At Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings results from Indianapolis (airing this Friday, 12/30), two PPV-caliber matches were announced for the first SmackDown of 2012.
The January 6th episode of SmackDown, which tapes 1/3 rom Little Rock, Arkansas, will feature:
Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show for the World Heavyweight championship
Cody Rhodes vs. Booker T for the Intercontinental championship
– WWE is currently discussing bringing back the Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania 28. If the match does return to WrestleMania, it’s a good sign the Money in the Bank themed pay-per-view could be rebranded in 2012.
– Jim Ross noted on Twitter that he’s not on WWE TV because WWE is not high on his look, plus company officials really like Michael Cole.
– After much speculation, we’ve heard that WWE legend The Iron Sheik will not be a part of the upcoming WWE Legends House reality show on the new WWE Network.
– WWE is set to debut a new stage at their live events. Vickie Guerrero tweeted this morning:
“Flying to Pittsburgh!!! I can’t wait to see the new stage setup tonight. See all of you there”
(Source: f4wonline.com)
Here are some live notes from Tuesday night’s WWE live event from Madison Square Garden in New York City:
– John Cena defeated Kane by DQ in the main event, their first match since Kane’s return. The match did not last long and was called off when Kane hit Cena with a chair. Kane left the ring, returned and got hit with the Attitude Adjustment.
– FCW Heavyweight Champion Leo Kruger was in action and lost a match to Aalex Riley. Kruger worked as a heel. The match was described as boring, not a great sign for the developmental star.
– Mick Foley was the official host for the night and wound up getting physical – giving Jack Swagger a taste of Mr. Socko after his match with Jerry Lawler.
– Among the notable names in attendance were rapper Run from Run DMC, Betty Skaaland (widow of WWE Hall of Famer Arnold Skaaland and Zack Ryder.
– WWE returns to Madison Square Garden with a Supershow on Sunday, March 18th. Tickets go on sale January 7th. The pre-sale begins January 4th and the code is WRESTLEMANIA.
— The official Twitter feed of the WWE Insider reported the following Tuesday evening:
“BREAKING: @RandyOrton injured at #Smackdown in Indianapolis tonight. More details to follow on WWE.com as they become available.”
*SPOILERS* WWE SmackDown Tapings Results For Friday
— Matches taped Tuesday night in Indianapolis, Indiana for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars were: Darren Young vs. Trent Barreta; Tyson Kidd vs. Yoshi Tatsu.
Matches taped for this week’s episode of WWE NXT were: Heath Slater vs. Justin Gabriel; Percy Watson vs. Tyson Kidd; Derrick Bateman vs. Johnny Curtis.
Thanks to SEScoops.com readers D.J. Metro Dee, Luis and Ariane for sending in these results from tonight’s Smackdown taping in Indianapolis, IN:
SmackDown opens with Booker T coming to the ring for a promo. Booker T enters the ring and talks about how 2011 was a great year for him and thanks the fans. He’s interrupted by Cody Rhodes, who proceeds to insult the fans in Indianapolis and several Colts players, who are sitting at ringside. Rhodes then congratulated Booker for beating him on RAW and shakes his hand. He then tells Booker that his fantasy is over, and his in ring career is over. He tells him that he is washed up and is a joke as an announcer and as a person and he should leave WWE.
Goldust comes out in a suit with no makeup or costume. Goldust tells Cody that he knows better than to insult a legend. Cody goes on to insult his brother. Booker defends “Goldy” and said that they should have a rubber match for the title tonight. Cody agreed, but for next week. Booker promises to become the new U.S… before catching himself and saying Intercontinental champion next week. Booker T then left the ring, and Cody attacked Goldust. Cody ran off as Booker returned to the ring to tend to Goldust.
Jinder Mahal defeated Ted Dibiase via submission with the camel clutch.
Teddy Long and Aksana are backstage, but are interrupted by Drew McIntyre, who is now once again a SmackDown star. Long tells McIntyre that he makes too much money and has lost his passion. Long told him that if he doesn’t beat Ezekiel Jackson later tonight, he may have to look for a new job.
Alicia Fox and Kaitlyn defeated Natalya and Tamina in a bad 30 second diva match. After the match, Tamina attacked Natalya and laid her out with a super kick and a Superfly splash from the top rope.
