WWE RAW Results: November 12, 2012

Title Tug-of-War.

Six nights before Survivor Series, the 1016th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. After suffering a near-fatal heart attack during the September 10 edition of RAW, the long and scary road to recovery is finally complete for Jerry “The King” Lawler as the Hall of Famer returns to Monday Nights to take his rightful position at the announcer’s desk! After learning last week that he will defend the WWE Championship against both Ryback and John Cena in a Triple Threat Match, WWE Champion CM Punk would go one-on-one with a man he has become very familiar with over the past year in the ten-time former champion, John Cena! Also, after appearing on last week’s RAW to explain why he went “rogue” and blatantly cost Ryback the WWE Title at Hell in a Cell, suspended referee Brad Maddox claimed that his actions were those of a man desperate to become a WWE Superstar, WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon gave Maddox an “opportunity” to do just that as Maddox will get a tryout match against none other than “The Sin City Cyborg” Ryback and, if Maddox somehow manages to defeat the mastodon, then Maddox will receive a million dollar contract to compete as a WWE Superstar!

Match Results

• Randy Orton def. Dolph Ziggler (with Alberto Del Rio) by roll-up.
• Dolph Ziggler & Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) def. Randy Orton & Kofi Kingston by Alberto Del Rio pinning Kofi Kingston following the step-up enziguiri.
• Non-Title: Big Show def. William Regal by pin following the chokeslam.
• #1 Contender’s Match for the Divas Title: Kaitlyn def. Layla by pin following a reverse neckbreaker to become the #1 Contender for the Divas Title at Survivor Series.
• 8-Man Tag: Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara, Tyson Kidd, & Justin Gabriel def. The Prime Time Players and Primo & Epico by Justin Gabriel pinning Darren Young following the 450 Splash.
• R-Truth def. Tensai by pin following the Little Jimmy.
• Million Dollar Contract on the Line: Ryback def. Brad Maddox by pin following Shell Shocked. As a result, Brad Maddox does not earn a contract.
• Sheamus def. David Otunga by pin following the Brogue Kick.
• Non-Title: Special Enforcer- Mick Foley: John Cena (with Ryback and Mick Foley) def. CM Punk (with Paul Heyman) by pin following the Attitude Adjustment.

Detailed Results

Before he joins Kofi Kingston, Team Hell No, and an unknown fifth teammate on Team Foley against Team Ziggler in a Traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Tag Match, “The Viper” Randy Orton would go one-on-one with the captain of Team Ziggler, “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” Dolph Ziggler in the opening match of the night. During the match, Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez rush to ringside as Del Rio serves as a temporary distraction for Randy Orton, but Dolph Ziggler fails to take advantage as “The Viper” counters Ziggler, catching Dolph with a roll-up for the win. After the match, Ricardo Rodriguez jumps on the back of Randy Orton, which kicks off a two-on-one assault from Dolph and Del Rio, but Kofi Kingston comes to the aid of his Team Foley teammate as Orton and Kofi work together to clear the ring. The Senior Advisor to SmackDown General Manager Booker T, Theodore Long, then comes out, saying that Vickie Guerrero is too busy obsessing over the AJ Scandal, so he will handle making the match. Long then announces an impromptu tag team match that saw Randy Orton and Kofi Kingston face Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio!

Per the orders of the Senior Advisor to Booker T, Theodore Long, Team Foley teammates “The Viper” Randy Orton and Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston would face Team Ziggler captain “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” Dolph Ziggler and teammate Alberto Del Rio, with Ricardo Rodriguez in their corner. In the end, it was a distraction from Ricardo Rodriguez that would allow Alberto Del Rio to hit the step-up enziguiri en route to picking up the win for himself and Dolph Ziggler.

