Raw Results 04/23/12

Raw Results from Detroit, MI:

The opening segment was supposed to be the John Cena vs Brock Lesnar contract signing.  Cena was introduced by Teddy Long, but Lesnar didn't show up.  John Laurinaitis came out and told Long that Lesnar will get there on his terms.  Laurinaitis kept telling Long to inform Cena what he said.  Long asked Cena to leave the ring, as JL told him to.

However, the Rated-R Superstar Edge suddenly showed up as a surprise to the crowd.  Edge came down to the ring and gave Cena a pep talk about not giving up.  He suggested that Cena may have changed since losing to Rock at Wrestlemania.  He told Cena that he (Edge) might be his rival and opposite, but they've always been about "this" - fighting for WWE.  He said Lesnar's just there for the money and said Cena needs to beat him at Extreme Rules.

Chris Jericho defeated Kofi Kingston by submission.  Late in the match, Kofi had control but as he went for Trouble in Paradise, Jericho blocked it.  Kofi tried for a move off the top rope moments later, but Jericho managed to hit the Codebreaker, and then put Kofi into the Walls of Jericho to make him tap.  Post-match, Jericho cut another promo about Punk saying he wants to give Punk a gift tonight to help him cope with the failure he'll feel when he loses at Extreme Rules.

They had a backstage segment with Eve showing up and shaking John Laurinaitis' hand.  He told her he needed an executive administrator, and Eve accepted the position.

Backstage, Josh Matthews interviewed CM Punk in the locker room, and it was revealed that Jericho had sent a basket full of alcohol bottles to Punk.  Punk said he'll re-gift one bottle to Jericho at Extreme Rules.  Punk gave the rest to Josh Matthews.

Lord Tensai defeated R-Truth by pinfall.  The match lasted just about two minutes, with Tensai easily winning.  Late in the match, he spewed the green mist into the air and put the Claw on Truth to force him down to the mat for the pin.

They had an in-ring appearance and promo bit from Kane, talking about how he saw fear in Orton's eyes.  Kane said Orton is nothing more than a scared little boy running for his daddy to save him from the monster, but he can't.  Orton showed up on the Titantron, and revealed he had Kane's dad, Paul Orton, tied up in a wheelchair.  Orton opened a room full of blue fog and smoke and shoved the wheelchair inside, then glared back at the camera.  Kane laughed in the ring saying he doesn't care what Orton does to Paul Bearer, because he's always been the devil to Kane.  Kane shot his pyro from the ringposts and went to leave, but Orton showed up, fighting him down to the ring.  Orton grabbed a steel pipe from under the ring to smash Kane with.  Kane eventually ran off and Orton posed in the ring.

Backstage, Chris Jericho was walking down the hall when Alex Riley stopped him to tell him he saw CM Punk drinking one of the bottles of alcohol Jericho gave him.  Riley and Jericho went over to the locker room door.  Jericho slowly opened it to reveal Punk talking on the phone and drinking from a plastic red cup.  A bottle of alcohol was shown on the table near Punk drawing a smile from Jericho.

The Big Show and Great Khali defeated Alberto Del Rio and Cody Rhodes by pinfall.  The heels tried to target Show's knee, and took turns beating him up.  Late in the match, Show gained control and hit the chokeslam on Rhodes for the win.  It was also announced prior to the match that Big Show defends the IC title against Rhodes at Extreme Rules, with the stipulation TBD.

They announced a special pre-PPV match will be live streamed on YouTube, with The Miz vs. Santino Marella for the US Championship Sunday night.

Chris Jericho went to talk to John Laurinaitis about having Punk stripped of the WWE title for drinking alcohol on the job.  Eve talked about a Wellness Policy violation they could get him on.  JL said they need hard proof and Jericho suggested they have some cops give a sobriety test to Punk in the ring later.  JL agreed, telling Teddy Long he'll be the one to strip Punk of the title if he fails.

Brock Lesnar was shown arriving to the arena at the building.  Josh Matthews came up to him trying to get some questions in.  Lesnar roughed up Matthews and slammed him into the side of an 18-wheeler WWE truck.  He then pretended he was just playing around, and Matthews said he was just trying to do his job.  Lesnar grabbed Matthews and tossed him into a fence.  Lesnar looked at Matthews layed out then walked off.

Later, they showed Matthews strapped onto a gurney, wiggling his fingers and opening his eyes to show he was ok.

Nikki Bella defeated Beth Phoenix by pinfall to win the WWE Divas Championship in a Lumberjill match.  Eve set up the lumberjill match saying there were too many divas sitting around backstage doing nothing.  During the match, Phoenix fell on the outside and appeared to have hurt her ankle.  It resulted in a Nikki getting the pinfall once Beth got back to the ring.

They had CM Punk come to the ring for a sobriety test from police officers.  Teddy Long and Chris Jericho were also on hand.  Punk acted drunk and pretended to fail the test, so Long tried to take the belt from him.  Punk then asked for another chance and was able to complete the test.  He eventually took his belt back and then started beating up Chris Jericho.  Jericho finally escaped, but not until Punk got in a bunch of attacks on him.

Mark Henry defeated Sheamus by pinfall in a non-title match with Daniel Bryan as referee.  Bryan taunted Sheamus early on and the distraction led to Mark Henry able to hit a huge clothesline for the win.  Post-match, Bryan managed to gain the upperhand against Sheamus and put the Yes Lock on him, before eventually leaving doing his "Yes" chant all the way.

Santino Marella and Zack Ryder defeated Primo and Epico by pinfall in a non-title match.  Late in the match, Santino avoided a dropkick from Primo and hit the Cobra on him for the pinfall win.

They showed Kane backstage finding where Orton had shoved Paul Bearer.  Bearer was shaking and shivering, asking Kane if he came to save him.  Instead, Kane wheeled him back into a freezer and shut the door.

They showed Primo and Epico (with Rosa) arguing over their loss from earlier.  Abraham Washington came up to suggest they're being treated like jokes lately on the show.  He gave them his business card.

Brodus Clay and Hornswoggle defeated Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler due to disqualification.  The DQ came late in the match when Vickie slapped Brodus in the ring.  Post-match, she tried to make peace with Brodus and the Funkettes, but Hornswoggle bit her in the backside, causing Vickie to run off.  Hornswoggle, Clay and the dancers all danced to celebrate their win.