A promo with Daniel Bryan and AJ is cut short when Big Show interrupted and said that giants don’t need saving. Teddy Long comes out and says that the tag team match scheduled for later tonight is off because David Otunga wants a piece of the Big Show. Now Show will face Otunga with Mark Henry in Otunga’s corner. Bryan then said that maybe giants do need saving.
Hunico (with a bodyguard) defeated Justin Gabriel with a swanton bomb. After the match, Hunico and his bodyguard double-teamed Gabriel.
The Big Show defeated David Otunga via pinfall. During the match, Daniel Bryan came down to ringside and hit Mark Henry with the World title belt, prompting Henry to chase him to the back. Show proceeded to hit Otunga with the WMD to get the win.
Ezekiel Jackson defeated Drew McIntyre with a roll up while holding the tights.
Backstage McIntyre is complaining to Teddy Long about his loss. Long tells McIntyre that he can’t stand losers who complain. McIntyre leaves Long’s office upset.
Sheamus is coming out for a promo. He said that he’s going to win The Royal Rumble regardless of what number he draws. Hornswoggle comes out. Sheamus asked him who will win the Rumble. Hornswoggle grabbed the mic and goes crazy saying “Hornswoggle” repeatedly while running around. Heath Slater interrupts and insults Hornswoggle. Visit Wrestling Inc. Slater talks about Bushwacker Luke and the Brooklyn Brawler having dreams of winning a Royal Rumble and never doing it. Slater then tells Sheamus that he’s the best redhead on SmackDown, not Sheamus. After some more talking, Sheamus ends up throwing Slater over the top rope.
Lilian Garcia announces that Sheamus will face Heath Slater tonight.
Sheamus defeated Heath Slater with the Brogue kick.
Daniel Bryan and Big Show promo with Teddy Long. Bryan calls himself Big Show’s good luck charm. Show says that he doesn’t need a good luck charm and is getting tired of Bryan coming out to help him. Long announces Daniel Bryan vs. The Big Show for the title for next week on Smackdown which makes Show happy. Bryan states that even if he loses next week, his title reign was longer than Big Show’s 45 second reign.
Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett in a falls count anywhere match is next. Orton threw Barrett in the crowd and the referee gets knocked out. they fight to the backstage area and brawl like they did last week. Backstage an elevator door opens and they fight in an elevator where there’s an elevator cam set up. Later, Barrett threw Orton off a set of stairs. The show ends with Orton in extreme pain after being pushed down the stairs. The crowd is not happy as they were not sure if the match was over or not.
Dark Match Main Event:
Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett vs. Big Show for the World heavyweight title with Booker T as guest referee ended in a minute after Show hit Barrett with the WMD. Show then ran at Bryan, who pulled down the top rope causing Show to fall out. Bryan then quickly covered Barrett for the win. Booker T gets the mic and asks Daniel Bryan to hold up. Booker T and Daniel Bryan do spinaroonies to end the show.
— Dave Meltzer stated on the Dec. 27 edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that Zack Ryder being placed in a romance storyline with Eve Torres and away from the main event scene stems from the staggeringly low quarter hour rating for last week’s Raw SuperShow main event, which saw Long Island Iced-Z, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan stand tall against The Miz, Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler.
The main event garnered a 2.67 cable rating (2.55 for the first half of the bout), which was the lowest-rated main event on Raw in 2011 and possibly the lowest since Dec. 8, 1997 for a non-holiday show in its regular time slot. The overrun gained 59,000 viewers, which is considered terrible.
The Ryder/Torres storyline is slated to continue for at least a few weeks.