With RAW Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero at his side, Dolph Ziggler states that he is not out there to “hide behind” for former manager, Vickie Guerrero, he is out there in support of the “truth”. Dolph then replays the “evidence” of the AJ Scandal that Vickie has produced over the last couple of weeks that shows questionable footage of John Cena and AJ Lee having dinner, getting in the same elevator, and two separate camera angles of Cena and AJ exiting their respective hotel rooms. With a deafening amount of boos nearly drowning her out, the Managing Supervisor of RAW, Vickie Guerrero, says that she could have suspended AJ Lee for her threats last week, but she is not a “vengeful person”. Vickie continues that she has even more evidence that AJ cannot deny before demanding that AJ come out to the ring and explain herself. A frustrated AJ Lee makes her way to the ring, asking Vickie why she is doing this, citing that Vickie has already gotten what she wanted by getting AJ fired and taking her place as the boss on RAW. Vickie interrupts, saying that AJ got herself fired, telling AJ to admit her affair with John Cena, but AJ says that she will not lie just because she is talking to Vickie Guerrero. Vickie says that she is AJ’s boss, advising AJ to be careful what she says because none of it will matter once she discloses her latest evidence. Vickie continues to pressure AJ Lee to admit that she had an affair with John Cena before AJ finally agrees!

AJ then says that she will reveal the “truth”, saying that she and John Cena are “just friends”! AJ continues that nothing inappropriate has ever happened between her and John Cena before telling Vickie to admit what this whole thing is really about, citing that her being named the RAW General Manager back in July, as well as “physically embarrassing” Vickie in the ring on a couple of occasions has fueled Vickie’s hatred of her and it is amplified by the fact that she could do it again any time she wants. AJ then accuses Vickie of throwing her weight around, adding that Vickie’s weight is quite “considerable”! Vickie responds by saying that AJ has really caused a “mess” for herself as she has been forwarded some “unsolicited” voice mails that will silence AJ and all of the non-believers. The first voice mail that Vickie presents was left by AJ, saying “Hey John. I’m so conflicted right now, but I need to be honest with you, before things go too far. What happened last night was a mistake. I’m sorry, John.” AJ does not deny her voice was the one on the voice mail, but says that she did not leave that voice mail. This leads Vickie to reveal another voice mail from AJ. This time, AJ states, “It’s me. We have to stop doing this. I want to stop, but, when I see you, I lose control.” A confused AJ Lee asks Vickie how she falsified those voice mails, but Vickie ignores the question and decides to play a third voice mail from AJ that says, “I want to be very clear about this, you drive me crazy. We should be together.” AJ then accuses Vickie of hacking into John Cena’s phone and editing the voice mails together, calling Vickie “desperate” and a “liar”. Dolph Ziggler then interjects, telling AJ that there will be “no more lying” as she cannot deny her affair any longer. Ziggler then mocks Cena by saying that AJ “can’t see” John Cena as Vickie cackles at his side. Dolph then asks AJ which was more “unsatisfying”, that she can’t have anything to do with John Cena or the nights she and Cena spent together in that hotel room. A heated discussion then gets even more heated as John Cena makes his way to the ring, ready to fight Dolph Ziggler. However, AJ Lee holds John Cena back so that she can get the first shot in as AJ slaps Dolph across the face before Cena drills Dolph with a right hand, sending Dolph out of the ring!

After getting knocked out twice by Big Show in the last week, the proud veteran, William Regal, went one-on-one with the World Heavyweight Champion, Big Show, in a non-title match. William Regal would manage to get a few good shots in on Big Show, but the World Heavyweight Champion was able to make easy work of the veteran, drilling Regal with a chokeslam en route to picking up the win. After the match, Big Show was ready to waylay Regal with another K.O. Punch, but Sheamus hits the ring, pummeling Big Show and sending the World Heavyweight Champion packing from the ring.

The new #1 Contender for the Divas Title would be determined on RAW as former champion Layla went one-on-one with Kaitlyn with Divas Champion Eve a guest on commentary. In the end, it was Kaitlyn planting Layla with a reverse neckbreaker en route to picking up the win and becoming the new #1 Contender for the Divas Title with a match against Eve for the title at Survivor Series.

