8/12 WWE Raw Report

RAW kicks off as Daniel Bryan’s music has already hit and he makes his way down to the ring. Bryan climbs the turnbuckle to cheer with the fans as Wade Barrett awaits him in the ring. Wade Barrett suffered a rough beard shaving from Bryan last week on the show. Wade has shaved the rest of his face and even got a haircut for good measure.

Special Guest Referee: Brad Maddox
Wade Barrett v. Daniel Bryan

Bryan gets in a nice dropkick. Maddox is guest refereeing this match. Bryan slams Wade down to the mat and then places Wade’s ankle against the bottom rope and jumps on it to apply pressure. Wade slides out of the ring. Bryan connects with a baseball slide. Bryan then runs the apron for a knee but Barrett ducks and hits Bryan with a boot. Wade whips Bryan into the barricade. Maddox is counting in the ring.

Wade slides Bryan back to the inside. Wade pushes his foe into the corner and then stomps him to the ground. Wade lifts Bryan up so his stomach is laying over the ropes in the corner. Wade knees him in the gut and Bryan falls to the outside. Wade follows after and whips Bryan into the steel steps. Bryan is rolled back in and Wade follows after. Bryan punches Wade in the gut and gets to his feet. Bryan fires a few more punches. Wade takes him down with a snapmare and then applies a rear headlock. Bryan clotheslines Wade out of the ring. Bryan flies right out with a suicide dive.

Bryan tosses Wade back in the ring and climbs to the top rope to hit a missile dropkick. Bryan kick flips himself up. Wade knocks Bryan down and goes for the cover. Maddox swiftly makes the three count.

Winner: Wade Barrett

After the match Bryan is furious. He looks to Maddox and the crowd wants blood. Maddox pleads with Bryan not to attack. Despite the consequences Bryan is fed up with Brad. Bryan charges but Maddox rolls out of the ring for safety.

-Commercial-

Cody Rhodes sits on commentary for the next match. Damien Sandow comes down to the ring for his match sporting his new leather case for the Money in the Bank contract. Sandow also has handcuffs and locks his case to the side of the ring so that Cody can’t steal it.

Damien Sandow v. Randy Orton

Orton comes down to the ring with the RAW MitB case.

Sandow drops Orton to the mat and applies a side headlock. Orton gets back to his feet and pushes Sandow into the ropes. Sandow is caught with an Uppercut and is then smashed into the corner. Orton climbs up and delivers a ten count punch. Orton backs off and is hit with a boot. Sandow hits a few shoulder thrusts and then goes for a vertical suplex. Orton counters into a suplex of his own. Cover, but Sandow kicks out.

Orton continues the corner punches until he is whipped across the ring. Orton responds with a clothesline and cover. Damien kicks out. Sandow gets tossed to the outside as the show goes to commercial.

-Commercial-

Orton is pushed out of the corner and Sandow follows after. Sandow connects with some shoulder thrusts. Orton counters an Irish Whip with a boot. Orton is seated in the corner as he hits a few punches. Orton looks for a tornado DDT but Sandow pushes him to the outside. The action continues as Sandow hits a side Russian leg sweep. Sandow hits the Elbow of Disdain and goes for the cover. Orton kicks out. Sandow returns to a side headlock. Orton tries to escape but Sandow takes him down to the mat. Orton’s face begins to turn red as the choke intensifies.

Orton is able to escape by lifting Orton up for a side slam. Orton clotheslines Sandow and then looks for the powerslam. Sandow counters with a neckbreaker. Sandow covers but only gets a two count. Orton whips Sandow into the corner. Sandow charges back to Orton but gets caught by a snap scoop slam. Orton takes Sandow to the apron and connects with a suspended DDT. Orton looks for an RKO and the crowd is hyped. Sandow escapes by sliding out of the ring. Orton follows after but is backed against the apron. Sandow sends him back inside. Cody walks up to the handcuff briefcase and fidgets with the lock. Randy Orton capitalizes with an RKO.