— Tony Chimel resurfaced at Tuesday’s WWE television tapings in Indianapolis, Indiana as the ring announcer for WWE NXT and WWE Superstars. He takes over for Eden Stiles, who parted ways with the organization last week. Chimel was removed as SmackDown ring announcer earlier this month due to Lilian Garcia’s return to the company.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog update, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. In this update, Ross talked about Monday’s RAW, the incredible amount of talent at Florida Championship Wrestling and answered a bunch of questions from fans on Twitter. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:
Brock Lesnar’s Fight This Friday:I’m a sentimental, Lesnar lean in a fight that will undoubtedly, in my view, end via knockout or stoppage. I’ve predicted Lesnar to win via stoppage in round two. Many of my MMA friends think that Overeem will knock Brock out. Two, big, heavy hitting heavyweights wearing four ounce gloves won’t have a stylistic fight but one of the Slobber-Knocker variety. If Lesnar fails to take Overeem down with bullrush type upper body lockups and if Brock hasn’t improved on his striking defense, Overeem wins. Nonetheless I’m a Brock Lesnar fan and hope that he prevails.
Also, speaking of the former WWE Champion, IF Brock ever returns to WWE it will be for one, big mega event ala a Wrestlemania. Lesnar will NEVER go back on the road on any thing that even remotely resembles a part time schedule.
Sting Appearing at WrestleMania: “Another unique and somewhat unbelievable trend I’ve seen lately via Twitter and emails to this website are fans wondering if Sting will be at WM28 AND be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012. Apparently, those fans don’t understand the concept of a contract and the obligations that go along with said document. Fantasy bookers can be genius-like when they don’t have to contend with existing contracts or with the fact that some former stars are simply done with wrestling and want to do other things with their professional lives.”
Steve Austin Wrestling Again: “I casually mentioned on Twitter about a possible Steve Austin one more match scenario. I did this to answer a question and as a follow up to what Steve himself said in a recent interview. It would have to be the right guy at the right place and right time according to the Texas Rattlesnake. My suggestion was that the right time ‘might’ be at Wrestlemania in 2013. Nonetheless nothing is guaranteed and the decision is up to Steve and not any one else. However, doing it anywhere but Wrestlemania doesn’t make sense to me.”
– This week’s RAW ratings are delayed a day due to the Christmas holiday.
– WWE Champion CM Punk was denied access to New York City’s Madison Square Garden, the site of tonight’s WWE live event and the venue where he captured the title at November’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. Punk tweeted on Tuesday evening:
“Sellout the Horizon on a Monday, refused entry to the Garden on Tuesday. My life is awesome. Some serious Larry David shit.”
– Former ROH World champion Seth Rollins (formerly Tyler Black) made his WWE debut in a dark match prior to tonight’s SmackDown TV tapings from Indianapolis. Rollins wrestled as a heel against Skip Sheffield, who won the match.
– Friday’s 12/23 edition of Smackdown did a 1.97 rating with 2,742,000 viewers.
– Last Thursday’s 12/22 edition of TNA Impact Wrestling drew a 1.0 rating.
– New promo videos have been released hyping TNA’s new Ring Ka King promotion, based out of India:
— After being named the Worst Game of the Year by the official XBOX Magazine, Hulk Hogan’s Main Event has won another “worst of the year” award.
ScrewAttack.com has awarded Hogan’s XBOX 360 Kinect game a SAGY award (Sh–ty Ass Game of the Year). Congrats to Hulk!
— TNA star D’Angelo Dinero has a small role in the upcoming blockbuster Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises.
The Pope will be playing a henchman of the film’s main villain, Bane. Themancavedaily.com has released the following picture of Bane’s goons – you can spot Dinero in the front row wearing a hoodie.
– Long before Monday’s RAW from Chicago went live on the USA Network, fans at the arena were chanting CM Punk’s name. They were also chanting, “Cena Sucks.”
During a video package that aired before RAW, The Rock received some boos when he was shown on the screen.
– A lot of signs were confiscated at Monday’s RAW, including signs for Colt Cabana, Cliff Compton and Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast. Cabana, a close friend of CM Punk, is also Chicago native.
– The Miz suffered a nasty bruise on his shoulder during tonight’s RAW when R-Truth threw him into the steel steps. He’s not expected to miss any ring time, but his entire shoulder is black and blue.
– It was announced during a commercial break at RAW that the 14,804 was the announced attendance for last night’s sold out RAW Supershow in Chicago.
– WWE Tag Team Champions Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston now have a joint Twitter account at @TrueAirBoom.