After suffering a near-fatal heart attack during RAW nine weeks ago, WWE Hall of Famer and world-renowned wrestler and commentator Jerry “The King” Lawler would make his return to RAW and to his rightful position at the announcer’s desk. After being introduced by his colleagues, Jim Ross and Michael Cole, “The King” would embrace his two longtime partners before Cole and J.R. graciously give Jerry Lawler the floor to speak to the world. Lawler says that he cannot tell them how much all of the support means to him, thanking the fans and saying that he never thought that he would ever step into a WWE ring again. An emotional Lawler states that he had no idea how many fans and friends that he had who sent him their love and their prayers. Lawler then says that, from the bottom of his heart, he appreciates their supports and he loves each and every one of them. However, a happy moment is then cut short with the arrival of WWE Champion CM Punk and his associate, Paul Heyman. As Jerry Lawler sternly glares at him from ringside, CM Punk addresses the Hall of Famer, saying that he is glad that “The King” left the ring because, if Lawler did not, he was going to beat Lawler “to death”. The WWE Champion continues, calling Lawler a “zombie”, saying that what Lawler does is in “bad taste” when he tried to challenge CM Punk. Punk then tells Lawler “shame on you” for trying to steal the spotlight from him with Lawler’s “heart attack stunt”.

CM Punk then says that he has now been the WWE Champion for 358 consecutive days and has recently tied Diesel as the ninth longest reigning WWE Champion in history. Punk then vows that an even more impressive number will be 365 as, next week, he will still be the WWE Champion. Punk then tells Jerry Lawler not to “croak” before Survivor Series so that “The King” can see him successfully defend the WWE Title. Lawler responds by saying that the only thing on “life support” is CM Punk’s title reign. Then, in an unbelievably horrid act, Paul Heyman actually has a fake heart attack in the ring as Punk and Heyman laugh at Lawler’s expense.

“The Hardcore Legend” Mick Foley then interrupts the sick display as CM Punk tells Foley that they are no longer on opposing teams at Survivor Series, so Foley should worry less about Punk and worry more about the “gaping hole” on Team Foley. Foley then says that he is not worried about selecting the fifth and final member of Team Foley because he is leaving that up to the fans. The WWE Champion scoffs at the idea, telling Foley to change the name of his team to “Team Worthless” because Foley’s team is “worthless” and so is Foley and the fans! Foley then screams at CM Punk, saying that Jerry Lawler was “clinically dead” and it was nothing short of a miracle that he is alive. Foley continues that, when he was overseas visiting the troops last week and he learned of the changes made to his Survivor Series team, he wanted so desperately to be a part of the team that would teach Punk a lesson, but he now realizes that Punk only cares about himself and the WWE Title. Foley then vows that either Ryback or John Cena will take the WWE Title away from CM Punk at Survivor Series. Punk says that none of it involves Foley any longer, but Foley reveals that, before he came out there, he was informed that he will serve as the Special Enforcer for the main event match between CM Punk and John Cena!

Four of the WWE’s top tag teams were in 8-Man Tag action on RAW as the high-flying team of Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara, Tyson Kidd, & Justin Gabriel faced the team of The Prime Time Players and Primo & Epico, with Rosa Mendes in their corner. During the match, Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez, makes his way to ringside to deliver a note to Rosa, presumably from Del Rio. At the end of a chaotic match, it was Rey Mysterio hitting the 619 on Darren Young, setting Young up for the 450 Splash from Justin Gabriel en route to Gabriel picking up the win for the team.

After being told by CM Punk to “handle” all of the issues surrounding the WWE Champion, such as Mick Foley’s involvement in the main event and Brad Maddox’s presence, Paul Heyman has a secretive talk with the former referee backstage.

Backstage, an argument between Team Ziggler captain Dolph Ziggler and Team Foley captain Mick Foley leads to a tag team match for RAW pitting two members of Team Ziggler against two members of Team Foley. Without hesitation, Dolph puts Team Rhodes Scholars up for his end and Foley opts to put one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, Kane, and whoever the fans vote in as the fifth member of the team into the match! After Dolph exits, The Miz admits that they do not like each other, but he should be put on the ballot as a possible fifth member of Team Foley. Foley says that, even though Miz winning the favor of the fans is a longshot, he will put Miz on the ballot.

