Monday Night Raw: September 22nd, 2014 – FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee
After the WWE Signature flashes across the screen, we are shown a video package that recaps Night of Champions last night. The focal point is on the double main event for the WWE Tag Team and WWE World Heavyweight Titles. This is followed by the “Tonight is the Night” opening video. Michael Cole, Jerry “The King” Lawler and John “Bradshaw” Layfield introduce the episode. They remind us of the major announcement from earlier today, where Triple H introduced the “Survival Trials” and remind us that John Cena will face the Miz in the first tournament match.
The fans give a mixed reaction as the music of Triple H hits and he steps through the curtain. Triple H walks down to the ring and grabs a microphone, welcoming the audience to a historic edition of Monday Night Raw. “There have been over 1,000 episodes and none have featured something like what was announced earlier today.” He gives a rundown of the rules of the Survival Trials for those who missed the news on wwe.com. He explains that it is a giant round robin tournament that will span nearly two months. Each win will earn a Superstar two points while a draw gets them one and a loss will leave them with zero. He also mentions that matches will take place on episodes of Raw, Main Event, Smackdown and WWE live events that are streamed on the WWE Network. “Of course, the most important part of all of this are the participants. Twelve of the very best that this business have to offer will take part in this. However, since the names were announced, I have received a flood of tweets asking about some of the people left off. Many members of the WWE Universe are upset at not seeing CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. I understand you guys. The reason they weren’t included is because Daniel is still injured and Punk just had a title shot last night and it was only fair that I gave others a chance. This had nothing to do with my past with either man. I mean, two of the men that I’m closest to in this business, Batista and Randy Orton, also didn’t make the list and neither did the Director of Operations, Kane. Lastly, I was also asked about Dolph Ziggler and he’s a similar case to Bryan. After the events of last night, we are unsure about his condition, so it didn’t make sense to include him.” Michael Cole points out that he feels like Triple H’s decisions about this tournament seem fair. He finishes by saying that tonight is about what goes in between these ropes and he doesn’t want to waste anymore of our time, citing that the tournament begins now! Out comes John Cena to a mixed reaction. He stops on his way to the ring, staring down Triple H. Triple H extends his hand and Cena shakes it before continuing to the ring.
Returning, we see Triple H walking backstage when Stephanie McMahon comes up to him. She gives him a flabbergasted look that confuses him. She complains that Triple H went and set this whole Survival Trials thing up and didn’t discuss it with her. “In case you forgot, I’m one of the principle owners of this company. My last name is McMahon.” Triple H tells her to calm down and says that he didn’t purposely exclude her. “I just got to discussing it with the Board of Directors and your dad and we all thought it was a good idea.” The fans pop at the mention of Stephanie’s dad. Stephanie still isn’t pleased but drops it for now.
SURVIVAL TRIALS MATCH: JOHN CENA VS. THE MIZ W/ SUMMER RAE; Here we have two men who know each other well and have even headlined a WrestleMania together. Cena is still clearly feeling the effects of the Spear he accidentally took last night. Miz targets the midsection, going after it with each chance that he gets. Cena is determined and wants to earn another shot at the WWE Title in the worst way. Miz slips free of Cena’s Attitude Adjustment attempt and looks for the Skull Crushing Finale. Cena blocks that and trips up Miz, locking in the STF. He makes Miz submit to become the first man to two points.
John Cena defeats the Miz in 7:32!John Cena quickly gets to his feet, still holding his ribs though, and celebrates the historic first win in the history of the Survival Trials. The fans cheer for the win and Cena poses for them while Summer Rae helps the Miz roll out of the ring.
“No rest for the victor though as we’ve just been informed that John Cena’s second match of the Survival Trials will take place this Saturday at a WWE live event in Atlantic City. His opponent? The WWE Intercontinental Champion Sheamus!” says Michael Cole.
As we return, we hear from
Cody Rhodes who is backstage. He says that being chosen to take part in the Survival Trials is an honor. “Once I got through with my brother, I told everyone that I was coming for Championship gold. You all saw me watching the Six Pack Challenge closely last night, but now I have a chance to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.” Cody says that he is going to live up to the “Prince of Pro Wrestling” name and capture the big one.
A quick recap of still images reminds every one of the Divas action that happened at Night of Champions. AJ Lee bested Brie Bella just before Paige retained the Women’s Championship against Nikki, making it a very unsuccessful night for the Bella Twins.