– Beth Phoenix, who did not appear on RAW, tweeted the following after the show:
“Great. to see @NatbyNature and @KiddWWE lookin’ vicious on Raw…where was I? Wouldnt u all like to know ;) #secret”
– TNA Knockout Tara clarified earlier reports of her being backstage at tonight’s RAW in Chicago. After stating that she would be hanging out with WWE diva Eve on Monday night, she followed up with a tweet saying that Eve Torres may be stopping by her home for a visit but she was not at RAW. We apologize for the error.
Check out these pictures of Tara and Eve together from Monday nigh:
— WWE developmental wrestler Seth Rollins, who was scheduled to work this week’s Raw house show tour, will instead appear on SmackDown events this week.
— WWE officials have given thought to John Laurinaitis competing in a wrestling match in the near future. WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent Relations was previously a professional wrestler under the ring name Johnny Ace, and wrestled for such promotions as the National Wrestling Alliance and All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is credited as the inventor of the “Cutter” maneuver, dubbed by Laurinaitis as the “Ace Crusher.”
— Commercials in the Boston, Massachusetts area are advertising John Cena vs. Kane for the March 5, 2012 Raw Supershow at the TD Garden. It was also announced that CM Punk would be defending the WWE Championship.
— The Bella Twins appear at Don Beyer Kia located at 7416 Richmond Highway Alexandria, Virginia 22306 this Thursday beginning at 2:00 p.m.
sources: PWInsider.com, F4WOnline.com
– Dave Meltzer stated on the December 24 edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that the Survivor Series pay-per-view buy figure is lower than the initial estimate of 280,000. It was reported that of that figure, 180,000 pay-per-view purchases came from the United States. The updated estimate drops the buy figure to 260,000 as only 160,000 pay-per-view purchases came from the United States for The Rock’s first wrestling match in over seven years.
The estimate compares to 244,000 buys for Survivor Series in 2010 and 235,000 in 2009, which nearly got the show scrapped from the annual pay-per-view line-up.
– Jim Ross commented on Chris Benoit’s candidacy for entrance into the WWE Hall of Fame.
“Chris Benoit will never be inducted into WWE HOF. Great wrestler but horrific ending to his life overrides career.”
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Solomonster Sounds Off (Episode 198)
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Sound Off 198 Christmas Show!
Est. Runtime: 2 hours
Ho ho ho, it’s the Sound Off Christmas show! Episode 198 is full of holiday cheer as Solomonster reviews last Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view and shares his thoughts on the retirement (for now) of Kevin Nash, including a ranking of his top 5 greatest matches. Plus, we’ll talk about Raw and the start of a new era, troubling ratings signs, early Survivor Series numbers, a rumored celebrity match at WrestleMania, an update on Chris Hero and WWE, a review of SANTA’s SLAY starring Bill Goldberg and a huge mailbag! If you have two hours to spare, hit what’s left of the eggnog and enjoy the show.
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Solomonster Sounds Off by The Solomonster is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
– William Regal tweeted the following on Monday night regarding his reported retirement:
“I’m slowly plotting my WWE appearance.Im taking my time but it will all be worth it in the end.When i only have so much time left to compete then you chose you spots wisely and make people take notice”
– Shawn Michaels’ new eBook titled “Diary of a Heartbreak Kid: Shawn Michaels’ Journey into the WWE Hall of Fame” has officially been released through Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross tweeted the following on Monday night regarding Steve Austin wrestling one more match:
“@steveaustinBSR says maybe 1 more match..TBD. Best bet, as merely a guess, 2013 at Wrestlemania. Perhaps only my wishful thinking.”
— In a dark match that took place after Monday’s RAW from Chicago, CM Punk defeated The Miz in a steel cage match.
— To follow up on the news of WWE filing to trademark the name “WrestleFest” for use in video games, it turns out WWE is actually not looking to revive the classic arcade game franchise.
Another company has been developing a new game titled, “WrestleFest” and WWE filed for the trademark to protect its intellectual property rights. WWE has reportedly sent the company a cease and desist letter.
– On Monday’s RAW, we saw United States champion Zack Ryder and Eve Torres team together in a mixed tag match. After defeating Tyson Kidd and Natalya, they spent a few minutes celebrating together and appeared to have some chemistry. Ryder and Eve will reportedly be working together on television in the coming weeks, as the company thinks both can benefit from being paired up.
