion Santino Marella comes out and heads to the ring. His match is up next.
-Commercial Break-
Back from break, and Vickie Guerrero comes out yelling “EXCUSE ME!”
She says that one of her clients will become the next United States Champion. Will it be the “All American American” Jack Swagger…
Jack Swagger comes out and stands next to Vickie.
Or, will it be the most physically fit athlete in the WWE, “The Show Off” Dolph Ziggler!
Ziggler comes out and heads into the ring along with Vickie and Swagger.
Match #1
[Santino Marella(c) vs. Jack Swagger vs. Dolph Ziggler]
[Triple Threat United States Championship Match]
The bell sounds. Swagger and Ziggler go after Santino, but Marella avoids them. He soon gets trapped in a corner, and Swagger grabs hold of him. He holds Santino back and pushes him towards Ziggler who kicks Santino in the gut. Ziggler kicks Santino once, and then starts doing sit ups against him. Ziggler moves out of the way while Swagger grabs Santino and applies a guillotine choke submission. He flips Santino over on the mat a couple times while keeping the hold locked in. He then lets go of Santino, presses his arms against his back and starts doing push ups on top of him. Ziggler lifts up Santino and goes for a punch, but Santino counters with a punch of his own. He then lands a punch to Swagger, then Ziggler again, then a big punch to Swagger that knocks him off his feet. Ziggler runs towards Santino and the champ back body drops him out of the ring. Swagger gets back up and takes Santino down with a running shoulder tackle.
-Commercial Break-
We’re back, and Santino is still down while Ziggler presses his boot against his head. Swagger pushes against Santino out of mockery. Ziggler picks up Santino and holds his arms back. Swagger goes to clothesline him, but Santino manages to kick Swagger back and hit Ziggler with a back suplex. Swagger goes for the clothesline again, but Santino ducks with a split, waits for Swagger to bounce off the ropes and lands the hip toss. The champ then runs the ropes and connects with a diving headbutt. Santino takes out the cobra sock puppets, puts it on, and goes for a Cobra to Swagger, but Ziggler manages to pull his arm back and hit a swinging neckbreaker. Swagger grabs Santino, flips him on his stomach, and lifts him up by his legs. Ziggler then runs forward and hits Santino with the bulldog legdrop. Swagger turns to the fans while Ziggler goes for the cover. Swagger, hearing the count, turns around and pulls Ziggler off of Santino before the three count. Ziggler gets up and he and Swagger argue over who should win the match. Swagger smacks Ziggler back. Ziggler goes for a punch, but Swagger catches him with a belly to belly suplex. Swagger then turns to the downed Santino, runs and goes for the Swagger Bomb, but Santino lifts his legs up and catches Swagger in the face. Swagger stumbles back into Ziggler who hits him with a dropkick. Ziggler goes for a dropkick to Santino, but the champ catches his legs, drops him to the mat and slingshots him into the turnbuckle post. While Ziggler falls out of the ring, Santino leans against the turnbuckle. Swagger charges towards him, but Santino avoids and Swagger hits the same turnbuckle. Swagger gets back to his feet, turns around, and gets hit with The Cobra. Santino covers Swagger for the three count.
[Winner via Pinfall: Santino Marella]
Santino celebrates, but then gets grabbed from behind by Ziggler and Swagger. They shoves him back and look ready to attack him again. Santino distracts them by pointing out something in the rafters and quickly exits the ring. They go after him. Once Santino is at the top of the ramp, Brodus Clay comes out and stands next to Santino. Swagger and Ziggler stop moving forward. Ziggler and Swagger talk it out, and Ziggler charges towards Clay. Brodus simply headbutts Ziggler in the chest and Ziggler is down. Swagger decides to not take the chance and crouches over Ziggler while Vickie stands behind him. Brodus’ theme song then starts to play. His dance partners comes out and they, along with Brodus and Santino, start dancing at the top of the ramp.
Later on tonight, CM Punk defends the WWE Championship against Mark Henry.
Also coming soon, new World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus will come out to address the fans.
-Commercial Break-
We’re back, and Lord Tensai (formerly A-Train) comes out along with Sacamoto, his Deshi/Manager. They head into the ring.