Winner: Randy Orton

Cody Rhodes will face Damien Sandow at Summerslam.

-Commercial-

Dean Ambrose is in a tunnel with the rest of The Shield. Rollins says that the icons living for their old reputations need to move out of the way. The Shield is younger and hungrier. Reigns says that no one is on their level. Reigns challenges any two stars to come after the Tag Titles. Dean Ambrose drops a few clever lines in his promo and addresses the Battle Royal later on RAW. The winner will face Ambrose for the Title on RAW. Ambrose claims to be the unbeatable Champion and asserts that unless Andre the Giant’s ghost is in the Battle Royal tonight – no one can beat him.

-Commercial-

Video Package: Brock Lesnar addresses CM Punk

CM Punk is in the locker-room with Josh Mathews. Josh asks why Punk would agree to a match with Paul Heyman just a few weeks from Summerslam. Punk says that he knows that everything Heyman does has ulterior motives. Punk will be on his guard during the match tonight. Punk says that the best is the best.

The Great Khali & Natalya w/ Hornswoggle v. Big E. Langston & AJ Lee

AJ and Khali are in the ring at the start. Natalya comes in so the match can get underway. AJ takes her down with a spinning heel kick. Cover, but Natalya kicks out. Kaitlyn and Dolph Ziggler are watching on a monitor in the back. Together they will face AJ and Langston at Summerslam.

AJ continues the offense. She attempts another pin but isn’t able to end the match and tries a headlock. Natalya struggles to get to her feet. Hornswoggle is banging on the apron which distracts AJ. Natalya capitalizes with a Sharpshooter. AJ taps out but the referee bizarrely keeps the match continuing. Natalya even released the hold. Everyone looks at each other as the stench of awkwardness surrounds the ring. Natalya locks on the Sharpshooter again and this time the referee actually sees the finish occur.

Winners: The Great Khali & Natalya

After the match Khali and company celebrated. Langston tries to attack but is tossed out of the ring. The last minute of this match was incredibly awkward.

-Commercial-

Mr. McMahon’s music hits and he struts his way down to the ring. He plays a video clip to remind the audience of the finish in the Daniel Bryan/Wade Barrett match earlier in the evening. Vince believes that the fans deserve an explanation so he calls out Brad Maddox.

Maddox did not take the time to change out of his referee gear from 45 minutes ago. Maddox gets into the ring. Vince says that as the GM of RAW he can pretty much make whatever decisions he wants. Vince asks why he made himself the referee. Brad says that Daniel Bryan’s matches can get out of hand so he wanted to be in the ring and make sure everything was safe. Maddox says it has been quite a while since he last refereed and he may have been over excited. Vince concedes that everyone makes mistakes. Maddox asks for a second chance. Vince is intrigued. Maddox says that he wants to referee the Summerslam match between Daniel Bryan and John Cena. The crowd is not supportive of this suggestion. Vince asks if Brad would be a fair ref. Maddox assures him that he would be impartial. Vince also tells him that he can’t call Bryan any more names. Brad agrees. Vince officially announces that Brad Maddox will step forward to be the referee come Summerslam.

Triple H’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring. Vince tells Trips that he should go to the back if he came out here to air dirty laundry. HHH dismisses that notion. Trips says that he knows they haven’t been agreeing on much as of late. HHH does agree with Vince that someone should take control in this match. They need someone impartial and such. The problem is that Brad Maddox is not that person. HHH believes he himself should be the referee. Brad Maddox is greeted by a Pedigree. Vince heads out of the ring. Triple H will be the official guest referee at Summerslam for the match between John Cena and Daniel Bryan.

-Commercial-

Kane’s fire erupts and he makes his way down to the ring. Sunday Kane will face Bray Wyatt at Summerslam in a Ring of Fire match.

Kane v. Titus O’Neill w/ Darren Young

Kane knocks Titus down and then punches him in the corner. Kane hits a dropkick on a seated Titus. Kane pushes Titus back into the corner and delivers a few punches. Titus hits an uppercut. Kane whips him into the ropes and delivers a big boot. Kane finishes the match with a chokeslam.