The final segment was the Brock vs. Cena contract signing segment.  At first only Laurinaitis and Lesnar showed up.  Cena's music played but he didn't come out.  Lesnar played up that he must be scared then went over the "changes" he wants to make to his contract with WWE.  He told Laurinaitis he won't be his puppet on a string, so he won't be fining him, he'll pay him more money.  Lesnar said he always will get to use Vince McMahon's jet to fly to and from the venues for Raw.  He also said any thought that goes through JL's mind goes through him.  Lesnar refused to sign the contract for Sunday's match until Laurinaitis gave him his new changes.  JL finally shook his hand in agreement, and Lesnar signed.

Finally, Cena's music hit and Cena came out to the ring wearing a big chain around his neck.  He acted nervous or scared slightly by Lesnar.  Lesnar started taunting Cena to sign the contract, saying this is real, he can tell he's been on Cena's mind and he's the reason he lost to Lord Tensai last week.  Eventually, Cena, clenching his chaing in his fist, signed the contract and threw it at Lesnar.  Lesnar went like he was going to attack, and Cena flipped the table over.  Lesnar circled the table, smirking at Cena before leaving the  ring.  Lesnar backed up the ramp with Cena staring out at him to close the show.

Will Daniel Bryan Heel Turn in 2012 Bring Future Success as a Face?

Daniel Bryan is in an interesting position right now with his character on Smackdown.  He currently is considered the top heel on the show, but is over with the fans.  The chants of "YES!" and "We want Bryan!" among others, continue to echo through arenas, even as he insults his ex-girlfriend AJ, and his future opponent Sheamus.

He'll meet Sheamus, the World Heavyweight Champion, at the upcoming Extreme Rules Pay-Per-View.  These two will go at it in a 2 out of 3 Falls match, with the winner taking the WWE championship belt away from the PPV event.  Bryan vowed on the latest edition of Smackdown that there's no way Sheamus can get another "fluke" win.  Basically, Bryan believes that without AJ there to distract him (even though he asked her for the pre-match kiss), he'll have no problems defeating The Celtic Warrior.

The interesting point to remember here is that Sheamus was the heel at one time in his career, winning the WWE title after shoving John Cena off a corner and through a table.  Back in those days, Sheamus was the guy looking for the easy way out.  When Daniel Bryan was a face, he was celebrated for his technical wrestling skills, and still is despite the latest heel position he holds.

The good news for Bryan is that many predecessors before him went from heel to over with the fans and were able to become a face "with attitude."  The best examples include the late Macho Man Randy Savage, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and John Cena.  All of them maintained personalities that the fans embraced, despite the fact WWE set them up as heels.  Then at just the right time, they made the turn and became legends.

Daniel Bryan certainly has the ability to do that.  His move has been renamed the "Yes Lock," which some love and some hate.  Despite the name of the move, it's got the potential to keep those "YES" chants coming, as does the official Daniel Bryan Yes t-shirt.  Time will tell if Bryan will shift to face and win back a major championship, without having to use a briefcase to do it.  CM Punk is the most recent example of someone to do that, and gain popularity with the fans, so it's only natural that another Ring of Honor wrestler does the same.

Extreme Rules 2012: Does Cena vs. Brock Need a Stipulation?

The Extreme Rules 2012 matches are slowly being released, with at least two matches announced so far.  One of those will have Daniel Bryan in a rematch against Sheamus, where best 2 of 3 falls wins the championship.  The other will put John Cena against Brock Lesnar.  However, this match has yet to be assigned any sort of stipulation.

Does it need one?  It seems like it should have one, but then again this is their first meeting in some time, and at the start of a brand new feud.  The stakes seem to raise when feuds continue for several matches.  For example, Triple H vs. Undertaker's Hell in a Cell match this past Wrestlemania, or Cena's various matches against Batista involving chairs and being the last guy standing.

If a stipulation were to be added to this match, first blood seems appropriate, especially after Lesnar drew blood on Cena on Raw.  Whether or not that was intended or not is another story, but it seems like a fitting way for these two to face off at a Pay-Per-View called "Extreme Rules."  Not only that, but it gives Brock a chance to show off what he learned in MMA/UFC.

For early predictions, it's hard to see Cena winning his first match against Lesnar cleanly, only because it seems to spoil Brock's big return.  So either Brock is due a big comeback win, or this will end in a double DQ/tie of some sort to set up future matches.  It only seems odd that right now there isn't a stipulation for a match at a PPV of this nature, but that could change in the coming weeks.

Wrestling fans what do you think?  Does this match need a stipulation or is it fine as a regular match between John Cena and Brock Lesnar?

Smackdown Results 04/10/12

Smackdown Results from Hampton, VA:

Tonight's episode was Super Smackdown Live "Blast from the Past" featuring Dust Rhodes, Tony Atlas, Hillbilly Jim, Roddy Piper, Mick Foley, Mean Gene, Million Dollar Man, and more.

Lilian Garcia introduced Mean Gene Okerlund who was in the ring.  He introduced his  guest to start off the show, World Heayweight Champion Sheamus.  Sheamus said as a champion he has to conduct himself in a certain manner.  He said he wanted to publicly apologize to the referee, all of the other officials, and everyone around the world.

Sheamus kept talking, but was interrupted when John Laurinaitis' theme music hit and he came down to the ring.  He had footage shown of what happened on last week's Smackdown in his match against Del Rio.  Laurinaitis asked Sheamus to publicly apologize to everyone all over again, saying he didn't hear it.  Sheamus obliged, but was unhappy doing it for JL.

Laurinaitis told Sheamus as of right now he's on permanent probation, and if he touches a referee by accident or otherwise he's fired and will be fined $500,000, the largest fine ever in the history of WWE.  Laurinaitis then told Sheamus he's in a match tonight.  It'll be Del Rio and Daniel Bryan against Sheamus, and Mean Gene Okerlund.

They showed the locker room for Randy Orton backstage.  Cowboy Bob Orton went in and gave support to his son, telling him to be careful out there against Mark Henry.  They hugged and Orton left for his match.

Randy Orton and Mark Henry fought to a no contest.  Late in the match, Henry went for World's Strongest Slam, but Orton slid off.  He went for RKO, but Henry shoved him out through the ropes.  Out on the floor, Orton gained the upperhand against Henry, shoving him twice into the ring post and slamming him down.

Orton slipped back into the ring as the ref checked on Henry.  Pyro exploded from the ringposts scaring Orton a bit.  Kane came on the Titantron saying he regained his composure after defeating Orton at Mania.  He said he learned Orton is just as savage as he is though.  Kane then said he's having fun with this, getting the whole family involved.  Kane crouched down and knelt on the floor next to Bob Orton who was layed out.  Orton took off up the ramp and backstage.