ALICIA FOX, NAOMI AND NATALYA VS. THE BELLA TWINS AND CAMERON; Judging by the look on her face, you can tell that Naomi wants nothing more than to get her hands on her former Funkadactyls partner, Cameron. Wisely though, Cameron is sure to avoid confrontation, quickly tagging out when faced with the possibility. The Bella Twins seem to be in a bad mood after their losses last night and take it out on their opponents. Nikki Bella drops Alicia Fox with the Rack Attack, scoring the win.
The Bella Twins and Cameron defeat Alicia Fox, Naomi and Natalya in 3:14!A chorus of boos is heard from the WWE Universe in Memphis. The Bella Twins don’t really celebrate, still looking to be in a foul mood after coming up short in both matches they had at Night of Champions. Cameron doesn’t get to celebrate either as Naomi goes after her, chasing her up the ramp and to the back.
Much like Cody Rhodes earlier, we are taken to some words from Adrian Neville about the Survival Trials. He admits that September hasn’t been too kind to him after losing the NXT Championship, his rematch for it and then not winning the WWE United States Championship last night. However, he isn’t someone that stays down. “I always get back up because I am the man that gravity forgot and I will win the Survival Trials.” Neville promises to be the first man to win both the NXT Championship and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
It is after this promo that Michael Cole tells us that our main event has just been announced. Tonight, in a Survival Trials match, two Shield members will collide for the very first time. Dean Ambrose goes one on one with Seth Rollins in our main event!
Renee Young is standing by with
Alexander Rusev and
Lana. Rusev looks to be in a pissed off mood and Renee says that Lana requested this time. Lana confirms that Rusev is indeed pissed. She claims that it is a travesty that he wasn’t chosen to be part of the Survival Trials. “It is clear to us that the WWE Board of Directors isn’t happy with Alexander Rusev crushing all of their precious legends.” Lana declares that even though Rusev wasn’t given a spot in the tournament, there will be gold around his waist sooner than we all think.
BIG E VS. BRODUS CLAY; The crowd pops loudly for the return of Big E. We haven’t seen him since this past July at the Live in Osaka WWE Network special. He quickly clotheslines Brodus Clay down, showing that his arm has fully healed. As we all know, Clay is no small competitor, but Big E is one freak of nature when it comes to power. He hoists Brodus up in ways that probably shouldn’t even be possible. He hits the Big Ending for the finish.
Big E defeats Brodus Clay in 3:07!The fans cheer the returning win for Big E. Big E isn’t satisfied with the win though, requesting a five count from the official. The confused referee doesn’t do it so Big E looks at the crowd and holds up five fingers. He counts it himself, with some of the fans doing it along with him.
“I’m not sure what that was about but one thing is clear, Big E is back with a vengeance” says Michael Cole.
The brand new WWE Intercontinental Champion,
Sheamus, makes his way out to the ring, carrying the bloody steel chair from last night. As he does, we are reminded of what he did to Dolph Ziggler during their Ironman match last night. He left Ziggler as a bloody mess before leaving with the Intercontinental Title back around his waist. Michael Cole tells us that Dolph is not cleared to compete and is being tested for a possible concussion. Sheamus has a huge grin as he enters the ring and asks the fans if they are entertained. “I told all of you that Dolph Ziggler’s win at SummerSlam was a fluke. The minute I got my rematch, not only did I win this back, but I put little Dolph on the shelf. If he ever comes back, I’m sure he knows to stay away from me.” Sheamus holds up the bloody steel chair, reminding everyone that it has Dolph’s blood all over it. The music of
Triple H plays as the COO steps through the curtain for the second time tonight. He congratulates Sheamus on winning the Intercontinental Title once again. “Tonight however, our focus is on the Survival Trials. Your opponent in your first match of the tournament will be the member of the NXT roster that the fans voted for. First things first, let’s bring these men out.” Triple H introduces the most recent member of the NXT roster to choose from, one half of the Tag Team Champions, Kevin Owens. For the first time ever,
Kevin Owens walks out onto the Raw stage to a fairly positive reaction. He next introduces
Sami Zayn, the other half of the Tag Team Champions, who gets a very loud ovation from the fans. Sami pats Kevin on the back and stands next to him. “Now, the final option for you all is the current NXT Champion,
Corey Graves!” He walks out with the NXT Title around his waist, shooting dirty looks to the Tag Team Champions. Jerry Lawler reminds us that we saw Corey on Raw a few weeks back in a tag match before TakeOver.