* CM PUNK In Hot Water Due to Terrible Ratings
(Sources: PWinsider.com, f4wonline.com)
Coming out of Monday’s RAW Supershow, we’ve got a few newsworthy items already scheduled for next week’s first RAW of 2012, including:
– Dolph Ziggler will face CM Punk with the WWE Championship
– Brodus Clay will make his RAW debut
– The big return we’ve seen hyped for weeks in the cryptic promo videos will finally take place.
– Monday’s WWE RAW Supershow opens with Michael Cole welcoming us to a sold out Allstate Arena in Chicago. CM Punk’s music hits as the crowd pops. Instead of Punk, out comes John Laurinaitis with a Punk shirt on. Laurinaitis impersonates Punk and heads to the ring. Laurinaitis says he is the future and has brought the new golden era. Laurinaitis says he is honoring CM Punk and is a believer. CM Punk’s music hits again and this time out comes the WWE Champion to a big pop.
Punk hits the ring to huge chants from the crowd. Punk says Laurinaitis must be trying to antagonize him. Punk asks what is stopping him from kicking Laurinaitis in the face. Laurinaitis says he’s Punk’s boss and may fire him but he’s not here to argue tonight. Laurinaitis has a Holiday gift for Punk, as he calls it, and gives Punk the night off. Gotcha, he says. Laurinaitis says he listens to the fans and he knows they want to see Punk in action tonight. Laurinaitis puts Punk in a Gauntlet Match and he picks the opponents. If one of them beats Punk, that Superstar gets a WWE Title shot on next week’s RAW. Punk asks what happens when he wins and Laurinaitis hasn’t thought of that yet.
As a present to Chicago, when Punk survives the Gauntlet Match he wants a fourth match. Punk asks the fans if they want to see him wrestle 4 times and they cheer. Punk says the fourth match should be CM Punk vs. John Laurinaitis, if he can survive the Gauntlet. Laurinaitis tells Punk he doesn’t want any of this. The crowd chants “you can’t wrestle” and Punk says it sounds like the fans have been watching All Japan tapes. Punk gets the fans to rally behind Punk vs. Laurinaitis and they start chanting his name. Laurinaitis accepts the challenge. Punk laughs as Laurinaitis leaves the ring and Cult of Personality plays.
– Punk poses as Lawler and Cole hype tonight’s show. We’re interrupted by another cryptic video for January 2nd, 2012. “The End Begins” it says. “Next Monday.”
– Booker T and WWE Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes are heading to the ring as we go to commercial.
Booker T vs. Cody Rhodes
Back from the break and out comes Booker T followed by his opponent Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes in a rematch from TLC.
They lock up and Booker wraps Cody’s arm up. Cody fights out and drops Booker with a shoulder block. Booker with a big hip toss and shots in the corner. Cody makes a comeback but Booker drops him with an elbow to the nose. Booker keeps in control but Cody ducks the scissors kick. Cody with a swinging neckbreaker and stomps in the corner.
Cody dumps Booker out to the floor and we go to commercial.
Back from the break and Booker is making a comeback in the ring. Booker takes it to the corner but Cody drops him with an elbow. Cody with a knee to the head and a shot to the jaw for a 2 count. Cody keeps Booker grounded on the mat. The crowd cheers for Booker and he fights to his feet. Booker tries to come back but Cody hits a right hand and a clothesline for 2. Cody stomps on Booker some more and continues to keep control of the match. Booker and Cody trade shots on their feet now until Cody dropkicks him to the mat.
Cody with another 2 count. Booker finally fights out of a chinlock but Cody knees him into the corner. Booker finally turns things around and hits a pair of clotheslines and a big sideslam for 2. They go back and forth then trade pin attempts coming out of the corner. Cody ducks the scissor kick again and rolls Booker up for 2. Cody hits the Beautiful Disaster kick but Booker kicks out at 2 again. Booker blocks Cross Rhodes and barely hits the high kick. Cody ducks another kick but Booker comes back and finally hits it for the non-title win.
