WWE RAW Results: April 2, 2012

Cena gets F-5ed up.

One night after the epic events of the greatest WrestleMania of all-time, the buzz of WrestleMania could still be heard as the 985th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW SuperShow came to you, live, from the American Airlines Arena in Miami, FL. In the “Once in a Lifetime” Match between The Rock and John Cena, The Rock walked away with the win in a hotly contested matchup, but where does the loss leave John Cena? Have we seen the end of this saga between Rock and Cena? We may find out as both The Rock and John Cena will be on RAW just one night after their unforgettable match. The “End of an Era” was brought forth at WrestleMania as The Undertaker narrowly survived the perils of Hell in a Cell to defeat Triple H in a conflicting, emotional, brutal, and unforgettable war of two icons, but the most iconic moment came after the match, when The Undertaker and Special Referee, Shawn Michaels, helped Triple H out of the ring before all three legends embraced on the stage. Now that Triple H has been defeated and The Undertaker is 20-0 at WrestleMania, what is next for these two ring warriors? After narrowly avoiding disqualification, which would cost him the title, CM Punk was able to make Chris Jericho submit to the Anaconda Vise to retain the WWE Championship and prove that he is the “best in the world”, but are things settled between Chris Jericho and the WWE Champion after all the personal insults Jericho has made about Punk and his family? Thanks to an unlikely and, seemingly, accidental assist by Eve, Team Johnny defeated Team Teddy at WrestleMania, earning John Laurinaitis total control of both RAW and SmackDown as the General Manager of both shows. How will the landscape of RAW and SmackDown change now that Laurinaitis has the reins? What fate awaits the former General Manager of SmackDown, Theodore Long? How will the members of Team Johnny be rewarded for leading their team’s namesake to victory?

Match Results

• United States Championship: Triple Threat Match: Santino Marella (c) def. Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger by pinning Jack Swagger following the Cobra Strike to retain.
• Lord Tensai (in his in-ring debut) def. Alex Riley after the referee stops the match.
• WWE Championship: Mark Henry def. CM Punk (c) by count-out. As a result, CM Punk (c) retains.
• Kofi Kingston (with Big Show) def. Cody Rhodes by pin following Trouble in Paradise.
• The Miz def. Zack Ryder by pin following the Skull Crushing Finale.

Detailed Results

RAW kicks off with every WWE Superstar, Diva, and referee waiting backstage before David Otunga arrives with the new General Manager of both RAW and SmackDown, John Laurinaitis. Laurinaitis states that he made “history” at WrestleMania before assuring the talent that he will “not abuse” his power. Laurinaitis then announces that the former captain of Team Teddy, Santino Marella, will defend the United States Title against Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger in a Triple Threat Match. Before Laurinaitis can continue, he is addressed by none other than WWE Champion CM Punk, who tells Laurinaitis that he and the majority of the talent still consider him a “giant toolbox”. Laurinaitis responds by making Punk defend the WWE Championship against “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry! Laurinaitis then adds that it is a “new era”, an era of “people power”. After booking two championship matches for RAW, what else does John Laurinaitis have in store for both RAW and SmackDown in his first week as General Manager of both shows?

After scoring an epic win over John Cena in the “Once in a Lifetime” Match just one night earlier at WrestleMania, RAW kicks off with the one, the only, “The People’s Champion” The Rock as the raucous Miami crowd erupts with adulation for The Rock! Rock proclaims that, finally, The Rock has come back “home” before Rock says that there is one man he has to thank and that is John Cena. Rock admits that Cena brought it to him “like never before” and it was an “honor” to face him and, win or lose, they made “history” and they did it for the fans. Rock continues that he has to thank the people and it is because of them that he is their “People’s Champion”. The Rock then “guaran-damn-tees” that it is just the “beginning”, saying that after WrestleMania, he kept having this “vision” and people told him that his vision was “impossible”, but he does not believe it. The Rock then says that his vision is to, one day, walk down the aisle as the WWE Champion once again!

Per the orders of RAW & SmackDown General Manager John Laurinaitis, the opening match of the night saw Santino Marella defend the United States Championship against Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger, with Vickie Guerrero in their corner, in a Triple Threat Match. During the match, the partnership between Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger would fall apart, allowing Santino Marella to take advantage, hitting the Cobra Strike on Jack Swagger en route to picking up the win, retaining the United States Title. After the match, Dolph & Swagger would attack Santino, but the United States Champion narrowly escapes and, with Dolph & Swagger in hot pursuit, Santino gets a new ally as “The Funkasaurus” Brodus Clay emerges! Dolph tries to take down Brodus, but Clay easily dispatches Dolph with a headbutt to the mid-section!

After weeks of vignettes, it was finally time for the WWE debut of Lord Tensai, who makes his way to the ring with Sakamoto, as the man formerly known as “Albert” and “A-Train” before his transformation over the last several years goes one-on-one with Alex Riley. In an absolutely dominant display, the super heavyweight Lord Tensai drove Alex Riley to the mat with a sitout powerbomb, leaving Riley in no condition to continue, forcing the referee to call for the bell, giving Tensai the win. After the match, the mysterious giant would spew liquid from his mouth onto his hand before clawing the skull of Riley, refusing to relinquish the unusual hold until the referee finally gets Tensai to stop.

