WWE RAW Results: April 8, 2013

“How About a Heel Turn?”

One night after “The Showcase of the Immortals” WrestleMania 29, the 1037th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW came to you, live, from the Izod Center at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, NJ. After finally exercising his demons by defeating The Rock for the WWE Championship on “The Grandest Stage of Them All”, the brand new eleven-time WWE Champion John Cena would appear, live on RAW, as the WWE Champion for the first time in nearly two years! Also at WrestleMania, Triple H waged an absolute war with Brock Lesnar in a No Holds Barred Match as both ring warriors absolutely destroyed each other, but in the end, it was a sledgehammer shot and the Pedigree on the steel steps that would secure the victory for “The Game” and, more importantly, keeping Triple H’s career intact and, for the first time since his brutal victory over “The Beast”, Triple H would appear on RAW. At WrestleMania, CM Punk brought his A-game against The Undertaker, using every tactic in his arsenal to try and end the undefeated WrestleMania streak of “The Phenom”, but as The Undertaker has done for the last two decades, “The Deadman” survived the onslaught, putting CM Punk at number 21 on his list of WrestleMania victims. What will CM Punk have to say following his loss at the hands of The Undertaker? What is next for the self-proclaimed “Best in the World”?

Match Results

• Big E. Langston (with Dolph Ziggler & AJ Lee) def. Daniel Bryan (with Kane) by pin following the Big Ending.
• Intercontinental Championship: Wade Barrett def. The Miz (c) by pin following the Bull Hammer Elbow to win the Intercontinental Title.
• 2-on-1 Handicap Match: Alberto Del Rio def. Jack Swagger & Zeb Colter by Jack Swagger tapping out to Alberto Del Rio’s cross armbreaker.
• World Heavyweight Championship: Dolph Ziggler def. Alberto Del Rio (c) by pin following the Zig Zag to win the World Heavyweight Title.
• 6-Man Tag: R-Truth, Zack Ryder, & Santino Marella def. 3MB by Santino Marella pinning Heath Slater following the Cobra Strike.
• Winner Faces Big Show: Sheamus and Randy Orton fight to a No Contest after Big Show comes out.
• Fandango def. Kofi Kingston by DQ after Chris Jericho interferes.
• 8-Person Mixed Tag Match: Tons of Funk & The Funkadactyls def. Team Rhodes Scholars & The Bella Twins by Brodus Clay pinning Damien Sandow following the double Funkasplash.
• Non-Title: John Cena def. Mark Henry by count-out.

Detailed Results

With a chorus of “boos” filling the arena, RAW kicks off with the man who defeated The Rock at WrestleMania 29 to become the brand new WWE Champion, John Cena. The reigning eleven time WWE Champion says that it should be every Superstar’s “dream” to be in the main event of WrestleMania, saying that, when you win in the main event of WrestleMania, you get to soak in the “respect” and the “cheers” of the fans. Cena continues, telling the fans that they’ve known each other for ten years and he can tell that they are a little “angry”. Cena says that the fans are upset because WrestleMania is over and, as the crowd chants “boring” at Cena, Cena says that the RAW after WrestleMania is always legendary, recalling the RAW after last year’s WrestleMania when Brock Lesnar made his return, leaving Cena laid out. “The Champ” then pitches the idea of doing a “championship dance”, proposing some moves to the raucous crowd, asking if they want a little “heel turn”! Cena says that two warrior went to war in the main event of WrestleMania and The Rock was even injured during their match, but now he can proclaim that “the champ is here”! As the crowd stirs up a less-than-flattering chant directed at Cena doing the “same old” material, Cena says that he is not dropping any balloons here tonight, he is going to be a fighting champion and he will defend the WWE Championship on RAW tonight! The new WWE Champion then says that he does not care who wants a shot, whether it be Randy Orton or CM Punk, but this brings out “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry, who looks ready to take Cena up on his challenge. Mark Henry tells Cena that, the problem with asking for trouble, is that you get what you ask for. As the crowd chants “sexual chocolate” at Mark Henry, Henry says that he “destroyed” Ryback at WrestleMania and, the way he sees it, they need to have a match. Cena does not back down from “The World’s Strongest Man”, saying that, if Mark Henry wants a shot at him and the WWE Championship, then he’s got it!

The newly inducted WWE Hall of Famer and SmackDown General Manager Booker T comes out, saying that he will not have Cena coming out there and making his own championship matches. Booker then states that the fact of the matter is that, as the former champion, The Rock is entitled to a rematch for the WWE Title, so The Rock is the #1 Contender for the WWE Title. As the crowd voices their disapproval, Booker T tells Mark Henry that, if Mark Henry can defeat John Cena in a non-title match tonight, then Mark Henry will earn himself a future shot at the WWE Championship! Mark Henry then tells John Cena that he will put Cena in the Hall of Pain tonight, so Cena better bring his “A-game”.

