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The following is Wade Keller’s WWE Raw Report from five years ago this week…
KELLER’S WWE RAW REPORT
DECEMBER 10, 2012
NEWARK, N.J.
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK
[Q1]
-They opened with footage of The Shield looking into the camera lens saying they don’t just know injustice, they’ve lived it. Then the narrator announced the change in the line-up, showing C.M. Punk being driven through a table and then noting that he’s out of action and that a new six-man tag has taken its place with The Shield. Also, clips of John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler storyline developments.
-Ziggler stood on a ladder and talked about how often Cena has been given opportunities and failed to win championships. He complained that Vince McMahon has forced him to put his Money in the Bank briefcase on the line. He said he will defeat Cena, then go on to beat Big Show, and then become the greatest World Heavyweight Champion of all time.
(WK Reax: I’m surprised and disappointed Ziggler didn’t complain more about the injustice of having to defend his MITB briefcase. It almost felt like a heel G.M. had forced a babyface to do something unprecedented and the babyface was putting up a brave front.)
Sheamus then walked out past a ton of ladders set up on the stage and ramp. Michael Cole then welcomed viewers to Raw. A clip aired of the No Contact contract signing on Smackdown.
Ziggler asked Sheamus, as he entered the ring, “Can I help you?” Sheamus said, “You’re finally taller than everyone. Congratulations.” Ziggler shrugged it off: “Good one.” Sheamus predicted he will become the new World Hvt. Champion on Sunday. He said he doesn’t think Ziggler can get past Cena, so he thinks it will end up being him against Cena for the World Title somewhere down the line.
Big Show then walked out. He mocked the conversation with a bunch of “blah blah blah blahs.” He said he’d like nothing more than to smear his ignorant Irish face on the mat, but if he did that, because of their No Contact clause, he’d forfeit the championship. He invited Ziggler to try to cash in his MITB tonight after KOs Cena, “go ahead and try, because I’ll knock you out, too.” He said he has decided whether he’s going to knock out Sheamus with his fist or knock that “pasty white skin” off of his bones with a chair. Sheaemus took the threat in stride and said he’s grouchy because he threw Ricardo Rodrigues into his “chestnuts” on Smackdown. He then said there is no contract preventing him from tipping Ziggler off the ladder. Ziggler straddled the top rope and tumbled to the floor.
-Cole and Jerry Lawler reacted to a shot of Vince McMahon walking backstage. Lawler said he’s headed to the ring. Cole plugged Cena vs. Big Show was the Raw main event. [c]
[Q2]
-Vince McMahon danced onto the stage like Brian Christopher used to. He invited Vickie onto the stage so he could “congratulate” her for booking the Cena vs. Show main event. Vickie walked out proudly smiling and laughing. McMahon told her to take a bow. He suggested she book Sheamus against someone. Vickie struggled to come up with a good opponent. McMahon whispered Ziggler. She did not like that and shouted his name. Vince took that as confirmation. McMahon asked for a third main event. Vickie laughed and suggested A.J. Lee in a handicapped match. McMahon tried to think of an opponent, as Vickie encouraged him to come up with something good. The crowd chanted “Vickie.” She hyperventilated a bit as he made it official.
(WK Reax: McMahon was less of a jerk this week for sure. He found a better tone to take when dealing with Vickie where he didn’t come across as such a bully towering over her and intimidating her like last week.)
(1) R-Truth pinned Wade Barrett in 3:00. Kofi Kingston and Antonio Cesaro joined Cole and Lawler on commentary. Kofi told Barrett not to eyeball him. Then he made fun of Cesaro’s purse and said he’s looking for gift ideas for his mom and his sister. Cesaro said only a real man can pull it off. Truth pulled off the upset with a roll up out of nowhere.
Afterward Truth celebrated in front of Cesaro. In the ring, Kingston attacked Barrett unprovoked with a top rope crossbody press.
-Cole plugged the Fatal Four-way tag match up next.