Winner: Booker T
– United States Champion Zack Ryder is backstage. He thanks John Cena and says he owes him. Cena says Ryder doesn’t owe him a damn thing. Cena says everything Ryder has is all because of him. Cena admires Ryder for not listening to the haters and says Ryder earned the US Title. Ryder asks Cena about Kane. Cena says he’s been attacked for two weeks now and if Kane is anywhere in the building, the last RAW of 2011 is going to go out with a bang. They wish each other good luck.
– Jerry Lawler announces to the crowd that CM Punk’s opponents in the Gauntlet Match tonight will be Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler and if he makes it that far, the last man will be Mark Henry. If Punk defeats Henry, he will get the match with John Laurinaitis. If one of the Superstars pins Punk, they get a WWE Title shot next week.
– Kelly Kelly and Big Show are backstage talking. An official tells Big Show Laurinaitis needs him right now. Show shrugs it off and says he’s busy. Armstrong says it’s important and Show walks off, saying it better be important. Back to commercial we go.
– Back from the break and Laurinaitis is on the phone with Brodus Clay and says he will debut next week. David Otunga is in the room when Big Show comes in. Laurinaitis wants Show to explain him knocking out Otunga on SmackDown. Otunga knocks Show for his short World Title reign. Show says he can beat Otunga with one arm tied behind his back. Laurinaitis likes the idea of this and gets Otunga to agree to it. Show makes Otunga jump back and walks out.
– Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler are backstage talking about competing in the Gauntlet Match. Ziggler tells Swagger to go back to 2009 when he was relevant. Vickie Guerrero walks up and says the important thing is one of them will win the WWE Title next week from Punk. Mark Henry walks up, asks them to excuse him and walks off.
Eve Torres and Zack Ryder vs. Tyson Kidd and Natalya
We go to the ring and out first comes Eve Torres. Her partner is out next – United States Champion Zack Ryder. We go to commercial next.
Back from the break and Ryder is starting off with Tyson Kidd as his partner Natalya looks on. Kidd strikes first and mounts an offense. Kidd runs into double knees from Ryder in the corner. Ryder with a dropkick and a pin attempt. Kidd tags in Natalya and in comes Eve. They go at it and Eve takes her to the mat. Eve booty pops and then hits a standing moonsault for a 2 count. Natalya kicks out and takes control of Eve, slamming her face into the mat.
Natalya kicks Eve around and goes for a Sharpshooter. Eve kicks her off and tags in Ryder. Ryder and Kidd go at it. Ryder with forearms and a slam to the mat. Ryder runs into a kick but connects with a sitdown powerbomb. Natalya breaks the pin. Eve dropkicks Natalya into the ropes and fist pumps with Ryder. They hit Broski Boots on Kidd and Natalya. Ryder hits the Ruff Ryder on Kidd for the win.
Winners: Eve Torres and Zack Ryder
– They fist pump after the match and Ryder gives Eve his US Title for a second.
– Up next, John Cena will call out Kane. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and out comes John Cena to a very mixed reaction from the crowd.
Cena admits he isn’t Chicago’s favorite son and talks about his history with the city as fans boo him. Cena goes on and on before putting over Chicago and then says tonight we will see hellfire and brimstone, we will see John Cena vs. Kane. Instead, The Miz comes out to the stage.
Miz says he wants to see Miz vs. Cena tonight. Miz says they have loose ends to tie up and says 2011 was the year of The Miz. Miz talks about WrestleMania 27 and says he wants everyone’s last image of 2011 to be him standing over Cena. Cena tells Miz to shut up and wash the bad tan off his body. Cena says he will beat the hell out of Miz right now and calls for a referee to come out.
John Cena vs. The Miz
The bell rings and they lock up. Cena tosses Miz and they go to lock up again but Cena goes behind and slams him.
Cena keeps control until Miz rolls out and grabs a microphone. He says the fans are chanting the wrong name, forget this match and forget everyone. Miz reminds everyone he is the most must-see WWE Champion of all-time and talks about beating Cena at WrestleMania again. Miz says this match doesn’t matter and the referee calls for the bell.