Already in the ring is his opponent, Alex Riley.
Match #2
[Lord Tensai vs. Alex Riley]
[Singles Match]
The bell sounds. Riley goes towards him and Tensai simply knocks him down with a spinning back elbow to the face. He lifts Riley up and tosses him against the turnbuckle. Riley tries to fight back, but Tensai quickly jabs him in the throat sending him back down. Tensai lifts Riley up again, grabs him by the back of the head and tosses him across the ring and into the opposite turnbuckle. Tensai grabs Riley and headbutts him well over a dozen times until Riley is laid out against the bottom turnbuckle pad. He picks Riley up and hits a delayed double underhook suplex. Tensai runs off the ropes and drops two elbows across the chest followed by a running senton splash. Tensai places Riley against the turnbuckle and drives an elbow into the back of his head numerous times. Riley falls to the ground and is out of it, but it’s not over yet as Tensai picks Riley up yet again and delivers a double handed sitout chokebomb. The referee checks on Riley and calls for the bell knowing that Riley is unable to continue.
[Winner via Ref Stoppage: Lord Tensai]
Tensai watches as Riley tries to get back up using the ropes. He then arches his arm back, sprays a mist into it, and then grabs Riley by the head with an Iron Claw style submission. He slams Riley’s head against the mat and squeezes until Riley stops moving. Tensai gets up and leaves the ring while referees check on Riley.
Cut to backstage. CM Punk is heading to the ring for his title defense.
-Commercial Break-
Back from break, and we get another clip of Cena from last month. He says no one remembers second place. That’s why he needs to win. WrestleMania 28 is all or nothing. It’s his legacy.
How will Cena react? Is he ashamed or proud? He will call out The Rock later tonight.
Back in the arena, WWE Champion CM Punk comes out favoring his back. He heads into the ring for his match.
A clip is played showing Punk’s remark towards Laurinaitis earlier tonight which became the reason for the match being made.
Mark Henry comes out next. He heads into the ring as Punk’s opponent.
Match #3
[CM Punk(c) vs. Mark Henry]
[WWE Championship Match]
The bell sounds. Punk and Henry circle each other. They tie up and Henry quickly shoves Punk to the mat. Punk gets back up and changes strategy by kicking at Henry’s legs. Henry tries to grab Punk’s leg, but Punk is moving quick. He then grabs Punk by the throat and goes for a punch, but Punk kicks his arm back and starts throwing punches and chops of his own. He hits a dropkick that only stumbles Henry a little. He hits a second dropkick, but it’s still no good. He goes for a third, and Henry shoves Punk’s legs back. Punk falls on his stomach and grabs his lower back. Henry notices this and hits Punk in the back with a double axe handle. Henry shoves Punk down on the mat, then grabs his arms and head. He brings them up under the bottom rope and pulls on the arms while pressing his knee against his back. The referee quickly counts out Henry who breaks at four. Henry goes back over to Punk and stomps on his back over and over again. He then stands on top of Punk’s back and leans against the ropes until a count of three. Punk tries to get back up. Henry grabs him and brings him to the center of the ring.
Punk fights back with knees to the stomach. Punk runs the ropes and Henry knocks him down with a clothesline. He covers for a one count. He then shoves his hand into Punk’s face and taunts him. He pushes Punk against the turnbuckle and punches him in the lower back. He lifts Punk up again and headbutts him. Punk gets up and walks into a turnbuckle. He turns and kicks Henry in the stomach. He then kicks at Henry’s legs a few times, runs off the ropes and goes for a cross body, but Henry catches him with a bear hug submission. Punk quickly drops a barrage of elbows to the head before wrapping an arm around Henry’s neck and hitting a DDT. Punk covers for a two count. Punk continues to kick away at Henry. Henry gets to his knees and Punk kicks him in the chest a few times. Punk runs off the ropes and hits Henry with a running knee to the face. He covers and Henry grabs the bottom rope to break the count. Punk climbs up to the middle turnbuckle pad and waits for Henry to get up. He leaps for another cross body attempt, but Henry grabs him again and this time rams his back into the turnbuckle. Henry now starts climbing up the turnbuckle to the middle pad. The champ gets up before any move can be made and lands a punch to Henry’s back. He then nails a few forearms against Henry which sends him into the corner. Punk runs the ropes and charges towards him only for Henry to catch him with a boot to the head. Henry climbs up to the middle turnbuckle pad again, and this time he goes for the splash, but Punk rolls out of the way and Henry lands stomach first. Punk gets on the apron and springboards off for a clothesline, but Henry is up in time and he knocks Punk down with a forearm to the face.