-A commercial hyped the updated WWE app including access to watch WWE TV shows live with interactive bonus features and also now watch PPVs on any mobile device. [c]
-Backstage A.J. was very excitedly talking about her match later against Vickie. She hugged Kaitlyn and vowed to break Vickie in half, then she said she’d go tell Cena. Kaitlyn said he’s in the men’s locker room so maybe he shouldn’t walk in there. She walked right in there and hugged Cena. Cena held up a shirt to try to block her view of the naked men elsewhere in the men’s locker room. Cena mouthed to the locker room, “I’m sorry.”
(WK Reax: I’m so glad Cena mouthed “I’m sorry” in a slo-mo exaggerated cartoonish manner just so we were able to understand him in case we were nearly blind or hadn’t been acquainted with normal human facial expressions before.)
[Q3]
(2) Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow beat The Usos and Primo & Epico and The Prime Time Players in 11:00. An Uso eliminated Primo & Epico first at 3:00. [c] During the break, those watching Raw on their WWE App saw an Uso eliminate Darren Young during the break, so it came down to Rhodes & Sandow vs. the Usos after the break. Rhodes, sporting a mustache, tagged in. The crowd chanted “Cody’s mustache!” Cole said that will be trending soon. Cody tried to knock an Uso off the top rope, but Uso head-butted him instead. He went for another top rope splash, but Cody lifted his knees. Cody then hit Crossroads for the win.
-They showed two Divas headed to the entrance tunnel. Lawler said it was “two of our best.” I’m not sure he knew their names. [c]
[Q4]
-They announced the Slammy Awards would take place next week on Raw.
-They went to Cole and Lawler at ringside who said the Slammys would be RawActive next week, meaning fans can vote and determine the winners in every category.
(3) Eve pinned Alicia Fox in 3:00 with a neckbreaker. Cole plugged a new WWEDivas.com website. Cole read a Tweet from Miss Piggy saying she’d like to salute Eve with a chair. The crawler hyped the Top 100 Raw Moments DVD, a new start time for Main Event, and the special WWE Week with Raw, Smackdown, and Tribute to the Troops next week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
Afterward, Eve insisted the ringside photographer enter the ring and shoot pictures of her celebrating over Fox on her back on the mat.
-They showed C.M. Punk on crutches and Paul Heyman headed to the entrance tunnel. [c]
-Punk’s music played as he walked onto the stage. Punk said some people in the WWE Universe think his injury is phony and he didn’t even have surgery, all part of an elaborate scheme to avoid defending against Ryback. Punk said this is what happens when you’re WWE Champion for 388 grueling days. He said it’s a fact of life that injuries happen. “It’s a tough sport, ladies and gentlemen.”
(WK Reax: He meant, “It’s a tough sports entertainment, ladies and gentlemen.”)
He threw to a clip of Ryback attacking him during his post-match celebration last week, including using a chair and a ladder and a table. Cole it was there that Ryback injured Punk, although there wasn’t a direct indication that his knee took any of the abuse.
Heyman told the fans they are ticking him off. He asked how they can dare chant “Feed me more!” six days after Punk has emergency surgery. He said he’s a legitimate champion, unlike the New Jersey Devils. (Cheap Local Heat on National TV Alert.) Heyman then took digs at The Rock, saying Punk got hurt working, not stirring his latte with his little finger as his stunt double does all the work. He said he is standing before the fans, unlike The Rock. He said he doesn’t blame Rock for not wanting to come to New Jersey, though. He said Rock only shows up when he has a title opportunity. Heyman said Punk will defend his championship against The Rock at the Royal Rumble because he remains the reigning and defending WWE Champion (just not defending this month).