Winner: Kane

The Wyatt Family is here.

As the lights come back on Kane is no longer in the ring. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan are baffled. Wyatt leaps out of his rocking chair and turns to see Kane on the top of the ramp. Kane raises and drops his arms to set off his pyro on the ring posts. Wade laughs as the lights go red and Kane’s music plays.

-Commercial-

Josh Mathews is in the back with The Bella Twins. He asks if there is tension in the locker room with the Bellas acting like they control the division. Bella nods in agreement. Natalya walks into the shot and challenges one of them to a match. The Funkadactyls approach for support. One of the Bellas slaps Natalya. Total Divas.

Kofi Kingston v. Alberto Del Rio

Kofi leaps around the ring to dodge a few attacks. Kofi hits a spin kick and goes for a cover. Alberto kicks out. Kofi jumps up on Rio in the corner for punches. Kofi hits an uppercut and goes for the cover. Alberto kicks out. Rio goes on the attack and hangs Kofi in the tree of woe. Rio hits a kick and then sets up for a reverse Superplex. Cover, but Kofi kicks out.

Alberto stays on the attack as the match continues. Kofi dodges a slide and looks to bounce back. Kofi seizes an opportunity and hits the SOS. Kofi misses a Trouble in Paradise but tries for a roll up. Alberto kicks out. Kofi leaps at Rio for a crossbody but is instead met with two knees. Rio locks on the Cross Arm Breaker to end the match.

Winner: Alberto Del Rio

-Commercial-

Josh Mathews is in the back with Christian. He begins talking about his match against Alberto Del Rio on Sunday. Rio walks into the shot and shouts something in Spanish.

Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger walk out to the ring with Zeb Colter. Zeb cuts a promo about the high life in California. He attacks the citizens for allowing millions of illegal immigrants into their state. He says that he has a California dream of his own. Zeb hopes California breaks off from the mainland and floats out to the middle of the Pacific.

-Commercial-

The Real Americans v. The Usos

Antonio starts the match against one of the Usos. Jack gets the tag and double teams with Cesaro. Cover but Usos kicks out. Cesaro and Swagger exchange a few tags. This crowd is completely dead. Swagger holds back Usos’s arms for a stretch. Cesaro is back and slams Uso to the mat. Another cover and another kick out. Cesaro gets behind Uso for a rear choke. Uso knees Cesaro in the face. Swagger gets the tag as does the other Uso.

It is Jimmy Uso in the ring as he cleans house and knocks Cesaro off the apron. Jimmy is fired up as he charges across the ring for a stink face. Cover, but Cesaro pulls Swagger out of the ring to make the save. Both Usos are in the ring and leap over the top to the outside. Swagger is rolled back into the ring. Uso goes to the top rope for a splash but Cesaro appears next to him. Uso kicks through his brother’s legs to knock Cesaro to the outside. He then tags himself into the match and rolls up a surprised Swagger.

Winners: The Usos

-Commercial-

MizTV with John Cena and Daniel Bryan

Miz is in the ring, which has been set up for a new edition of MizTV. Bryan is brought out first, followed by John Cena. Bryan puts over their match as something that the WWE Universe deserves. It is John’s turn to speak and the crowd boos. Cena first addresses Miz and says that he must be excited for tonight because usually the MizTV segment is usually a trainwreck. Cena is going to settle things with Daniel Bryan. Miz asserts that the feud became personal after last week. He asks Cena what his real issues are with Daniel Bryan. Cena says that there is no underlying theme. Their angle is about the WWE Championship. Miz thinks that Cena chose Bryan because of his popularity and because he knows that he can beat Bryan easily.