Triple H speaks, “The names of these three Superstars were released earlier today and since then, you, the WWE Universe, has been able to cast your votes for who gets this tremendous opportunity.” He gives each guy a chance to address the fans before the final votes are cast. Kevin Owens speaks first, telling the fans that they may not know him, but they should. “You see, Sami here is my best friend. You all seem to like him but don’t forget that he was unable to win gold in NXT until he made a phone call to me.” The fans give a mixed reaction to that and even Sami Zayn is taken aback. He speaks, saying that it is a dream to be on Raw right now. While winning NXT gold has been his goal this year, winning the WWE World Heavyweight Title is the ultimate dream and if he’s chosen, he guarantees to make history and shut up guys like Sheamus. Obviously, this causes Sheamus to give a slight smirk and he raises the chair again, pointing at Sami. Corey Graves gets to speak last and says that nothing the other two men said matters. “You want to know why you should vote for me? Look no further than what’s around my waist.” Graves points to the NXT Title and says that having that makes him the best that NXT has to offer. He mentions that he’s already beaten someone in the Survival Trials, Adrian Neville, twice. He closes by telling the rest of the participants to STAY DOWN, with the camera zooming in on the tattoos on his knuckles.
The fans were given the length of the commercial break to cast their final votes. Triple H points up to the Titantron as the results come in. Corey Graves finishes with 27% of the votes and Kevin Owens also finishes with the same 27%. Sami Zayn wins with a whopping 46%! Sami is excited as he heads down to the ring. Both Graves and Owens look pretty pissed at the results.
SURVIVAL TRIALS – SAMI ZAYN VS. SHEAMUS; There is a buzz in the crowd as Sami Zayn enters the ring. Sheamus clearly took some of his words to heart though and instantly attacks. He just hammers away on Zayn in the corner. Assaults like this are the theme of the bout. Each time it looks like Zayn is going to catch lightning in a bottle, Sheamus is there to knock him on his ass. He shouts “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?” to a chorus of boos. He grabs Sami but gets pulled into an inside cradle for a near fall. Now, Sami picks up momentum, getting in some of the moves that are now famous in NXT. The fans are wowed by some of Sami’s offense. He surprises everyone when he can get Sheamus up for the Blue Thunder Bomb, though he can only score two. He manages to get Sheamus locked in the Koji Clutch, but the “Celtic Warrior” reaches the ropes. He comes back and calls for the Brogue Kick as Sami gets up in the corner. Sheamus kicks and Sami ducks. Sheamus’ leg gets caught on the top rope. Zayn runs to the opposite corner and then back, connecting on the Helluva Kick as Sheamus gets free and suffers the loss.
Sami Zayn defeats Sheamus in 13:30!“Oh my god! Sami Zayn has just beaten the Intercontinental Champion” exclaims Michael Cole. Sami Zayn can’t even believe as the crowd goes nuts. He takes his NXT Tag Team Title and celebrates a win in his Raw debut, as well as two points in the Survival Trials! He quickly exits the ring, which is wise because Sheamus starts to come to and when he realizes what happened, he is livid.
After a break, we hear from the WWE United States Champion
Alberto Del Rio. He talks about the fact that besides Chris Jericho and John Cena, who have both been in the WWE for over a decade, he has the most World Titles of everyone in the tournament. “That means that I know what it takes to be at the top. Since I refocused myself a few months ago, I’ve gone on to great things, like this United States Title.” Del Rio claims that he will win the Tournament because nobody can escape the Cross Armbreaker.
Backstage, we see the office of the Authority.
Triple H and
Stephanie McMahon are still clearly not on good terms as they are on opposite sides of the room. The WWE Tag Team Champions,
Batista and
Randy Orton, enter, seemingly just arriving at the arena. They get right in Triple H’s face, questioning why they were left out of the Survival Trials. Triple H tries to calm them down, saying that their focus needs to be on the tag team division and those titles. “You know what? If you guys are in such a foul mood, take it out on a tag team in an actual tag team match later tonight.” They aren’t pleased, but step back, saying they will.
Bad News Barrett steps into the picture, asking Triple H who his first match will be against and when it will take place. Triple H tells him that it will be this Friday on Smackdown against Roman Reigns. Barrett looks a bit worried, but changes to a more confident face. “I beat Roman Reigns already this year, it shouldn’t be too hard to do it again.” He then tells Stephanie that he thinks Reigns should have a warmup match tonight. She looks at Triple H and agrees to put Reigns in the ring with the Big Show. Barrett gives a hearty laugh and leaves. Steph tells Triple H that she can make decisions without consulting him too. He says he’s fine with what she did and leaves as well.
THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS VS. RYBAXEL; Less than 24 hours ago, the Prime Time Players picked up the biggest win since their return. On the Kickoff Show, they defeated the Age of Enlightenment. Here, they are in trouble because Rybaxel are certainly tough opponents. Ryback especially is in a pumped up mood, going toe to toe with the powerful Titus O’Neil. Things turn sour for Rybaxel when Darren Young catches Curtis Axel with some big offense. He tags to Titus, who hits the Clash of the Titus, ending this.
The Prime Time Players defeat Rybaxel in 5:11!After the match, the look on Ryback’s face seems to indicate that he is pissed about another loss for Rybaxel. The Prime Time Players get the crowd to do the “millions of dollars” dance along with them.
The Shield is shown backstage, cutting one of their old school handheld camera promos. Roman Reigns speaks first, saying that tonight, he’s going to run through the Big Show and it’s onto Bad News Barrett this Friday. Seth Rollins goes next, saying that people have been questioning the unity of the Shield. “We showed last night that, just like in the past, through thick and thin, we stay strong.” Dean Ambrose chimes in last, saying they realize what the Survival Trials mean. “We know that we’re all going to have to face each other at some point. Hell, tonight, it’s me and Seth. Seth, you’re my brotha, but I’m coming at you with everything I’ve got tonight.” Seth says he wouldn’t have it any other way. Roman ends things, declaring that the man facing Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series will be one of the three members of the Shield. “Believe that.”
Cutting to the ring, the crowd comes to their feet for the arrival of the WWE Women’s Champion,
Paige. She walks to the ring as commentary reminds us of her win against Nikki Bella last night. Paige enters the ring and grabs a microphone, addressing the fans. She thanks them for their support since her debut and for getting behind her and what she’s done in bringing back the Women’s Championship. “I’ve grown tired of seeing girls like the Bella Twins try and pass off what they do as legitimate. I didn’t become a professional wrestler so I could be a Diva. Neither did Trish Stratus, neither did Bull Nakano and neither did AJ Lee. Speaking of AJ Lee, you all saw her beat little Brie Bella last night. I also think you all remember Extreme Rules this year.” Paige directs us to the Titantron, where we see AJ Lee defeat Paige via submission at Extreme Rules when Paige passed out. Paige reminds us that AJ Lee wanted to make Paige tap or pin her shoulders for a three count, so they had a rematch in England. We see the footage of Paige winning the Divas Championship in her home country in front of her mother. “The reason I bring all of this up is because AJ Lee is someone that I would like to bring out to the ring right now.”
Paige doesn’t have to wait long as
AJ Lee is skipping to the ring within a few seconds. She skips around it before entering with a microphone. Before Paige can speak, AJ says that she doesn’t take kindly to being called out. “The only reason I’m out here is because I have something to say to you.” Paige opens the door for her to say it and AJ says that she’s glad that footage was shown. “It shows that I’ve beaten you once and you’ve beaten me once in two of the greatest women’s matches in WWE history. I respect the hell out of you and what you’ve done by bringing that title back. But make no mistake…I don’t like you. So I’m laying down the challenge right now. I want my rematch. Paige and AJ Lee. The tiebreaker.” The crowd buzzes as Paige actually smirks. She admits that is actually what she wanted AJ out here for. “I knew that once you came back you’d want your title shot. That’s not enough for me though. I want to make more history. So, on October 3rd, at Divas Smackdown, let’s do this in the main event!” The crowd pops as Paige extends her hand. AJ shakes it but pulls Paige close in and mutters something to her. Paige gives a smug smirk and pats her title before walking off. Paige vs. AJ Lee III is set for Divas Smackdown in under two weeks!
BIG SHOW VS. ROMAN REIGNS; Roman Reigns is out with none of his Shield partners.
Bad News Barrett strolls out with his Money in the Bank briefcase to join commentary for this. Big Show is more aggressive than usual here, pummeling away at Reigns. This really makes Barrett happy since there is now a good chance Roman won’t be 100% for their match this Friday night on Smackdown. Reigns is not one to stay down though and overcomes the odds of the giant he’s facing. He reels off some high octane offense and scores with the Spear to win.
Roman Reigns defeats Big Show in 6:29!Roman Reigns is announced as the winner, to the delight of the audience. Bad News Barrett is clearly displeased at this result. Reigns puts his fist out and then in the direction of Barrett, making it clear that he’s coming for him this Thursday.
Returning, we are told that another match from the first set of Survival Trials matches has been announced. Tomorrow night, exclusively on the WWE Network, Adrian Neville will go one on one with Chris Jericho! This leads to
Chris Jericho talking backstage about the tournament. He admits that things haven’t exactly gone his way since his return after losses to Alexander Rusev and then failing to win the United States Title at Night of Champions. He promises to make good on this run in the WWE and become a seven time World Champion.
