8/26/13 Monday Night Raw Recap

We go live into the arena, where The Shield is standing guard at ringside. Triple H’s music hits, and the COO makes his way to the ring. He takes us back to the business decision at SummerSlam, where he Pedigreed Daniel Bryan and allowed Randy Orton to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase. He then takes us back to last Monday’s Raw, where The Shield beat down Bryan and Orton delivered an RKO to Bryan to end Raw. He says that was personal. He says he has Bryan get beat down because of his actions. Triple H says Bryan made it personal when he insulted Stephanie McMahon and his family. Triple H says he is willing to be the bigger man and is willing to be a businessman with Bryan. Triple H brings up the ratings and says they were “through the roof” and that business is booming because of Orton. He brings Orton to the ring. Triple H congratulates Orton on breathing new life into the WWE. Triple H says he got Orton a little gift, and the crowd starts the “No!” chant. Triple H says he got Orton a new Escalade. Orton thanks him and says he deserves to be the face of the WWE. Orton goes to leave the ring, but Bryan’s music hits and he comes to the stage. Bryan says the car is well-deserved since Orton worked so hard for the WWE Championship. Bryan thanks everybody in the WWE Universe for believing in him and supporting him. Bryan thanks John Cena again, as well and says that Triple H would have never given him that opportunity. Lastly, Bryan thanks Triple H for ending the charade and showing his true colors at SummerSlam. He calls Triple H as narrow-minded and short-sighted as Vince McMahon. Bryan calls Triple H a “sellout in a suit” who thumbs his nose at the WWE Universe. Orton says Bryan needs to think about who he is talking to and needs to show them the respect they deserve. Bryan says at Night of Champions, the face of the WWE is going to be rearranged along with Triple H’s vision of the future, because he will become the new WWE Champion. Bryan leads the crowd in a “Yes!” chant, but Triple H interrupts. Triple H calls Bryan Jiminy Cricket and sings “When You Wish Upon a Star.” Triple H says Bryan is not an A-player, but is a B at best. Triple H says Bryan will go one-on-one with Seth Rollins tonight, and then he can go one-on-one with Dean Ambrose, and then he can go one-on-one with Roman Reigns. Triple H says he believes in Bryan and believes that this is what is best for business.

We see a video replay of the brawl between CM Punk and Curtis Axel last week. We see that they will go one-on-one with tonight, with an added stipulation. The choices are: Paul Heyman banned from ringside, Heyman as the Special Guest Referee, or if Punk beats Axel, Heyman has to step into the ring with Punk. We head to a commercial break.

We’re back and we see that Rob Van Dam and Alberto Del Rio will go one-on-one later tonight.

Damien Sandow has joined the commentary team for the following match.

Match #1: Cody Rhodes vs. Fandango (w/Summer Rae)
They tie up and Rhodes takes Fandango down with a high elbow. Rhodes sends Fandango to the ring apron, but Fandango kicks Rhodes in the head. Fandango’s music hits and The Miz comes out and dances with Rosa Mendes. Rhodes rolls Fandango up from behind and gets the pin fall.
Winner: Cody Rhodes.
After the match, Fandango attacks Rhodes and Sandow joins the fray. The Miz helps Rhodes and Brad Maddox comes to the stage. He makes a tag team match with Rhodes and Miz vs. Sandow and Fandango that starts right now. We head to a commercial break.

Match #2: Cody Rhodes and The Miz (w/Rosa Mendes) vs. Damien Sandow and Fandango (w/Summer Rae)
Fandango slams Rhodes in the corner and then tags in Sandow. Sandow stomps away on Rhodes and delivers the Cobito Acquiet. Rhodes comes back and takes Sandow down and tags in Miz. Miz drops Sandow and kicks Fandango to the floor. Miz rolls up Sandow and gets a two count. Miz works over Sandow’s knee as Fandango and Summer Rae walks away. Sandow tries to fight back, but Rhodes trips him up and Miz drops him with the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin fall.
Winners: The Miz and Cody Rhodes.

We are reminded of the CM Punk/Curtis Axel match later tonight, which the WWE Universe can vote on the stipulation for, as we head to a commercial break.

We’re back and Josh Mathews is interviewing Christian. Mathews asks Christian his opinion on how Triple H is running things. Christian tries to avoid the question, but Randy Orton interrupts. Orton says he will hit Christian with an RKO tonight. Christian says he knew Triple H likes playing with sledgehammers, but it looks like he found a new tool now. Orton tells Christian he will see him out there and walks away.