Orton looked around backstage and finally found the room where his dad was layed out.  He went to check on him, but got attacked by Kane with a pipe.  Kane left him layed out next to Bob Orton and said "I'm a sucker for family reunions."

Ryback defeated Benny Camer in a very quick squash match.  He started with a huge clothesline and then a Samoan backwards slam for the pin.  Backstage, Tony Atlas, Million Dollar Man, Pat Patterson and another WWE star were watching the match on a monitor and got a chuckle out of it.

Heath Slater was backstage talking to Tyson Kidd in the locker room about their match against The Uso's.  Slater said since Gabriel's hurt, this is their chance to win and open up doors in the tag division.  He said he even got them a hall of fame manager.  In came Jimmy Mouth of the South Hart.  Hart started to give a pep talk with his megaphone and told them to start out towards the ring.  Slater left with Hart, and Kidd stayed behind shaking his head.

The Usos defeated Heath Slater and Tyson Kidd by pinfall.  Late in the match, Jimmy Hart kept annoying Mick Foley who was on commentary.  Hart kept yelling through his megaphone at Foley on commentary.  Finally, Foley had enough and got up, pulling Mr Socko out.  Hart ran through the ring and to the ramp.  The distraction cost Slater, who got hit by a Samoan Slam and then Samoan Splash for the pin.  Post-match, Foley caught Hart in the ring and used Mr. Socko on him to put him down.

Rowdy Roddy Piper came to the ring to host "Piper's Pit" with special guest Daniel Bryan.  Piper talked about Bryan losing in 18 seconds at Mania and blaming his girlfriend for it.  He rolled footage of Bryan dumping AJ in the ring on last week's Smackdown.  When Bryan got to the ring a bunch of "YES" chants started up with some of the crowd booing and saying "NO."  Bryan told Piper that he was granted a rematch for the World Championship by John Laurinaitis.


Bryan announced that he will get a "2 Out of 3 Falls" match against Sheamus at Extreme Rules for his rematch.  Bryan noted that AJ will be nowhere to be found so she can't mess this up for him.  Piper then introduced AJ who came to the ring.  She tried to patch things up with Bryan, but Piper told her to think this over and be the strong woman she is.  Bryan told her if she really loves him she'd leave the ring now.  Piper argued with her not to do it.  AJ finally left and went backstage.  Piper then launched into a lecture on Bryan for how he treated AJ, and said he can't wait to see Sheamus kick Bryan's head off his shoulders twice at Extreme Rules.  Bryan said he's better than Sheamus and will slap everyone across the face at the PPV.  He slapped Piper in the face, and then ran out of the ring, running up the ramp doing his YES!" routine.

Alicia Fox, Natalya & Great Khali defeated The Bella Twins and Drew McIntyre by pinfall.  Alicia Fox got the win after a suplex on one of the Bellas and a pinfall.  The post-match saw Mae Young arrive out and kick Khali in the knee, causing him to fall to one knee in the ring.  She then kissed him and everyone danced around the celebrate.

They had a segment with Cody Rhodes coming out to talk about Smackdown being a waste of time.  He said he's turning his attention to the future when he will become IC champ again and Big Show won't land a lucky KO punch.  Dusty Rhodes came out to confront Cody about how he came into WWE as a promising star, but now he's poking a grizzly bear.  Rhodes told him they'd go backstage to talk about this, but Big Show arrived out on stage.  Show rolled footage from Cody's "Dashing" days, showing his lip gloss promo.  Show told him that's embarassing, saluted the crowd, and went backstage.  Cody left the ring embarassed, and Dusty did a dance routine to his theme music in the ring.

Sheamus & Mean Gene Okerlund defeated Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio by pinfall.  Towards the end, Bryan and Del Rio cornered Mean Gene in the ring after Sheamus was taken out on the outside.  However, Roddy Piper's music hit and he came out with all of the legends.  They surrounded the ring.  Daniel Bryan started taunting Piper who told him to turn back around.  As Bryan turned around he ate a Brogue Kick from Sheamus, leading to the loss.

Post-match, the legends gave their finishers to Ricardo Rodriguez in the ring.  Michael Cole got in the ring to mock the legends saying it's time to head back to the retirement home.  They started giving him noogies, and Cole eventually got knocked down.  Sheamus then pushed Cole out of the ring to the floor to finish things off.

Smackdown Results 04/06/12

Smackdown Results for 04/06/12 from Orlando, FL:

John Laurinaitis came out with David Otunga to the ring, then brought out Teddy Long for a final moment on Smackdown.  JL insults Teddy in the segment, and shows off the new and improved Smackdown.  Long wants to quit working on Smackdown, but Laurinaitis doesn't let him, so he'll be working for Johnny now.

David Otunga and Mark Henry defeated R-Truth in a handicap match.

Randy Orton defeated Kane by pinfall in a No DQ match.  The finish saw Kane hit into the exposed turnbuckle, and then hit by Orton's RKO.

Skip Sheffield debuted as a new character named Ryback.  He defeated a local wrestler in a squash match.

Daniel Bryan arrived out to cut a promo.  As the fans chanted "YES!" Bryan said the fans are mocking him and he doesn't buy it.  He starts to cut down AJ after his title loss.  He eventually dumps her and she goes running backstage.  The crowd keeps chanting "YES" and sings the "Goodbye" song to AJ.

The new Intercontinental Champion Big Show defeated Heath Slater by pinfall after a WMD KO punch.  Cody Rhodes was on commentary for the match.

Nikki Bella defeated Beth Phoenix by pinfall in a non-title match.  Kelly Kelly was there and distracted Phoenix, allowing Nikki the quick win.

There was a promo from a new upcoming wrestler Damien Sandow.

Alberto Del Rio defeated Sheamus due to disqualification.  Sheamus was DQ'd after catching a chair Del Rio tried to use on him.  The ref saw Sheamus with the chair and Del Rio faked like he had been hit.  The win gives Del Rio a future title shot against Sheamus.  An angry Celtic Warrior took down the referee to end the show.

Smackdown Results 03/23/12

Smackdown Results from Newark, NJ:

Smackdown opened with Daniel Bryan and AJ in the ring.  Bryan made AJ talk about how great he is.  Sheamus came out to interrupt, vowing to win at WrestleMania 28.

Mark Henry defeated R-Truth by pinfall after World's Strongest Slam.

They announced that Yokozuna will be inducted into the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame.

Team Teddy announced two new members: Zack Ryder and Great Khali.  Hornswoggle will be their team mascot.