[Q5]
Punk then said he wanted to address the “vocal minority” who want him to be stripped of the WWE Title, mostly Ryback fans. Punk said Ryback is too dumb to keep the champion healthy enough to face in a legal title match. Punk included his list of challengers over the past year, including dropping Chris Jericho’s name. Punk said Ryback failed at both of his attempts to beat him. He said Rock will get only one title shot and he, too, will fail. Punk said anyone else would be at home in bed hitting the pain med button, but he’ll be at the PPV on Sunday “watching The Shield, whom I’m not affiliated with, do to Ryback what Ryback did to me last week.” His music played and Cole plugged the TLC main event.
(WK Reax: Good promo segment. At just four minutes, it didn’t seem drawn out just to fill time. It hit all of the points efficiently, and as usual since his return, Heyman was great in his role. Punk was also spot on with his reaction to his situation.)
-They went to Cole and Lawler again who talked up the remaining main events. They showed a clip of the Vince-Vickie segment from earlier. [c]
-Lawler plugged Kid Rock’s “Let’s Ride” theme song for Tribute to the Troops.
(4) Sheamus pinned Dolph Ziggler in 15:00. They cut to a break at 3:00. [c]
[Q6]
You’ll never believe what was happening after the break! Ziggler had Sheamus grounded with a front facelock. Ziggler controlled the offense for several more minutes. At 13:00 they battled on the top rope. Ziggler leaped off the top rope and drove Sheamus’s head into the mat for a convincing near fall. Sheamus made his comeback at 15:00 and went for the Brogue Kick. Ziggler ducked it and went to ringside. When Sheamus pursued him, Ziggler jabbed him with a chair for the DQ.
After the DQ, back in the ring, Ziggler hit Sheamus across the back with a chair. He then set up a swing of the chair, but Sheamus kicked the chair into Ziggler, sending him flying to the floor.
-Cole and Lawler commented on Kermit’s latest Tweet about Damien Sandow. Then they plugged the remaining main events. [c]
[Q7]
-Backstage Hornswoggle and Great Khali approached Vickie. Vickie said she was tight in her hip area. Khali and Hornswoggle volunteered to help her stretch. Vince walked in and saw them in an awkward position, and then said disgustedly, “I thought this was supposed to be a family show.” Cole and Lawler chuckled.
-Cole and Lawler commented on a clip of The Shield attacking Daniel Bryan on Smackdown followed by a Kane run-in for the save, only to be swarmed three-on-one and getting triple powerbombed through the announce table. Then they aired The Shield’s Manifesto from Smackdown. Seth Rollins claimed they don’t work for Punk or Paul Heyman, they work for themselves. That was the first overt denial that they work for Heyman.
(Quotebook – Dean Ambrose: “At the TLC pay-per-view, bring tables, bring ladders, bring chairs. The Shield brings the sword.”)
(WK Reax: All three were good here. There’s a good dynamic with them.)
-Ricardo Rodrigues introduced Alberto Del Rio. [c]
-A lot of commercials for the Rolling Stones pay-per-view throughout Raw including here.
[Q8]
(5) Alberto Del Rio pinned Zack Ryder in 7:00. When Ryder took early control, Lawler told Cole that he was wrong in predicting Del Rio would just dominate Ryder. Del Rio took over a few minutes in. Ryder backdropped Del Rio out of the ring at 5:00. Ricardo tended to him. Back in the ring Ryder went for a charge into the corner, but Del Rio moved and then put Ryder in his cross armbreaker for the tapout win.
-Cole and Lawler plugged the Raw Active voting for the Slammys next week. They pushed hard that viewers should download the WWE App and the “second screen experience.” [c]
-Cole and Lawler again plugged the Rolling Stones PPV concert on Saturday.
(6) Vickie Guerrero pinned A.J. Lee in 2:00. A.J. skipped to the ring. Vickie came out without a spring in her step and without entrance music. Vickie complained about there being no ref. Out walked Brad Maddox, taking his time and milking the moment. Lawler said he might go down as the worst referee in the history of WWE. (Worse than Danny Davis?)
(WK Reax: It is odd how similar Maddox is to Eric Bischoff in appearance and heel mannerisms.)