Winner by Count Out: John Cena
– Miz keeps rambling and taunting the fans. R-Truth’s music hits and out he comes, making his return. Truth tackles Miz at ringside and beats him up. Truth slams Miz into the barrier. Miz tries to fight back but Truth tackles him over the announcers table. Truth tosses Miz into the table and the barrier some more, going crazy on his former partner. Truth sends Miz into the steel steps and looks like he’s talking to himself. Truth grabs a mic and nails Miz with more right hands. Truth says he could finish this right now but there’s no fun in that. Truth with more big right hands while Miz is down against the steps. Truth wants every Monday night to be like Christmas, so he’s going to take his time getting to Miz. Truth says Little Jimmy said it’s okay. Truth goes on and hits Miz some more before smacking him with a water bottle. Truth walks off talking to himself as his music plays.
– Back from the break and Cole says Kane is here tonight and will make his presence known.
Big Show vs. David Otunga
Big Show comes out first and the referee ties one of his arms behind his back. David Otunga makes his way out next as we get ready to go. Otunga moves around to start and avoids getting caught. Show catches Otunga’s leg in between his legs and pulls him down with the one arm he has. Show hits a headbutt and chop in the corner. Otunga gets a kick in and another. Otunga tries to take Show to the corner but can’t. Show chases Otunga around some more. Otunga finally thrusts him once into the corner but Show manages to toss him over the top rope with his left hand. Mark Henry’s music hits and out he comes. Show tries to get his right hand untied but can’t as Henry enters the ring.
Henry knocks Show down and turns around to World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan on the apron. Bryan taunts Henry with the title belt from the floor. Henry turns around to a chokeslam attempt from Show. Otunga stops it and Henry exits the ring. Show chokeslams Otunga instead.
Winner by DQ: Big Show
– Henry heads to the back as Show stares him down. Cole plugs Kane appearing as we go back to commercial.
– Back from commercial and out comes Ricardo Rodriguez wheeling Alberto Del Rio in a gold wheelchair. Ricardo, wearing a neckbrace, introduces Del Rio and hands him the mic. Del Rio talks about his groin tear from last week’s show. Del Rio says he will be back as The Bella Twins come walking out. They say the fans need to treat Del Rio with respect. The Bellas argue about throwing a party in Del Rio’s honor when he recovers. Del Rio tells them to get out of here. Del Rio says he will be back and will be more vicious, more aggressive than before. Del Rio doesn’t care who he has to destroy, he will be WWE Champion again.
– WWE Champion CM Punk is walking backstage as we go back to commercial.
Gauntlet Match: CM Punk vs. Jack Swagger
Back from the break and out comes Jack Swagger with Vickie Guerrero. The WWE Champion CM Punk comes out next to a big pop from the hometown crowd. The bell rings and they lock up. Punk with a headlock but Swagger goes behind. Punk twists his arm up but Swagger overpowers Punk into a bridge. Punk comes back up but Swagger knees him in the gut and applies a headlock.
Swagger with a big shoulder block. They run the ropes and Punk hits a kick to the jaw for a 2 count. Punk with more kicks now. Swagger goes behind with a gutbuster and drops an elbow drop. Swagger with another and a big leg drop for 2. Swagger with a waistlock now. Swagger with another knee to the gut from a counter for another pin attempt. Swagger with knees in the corner now until the referee backs him off. Swagger pulls Punk into his knee and goes for the Swagger Bomb out of the corner. Punk catches him for GTS but Swagger fights out. Punk drops Swagger with a kick to the head for the pin.
Winner: CM Punk
Gauntlet Match: CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler comes right out for Punk’s next opponent. Swagger comes from behind and takes out Punk’s leg. Swagger beats on Punk as Ziggler enters the ring. The referee checks on Punk but he says he’s good to go. Back to commercial.
Back from the break and Ziggler is in control. Punk kicks out at 2. Ziggler works on Punk’s hurt leg and gets another 2 count. Ziggler hits a big dropkick for another 2 count. Ziggler keeps control and goes for another dropkick but Punk catches him. Punk slingshots Ziggler into the corner. Punk with a neckbreaker attempt but Ziggler pushes him into the corner. Ziggler takes out Punk’s leg again and covers for a 2 count. Ziggler with a single leg crab on Punk’s leg now. The hold is finally broken and they go at it standing up now. Punk drops Ziggler with a big kick to the head and scoop slams him. Punk with several kicks to Ziggler’s back and another to the face for a 2 count.