AJ defeated Brie Bella, with Daniel Bryan doing his typical celbration after the win.

Zack Ryder defeated Jack Swagger by pinfall after he hit the Rough Ryder.  Hornswoggle was there as Ryder's corner guy, while Vickie was ringside for Swagger.

Kane vs. Big Show ended up with Cody Rhodes interfering, causing Show to chase him backstage.  Randy Orton snuck out from under the ring and then hit the RKO on Kane in the ring.

The Great Khali defeated Dolph Ziggler due to countout.  Christian was on commentary, and John Laurinaitis tried to declare Ziggler winner by submission.  Long restarted the match and Ziggler got counted out eventually.

The main event saw Sheamus and CM Punk defeat The Miz and Daniel Bryan by pinfall.  Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick to defeat The Miz.

Raw Results 03/19/12

Raw started with CM Punk coming to the ring to discuss how upset he was over Jericho bringing up his dad's alcoholism last week.  He said Jericho forgot the facts, that his dad's overcome alcoholism and he's proud of him for that.  Punk said he's proud of being straight edge and now Jericho's plan has backfired because it will bring the monster in Punk out at Wrestlemania 28.

Jericho appeared on the big screen in a suit, live via satellite.  He said he apologized for bringing up Punk's dad and won't do it again.  He brought up Punk's sister though and talked about her being a drug addict.  That got Punk enraged in the ring to the point he swore several times on the mic and vowed to beat the "s---" out of Jericho at Mania.

Kane defeated Big Show by pinfall.  Cody Rhodes came to the ringside area to go on commentary, but put on some boxing gloves to mock Show getting beat by Floyd Mayweather at Wrestlemania several years ago.  The close of the match saw Show distracted by Rhodes to the point Kane chokeslammed Show off the corner for the win.  Post-match, Rhodes hit the Beautiful Disaster Kick on Show in the ring and then cuffed him to the ropes.  He punched away on Show for a while until refs got involved and Rhodes eventually took off.

David Otunga defeated Santino Marella by pinfall in a non-title matchup.  The finish saw Laurinaitis and Long ringside in another argument after JL tried to slip a foreign object in the ring to Otunga.  The distraction allowed Otunga to nail Santino with his finisher.

They had a promo for a "new" Japanese wrestler named Lord Tensai who is coming soon.

They had a video segment featuring The Rock talking in front of the Rocky statue in Philly.  He showed a picture of himself as a young boy in front of the same statue and talked about how he promised he'd become the greatest wrestler ever then.  He brought up legends like Mick Foley Ric Flair, Randy Savage, and talked about how beating Cena will validate that The Rock is the greatest of all time.

Daniel Bryan defeated Zack Ryder by submission hold in about two minutes.  Late in the match, Ryder was on the comeback, hitting the Broski boot and then going for the Rough Ryder.  However, Bryan countered it into the Labelle Lock to get the win.  Post-match, he got a kiss on the cheek from AJ.

John Cena was reportedly in a minor car accident while driving around Philly.  Cole said Cena says he's fine to compete but a marketing rep with Cena says otherwise.

John Cena defeated Mark Henry by pinfall.  Late in the match Cena hit the AA on Henry after ducking a move from Henry.  Post-match, The Rock's music hit and he arrived out to the ring.  He grabbed Henry and hit the Rock Bottom, then stared at an exhausted and shocked Cena.  Rock stood there a bit before leaving, having sent Cena a message.

The Miz came out demanding an open challenge match so he could be a part of Team Laurinaitis.  However, he lost to Sheamus in the match after the Brogue Kick.  Backstage, they showed Laurinaitis shaking his head in disbelief about Miz's performance.

Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler defeated R-Truth and Kofi Kingston by pinfall, after Ziggler hit the Zig Zag on Truth for the pin.  Vickie and Aksana fought outside the ring, requiring their respective wrestlers to hold them apart.

The main segment featured Shawn Michaels talking about how he's a big deal at Wrestlmania 28 as special ref in the Taker vs HHH match.  Both guys came out and got into it, with both vowing to end the other.  Taker reminded Michaels not to interfere in this and to keep it pure.  Taker also closed by telling HHH that Shawn Michaels is better than him.  That left HHH angry in the ring staring face to fae with Shawn Michaels.

WWE Smackdown Results 03/16/12

Smackdown opened with the return of Christian for "The Peep Show."  He had interim Raw GM John Laurinaitis and Smackdown GM Teddy Long as his guests to promote the Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny tag match at Wrestlemania 28.  Christian tried to get Teddy to give him another title match for being on his team.  Laurinaitis interrupted Teddy saying it would be an honor for Christian to be on his team and said if his team wins Christian gets another championship match.

Teddy Long tried to book Christian to compete in a match, but Laurinaitis said he's not medically cleared for action.  Long said instead Otunga can compete then, against the newest member of Team Long, Kofi Kingston.

Kofi Kingston defeated David Otunga by pinfall.  Aksana, Santino and Christian were ringside while Teddy Long and John Laurinaitis were also on commentary for the match.  Late in the match, Teddy Long told the ref to toss Christian out from the ringside area.  Laurinaitis and Long got into an argument ringside, distracting the ref.  Otunga tried to use his belt as a weapon but Santino got on the apron and grabbed it from him.  Otunga punched Santino off the apron, but then got hit by Trouble in Paradise as he turned around.

They showed the Divas Locker Room door backstage, and then Daniel Bryan appeared in front of the door.  AJ shyly opened the door and stepped out wearing a slinky black dress, telling Bryan she didn't think it fit right.  Daniel told her to do a spin, then said it looked better on the mannequin.  He brought up how they're going to be the next WWE power couple like Macho Man/Elizabeth, or HHH/Stephanie.  He said he's got AJ a match next and if she win's she'll get a future divas title shot.  He said he'll be in her corner tonight to help her, just like in life.

AJ defeated Nikki Bella by pinfall.  Daniel Bryan was at ringside for AJ, while Brie was at ringside for Nikki.  Brie tried to do Twin Magic late in the match but Bryan told the ref they were trying to cheat.  However, the ref became distracted talking to Bryan and Brie yanked AJ down to the mat from the apron by her hair.  Nikki went for the win, but AJ countered into a hurricanrana for the pinfall.  Post-match, Bryan got in the ring and started jumping up on the corners raising his arms in victory over the win.

They showed the Raw Rebound with highlights from Rock's concert in Cleveland this past Monday on Raw.  They announced that The Rock's concert is available on iTunes right now.  Cole and Booker talked about who they thought was better in concert.  Cole announced Cena vs. Henry on Raw this Monday.