After he and Dolph Ziggler failed to capture the WWE Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 29, Big E. Langston would make his one-on-one in-ring debut as, with Dolph Ziggler & AJ Lee in his corner, Langston went one-on-one with one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, Daniel Bryan, with Kane in his corner. During the match, AJ Lee would distract the referee, allowing Dolph Ziggler to knock Daniel Bryan off of the top rope. However, Dolph then gets too close to Kane and Kane grabs Ziggler by the throat, but before Kane can plant “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” with a chokeslam, Big E. Langston tosses Daniel Bryan onto Kane, breaking up the fight. Shortly after this, Dolph rolls Daniel Bryan back into the ring where Langston hits the Big Ending on Bryan en route to picking up the win.

One night after making Wade Barrett tap out to the Figure-Four Leg Lock on the WrestleMania 29 Pre-Show to win the Intercontinental Title for a second time, new Intercontinental Champion The Miz would defend the title in a rematch against the former champion, Wade Barrett. During the intense match, Wade Barrett managed to survive The Miz’s Figure-Four Leg Lock by making it to the ropes. Shortly after this, a collision with the steel ring post would set The Miz up perfectly for the Bull Hammer Elbow as Wade Barrett puts “The Awesome One” down, pinning The Miz to become the new Intercontinental Champion just one night after losing the title!

Backstage, Randy Orton confronts WWE Hall of Famer and SmackDown General Manager Booker T, demanding a one-on-one match with Big Show on RAW. The GM informs “The Viper” that RAW Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero has already put Sheamus in a match against Big Show later tonight. However, Randy Orton uses flattery to his advantage, saying that Booker is not only a Hall of Famer, but he is also an actual General Manager while Vickie is just a Managing Supervisor. The ploy works as Booker overrules Vickie by booking Randy Orton vs. Big Show for later on in the evening!

After making Jack Swagger tap out to the cross armbreaker to successfully retain the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania, the World Heavyweight Champion would be in for another tough fight on RAW as Alberto Del Rio, with the hobbled Ricardo Rodriguez in his corner, would face “The Real American” Jack Swagger & “The Founding Father” Zeb Colter in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match. Throughout the match, Alberto Del Rio would repeatedly find himself locked in the Patriot Lock of Jack Swagger and, despite barely being able to stand, Del Rio would catch Swagger with the cross armbreaker, leaving Swagger no choice but to tap out as Del Rio picks up the win. After the match, Ricardo Rodriguez and a WWE Physician enter the ring to check on the ankle of Alberto Del Rio as the champion is unable to stand on his own two feet. The crowd then comes unglued when Dolph Ziggler’s music hits as, with AJ Lee & Big E. Langston in tow, Ziggler marches down to the ring, handing the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase over to the referee, cashing in his Money-in-the-Bank contract for a guaranteed World Heavyweight Title match! The referee first checks on Alberto Del Rio, who tells the official that he is ready to defend the title and, with that, the impromptu match for the World Heavyweight Championship is underway! Ziggler immediately targets the injured leg of Del Rio, kicking and pummeling the leg before dropping Del Rio with the Fame Asser, but Del Rio somehow manages to kick out. Undeterred, Ziggler returns to assaulting the injured leg, but Del Rio manages to fight back, hitting the enziguiri on Ziggler, but Dolph kicks out to the pin attempt that follows. Del Rio then locks in the cross armbreaker on Ziggler, but Dolph frantically pulls at the injured leg of Del Rio, forcing Del Rio to break the hold. Dolph then measures Del Rio, hitting the Zig Zag on Del Rio and pinning Del Rio to become the brand new World Heavyweight Champion!

One night after defeating CM Punk in a war at WrestleMania 29 to increase his undefeated WrestleMania streak to a staggering 21-0, “The Phenom” himself, The Undertaker, made a rare appearance on RAW! The Undertaker states that he dedicated his match at WrestleMania to the memory of Paul Bearer, but before “The Deadman” can continue, he interrupted by the trio known as The Shield! Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns then surround the ring, targeting their biggest Superstar to date, but before The Shield can get their hands on The Undertaker, the WWE Tag Team Champions rush to the aid of “The Phenom” as The Undertaker’s brother, Kane, and his tag team partner, Daniel Bryan stand tall with “The Deadman” in the center of the ring, forcing The Shield to rethink their attack and retreat through the crowd!

In 6-Man Tag action, 3MB, Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal, & Drew McIntyre, would face the team of R-Truth, Zack Ryder, & Santino Marella on RAW. In the end, it was Santino Marella hitting the Cobra Strike on Heath Slater en route to picking up the win for his team.