We get an interactive interview with CM Punk, where he says he hopes Paul Heyman is forced to step into the ring with him. We see Curtis Axel and Heyman backstage, and Heyman can’t believe the stipulation is up to the WWE Universe. Axel says he will take care of everything and asks Heyman if he trusts him. Heyman says like his life depends on it. Punk vs. Axel is after the commercial break.

It is revealed that if Punk defeats Axel, Heyman will have to get into the ring with Punk.

Match #3: CM Punk vs. Curtis Axel
Punk controls the match early on and takes Axel down with a headlock. Punk goes for the cover, but Axel kicks out at two. Punk and Axel go to the outside, and Punk runs towards Heyman. Heyman runs away and Axel clubs Punk from behind. Axel slams Punk into the ring apron and then tosses him back into the ring. Axel stomps away on Punk, but Punk comes back and takes control of the match as we head to a commercial.
We’re back and Punk is still in control. He slams Axel down to the mat and goes up top. Punk connects with the Macho Man elbow drop and goes for the cover, but Axel kicks out at two. Punk sets up for the Go To Sleep, but Axel fights out. Axel slams Punk to the mat and goes for the cover, but Punk kicks out at two. Punk catches Axel out of nowhere with the GTS and gets the pin fall.
Winner: CM Punk.
After the match, Heyman tries to leave, but referees stops him. Punk goes after him, but he tries to run again. Security guards bring him back and hand him to Punk. Punk tosses him into the ring. Punk backs Heyman into the corner, but Axel delivers a low-blow to Punk. Punk grabs a pair of handcuffs and hands them to Axel. Axel handcuffs Punk’s hand behind his back. Heyman gets Punk and slaps him across the face a few times. Heyman tells Punk to fight him and Punk kicks Axel in the head. Punk trips Heyman and kicks him a few times, but Axel hits him on the back with a steel chair. Axel rolls out of the ring and grabs a kendo stick. Axel hands the kendo stick to Heyman, who nails Punk on the back with it as Punk tells him to “make it count.” Axel holds Punk against the ropes and Heyman nails him in the midsection with a series of shots with the kendo stick. Axel slams Punk into the announce table and decks him with a right hand. Heyman goes to the outside and hits Punk with the kendo stick several more times before the trainers and referees come out to check on Punk.

We’re back and we take a look back at what just happened between CM Punk, Curtis Axel, and Paul Heyman.

Match #4: Brie Bella (w/Eva Marie and Nikki Bella) vs. Natalya (w/The Funkadactyls)
Natalya backs Brie into the corner and delivers a few kicks. Brie trips Natalya up and then stomps away on her in the corner. Brie drops a knee into Natalya’s back and used the five count to her advantage. Brie applies a submission in the middle of the ring, but Natalya reverses and locks in the Sharpshooter. Brie crawls to the ropes as Eva Marie distracts the referee. Nikki pulls Brie to the ropes and The Funkadactlys go after Nikki and Eva. Brie plants Natalya with a face-buster and gets the pin fall.
Winner: Brie Bella.
After the match, AJ Lee’s music hits and she comes to the stage. She says Total Divas was insane and makes fun of all of the Divas on the show. She then makes fun of the show and says she sees a bunch of cheap, interchangeable, useless women who turned to reality television because they aren’t talented enough to be a Champion. AJ says she has done more in one year than all of them in their careers. She calls them all fake and plastic and says they were all handed fifteen minutes of fame. AJ says she earned everything and got here because she is good. AJ says none of them will ever be able to lace up her Chuck Taylor’s and they are all worthless excuses for women. AJ says they will never be able to touch her and that is reality.

We take a look back to last week’s Raw, when Ricardo Rodriguez introduced his new client, Rob Van Dam, to Alberto Del Rio. We see Van Dam and Ricardo backstage. Van Dam and Del Rio will go one-on-one after the commercial break.

Match #5: Alberto Del Rio vs. Rob Van Dam (w/Ricardo Rodriguez)
Van Dam takes Del Rio down and blocks a punch. Van Dam sets Del Rio on the top rope and then kicks him down to the floor as we head to a commercial.
We’re back and Del Rio is in control as Cole informs us that if Van Dam wins tonight, he will get a World Heavyweight Championship match at Night of Champions. Van Dam comes back and exchanges right hands with Del Rio. Van Dam kicks Del Rio in the face and connects with Rolling Thunder. Van Dam goes for the cover, but Del Rio kicks out at two. Del Rio comes back, but Van Dam kicks him in the face. Van Dam connects with the split-leg moonsault, but Del Rio kicks out at two. Van Dam elbows Del Rio and kicks him in the face. Van Dam goes up top for the Five-Star Frog Splash, but Del Rio knocks him down and connects with the enzuiguri. Del Rio goes for the cover, but Van Dam kicks out at two. Ricardo gets on the announce table and gets the crowd to chant “RVD” and it distracts Del Rio. Van Dam rolls up Del Rio and gets the pin fall.
Winner: Rob Van Dam.