Backstage segment had Matt Striker interviewing Cody Rhodes about Big Show's Wrestlemania moments.  Rhodes said 364 days of the year, Big Show is the biggest there is, but on one day, Wrestlemania, he's a choke artist.  Rhodes said Show's never won a one-on-one match at Mania ever.  Striker said Rhodes takes on Great Khali next.

Cody Rhodes defeated Great Khali by pinfall.  Late in the match, Khali had control and went for the big chop near the ropes.  Rhodes avoided it and yanked Khali's neck against the top rope.  He got back in the ring with a springboard dropkick to take down Khali, then hit the Beautiful Disaster for the win.

Randy Orton came to the ring to demand that Kane explain himself and why he keeps coming after him.  Kane came out and reminded Orton of footage from last July when they competed in a Street Fight.  Orton won, and Kane got hurt.  Kane said the person who shook Orton's hand after that match ended is now gone, and he's been replaced by the monster Kane has always been.  Orton told him that was very enlightening, then taunted Kane to come to the ring and finish what he started.  Kane began walking down the ramp then stopped to tell Orton he wants his demise to happen at Wrestlemania.  Kane threw his hands up then down and let the pyro explode from the ringposts.

Big Show knocked out Drew McIntyre for the win.

Mark Henry defeated Yoshi Tatsu

Chris Jericho did another promo about CM Punk and alcoholism ahead of their Wrestlemania match.

Chris Jericho defeated Sheamus by countout after Daniel Bryan attacked Sheamus when the ref was distracted.

 

Smackdown Results 03/09/12

Smackdown Results from Uncasville, CT:

Santino Marella defeated Jack Swagger in a steel cage match to retain the US Championship.  Vickie Guerrero accidentally slamed the cage door on Swagger's head, allowing Santino to climb up and out of the cage for the win.

In a backstage segment, Teddy Long asked Laurinaitis to call of the match he announced for Aksana vs. Kane.  Laurinaitis said he'll face Long in a match to determine if the Kane-Aksana match happens or not.

Drew McIntyre came to the ring saying Laurinaitis said he could have his job back, if he wins his match tonight.  Great Khali came out, but David Otunga told Khali to take a seat.  He replaced Khali with Hornswoggle.  Drew McIntyre defeated Hornswoggle, but post match, Khali chopped Drew down, then helped Hornswoggle out.

Mark Henry defeated Ezekiel Jackson by pinfall in a quick match.

Teddy Long defeated John Laurinaitis by pinfall.  During the match, Kane came to the ring, but Randy Orton rushed down and hit him with an RKO outside the ring.  Teddy Long made the cover on Laurinaitis for the win.

Kofi Kingston and R-Truth defeated Epico and Primo by pinfall in a non-title match.

In the main event, Randy Orton, Big Show and Sheamus defeated Daniel Bryan, Cody Rhodes and Miz.  Orton hit the RKO on Miz for the pinfall win.  Post-match, Kane came to go after Orton, but the ended up fighting until Randy hit the RKO to close things out.

Raw Results 03/05/12

Raw Results from Boston, MA:

Shawn Michaels came out to start the show, making his way to the ring after pyro and slapping fans' hands.  He said things got heated between he and HHH weeks ago, but that's all water under the bridge now.  He wants to find out why HHH changed his mind about facing The Undertaker.  Triple H came out dressed in a business suit to respond.

Michaels talked about how he took shots that were below the belt at HHH to try to get him to face Taker again, but HHH didn't buckle.  He called Triple H a man of honor and integrity.  After the footage from last week was shown of Taker suggesting to HHH that maybe he thinks HBK is the better wrestler, HHH finally spoke in the ring.

He told Michaels he's sick of all the talk behind his back by Taker and others about how HBK wasn't good enough to end the streak.  He said Michaels is the greatest in-ring performer of all time and he doesn't like seeing him as a loser.  HBK sarcastically thanked him for all that, and said it hurt him to admit he couldn't get it done and then see HHH dominate Taker at Mania last year.  Michaels said this year at Hell in a Cell he knows who's going to win and he'll be right.  Michaels went to ring, before pausing and coming back to say he's the special guest referee for the match at WM28.

Santino Marella defeated Jack Swagger by pinfall to become the new United States champion.  Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler were at ringside.  John Laurinaitis and David Otunga arrived during the match.  Eventually, the man in charge tonight, Teddy Long, came out with Kofi Kingston and girlfriend Aksana.  They confronted Laurinaitis and Otunga as Raw went to break.  Late in the match, Santino had the Cobra sock on and used it to strike down Ziggler from the apron.  Vickie got on the other apron and Santino went for her, but she dropped off.  Aksana rushed over and shoved Vickie to the floor.  Swagger put the Ankle Lock on Santino, but Santino managed to flip him into the turnbuckle then did a schoolboy pinfall to win the match.

Post-match, Teddy Long and Laurinaitis argued about who's show it was.  Long called security out to escort JL and Otunga away from the arena.

They had a segment with The Rock outside near Boston harbor from earlier in the day.  He gave his first history lesson of the night about the Boston Tea Party and chucked various John Cena memorabilia, wristbands, cologne and other items into the water behind him.  He told someone to go clean up the Cena trash from the water.

Eve Torres defeated Alicia Fox by pinfall.  Eve scored a quick rollup and held Alicia's legs down to secure the win.  Kelly Kelly was at ringside on commentary with Cole and Lawler and stared down Eve post-match.

Zack Ryder showed up to cut a quick promo.  He walked out on the ramp with a cane and said he's glad he never hooked up with Eve, because Bro-ski's before Hoe-ski's.  Later backstage, Eve caught up with Zack and said she had something to say, then planted a passionate kiss on him.  Zack was shocked by it and smiled as Eve rushed off.

John Cena was shown sitting in the stands in the empty Boston arena before Raw.  He talked about how big his match with Dwayne Johnson will be at WM28.  He talked about how The Rock's the most successful superstar ever in the history of WWE.  He spoke about how he doesn't just intend to show up at Mania, but to win.  He said Boston is the "city of champions" and brought up the Patriots near undefeated season which was ruined by the Giants in the Superbowl.  Cena said nobody remembers 2nd place.  He also suggested that WM28 will break ever record in the history of WWE and no one will remember second place.  He said that's why he needs to win and why Mania is so important, because it's his legacy on the line.  Cena was shown staring up at the Wrestlemania 28 banner in the empty arena as the segment ended.

