Full Results:
Kane, Brad Maddox and Vickie Guerrero argued over control of Raw
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom –
Anarchy in the U.K. may be an exaggeration, but with Triple H &
Stephanie McMahon on vacation, Raw’s foray across the pond ended with
bickering between a trio of authority figures, with the WWE Champion
left to deal with the fallout. WWE Champion Randy Orton, Raw General
Manager Brad Maddox and newly-christened WWE Director of Operations Kane
each claimed stewardship of the show, giving input as to which WWE Tag
Team Champion Orton should face in the night’s opening contest, with the
put-upon GM favoring Cody Rhodes, while Kane clamored for Goldust. With
frustrations mounting, it was SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero
who made the proverbial lemonade, though the results left an
appropriately sour expression on the “Face of WWE”: Orton would face not
one Rhodes brother, but both in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match.
WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes & Goldust def. WWE Champion Randy Orton via Count-out
Even a Viper knows when retreat is the wisest
maneuver, though it’s unlikely Randy Orton was prepared for the
consequences when he decided he’d had enough of his Handicap contest
against Cody Rhodes & Goldust. The Apex Predator was, to be fair, a
victim of matchmaking-by-committee thanks to the power vacuum left in
The Authority’s absence, and took a while to get his momentum in a
situation he had not prepared for.
The
red-hot Rhodes brethren seized early control, with Goldust taking the
lion’s share of the time against The Authority’s chosen champion. The
Viper slowly turned the tables against The Bizarre One until Cody’s
re-entry swung the contest so far in the brothers’ favor that The Viper
ditched the match altogether for a Count-out loss. Orton had only made
it halfway up the ramp when Big Show – rumored to be too injured to
appear – sauntered out and rewarded The Viper’s strategic exit with The
World’s Largest Payback, knocking The Apex Predator around before
chokeslamming him through the announcer’s table.
Santino Marella & Los Matadores def. ‘The Union Jacks’
As it turns out, an English makeover did nothing
to stem 3MB’s poor fortune of late. Despite their shameless adopted
identity of “The Union Jacks,” the three-headed rock monster was
powerless against the international superpower of Santino Marella and
Los Matadores. Granted, the group’s “Austin Powers”-inspired pants did
briefly give them some good mojo against their opponents, but a
combination of El Torito’s hijinks and Santino – who donned a pair of
bull horns for the occasion – doomed the Jacks to defeat when The
Italian Stallion struck down Jinder Mahal with a bull-horned Cobra for the win.
Damien Sandow def. Kofi Kingston
The onetime “Uncrowned World Heavyweight Champion” has taken his first step at the road to redemption, much to the chagrin of Kofi Kingston. The Boom Squad General made the mistake of mocking Mr. Sandow in
the locker-room area, and was repaid with a well-and-thorough thrashing
from The Intellectual Savior of the Masses. So aggressive was Sandow's
offense that, apart from a brief burst at the midway point, the former
Intercontinental Champion never even got a chance to make an impact.
Sandow traded pompous speechifying for in-ring punishment by beating
Kofi into the defensive, tripping him up in the ropes when Kofi revved
up for a springboard, and quickly following with a match-ending “You’re Welcome.”
Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel def. Dolph Ziggler
As far as quick turnarounds go, Curtis Axel can
lay claim to a solid one. Seven days after a humiliating loss to Dolph
Ziggler, the Intercontinental Champion rebounded with a resoundingly
successful title defense in Manchester. Despite the fact that Paul
Heyman was still nowhere to be seen, Axel held his own against the
former World Heavyweight Champion and, despite long stretches of
dominance by The Showoff, came through in the clutch when it mattered
most.
The
contest got heated almost immediately, with Ziggler daring Axel to get a
piece of him and the champion responding with some truly enthusiastic
brawling. The Showoff fought like a man possessed to reverse his
fortunes and claim his second Intercontinental Title, and nearly
accomplished the feat by knocking Axel loopy with a top-rope facebuster.
Axel weathered the storm, though, and stole The Showoff’s thunder by
driving him into the mat for a last-ditch victory.
Tamina Snuka def. Nikki Bella
Curtis Axel wasn’t the only second-generation
Superstar who got their groove back on Raw this week, as Tamina Snuka
avenged her own humiliation from the previous Raw – suffering a pinfall from Newbie Diva Eva Marie –
by defeating one of Eva’s “Total Divas” costars, Nikki Bella. It was a
touch-and-go affair for Tamina initially, as Nikki kicked off the match
by battering her across the ring. Tamina found her momentum by outright mauling the former Divas Champion,
stringing Nikki up in the ropes and driving her to the mat with power
maneuvers. An assist from AJ Lee helped Tamina seal the deal with a
Superfly Splash, though a bit of post-match retribution from Brie suggests this rivalry may not be done yet.