Backstage, an argument erupts between Sheamus and Randy Orton as Sheamus accuses Orton of taking the match against Big Show away from him behind his back while Orton tries to explain that he made a mistake in thinking that they could form a functional team with Big Show, so he wants to make it right. However, Sheamus tells Orton then he will handle it, storming out of the locker room!

After he and Randy Orton were both leveled by the K.O. Punch of Big Show at WrestleMania, “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus comes out to the ring, asking the fans if they want to see him face Big Show tonight, asking Vickie Guerrero to come out there and sort things out. Instead, Sheamus gets Randy Orton as “The Viper” says that, while Sheamus is out there “begging for support”, he knows that Big Show is his tonight. Orton then polls the crowd himself, asking who wants to see him face Big Show later tonight.

The fans then text in their votes and, with 77% of the votes, the fans vote that Randy Orton will be the one facing Big Show. Despite the votes cast by the fans, the Managing Supervisor of RAW Vickie Guerrero and the General Manager of SmackDown Booker T come out, announcing that, tonight, Sheamus will go one-on-one with Randy Orton and the winner will face Big Show and the match will happen right now. Throughout the match, the crowd chants everything from “JBL” to “Cole” to “ECW” to “Randy Savage”, but in the middle of a hotly-contested match, Big Show comes out to ringside, sending Sheamus face-first into the steel ring post. As the crowd chants “thank you Big Show”, Big Show enters the ring, leaving Randy Orton lying with the K.O. Punch! The giant then drags Randy Orton out to the ringside area, sending “The Viper” into the ringside barricade before annihilating Orton with a vicious Spear on the outside of the ring! Big Show then takes Orton and completely hurls Orton over the announce table and into the ringside barricade behind the table! “The World’s Largest Athlete” then clears the area before stomping on Orton’s head, finally walking away and leaving Orton laid out on the floor.

After his surprising victory in his debut match at WrestleMania, where he defeated Chris Jericho, Fandango was in action on RAW as “The Dancing Enigma” went one-on-one with Kofi Kingston. In the middle of the match, Chris Jericho rushes out to get a piece of Fandango, pummeling the dancing Superstar and sending over the top rope. Jericho then follows Fandango to the outside, sending Fandango into the ringside barricade before sending Fandango shoulder-first into the steel ring steps. Jericho then rolls Fandango back into the ring, delivering right hands to Fandango before locking “The Dancing Enigma” in the Walls of Jericho, refusing to release the hold! Referees are finally able to pull Jericho off of Fandango, but Jericho puts an exclamation point on the assault by dropping Fandango with the Codebreaker! Even after taking a beating, Fandango still makes it a point to correct ring announcer Justin Roberts on how to correctly pronounce his name as the bizarre crowd actually hums along with Fandango’s entrance theme.

In a match that was originally slated for WrestleMania, Tons of Funk & The Funkadactyls would face Team Rhodes Scholars & The Bella Twins in an 8-Person Mixed Tag Match. At the end of a bizarre and chaotic match, it was both Brodus Clay & Tensai hitting the Funkasplash on Damien Sandow en route to Brodus pinning Sandow to pick up the win for Tons of Funk & The Funkadactyls.

Then it was time for the main event as the new WWE Champion, John Cena, would go one-on-one with “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry in a non-title match and, if Mark Henry wins, then he will earn a future shot at the WWE Championship. It would not take long for the match to spill to the outside of the ring as Mark Henry would rip apart the announce table, trying to put the WWE Champion through the table with the World’s Strongest Slam. However, Cena would fight out of it and would send “The World’s Strongest Man” into the steel steps. Cena then rolls back into the ring, narrowly beating the referee’s ten-count, but Henry was not as fortunate as Henry fails to get back into the ring in time and Cena wins the match via count-out. Cena’s was not over, however, as Mark Henry re-enters the ring, squashing the WWE Champion with the World’s Strongest Slam, holding the WWE Title belt above his head! Mark Henry’s WrestleMania opponent, Ryback, then marches to the ring, taking it to “The World’s Strongest Man” and dropping Mark Henry with a thunderous spinebuster before Henry makes a quick exit from the ring. Ryback then sets his sights on John Cena, but instead of attacking the WWE Champion, Ryback helps Cena to his feet. Ryback then chants “feed me more” to the fans with Cena joining in on the chant, but then, in a shocking turn of events, Ryback turns on John Cena, leveling the WWE Champion with the Meat Hook Clothesline before slamming Cena down with Shell Shocked! Ryback then holds the WWE Title belt up high, letting the world know that he wants the WWE Championship and will get it by any means necessary.

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