Daniel Bryan and Chris Jericho defeated CM Punk and Sheamus by pinfall.  Late in the match, Punk hurt his back, but gained control against Bryan.  He hit the Macho Man elbow drop from the corner, but Bryan kicked out of the pinfall.  Things broke down late in the match, with Jericho and Punk winding up legal in the ring.  Jericho went for the Walls of Jericho, but Punk countered to a pinfall, but Jericho rolled through for the winning pinfall.  Jericho rushed out of the ring and picked up the WWE championship belt smiling at Punk in the ring.  He took the belt and shoved it under the ropes at a seated and dejected Punk.

The Rock gave history lesson #2 in front of a statue of Paul Revere, talking about Revere yelling "the British are coming."  He said what if it was this guy yelling and showed a cardboard standup cutout of Cena.  He talked about how much things would suck now if Cena was Revere.  Rock said he would have to travel back in time to kick Cena's ass.  Rock gave his own version of "Yankee Doodle" featuring how he stuck a feather up Cena's ass and called him a jabroni.

The Big Show defeated The Miz by pinfall.  Cody Rhodes arrived out before the match could start to show a highlight clip of Big Show from Wrestlemania X8.  He wasn't at the event, but instead at the WWE restaurant eating and riling up fans.  That only angered Show more, as he eventually speared Miz down and then hit him with the WMD for the win.  Rhodes sneered about the result as he stared down at the ring where Show held a fist up and pointed at the WM28 banner.


History lesson #3 from The Rock came outside the Massachussetts State House in front of the Boston Common.  He talked about the Americans fighting for their independence.  Rock said that spirit lives inside of him.  Rock said something else is going to be overthrown, when he overthrows John Cena at Wrestlemania 28 after 10 years of him being shoved in the fans' faces.

They announced that Shawn Michaels will appear to confront The Undertaker on next week's Raw in Cleveland, Ohio.

Kane defeated R-Truth by pinfall.  Truth made a comeback with an elbow from the corner and went for the scissors kick to finish Kane, but Kane avoided it.  Kane came back with the big chokeslam to win it.  Post-match, Kane made the pyro explode from the ringposts.  Suddenly, Randy Orton's music hit and The Viper stormed down the ramp.  Kane turned to leave the ring, but R-Truth grabbed his leg and held onto him.  Orton got in the ring and hit the RKO on Kane as Truth rolled out of the ring.  Orton got a mic and crouched down near Kane then said "It's good to be back," before leaving the ring.

John Cena arrived out to mixed reaction in his home arena of the TD Garden.  He looked at the camera and said it's the "home of Larry Bird, Wade Boggs, and John Cena, can you believe that?"

Cena talked about The Rock's history lessons likening them to infomercials, asking fans to decipher what Rock was really saying.  He said Rock keeps talking about his penis and how many women he's had sex with.  Cena asked if he's facing The Rock at Mania or "Jersey Shore" star The Situation.  Cena said after he came out to confront Rock last week, Rock seemed shaken up and couldn't find his words.

Cena talked about what he was wearing and how ridiculous he looks.  He said despite all that Rock was shaken by him.  He also said lately Rock's best stuff has been pre-recorded or by satellite.  Cena said he needs to know who he's facing at Mania, the man who talks about Chinese takeout for 20 mins, or the greatest superstar ever in the history of WWE.  Cena demanded "The Rock" to come out there because he doesn't want to see the alternative in the ring.

The Rock's music hit and out came Dwayne Johnson staring down towards Cena in the ring.  He got in the ring and paced around with a mic in hand keeping eye contact with Cena.  Rock said he sees fear in Cena's eyes that he's taking everything away from him from the past 10 years.  Rock said he sees right through him and questioned Cena if he really thinks he shook his confidence.  A "Boots 2 Asses" chant started up to pause Rock's speech.

A "Tooth Fairy" chant started up which allowed Cena to ask even though they're near Tewksbury Mass, he wanted to make sure they were chanting "Tooth Fairy."  Rock said at his core he's a man who will whoop his ass, and at Cena's core he'll always be a little boy that will go down in history as "The Rock's bitch."  Rock said what he had to say then left the ring, mic in hand.

Cena said Rock's height and weight don't intimidate him.  He said Rock's lost his damn mind if he thinks he's scared of him.  Cena said at Wrestlemania he's the son of a bitch who's going to make history by whooping Rock's ass.  Cena went to do a pose on the ring corner, then waved it off and dove under the ropes.  He rushed over the crowd barrier and jumped into a bunch of fans to celebrate, then took a drink from one of their beers before going back in the ring to pose more.

Cena went over to hug his dad, and kiss his wife, and introduce his brother-in-law on camera as Raw ended.

Smackdown Results 03/02/12

Latest match results for Smackdown episode on 3/2/12 from Seattle, WA:

Sheamus came to the ring to start the show and talked about how he can't wait to face Daniel Bryan for the World Championship at Mania.  Vickie and Dolph came out to interrupt and make fun of Sheamus' story, with Dolph saying he should be in the WM28 main event.  Teddy Long came out to interrupt and booked Sheamus vs Ziggler to start things off.

Sheamus defeated Dolph Ziggler by pinfall.  Late in the match, Ziggler tried for a move off the corner, but Sheamus caught him and hit the side Irish Curse slam.  Sheamus had the pin, but Vickie rushed over and put Ziggler's leg on the ropes.  Sheamus hit several more moves for near falls.  Jack Swagger came down to jump on the apron but was punched off.  Ziggler hit Zig Zag for a near fall.  Moments later, Ziggler jumped on Sheamus' back to try a sleeper, but Sheamus turned it into his new finisher White Noise for the win.

Backstage, John Laurinaitis and David Otunga talked to Teddy Long about how he pushed JL down on Raw.  Otunga said the criminal charges might not be there but he may file civil charges.  Laurinaitis said he wanted an apology, but Long refused.  JL said he's running Smackdown next week.  Long booked Otunga vs. Great Khali.

Santino Marella defeated Heath Slater by pinfall.  Slater had control late in the match as he climbed the corner.  Santino got up though and backed against the ropes causing Slater to crotch himself on the top turnbuckle.  Santino retrieved The Cobra puppet, put it on and clocked Slater with his big punch to finish him by pinfall.

They showed the video clip to go over highlights of Triple H vs. The Undertaker at WM27.  Various WWE stars and personalities weighed in with mini interviews including Stone Cold Steve Austin, Edge, CM Punk, Randy Orton, Big Show and John Cena.