Bryan cuts Miz off and threatens to punch him in the face. Bryan says that he doesn’t understand why he doesn’t think he can beat him. Bryan tells Cena not to interrupt. Bryan explains that last week Cena got the crowd riled up. When the cameras are on Cena grabs the spotlight. Bryan says that Cena and people like Cena are why he doesn’t’ watch TV. They are in it for the fame, glory and money but not the wrestling. Bryan points out his shirt which is a parody of Cena’s The Champ is Here shirt. Bryan says it is a parody because he believes that Cena is a parody of wrestler. Bryan wants to be WWE Champion for one reason only – to prove that when he gets into the ring there is no one better than Daniel Bryan.

Cena takes off his shirt and hat as he sets down his belt. Cena holds onto his shirt as he responds. Cena says that he is not a parody. The reason that Bryan is out here is the same reason that Cena is out here – for the fans. Cena thought that Bryan would be smart enough to understand. Bryan and Cena are both empowered by the fact that other people admire them and believe in them. Cena says that WWE stars do what they do for the fans. Cena says that his shirt is not just about being a shirt. It is like the American flag. Wearing a Cena shirt is a sign of loyalty. And Cena is loyal to his fans. Cena says that parodies are something funny. Cena utters that Bryan is not the only person that has said these things about him. Cena notes ones who have said that he is the problem with the company or that he has five moves of doom. Cena says that he busts his ass for the kids in the front row and the Make a Wish Foundation kids. Cena uses a cancer victim as a prop to explain the dedication of his fans. Cena tells Bryan to be proud of everything he has accomplished in the company. But, Cena is also proud of what he has done. He has wrestled around the world for the past twelve years. Cena says that the difference between Cena and Bryan is not parody but a Championship. Cena tells Bryan to believe that he is only a parody because it will make it that much easier to beat him. Cena puts over his victims over the years.

Bryan tells Cena to wait because he is talking about his victims like they are so much better than Bryan. Someone from the crowd shouts, “they are”. Cena laughs at the heckle and stutters over his next line. Cena says that the Title is earned. If Bryan is good enough to win the Title on Sunday then he will also earn his respect. Bryan retorts that plain as day Cena just expressed his honesty. Cena does not respect Daniel Bryan. Cena is not treating this match like he did ones against Shawn Michaels or The Rock because he respected them. Bryan says that Cena has been Champion so many times that he can’t understand the passion of Bryan. Daniel says that this is just another Summerslam for Cena. For Bryan this is the biggest match of his life. Bryan shares a custom that he learned in Japan. Before a big match they psyche each other up by giving one another the hardest slap across the face that they can manage. Bryan says that he wishes so bad that he could do it right now. Bryan won’t do it because Cena is not a true wrestler so he does not deserve to participate in that great tradition. Cena drops his mic and tells Bryan to strike. Cena even slaps Bryan across the face and continues to egg him on.

Triple H’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring. Randy Orton’s music hits soon after and appears with his Money in the Bank case. They all stare each other down for a good bit.

Just to recap – if you don’t like John Cena you hate the American Flag and Cancer kids.

-Commercial-

Fandango’s music hits and he dances his way down to the ring. R-Truth also makes his way down. There is a referee in the ring and he watches on as Fandango and Summer dance. R-Truth then asks for his own music and starts dancing. Fandango is not amused and attacks Truth. Truth responds by leaping on Fandango and delivering some punches. The bell has not rung for this match. Truth knocks him out of the ring. Fandango grabs a mic from somewhere and says his name. No match has taken place and even JBL is wondering what that was all about.

-Commercial-

Paul Heyman is in a locker room with Curtis Axel. Curtis asks if Heyman is nervous for tonight’s match. Heyman just looks off in the distance with a gloomy expression.

-Commercial-

20 Man Over the Top Rope Battle Royal
Winner earns a shot at the WWE U.S. Title at Summerslam

Rob Van Dam is the first person out to the ring and Mark Henry is the last. Everyone charges at each other at the start and this is a free for all. Ryback lifts Justin Gabriel up into the air and tosses him out. Ryback soon clotheslines Darren Young out of the ring. Tensai and Ryback square off. Ryback clotheslines Tensai out of the ring. 3MB works together to toss one of the Usos out. Truth knocks out Fandango. Fandango goes back into the ring and takes out Truth. RVD sends Fandango back out where he belongs.