Big Show is on his way up the ramp when the music of
Bo Dallas plays. He’s had his fair share of issues with Big Show over the past few months. He has a microphone and he stops to tell the Big Show that he comes in peace. “Show. You are the World’s Largest Athlete. You shouldn’t be losing matches like this. Never fear though, Bo is here. I guarantee you that if you just do your best to Bolieve, you will start to win matches.” Bo continues on as Big Show actually seems to be pondering what Bo said.
BO DALLAS VS. KOFI KINGSTON; Since his team with Rob Van Dam went their separate ways, Kofi Kingston has struggled to find his footing. Meanwhile, Bo Dallas is in the midst of a pretty solid first few months on the main roster, including a win over the Big Show. Kingston uses his quickness and athleticism to gain the upper hand and scores a very close near fall with the SOS. Kofi starts to clap, signaling for Trouble in Paradise. Bo ducks it and rolls Kofi up, stealing a victory.
Bo Dallas defeats Kofi Kingston in 4:36!Bo Dallas quickly rolls out of the ring and begins to do a lap around it, shouting “I DID IT!” Kofi Kingston looks very frustrated in the ring.
“Bo Dallas told Big Show to Bolieve. He won tonight and Show didn’t, maybe he should take his advice” says John “Bradshaw” Layfield.
We are now taken to a hype video to promote the WWE Network. With Hell in a Cell on the horizon, spend the month of October reliving some of the greatest Hell in a Cell matches in history. Catch classic shows like King of the Ring 1998, In Your House: Badd Blood, WrestleMania 28 and past Hell in a Cell Pay-Per-Views. Also, just being added are WWE Countdown: Greatest Hell in a Cell matches, plus a brand new Legends of Wrestling Roundtable featuring Jim Ross, Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels and Triple H!
NON-TITLE MATCH: BATISTA AND RANDY ORTON VS. LOS MATADORES W/ EL TORITO; Poor Los Matadores. They are a very solid, high flying tag team, but when two pissed off future Hall of Famers are standing across from you, there isn’t much you can do. The Tag Team Champions are especially violent here, tossing Los Matadores around like rag dolls. They hit their finishers on each member once and pin them, making an emphatic point.
Batista and Randy Orton defeat Los Matadores in 3:26!The Tag Team Champions seemed to be toying with Los Matadores in that match. Not satisfied, Batista grabs El Torito as the crowd boos. Randy Orton kicks the tiny bull in the face before Batista picks him up for a gorilla press slam. He then launches little Torito all the way out onto the announce table in a sickening display.
Before our main event, we get reminded that John Cena beat the Miz earlier tonight and then Sami Zayn shocked the world by defeating the Intercontinental Champion Sheamus for two points in his Raw debut. Tomorrow, Adrian Neville faces Chris Jericho and we already know that Roman Reigns meets Bad News Barrett on Smackdown. Also, this Friday on Smackdown, the United States Champion Alberto Del Rio steps into the ring with the “Prince of Pro Wrestling” Cody Rhodes in the final match in the first set of Survival Trials bouts!
SURVIVAL TRIALS – DEAN AMBROSE VS. SETH ROLLINS; There is an interesting feel around this match as the fans have never see these two square off. We get a pre-match handshake and they go into a feeling out process. During this, Dean Ambrose locks in a half crab and can be heard saying “I’ll break it brother. I’ll break it for the title.” Seth Rollins turns things around and applies an arm submission before basically telling Dean the same thing, showing how important this tournament is. They are incredibly evenly matched, knowing each other’s offense, while also trying to exploit the weaknesses of their opponent. During the match,
Roman Reigns comes down through the crowd to get a closer look at this battle of brothers. Seth hits the Buckle Bomb and has Dean prepped for the Curb Stomp. He stops for a moment though, unsure if he should pull out such a vicious move. He decides to try it, but the hesitation allows Ambrose to dodge it and hit Dirty Deeds, scoring the 1-2-3!
Dean Ambrose defeats Seth Rollins in 18:15!Dean Ambrose is helped to his feet as the crowd cheers. Roman Reigns enters the ring to congratulate him as he is the first Shield member to earn two points. Dean doesn’t celebrate for too long, looking to assist Seth Rollins to his feet. Seth gets up and backs away as there is clearly some tension at the outcome. Roman kind of mediates things and puts his fist out. Dean puts his with Roman and they both look at a disappointed Seth. He looks around as the crowd chants “Yes!” Seth puts his fist in with his brothers. Even with everything that has happened as of late, the Shield stand united.