Cole expressed skepticism that Vickie didn’t know that Maddox was the special ref. Vickie attacked A.J. from behind as Maddox talked to A.J. Vickie slapped A.J. and then strutted around the ring proudly.
[Q9]
A.J. charged at Vickie. Vickie tried to run. A.J. tackled her from behind and then threw her back into the ring. A.J. KO’d Vickie with a punch, but Maddox refused to count. Instead, he leaned on the top rope. Cole, back to being a babyface this week, called it an outrage. As A.J. complained, Vickie rolled up A.J. from behind. Vickie skipped happily to the back. Maddox met her on the stage and raised her arm.
-A.J. had a meltdown after the match. She screamed in the ring, then threw chairs at ringside. She threw the top of the announce table to the side, then knocked over a ladder and slapped Justin Roberts. She angrily marched to the back. [c]
-Lawler plugged “Flo Rida’s “Let it Roll” as another official theme songs for Tribute to the Troops.
-A.J. continued to throw a fit backstage. Cena walked up to her and tried to calm her down. He hugged her and assured her it’d be okay.
(7) Antonio Cesaro pinned Kofi Kingston in 14:00. After Kofi’s ring entrance, Cesaro walked out and talked about traveling “this once proud country” every week. He said the real truth is America has gone rotten. Cesaro said nowhere is that more obvious than in New Jersey. He said no one needs him as their U.S. Champion than every fan in that arena. He said that’s why on Sunday at TLC, R-Truth will learn the hard way that “the truth hurts.” When Cesaro bailed out during a rally by Kingston, Kofi pursued, but back in the ring Cesaro caught a charging Kofi with a boot to the face. They cut to a break.
[Q10] [c]
Cesaro had Kingston grounded after the break. Cesaro caught Kofi flying off the top rope and turned it into a salto backbreaker and then his Neutralizer for the win. Cole said they were evenly matched, but Cesaro’s strength won out.
(WK Reax: Good match.) [c]
[Q11]
-Miz TV: Miz walked out in a white suit with blue trim and a blue shirt under it. He introduced the Rhodes Scholars “or as I like to call them, the beardo and the weirdo.” Damien Sandow said the only thing worse than Miz having his own show is the ignoramuses that actually watch it. Miz said, “Or the guests I’m forced to have on it.” Sandow said, “Remain silent, I am about to speak.” He introduced Cody as “new and improved.”
(Quotebook – Cody Rhodes: “We are like Princeton University, an intellectual island forced to exist in a state that’s home to some of, if the most, dense Americans in the country – New Jersey.”)
(Quotebook – The Miz: “I’m sorry, I must ‘stache you a question. Did you really grow that hideous piece of fur on your upper lip or did Damien’s beard rub off on it? I’ve heard of hugging it out, but kissing it out? That’s team unity.”)
(WK Reax: Damien’s facial reactions are amazing here.)
Sandow asked how a former star of a reality show has lost touch with reality.
(Quotebook – The Miz: “You two are going to hit the ground harder than Manny Pacquiao in the sixth.”)
Sandow said to Miz, “You’re not a very good host, are you?” When the fans cheered, he said he didn’t ask for their opinion. He said he finds his questions repugnant, especially when directed toward his future tag team champions.
(Quotebook – The Miz to Sandow: “You want some more refined questions?” Sandow in response: “Yes, refine them!” Sandow’s inflection and delivery here was hilarious.)
Miz asked Cody how it felt when Sandow didn’t visit him once when he was rehabbing his shoulder. Miz said Sandow walks around the locker room saying he carries him on his back. (Well, that answers that question.) Sandow denied saying that. Miz told Cody that Sandow thinks that no matter what he does – call yourself dashing, wear a plastic mask, have baggers come to ringside, or grow a piece of dirt on your face – he will always be overshadowed by somebody, whether it’s his father or his tag team partner. Sandow said he’s trying to drive a wedge between them.