Backstage, Eve was prettying herself up with a mirror when Natalya came in.  She said they haven't always seen eye to eye, but what Eve did to Zack was inexcusable.  Eve told her that while Zack may have been sweet and genuine, he really stinks.  Natalya let one rip and said "No Eve, that stinks" before smiling and leaving the scene.  Eve started holding her breath pretending she was choking as Cole said the two divas go at it next.

"Invincible" by MGK featuring Ester Dean is one of the official Wrestlemania 28 theme songs.

Eve defeated Natalya by pinfall.  Late in the match, the two divas brawled before trading pinfall attempts.  Eve finally secured Natalya's legs in a pinfall to get the win.

Big Show defeated Mark Henry by pinfall.  Cody Rhodes came to the ringside area and joined the commentary team for the match.  In the end, Henry hit World's Strongest Slam, but Show kicked out.  Show then landed the WMD punch for the pin.

Justin Gabriel defeated Drew McIntyre by pinfall.  Late in the match, Gabriel hit a spinning tornado DDT and then followed up with the 450 Splash to win it.  Post-match, Teddy Long got on the big screen saying it was time to let McIntyre go.  The crowd did the "hey hey hey Goodbye" chant.

Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton fought to a no contest.  Later in the match, Orton went for a DDT from the apron to the floor with Bryan.  All of a sudden, Kane's pyro and music hit bringing the Big Red Machine to the ring area.  HE started beating up Orton around the ring.  Otunga and Laurinaitis were shown watching backstage, talking about the brutality.  Kane got a mic and said "Welcome back, Randy, welcome back!"

Laurinaitis commented to Otunga backstage that maybe he'll book Kane vs. Teddy Long's girlfriend Aksana next week.

Smackdown Results 02/22/12

Smackdown Results from Rockford, IL:

World Champion Daniel Bryan came to the ring with girlfriend AJ to talk about his win at Elimination Chamber.  He talked about Sheamus ruining his victory, but said he'll have the last laugh when he wins at WM28.  The Miz came out to interrupt, but said he wasn't there to steal the spotlight.  Instead, he congratulated his former protege for making it to where he is now.  Miz suggested they form a tag team after Wrestlemania.  Sheamus came out to interrupt that idea.  Bryan attaked Sheamus but then ran away.

Sheamus defeated The Miz by pinfall.  Sheamus won by countering Skullcrushing Finale and hitting his new finishing move.

Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler defeated Kofi Kingston and R-Truth by pinfall.

Great Khali defeated Drew McIntyre by pinfall after hitting the Punjabi Plunge.

Big Show defeated Mark Henry after landing his knockout punch.  Cody Rhodes came out during the match to interrupt Show's first near win, and showed footage from Wrestlemania 21 when Show lost to Akebono in a Sumo Match.  Show got hit by World's Strongest Slam, but still managed to get his KO punch after kicking out of the pinfall.  He went after Cody after that.

David Otunga defeated Ezekiel Jackson by pinfall.  Late in the match, Otunga countered Jackson's Torture Rack and hit his own finisher for the win.

CM Punk defeated Daniel Bryan in the main event.  At one point, Bryan tried to leave the ring, but Sheamus threw him back in.  Punk connected on a kick to take down Bryan for a pinfall win.

However, John Laurinaitis came out to order the match to continue due to the interference.  Daniel Bryan managed to get a rollup pinfall later, holding the middle rope to secure it.  Laurinaitis clapped as if the match was done there, but Smackdown GM Teddy Long came out and had the match restarted.

In the grand finale, Punk connected on a kick to Bryan's head but Bryan got his foot on the ropes before the three count.  Bryan hit a suplex off the top rope on Punk, but both men's shoulder's hit the mat and were down as the ref counted them out.

To end the show, Laurinaitis and Long argued over which wrestler won, with no winner announced.

Smackdown Results 02/17/12

Smackdown Results from Fresno, CA:

The Smackdown episode opened with Teddy Long and World Champion Daniel Bryan backstage.  Security guards were guarding Teddy's office.  Long said he's concerned about Randy Orton's condition, so he's pulling him from the Smackdown Chamber match on Sunday.

The Big Show and Great Khali defeated Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes.  Post-match, Big Show turns against and takes out Khali.

Hunico defeated Ted Dibiase thanks to help from Camacho.

The WWE tag champions Primo and Epico defeated The Usos.

Daniel Bryan came out to talk about what he did on Raw, and vowed to win the Elimination Chamber Sunday.  He tells Lilian Garcia to announce him as the winner of this match by forfeit, but Teddy Long interrupts him, booking Bryan vs. Sheamus instead.

Daniel Bryan defeated Sheamus due to disqualification.  Sheamus kept attacking Bryan after Bryan spit in his face.  Sheamus also shoved the ref to cause a DQ.

Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett ask Teddy Long backstage who will replace Randy Orton in the chamber match.  Long says he's booked a battle royal involving Raw and Smackdown superstars to compete for the final spot.

Jinder Mahal defeated Ezekiel Jackson.

Tamina and Alicia Fox defeated Natalya and Beth Phoenix.  During the match, the referee was distracted by Natalya's farting.

The main event was a battle royal to determine Randy Orton's replacement in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match.  Santino Marella won, with the final participants David Otunga, Drew McIntyre, Ezekiel Jackson and Santino.

Smackdown Results 02/10/12

Smackdown Results from Tulsa, OK:

Smackdown opens with Sheamus in the ring saying he hasn't decided which championship he'll go for yet at Wrestlemania 28 as winner of the Royal Rumble.  Out comes Wade Barrett to talk about how he'll win the Elimination Chamber and become World Champion.  Cody Rhodes comes out vowing he'll win the Chamber match to be first dual IC-World Heavyweight champion.  Big Show comes out last to talk trash on the two heels, saying he respects Sheamus.  The segment ends with Show taking out Rhodes and Sheamus taking out Barrett.

Jinder Mahal did an earlier interview saying once he beats Great Khali tonight on Smackdown, he'll take his spot in the Chamber match.  Khali won the match though with the Punjabi Plunge and a pinfall.

Backstage Teddy Long was with Aksana talking about suspending Mark Henry.  Aksana says Teddy deserves a reward.  Daniel Bryan comes in and complains Long didn't invite him to the recent BBQ he had.  Long apologizes, but Bryan ignores him saying he lives a Vegan lifestyle.  Bryan tries to pretend he's sick tonight and can't compete, but Long says he still has to.