We go back to last week’s Raw, where John Cena said he will be taking four to six months off to recover from surgery for a partially torn triceps. We then see photos of Cena with Dr. James Andrews before and after the surgery.

We are reminded that Daniel Bryan will run the gauntlet against The Shield later tonight as we head to a commercial break.

We’re back and Josh Mathews is backstage with Ryback. Mathews tells Ryback that everyone is saying he is bullying everyone. Ryback laughs and grabs Mathews and makes him go to the floor. Ryback says he finally found a way to shut Mathews up.

We take a look back at the beat down that CM Punk received from Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman earlier tonight. We see Heymand and Axel walking backstage and Renee Young stops them. She asks Heyman for his thoughts about what happened earlier tonight. Heyman says he feels like a man that put his prodigal son in his place. He says now Punk knows that Paul Heyman is not a man to mess with.

Match #6: Christian vs. Randy Orton
Christian takes control early on and dumps Orton to the outside. Christian delivers a baseball slide dropkick to Orton and goes to the outside after him. Christian tosses Orton back into the ring and goes for the cover, but Orton kicks out at two. Christian goes up top and dives off, but Orton moves out of the way. Orton takes Christian down with a dropkick and delivers a series of right hands down on the mat. Orton stomps on Christian and then chokes him over the bottom rope. Orton drapes Christian over the top rope and delivers a high knee that sends Christian down to the floor. Orton poses in the ring and then drags Christian back into the ring. Orton stomps away on Christian and then drops a knee. Orton goes for the cover, but Christian kicks out at two. Orton applies a headlock down on the mat, but Christian fights to his feet. Orton goes for a slam, but Christian escapes. Orton delivers a headbutt and goes for the cover, but Christian kicks out at two. Orton clubs Christian on the chest and goes back to the headlock. Christian fights back and elbows Orton in the face. Christian goes up top, but Orton shoves him off the top rope and down to the floor as we head to a commercial.
We’re back and Christian is fighting back into the match. Christian goes for the Killswitch, but Orton fights out. Christian goes up top and takes Orton down with a missile dropkick. Christian goes for the cover, but Orton kicks out at two. Christian delivers an uppercut and gets back into the ring, but Orton counters and delivers a DDT. Orton sets up for the RKO, but Christian counters and slams Orton to the mat. Christian sets up for the Spear, but Orton goes over the top. Christian Spears Orton anyway and goes for the cover, but Orton kicks out at two. Orton shoves Christian into the corner, but Christian counters and goes for the Killswitch. Orton fights out and shoves Christian towards the referee. Christian turns around and Orton sticks a thumb in Christian’s eye. Orton hits the RKO and gets the pin fall.
Winner: Randy Orton.
After the match, Daniel Bryan appears on the TitanTron. He says Orton is right; he is the face of the WWE. Bryan says Orton received a pretty car for being a pretty man earlier. Bryan says if he beats Orton at Night of Champions, will it make him the new face of the WWE. Bryan circles Orton’s new vehicle and we see “YES!” spray-painted in orange all around the car. Bryan leads the crowd in a “Yes!” chant as we head to a commercial.

We’re back and Triple H is backstage with Brad Maddox and Randy Orton. Maddox says everyone cheered when Bryan did what he did to Orton’s car. Triple H says the car is his personal property that he gave to Orton. Triple H says the WWE Championship is his personal property that Orton is holding. Triple H tells Maddox to go get every Superstar and Diva in the back and tell them to get to the stage to see the beat down that The Shield is going to give Daniel Bryan. Triple H says if anyone interferes on Bryan’s behalf, they will be fired. Orton says Bryan will pay for what he did.