Before he challenges Antonio Cesaro for the United States Title at Survivor Series, R-Truth appeared on RAW as Truth is confronted by United States Champion Antonio Cesaro. Cesaro says that, much like the USA, R-Truth has become a “joke”, calling himself a “true super power”. With Antonio Cesaro a guest on commentary, R-Truth would go one-on-one with the super destroyer, Tensai. In the end, it was R-Truth dropping the super heavyweight with the Little Jimmy en route to picking up the win.

After last week’s explanation that he cost Ryback the WWE Title at Hell in a Cell to try and make an “impact” big enough to get him a WWE contract, disgraced former referee Brad Maddox would have the opportunity of a lifetime as he would go one-on-one with “The Sin City Cyborg” Ryback and, if Maddox finds some way to defeat the goliath, he will earn a million dollar contract to compete as a WWE Superstar! As Brad Maddox makes his way to the ring, an ambulance backs into the arena as someone has prepared for Maddox’s destruction with EMT’s also positioned at ringside with a stretcher, ready to take action! As expected, Ryback absolutely dominates Brad Maddox, methodically enjoying every moment of the beating. Despite being completely decimated, Maddox would refuse to forfeit his million dollar opportunity, but “The Sin City Cyborg” would not have it any other way as Ryback drills Maddox with the Meat Hook clothesline and follows it up with Shell Shocked, putting Maddox down for the inevitable three-count. After the match, the EMT’s load Brad Maddox onto the stretcher, but Ryback scares the medical personnel away before turning the stretcher over on the arena floor. Ryback then continues the annihilation, slinging Maddox into the ringside barricade and leveling the former referee with another Meat Hook clothesline. “The Sin City Cyborg” then carries Maddox to the awaiting ambulance, slamming Maddox into the back of the ambulance before loading Maddox into the ambulance, which drives away to a local medical facility!

Six nights before he challenges new champion Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship, “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus went one-on-one with David Otunga on RAW. Sheamus would make easy work of the Harvard Law graduate, blasting David Otunga with the Brogue Kick en route to picking up the win. After the match, Sheamus addresses Big Show, vowing to smash Big Show in the skull with the Brogue Kick and regain the World Heavyweight Title. However, Big Show appears on the Titan Tron as the World Heavyweight Champion is assaulting Sheamus’ friend, William Regal, as Big Show pummels Regal before dropping Regal with the K.O. Punch!

Then it was time to find out who the fifth and final member of Team Foley would be as the WWE fans overwhelmingly voted The Miz into the match with 60% of the votes, beating out Zack Ryder and Santino Marella. The final member of Team Foley, The Miz, would then team with one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, “The Big Red Monster” Kane to face two-fifths of Team Ziggler, Team Rhodes Scholars, Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow with Kane’s tag team partner, Daniel Bryan, at ringside. During the match, Daniel Bryan’s jealousy leads to him trying to attack The Miz on the outside, but Miz dodges the attack, instead sending Daniel Bryan careening into Cody Rhodes, who collides with the steel ring post. Miz then rolls Rhodes back into the ring before Kane drills Rhodes with a chokeslam en route to picking up the win for himself and The Miz.

Then it was time for the main event as ten-time former champion John Cena would go one-on-one with WWE Champion CM Punk, with Paul Heyman in this corner, in a non-title match with none other than Mick Foley serving as the Special Enforcer for the match! During the match, John Cena would lock in the STF on CM Punk, but Paul Heyman would enter the ring, prompting Special Enforcer Mick Foley to take action as Foley grabs Heyman by the ankles, dropping Heyman face-first! After managing to get to the ropes after again being locked in the STF, CM Punk tries to make a quick retreat from the ring, but the presence of Ryback prevents the escape as John Cena takes Punk back to the ring, hitting the Attitude Adjustment before pinning the WWE Champion for the win! After the match, Cena would come face-to-face with Ryback with the WWE Title belt lying in between the two powerhouses. Ryback would then bend over to pick up the title belt, but so would Cena, leading to both men holding each side of the belt, both trying to tug it in their respective directions. A distressed CM Punk then gets on the ring apron, telling both men, “it’s mine”, but Cena and Ryback ignore the champion and continue staring each other down.

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