-Commercial Break-
Back, and Punk is perched on the top of the turnbuckle. He leaps off for a double axe handle, but Henry catches him with a kick to the gut instead. Henry grabs Punk and squeezes the trapezius muscle for a pressure point submission. After a few seconds of fighting it, Punk gets to his feet and hits Henry with a jawbreaker that gets him off. Punk gets up and hits a couple more kicks, but Henry headbutts him back down. Henry whips Punk into the opposite turnbuckle and charges for a body splash, but Punk moves out of the way and avoids it. The champ lands more punches and kicks, ducks a clothesline attempt and chops Henry in the chest numerous times before spin kicking him in the stomach followed by a roundhouse kick to the back of the head that knocks Henry down. Punk climbs to the top of the turnbuckle and hits the elbow off the top. Both men gets up and Henry leans against the turnbuckle out of exhaustion. Punk charges forward and hits him with a running knee to the face. Punk falls down, picks himself up, and hits Henry with a second running knee. Punk goes for the running bulldog, but Henry manages to lift Punk up from behind and toss him out of the ring. Henry falls in the ring while the referee counts out Punk. Punk tries to get back in the ring, but he doesn’t make it in time and Henry is awarded the win.
[Winner via Count Out: Mark Henry]
Henry, upon realizing that he doesn’t win the Championship with a count out victory, exits the ring, grabs Punk and hits him with World’s Strongest Slam on the floor. As Punk is left lying on the floor coughing up blood, John Laurinaitis comes out along with David Otunga.
He says that going forward, he’s going to make sure that the WWE Universe gets more competitive matches. They want to see Punk defend his title on a consistent basis, and he’s going to. He’s gotta tell him, he sees some dark clouds in his horizon. He’s not talking about a thunderstorm, he’s talking about a natural disaster.
Then, another voice speaks out. It’s Chris Jericho.
He asks what just happened to CM Punk. Isn’t that a shame? What a travesty. What a terrible occurrence.
Jericho jumps over the barricade and stands on top of a chair.
Oh yes, what just happened to CM Punk tonight? Is that the man who beat him at WrestleMania last night? Well he thinks it is. You know what? It was a classic match, and as gentlemen they deserve to celebrate…with a drink.
Jericho gets off of the chair, goes over to the timekeeper’s position, and pulls out a bottle of what appears to be whiskey.
For those who don’t know, CM Punk claims to be straight edge. That means he doesn’t do drugs, he doesn’t smoke, he doesn’t drink. He of course drinks once in awhile, but never to excess and he would never drink and drive, but he promised Punk that he would be the reason why he took his first drink. That’s what’s going to happen. He’s going to lead him down the lowly path to alcoholism just like his father. So he wants to propose a toast to WrestleMania, to his dear old dad, and to him…bottom’s up!
Jericho pours the alcohol all over Punk’s face and then kicks him in the head a few times.
Oh yeah, down and out, ain’t he? Does he want another drink? Okay.
Jericho goes back to the time keeper table and grabs another bottle. He heads back to Punk.
His father’s an alcoholic, his sister’s a drug abuser, his mother is a combination of the two, and it’s his destiny to be a drinker, isn’t it? Now that he’s had a taste, he’ll want another one, and another one. But don’t drink too much because if he does, it’ll go straight to his head.
Punk then smashes the bottle across Punk’s head. Punk is out cold. Jericho heads up the ramp and goes to the back. EMTs go over to Punk and help him out.
-Commercial Break-
We’re back, and World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus comes out. He heads to the ring to speak to the fans.