Cody called a time-out and said he’s heard all of this before. Cody said maybe he’s hosting a show like this “because he’s become one of those people.” He said he wouldn’t take the word of someone dressed like Col. Sanders over his esteemed tag team partner.
(Quotebook – Cody Rhodes to Miz: “We’re not going to perpetuate this ignorant Honey Boo Boo trash talk TV any further. This interview is over.” Miz: “Was it something I said?”)
The crowd chanted “Cody’s Mustache.” Miz said he has a new name for them: The Pink & The Stink.
-They showed Cena heading to the entrance tunnel, but A.J. walked up to him. She said she wanted to join him at ringside. Cena said no. She said she wants to be there. Cena reiterated that she stay in the back and he goes out there. He said he’d feel responsible if something happened to her out there. He said she’s had a long night. She understood, sort of like when you tell a puppy dog not to eat the couch cushion while you leave the house for just ten minutes. [c]
-The announcers hyped the Santa’s Helper Match on the PPV pre-show to determine the no. 1 contender to the Divas Title.
-Ziggler came out to join the announcers on commentary for the main event.
(8) John Cena beat The Big Show via DQ in 15:00. On commentary Ziggler said it’s true everyone wants a piece of Cena because he’s the “franchise of the company,” but he fails every time he gets a shot at the title. He said he won’t fail. The match began 14 minutes before the end of the third hour. Cole asked Ziggler if he’s scared of blowing his opportunity, therefore he’s taken so long to cash it in. That is ignoring the times he was going to cash it in but it got called off. He said he watches every Show match is ready to seize on the best opportunity. Cena leaped onto Show’s back with a chinlock. At 4:00 Cena lifted Show for an Attitude Adjustment, but he fell forward. Lawler asked if Ziggler’s injured leg could affect his ability to climb a ladder. They cut to a break. [c]
At 9:00 Show speared Cena for a believable near fall. Cole reminded viewers that last year Bryan cashed in MITB to beat Big Show right after Show won the World Title. Show dropped an elbow for another two count. Ziggler said Show is dangerous without a chair in his hand, he’ll be much more dangerous with a chair. Cole asked Ziggler if he thinks he’d get more respect if he didn’t take shortcuts. Ziggler said maybe, but Cena gets handed so many opportunities, he feels like he has to go to extreme.
(WK Reax: Ziggler and Cole have a good rapport bantering back and forth on commentary.)
At 13:00 Cena went into his You Can’t See Me routine, but as he played to the crowd, Show popped up and chokeslammed him for a believable near fall. Ziggler pointed out that while he’s accused of being a showoff, Cena just got caught showing off to the crowd. Cole said, “You got me there.” Cena ducked a KO punch and then gave show an Attitude Adjustment. At that point The Shield charged in and attacked Cena. They came from different parts of the crowd – Seth Rollins first, then Dean Ambrose, and then Roman Raines. Lawler asked Ziggler if he had anything to do with this. Ziggler said, “I don’t even know who these guys are.”
They set up a table. Daniel Bryan and Kane ran out for the save. Cena recovered enough to help. Ziggler attacked Cena. Sheamus ran out to even the odds once again. A minute later Ryback came out and threw a ladder into the ring, knocking down all three Shield members. Cole exclaimed that this is what tables, ladders, and chairs is all about as the show ended.
(WK Reax: I would have liked to have heard from Bryan, Kane, and Ryback about their being matched against The Shield on Sunday. Also, what is the goal of The Shield? How about they say they want to prove something about their ability to win a regular match and not just “achieve justice” through run-ins. It just felt weird at the end of the show to see all six wrestlers in the new main event for the first time live in the ring after three hours of programming.)
NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS FLASHBACK: 15 YRS AGO – WWE Live Event (12-7-02): Triple H, Ric Flair, RVD, Booker T, Dudleys, Lance Storm, William Regal, Batista, Kane, Dreamer, Raven
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