Fandango def. Tyson Kidd
Leave it to Fandango to crash the party, as he cut Tyson Kidd down to size just
one week after submitting to the returning veteran in a Mixed Tag Team
Match on Raw. It’s clear by now that Kidd’s hybrid style hadn’t suffered
despite his long injury layoff, but Fandango was clearly prepared this
time around, and kept pace with the former Tag Team Champion for the
entire duration of the match. Kidd’s early acrobatics fell short when
Fandango hurled him over the ropes and slowed Kidd’s momentum by
grappling him to the mat, though the Hart Dungeon graduate picked up
some steam with a hurricanrana off the ring apron. Kidd’s enthusiasm got the better of him, though, when Fandango reversed a springboard rollup into a pinfall.
World Heavyweight Champion John Cena def. The Real Americans
Sorry, Zeb-itarians, John Cena
still
won’t be joining The Real Americans’ movement anytime soon. Despite Zeb
Colter’s attempts to conscript The Champ into his ranks alongside Jack
Swagger & Antonio Cesaro, the Cenation leader held strong in both
principle and practice by defeating Colter’s boys in a Handicap Match in
Manchester. Swagger & Cesaro were welcomed about as well as one
might expect from the international crowd, though the reception did
nothing to slow the Americans’ momentum in the opening moments.
Despite
a counter of the Cesaro swing into an attempted STF, the Americans kept
Cena on his heels with a slew of strategic tags and well-honed team
maneuvers. (The unwelcome arrival of Alberto Del Rio on commentary also
did The Champ’s focus no favors.) It was quick timing that saved the day
when Cena sprung a quick-strike STF on Swagger for the tapout win …
though Del Rio made The Champ pay by locking in the Cross Armbreaker in
the crux of a steel chair, punishing Cena’s surgically repaired arm
until Big E Langston stormed to the rescue.
R-Truth def. Ryback
Give Ryback a big man and he will muscle his way
into victory, but seven days after knocking off The Great Khali, The
Human Wrecking Ball found himself laid low by
the incomparable quickness of former U.S. Champion R-Truth. “The Big
Guy” didn’t exactly appreciate the dissing rap Truth made his entrance
to, and did everything he could to pulverize Truth into defeat. Ryback’s
demonstration carried on a little too far, though, and Truth’s quick
dodge of a corner splash by left Ryback stumbling into a roll-up pin before he even knew what was up.
Alberto Del Rio def. Big E Langston
As it turns out, “Mexico’s Greatest Export”
doesn’t take lightly to having his fun spoiled. Big E Langston’s
intrusion of Alberto Del Rio’s attack on John Cena did not go unnoticed
by Kane, Brad Maddox & Vickie Guerrero, who gave Del Rio the
opportunity to face Langston one-on-one just
a few minutes after the encounter. The Essence of Excellence rose
grandly to the challenge, renewing his old rivalry with Langston and
notching a win in the process. Langston's power seemed certain to give
him the win after he plastered Del Rio with a running splash. The former
World Champion prevailed, however, escaping the Big Ending and trapping the powerlifting champion in the Cross Armbreaker for the tapout victory.
Paul Heyman addressed the WWE Universe
Paul Heyman – or at least what’s left of him –
is back. Flanked by the victorious Curtis Axel, the mad scientist made
his return to Raw as a wheelchair-bound wretch, donning a neck brace,
arm sling, back brace and leg cast. And he is not happy. Not only did
Heyman more or less dismiss Ryback as a potential Paul Heyman Guy, but
he blamed the WWE Universe itself for the beating CM Punk administered
at Hell in a Cell. Heyman’s promise of vengeance against his prodigal
son was quickly interrupted by the man himself, who quickly dispatched
Axel and hacked Heyman to pieces with a Kendo stick he produced from beneath the ring.
Daniel Bryan & CM Punk def. The Shield via Disqualification
Who says old rivals don’t
make good tag team partners? Bolstered by CM Punk’s humiliation of Paul
Heyman, The Second City Saint & Daniel Bryan came out cocky and
confident against The Shield in Kane’s first Raw main event as Director
of Operations. The pair initially targeted Seth Rollins until he was
forced to summon Roman Reigns, who initiated the “numbers game” attack
that left Bryan at their mercy. The “Yes!” man saved the day with a
last-gasp tag of Punk, yet before The Second City Saint could put the
opposition to sleep the lights cut out and The Wyatt Family swarmed the
ring.
Punk
& Bryan caught a lucky break when tensions boiled over into a brawl
between The Shield and The Wyatts. Their luck was short-lived when Bray
marshaled the warring factions into targeting their “common enemy.” All
seemed lost until The Usos & Rhodes brothers stormed the ring,
saving Punk & Bryan from certain doom and ensuring they would
survive to see another fight.
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