But before he can say more than three words, Ricardo Rodriguez comes out and announces Alberto Del Rio. Rio arrives in a Mercedes McLaren SLR AMG and heads into the ring.
Rio says that Sheamus won the World Heavyweight title, and he did it in a record time of eighteen seconds. That’s impressive. Too bad nobody is going to remember that in a month. Because just as fast as he won that title, he’s going to lose it because now he has a new challenger. And this challenger doesn’t hide behind a chicha. And of course his name is…
Ricardo shouts ALBERTO DEL RIO!!!
Sheamus says it’s great to see him again.
Rio says he’s happy to see him?
Sheamus says he’s absolutely delighted. These people don’t want to hear him ramble on and on. They want to see him Brogue Kick someone right in the face. So he’s glad he’s out here because now he has an opportunity to show everyone something they’ll never forget.
Alberto says to relax. He’s not looking for a fight because he’s already found one. In honor of his return, John Laurinaitis has agreed to give him a match on Smackdown, and it’s going to be between him and Sheamus. And when he wins, he will get a future World Heavyweight title shot. It doesn’t matter-
Suddenly, Del Rio’s microphone cuts off. He tries to fix it and it comes back on.
As he was saying, it doesn’t matter if he-
It cuts out again. Alberto goes over to Ricardo and asks for his microphone. Ricardo gives it to him, and when he turns around Sheamus gives him a Brogue Kick. Alberto rolls out of the ring while Sheamus celebrates in the ring and leaves with his championship.
Cut to backstage. Daniel Bryan and AJ are watching Sheamus on a television monitor. Josh Matthews walks over to him.
Matthews says it must be painful knowing that what happened to Alberto happened to him last night at WrestleMania, and eighteen second loss. He must be really upset.
Bryan doesn’t say a word. He just glares at Matthews while AJ has her head down.
Matthews says thanks for his time and leaves.
Later tonight, Cena calls out The Rock. Can Cena recover from last night?
-Commercial Break-
Back, and MGK, the guy who performed “Invincible” for Cena last night is in attendance.
Back in the arena, and Cody Rhodes comes out. He heads to the ring for a match.
Kofi Kingston comes out and heads to the ring as his opponent.
Match #4
[Kofi Kingston vs. Cody Rhodes]
[Singles Match]
The bell sounds. They tie up, and Cody gets behind Kofi. He punches Kingston in the back. He then grabs Kofi by the head and slams it into the top turnbuckle pad a couple times. Cody hits Kofi with a short arm clothesline. Kofi gets up against the turnbuckle. Rhodes charges at him and Kofi boots him in the face. Kingston springboards off the top of the turnbuckle and hits a twisting cross body block for a two count. Cody is back up and he goes for a clothesline, but Kofi ducks and grabs Rhodes from behind. He goes for a back suplex, but Cody flips back, lands on his feet, springboards off the ropes and hits Kingston with the Disaster Kick. Cody lifts Kingston and looks ready to hit him with Cross Rhodes, but Big Show then comes out with the Intercontinental Championship on his shoulder and a microphone in his hand.
He tells Cody that he has something he wants to show him from WrestleMania. He just hopes that he doesn’t find it embarrassing.
A video plays titled “Big Show Presents An Embarrassing Cody Rhodes WrestleMania Moment.” It then shows four pictures of Cody getting knocked out by Big Show with the WMD Punch.
Rhodes looks furious. He turns around and Kofi catches him with Trouble in Paradise. He covers Cody for the three count.
[Winner via Pinfall: Kofi Kingston]
Big Show smiles and leaves the ring as Kingston celebrates.
We get another clip, this time from last Monday when Cena told Rock that he can’t lose, the fans know he can’t lose. He has to win. They know that he has to win the match more than anything in his entire life.
Where is Cena’s head at? Find out soon.
=Commercial Break-
Back from break, and we cut to backstage in a locker room. Henry is tossing bags out of frustration over not winning the title earlier. He then looks over and asks a guy named AW what he wants.
The camera pans out and we see that it’s Abraham Washington.
He tells Mark that it’s not about what he wants. It’s about what Henry needs. His name ain’t Obama, but the whole world saw what happened to him out there with Punk, and it’s time for some change. It’s time to put some muscle with that hustle.