Match #7: Jack Swagger (w/Zeb Colter and Antonio Cesaro) vs. Titus O’Neil (w/Darren Young)
Swagger backs O’Neil into the corner and drives his knee into O’Neil’s midsection. Swagger splashes O’Neil in the corner and goes for the cover, but O’Neil kicks out at two. Swagger drives his shoulder into O’Neil’s midsection in the corner, but O’Neil fights back. Swagger takes O’Neil down with a shoulder block and works over his leg. Swagger chokes O’Neil over the middle rope and slams him to the mat. Swagger goes for the cover, but O’Neil kicks out at two. Swagger gets O’Neil in a headlock, but O’Neil fights out with an elbow. O’Neil takes Swagger down with a shoulder block and then drops him with a fall-a-way slam. O’Neil goes for a kick on Swagger, but Swagger takes his knee out. Swagger locks in the Patriot Lock, but O’Neil gets free. O’Neil charges at Swagger, but Swagger drops him to the mat. Swagger goes for the cover with his feet on the ropes, but Young shoves his feet off. Young and Swagger argue and O’Neil slams Swagger to the mat and gets the pin fall.
Winner: Titus O’Neil.

We take a look at some still-shots of the Ring of Fire Match between Bray Wyatt and Kane from SummerSlam. We see that we will hear from The Wyatt Family after the commercial break.

We’re back and we see a prerecorded vignette with The Wyatt Family. Bray Wyatt tells the story of Sister Abigail.

We take a look back from earlier tonight and see where Triple H presented Randy Orton with a brand new Cadillac Escalade, and then see what Daniel Bryan did to it just a few moments ago.

We go backstage and Brad Maddox and talking to a doctor. CM Punk walks in and says he doesn’t need medical attention, but he needs a match with Paul Heyman; a match where Paul Heyman can’t get away. Maddox makes Punk vs. Heyman and Axel in a Handicap Elimination Match for Night of Champions. Maddox says if Heyman tries to get out of it, we will never see Heyman again. Punk says if Heyman tries to get out of it, we may never see Maddox again.

We see WWE Superstars and Divas walking to the stage for the main event as we head to a commercial break.

We see a vignette for Los Matadores.

Before the match, Renee Young tries to get some comments from The Big Show and Dolph Ziggler. They stay quiet. She asks The Miz, and he goes to say something, but then gets quiet.

Gauntlet Match: Daniel Bryan vs. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins
Bryan and Rollins starts the match. Bryan takes Rollins down and applies the surfboard submission. Rollins punches Bryan in the side of the head to get free. Bryan takes Rollins down with a knee-lift and then kicks him in the midsection. Bryan clotheslines Rollins over the top rope. Ambrose and Reigns walk to the other side of the ring and stalk Bryan. Rollins backs Bryan into the barricade and then throws him into it. Rollins tosses Bryan back into the ring and goes for the cover, but Bryan kicks out. Rollins stomps Bryan down in the corner, but Bryan fights back. Bryan locks Rollins in a half-crab, but Rollins gets to the rope to break the hold. Rollins rolls to the outside, but Bryan launches himself onto Rollins and into the announce table. Bryan slams Rollins into the barricade as we head to a commercial.
We’re back and Rollins in in control of the match. Rollins slams Bryan into the corner and slaps him across the face. Rollins backs away and clotheslines Bryan in the corner. Bryan fights back and delivers a series of kicks to Rollins. Rollins kicks Bryan in the back of the head and drives him down to the mat. Rollins goes for the cover, but Bryan kicks out at two. Rollins sets Bryan up in the corner and delivers a headbutt. Rollins climbs the ropes as well and goes for a suplex, but Bryan fights out. Bryan delivers a German suplex from the top rope and fires up. Bryan plants Rollins and gets the pin fall. Dean Ambrose enters the match.
Bryan locks in the Yes Lock on Ambrose, but Reigns interferes and the referee calls for the bell.
Winner via Disqualification: Daniel Bryan.
After the match, The Shield beats down Bryan as the Superstars on the stage look on, not able to help. Reigns drops Bryan with a Spear, and Triple H’s music hits. Triple H stares at The Big Show and Dolph Ziggler before nodding to The Shield. They deliver the triple-power bomb to Bryan. Randy Orton’s music hits and he marches to the ring. The Shield picks Bryan up and Orton drops him with an RKO. Orton walks up the ramp and raises the title high overhead as Triple H asks the Superstars if they want to laugh now. Triple H and Orton leave the stage as The Shield stands tall over Bryan as Raw comes to a close.

Quick Results:
1. Cody Rhodes def. Fandango
2. The Miz & Cody Rhodes def. Damien Sandow & Fandango
3. CM Punk def. Curtis Axel
4. Brie Bella def. Natalya
5. Rob Van Dam def. Alberto Del Rio
6. Randy Orton def. Christian
7. Titus O’Neil def. Jack Swagger
8. Daniel Bryan def. The Shield via disqualification in a Gauntlet Match