-Commercial-

Back from the break several Superstars were knocked out including 3MB and The Great Khali. Cesaro and Swagger knock someone out but Henry quickly comes over to the Real Americans. They avoid being pushed out and send Henry towards the corner. Titus meanwhile lifts up RVD. Rob spins free and sends Titus out. Cesaro is on the apron as Swagger tosses Kofi out. Kofi uses Cesaro to sunset flip but holds on and his feet never hit the floor. Antonio tries to kick Kofi out but still can’t get the upper hand. Finally, together, Cesaro and Swagger send Kofi out.

Rob Van Dam is hit with a strong spear from Ryback. Henry is working on Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger. They try to push him out but his strength is too great and they find themselves eliminated. Wade Barrett is the next victim to fall at the hands of Henry.

Ryback, Henry & RVD are the only competitors left. Ryback and Henry square off. RVD appears from the side and helps Henry send Ryback out of the ring. Either Rob Van Dam or Mark Henry will go on to face Dean Ambrose at Summerslam. Rob jumps on Henry’s back but is pushed into the corner. Rob jumps up to the top rope but Henry runs into the ropes and knocks him to the apron. Henry charges towards Rob. RVD pulls down on the top rope and Henry flies to the outside.

Winner & #1 Contender for U.S. Title: Rob Van Dam

After the match Henry gets back in the ring as the music of The Shield hits. They make their way down and surround the ring. The Shield has the upper hand with the numbers game. They circle the ring and begin to enter.

The Big Show’s music hits. The Shield did challenge any team of two to come for the Titles. It appears as though Big Show has joined Mark Henry’s side for that battle.

-Commercial-

Paul Heyman makes his way down to the ring. He is wearing dress pants and shirt with a vest. The top is unbuttoned. Heyman has also taped up his wrists. Heyman has a mic and tells the crowd that he does not blame CM Punk for what happened. He blames every single one of the fans. They took CM Punk away from him. So now tonight Heyman will take their hero away from them. Heyman says that all that he has heard in the last week is that he was setting a trap for CM Punk. Paul tells the audience that their imagination does not compare to his own. He admits that there is a trap but Heyman claims conspiracy. He shouts out to Punk that he did not come up with it all by himself. He was a co-conspirator with The Beast, Brock Lesnar.

Lesnar’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring. Paul Heyman draws the fans’ attention to a video package that he has put together.

Heyman talks to Lesnar and says that Punk’s need to be a hero will be his downfall. Heyman believes his trap is both evil and simple. He reveals the trap. Heyman says that he will fight Punk if he comes down to the ring right now. Heyman tells the referee that it will not just be a one on one match. Punk will also have to fight Lesnar. Heyman wants Punk to play the part of the hero. Paul does add that to play the hero would be stupid because it is a guaranteed beating just one week from Summerslam. Heyman says that Punk can either play the hero or hide in the back and disappoint the fans. Heyman is finished speaking and demands a response from Punk. Hero or coward?

CM Punk’s music hits. Punk does not appear on the entrance ramp. Instead he comes into the ring from behind. Punk grabs one of the cameras off of the shoulder of a crewmember. Punk smashes Lesnar with the camera. Lesnar rolls to the outside. Punk drops the camera and leaps out with a suicide dive on his PPV opponent. Punk next heads over to the timekeeper’s area and grabs a steel chair. Punk swings it across the back of Lesnar. Heyman gets into the ring as he has no escape route. Punk gets into ring and Heyman heads out. Punk follows after with a steel chair.

Curtis Axel runs up behind Heyman towards Punk. CM uses the steel chair to hit him in the gut. Axel gets tossed into the Titantron. Punk lifts him up and drops him down with a GTS on the entrance ramp. Punk shouts that he is the best in the world. This Sunday the best takes on the beast at Summerslam.