Henry asks what he’s talking about.
He’s talking about him representing Mark. The World’s Strongest Man standing next to the man with the master plan.
Washington pulls out a business card and hands it to Henry.
He says to think about it. He’s on his schedule.
Washington leaves and Henry looks at the card.
Back in the arena, Eve comes out with a microphone to address the crowd.
She says that everyone wants to have their WrestleMania moment. Last night, she got hers. She manipulated poor Zack Ryder, and it was so easy. But let’s face it, it’s easy for her to manipulate any man…except one man. And he is the General Manager of Raw and Smackdown because powerful people cannot be manipulated. If his actions last night helped him out in some way, then so be it. Now let’s hear it for people power!
Eve heads to the back, her message made clear.
A clip is shown of earlier tonight when Rock came out and thanked John Cena for their match. Win or lose, at the end of the day, the most important thing was that they made history at WrestleMania, and they did it for the fans.
Cena is expected to call out Rock later tonight.
-Commercial Break-
We’re back from out final commercial break of the night.
John Cena comes out and heads to the ring to speak to the fans.
“I never thought of losing. But now that it’s happened the only thing to do is do it right. That is the obligation to those who believe in me. We all take defeats at life.”
Those are famous words from the great Muhammad Ali. Tonight, they’ve seen various clips of various things he’s said on this Road to WrestleMania. He’ll be honest, he talked a lot. He talked so much that anybody else in his shoes would make excuses, backtracking, and says it wasn’t their fault. That’s not him. He meant every single word that he said. He meant it then, he means it now. There’s not one second in the year long build up that he ever thought he was going to lose. If you think like that, you’ve already lost. Nobody goes undefeated in life. A true champion retains the will to live even through their most disappointing loss. Now there’s speculation on how he would react to all of this. Would he be a person to make excuses? To lash out as his opponent? Would this finally be the day when he lashes out at the WWE Universe? He hates to be the bearer of bad news, but that will not happen. He is a man, he was beaten. So as a man he will own up and admit defeat. Last night at WrestleMania he lost to The Rock.
There will be some critics that make last night’s moment the most important of his career, but he assures that it will not be his last. To all those who supported him through all this, from members of the WWE Universe, some of his close friends, his family, he’ll even point one out in the crowd, Machine Gun Kelly. It was a fine performance and a damn fine speech, and if he has let him or anyone else down tonight, he truly apologizes. The only way he can make amends is to wipe the slate clean, work his ass off and try to be the best that he can be. But now to address the rumor mill that he’s here to call out The Rock. He’s not here to call out The Rock. When you call someone out, you wanna fight. They’ve been calling each other out for a year, and they settled it last night. He would like to invite The Rock to come back down to the ring. Not to talk trash, not to fight. Dwayne Johnson, after all he’s been through with him, is a man who has earned his respect. He wants the world to know, and more importantly he wants Rock to know that he’s a champion. He considers him an inspiration. And he can truly consider him the greatest WWE Superstar in this industry. So in that vein, let’s have one more moment of celebration for Dwayne Johnson right in the middle of this ring. On a personal note, this year has been exhausting. They’ve put it all on the line physically, and often times way over the line verbally.
He understands the excitement in the air, but he put his heart and soul into last night. To be quite honest, he came up short. Rock was the better man.
A “Yes” chant starts up, and Cena shouts Yes with them.
Daniel Bryan, you owe him one. He personally respects Dwayne Johnson.
A “Daniel Bryan” chant now.
This is why he loves Raw. All kidding aside, he wants to publicly acknowledge that Rock was the better man, and he wants to congratulate him on his victory.
Then, the roof blows off the arena as none other than Brock Lesnar comes out. The fans are going crazy as Lesnar makes his way into the ring. A “holy sh*t” chant starts up.
He stands in front of Cena. He offers to shake Cena’s hand. Cena goes for the handshake, but then Lesnar lifts him up and drops him with the F-5! Lesnar stands over the fallen John Cena, and then climbs a turnbuckle to receive a big ovation as the show comes to an end.