Punk comes back and hits the high knee in the corner. Punk goes for GTS but Swagger distracts the referee while Vickie stops the GTS. Ziggler drops Punk now for a 2 count. John Laurinaitis comes down pissed off and grabs a microphone. He says there has been an injustice tonight, right as Punk is about to win. Laurinaitis stops the referee and ejects Vickie and Swagger from ringside. Laurinaitis walks up on the apron and distracts Punk by talking to him about their proposed match tonight. Ziggler comes from behind and lays Punk out for the win.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
– After the match, Ziggler grabs the WWE Title and parades around the ring with it. Ziggler will get the WWE Title shot next week. Ziggler runs up the ramp with Punk’s title and poses with it as Punk looks on from the ring.
– Up next, Kane will address John Cena. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and out comes Kane. He talks about people living lies when John Cena’s music hits. Cena comes out to the stage. Kane makes the pyro explode on the stage and Cena stays put. Kane cuts a promo about how everyone hates. How everyone hates someone and hate drives us. Hate, hate, hate. Kane knows Cena feels the hate, feels it swimming under his skin. Kane says you become honest with yourself once you embrace the hate, you become free. Some of the crowd chants for Cena.
Kane goes on about how Cena needs to embrace the hate and says Cena will have to end 2011 with the image in his head of the crowd chanting “Cena sucks.” Kane starts saying it and some of the crowd picks up on it. RAW goes off the air with Cena holding his head down on the stage.
— WWE announced the following on Facebook: “It’s official! WWE Raw’s record-breaking 1,000th episode will take place July 23, 2012 on USA Network! RSVP for this historic night on Facebook for future updates!”
— Signs promoting Colt Cabana, Cliff Compton and Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast were confiscated by Allstate Arena personnel at Monday’s Raw SuperShow in Chicago, Illinois.
— The pre-sale password for WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view event is WWERULES. The pre-sale kicks off Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m. at Ticketmaster.com. Extreme Rules takes place April 29, 2012 at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
source: PWInsider.com
Here it is – the final cryptic promo hyping a big return at next week’s January 2nd, 2012 edition of RAW.
– TNA Knockout Tara is backstage at tonight’s RAW in Chicago. She wrote on Twitter:
“WWE Raw is in Chicago tonight. Can’t wait to see some of the gang! Super excited to see @EveMarieTorres . I miss her so much. SLUMBER PARTY!!!!”
– The Miz vs. WWE Champion CM Punk in a steel cage match is the new main event for tomorrow’s RAW live event in New York City.
– WWE’s website has a new article up on Alberto Del Rio’s injury from last week’s RAW. Del Rio has a groin tear and will need surgery. WWE doctor Chris Amann told the website:
“We were able to look at an MRI, and it appears as though he has a groin injury that’s severe enough to require surgery. Fortunately for Alberto, the surgery is minimally invasive and the recovery time is usually four to six weeks.”
— Skip Sheffield defeated Michael McGillicutty in a dark match at tonight’s Raw SuperShow in Chicago, Illinois.
— Former WWE Diva Stacy Keibler is advertised to appear on the Rachael Ray Show this Friday. A listing for the talk show says she will be sharing her New Year’s Eve plans with actor George Clooney and her tips for staying slim.
— Beth Phoenix is advertised to appear at Motor Trend International Auto Show Baltimore Convention Center One West Pratt St. Baltimore, Maryland on February 11, 2012 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Paid Admission required. Event information is available here.
— Cable television ratings will be delayed this week due to the holiday weekend. The rating for last week’s SmackDown should be available Tuesday.
source: ProWrestling.net
— Ultimate Warrior is advertised to appear for PCW Wrestling. The event takes place Saturday, March 24, 2012 at the Oak Lawn Pavillion 9401 S. Oak Park Ave, Oak Lawn, Illinois.
The former WWE Champion will participate in an autograph signing at the event. Event information is available here.
— The Bella Twins have begun selling ring worn wrestling gear through their official website, NicoleandBrianna.com. Many of the items put up for sale last week have already sold out.
— The Miz appears at KMART 250 Floresta Blvd. San Leandro, California on January 15, 2012 starting at 10:00 a.m. Call 510-895-9055 for more information. Wristband Policy is in effect.