After establishing himself as the “best in the world” against Chris Jericho at WrestleMania to retain the WWE Title, CM Punk would put the gold on the line again as Punk defends the WWE Championship against “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry, per the orders of RAW & SmackDown General Manager John Laurinaitis. During the match, Mark Henry blocks an attempted bulldog by CM Punk as Henry throws CM Punk to the outside of the ring. However, CM Punk is unable to make it back into the ring before the referee’s ten-count, ending the match in a count-out win for Mark Henry, though retaining the WWE Title for CM Punk. After the match, an irate Mark Henry flattens the WWE Champion with the World’s Strongest Slam on the arena floor! RAW & SmackDown General Manager John Laurinaitis then emerges, saying that the fans want to see CM Punk defend the WWE Title on a “consistent basis”, which he will. Laurinaitis then offers the ominous warning that there are some “dark clouds” in CM Punk’s future, dark clouds that will bring a “natural disaster”. Laurinaitis then makes his exit, but as Punk spits up blood from internal injuries on the outside of the ring, Chris Jericho emerges through the crowd, mockingly sympathizing for Punk. Jericho then says that after their match at WrestleMania, they should “celebrate with a drink”. Jericho then retrieves a bottle of liquor and says that he said would be the one to drive Punk to take his first drink. Jericho then dumps the booze all over the face of the straightedge champion before kicking Punk in the head. Jericho then grabs a second bottle of alcohol, smashing it over the head of the WWE Champion! How will CM Punk respond to the actions of Chris Jericho?

After making WrestleMania history by defeating Daniel Bryan in just eighteen seconds to win the World Heavyweight Title, the new World Heavyweight Champion, Sheamus, made an appearance on RAW! Before Sheamus can speak, he is interrupted by the return of “The Mexican Aristocrat” himself, Alberto Del Rio! Del Rio tells Sheamus that, just as fast as Sheamus won the title, he will lose it. Del Rio then names himself the new #1 Contender for the title, but Sheamus states that he is “glad” that Del Rio is out there because now he has the opportunity to create a moment that the fans will remember forever. Del Rio then informs the new champion that there is no need to pick a fight, because he already has one as RAW & SmackDown General Manager John Laurinaitis has informed him that, this Friday on SmackDown, Del Rio will go one-on-one with Sheamus and, if Del Rio wins, he will get a future shot at the World Heavyweight Title! Before he can continue, Del Rio has some technical issues with his microphone and, when Del Rio goes to get a new microphone, he turns around into a Brogue Kick from Sheamus! Can Alberto Del Rio defeat Sheamus on SmackDown to become the new #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title?

After his 233 day reign as Intercontinental Champion came to an end thanks to the new champion, Big Show, at WrestleMania, Cody Rhodes went one-on-one with Kofi Kingston. During the match, Big Show comes out as the new Intercontinental Champion presented an “embarrassing WrestleMania moment” from last night’s WrestleMania for Cody Rhodes. This distracts Rhodes long enough for Kofi Kingston to hit Trouble in Paradise on Rhodes en route to picking up the win.

Backstage, an enraged Mark Henry is confronted by Abraham Washington, who offers to manage the career of “The World’s Strongest Man”! Will Mark Henry accept Washington’s offer?

After costing Team Teddy the win at WrestleMania before turning on Zack Ryder, Eve appears on RAW as Eve says that she got her WrestleMania moment by low-blowing Zack Ryder. Eve continues that it is “easy” for her to “manipulate any man” with the exception of John Laurinaitis, because those with “power” cannot be manipulated.

After scoring the win for Team Johnny at WrestleMania, The Miz went one-on-one with the man he pinned at WrestleMania, “The Long Island Iced Z” Zack Ryder. In the end, it was The Miz hitting the Skull Crushing Finale on Zack Ryder en route to picking up the win.

One night after losing to The Rock in the “Once in a Lifetime” Match at WrestleMania, John Cena appears on RAW. Cena admits that he “never thought of losing”. Cena then says that, on the way to WrestleMania, he “talked a lot” and he meant every word of it and still does. Cena continues that “no one goes undefeated in life” before saying that there was a lot of speculation about his reaction, on whether or not he would “lash out” at the fans. Cena says that he will not do that before saying that he will “own up” to his loss to The Rock. Cena then assures everyone that last night’s WrestleMania will not be his last before saying that he is going to “wipe the slate clean” and move on in his career. Cena continues that he is not out there to call out The Rock, opting to “invite” The Rock to the ring instead. Cena says that, after WrestleMania, he considers Rock a “champion” and “the greatest WWE Superstar in this industry”. Cena then admits that The Rock was the “better man”, saying he would like to “congratulate” Rock on his victory.

However, the man who would emerge onto the stage was one who no one could have anticipated as, for the first time since 2004, former WWE and UFC Champion “The Next Big Thing” Brock Lesnar was on Monday Night RAW! Without a word, Brock methodically makes his way to the ring before walking up the steps and entering the ring. Lesnar then comes face-to-face with John Cena and, just when it looks like the two might shake hands, Lesnar hoists Cena up and drops Cena with a picture perfect F-5 right in the center of the ring! Why has Brock Lesnar returned to the WWE and why has Lesnar targeted John Cena?

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