Beth Phoenix defeated Alicia Fox by pinfall after the Glam Slam.  Post-match, Beth kept attacking Alicia, but Tamina came down for the save.  Beth and Tamina stared each other down a bit, before Beth leaves with the Divas title.

Natalya was talking to Tyson Kidd about how embarassing her problem is.  Kidd tells her don't worry about it, with Natalya saying it was she talks too much.  Kidd leaves, with Hornswoggle showing up.  Natalya farted and Hornswoggled noticed, then passed out on the floor.  Natalya tries to blame Tyson for it and runs out.

The Big Show and Sheamus defeated Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett by pinfall.  Late in the match, it was Sheamus vs Barrett.  Rhodes tried to get involved but Big Show spears him down just as Sheamus connects on a Brogue Kick for the win.

Michael Cole did an interview with AJ, eventually asking her insulting questions, and saying her relationship with Bryan is just a joke, a footnote in WWE history.  Daniel Bryan comes out and tells Cole if he doesn't stop he'll break his arms.  He says he's sick of fans being mean to AJ and is going to drive her home in his Prius.  Teddy Long stops them though, saying he'll find a ride home for AJ, but if Bryan leaves the arena, he vacates his World Championship title.

Ted Dibiase defeated Hunico by pinfall.  Late in the match, Hunico was attacking Dibiase's injured arm and wrist.  However, Dibiase got the last laugh as he grabbed Hunico for a late roll-up pin to win.

Big Show was on commentary for the main event match between Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan.  Late in the contest, Orton was about to get the RKO but Bryan escapes the ring, to get his title, ready to leave.  Big Show confronts him ringside, then shoves Daniel Bryan down.  Bryan gets back into the ring, where Orton hits the RKO.  He thinks he has a winning pinfall, but instead he is DQ'd due to Show interfering on the outside.

Post-match, Orton and Show have words about what just happened, before they start physically fighting as Bryan heads up the ramp to end Smackdown.

John Laurinaitis Job Situation & Elimination Chamber Matches

Last night's Raw let it be know that interim General Manager John Laurinaitis was still on the hot seat.  Triple H announced that the WWE Board would decide JL's fate after Laurinaitis had appealed to them about not being fired.  During Raw, they noted that WWE.com would announce the full story on Tuesday morning with the board's decision.

Well the WWE Board of Directors has spoken and according to WWE.com, Laurinaitis is not fired.  A two-minute video accompanies the story at WWE.com for fans to see last night's segment involving Triple H and Laurinaitis.  Of course this will probably irritate some fans and Triple H heading forward.  Others may want to see how this will play out.  By the way, JL announced he invited Shawn Michaels to appear on Raw for next Monday's episode, which will probably play into the Triple H vs Undertaker storyline.

Triple H actually liked one idea that Laurinaitis gave him last night too. He suggested a new Elimination Chamber match at this month's Pay-Per-View featuring John Cena vs. Kane in an ambulance match.  It's going to be interesting to see how the feud ends between Kane and Cena with this one.  Will Zack Ryder show up to make sure Kane is sent to the hospital, or will Cena do the work?  Will Cena be put on the shelf ahead of his big match with The Rock?

Also, it seems like there's a strong chance, one, or both championships could move at the Chamber PPV.  One would have to think that putting the championship on a guy like Randy Orton to defend against Sheamus makes for a better match than The Celtic Warrior vs. The Vegan Daniel Bryan.  Also, having Chris Jericho enter the Elimination Chamber last gives him the ability to ultimately get the big win and take the WWE Championship with Punk getting his rematch at Mania.

What do you think will be the outcome of the Elimination Chamber matches?  Will either title change hands?

Smackdown Results 02/03/12

Smackdown Results from Omaha, NE:

Smackdown opened with GM Theodore Long out to introduce who will be in Smackdown's Elimination Chamber.  It will be World Champion Daniel Bryan defending against Big Show, Cody Rhodes, Mark Henry, Wade Barrett and Randy Orton.

Henry arrived out to complain that he wasn't getting a one-on-one title match, but instead a one-in-six chance at the Chamber.  Henry demanded a title match tonight, but Teddy said instead he's now out of the Chamber match (no replacement named).  Henry put his hand on Teddy so Long suspended Henry indefinitely.  Henry was about to do more damage, but Sheamus arrived out and hit the Brogue Kick on him.

Teddy asked Sheamus about which title he'll compete for with his Rumble win.  He said he wasn't sure yet, but then Cody Rhodes came out.  Rhodes said he did most of the work for him in the Rumble match.  Teddy ended up booking Rhodes vs Sheamus for right now.

Sheamus defeated Cody Rhodes by pinfall in the opening match of the night.

Hunico and Justin Gabriel were booked for a match but it never started.  Rhodes was still down near the ring and hurting from his match against Sheamus.  He teamed up with Hunico and Camacho to attack Gabriel, but Great Khali came down to save him.

They had a backstage segment with Drew McIntyre begging for his job back with Long.  Santino Marella came in to tell Teddy about a new tag team he made up called "SantinOOOOOO!"  It featured Santino with Hacksaw Jim Duggan.  They both chanted for USA and Italia.  Aksana came in and saw Duggan's 2x4 saying she noticed Teddy's "big piece of wood."  Hacksaw glanced at her then blurted out "HOOO!!!"

Primo and Epico defeated Santino and Hacksaw by pinfall.  Santino was going for The Cobra but got distracted by Rosa Mendes, setting up the win for the tag champs.

Daniel Bryan did a promo about being a role model which included insulting Nebraskans for eating meat.  Big Show came out and said he just a big steak backstage.  Show chokeslammed Bryan, then AJ was there to stop Show from doing any further damage.

Brodus Clay defeated Heath Slater, but then Drew McIntyre came out to attack Clay.  Clay destroyed McIntyre.

Beth Phoenix and Natalya defeated Tamina and Aksana by pinfall.

They announced that Great Khali will replace Mark Henry in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match.

In the main event, Randy Orton defeated Wade Barrett.  The action involved the two foes battling in the front row in the crowd.  Chairs and tables came into play, but Orton won with the RKO.  Daniel Bryan arrived out post-match to celebrate the win.  Teddy Long booked Bryan vs. Orton for next week's Smackdown.

2012 Royal Rumble Entries & Eliminations

The 2012 Royal Rumble was held in St. Louis, Missouri with a field of 30 participants competing this year.  Last year's event had 40 wrestlers in it, with Alberto Del Rio winning the match, and going on to a Wrestlemania 27 championship match against Edge.

See the complete 2012 Royal Rumble results including the other matches on the card.

This year's event saw all sorts of comical spots, twists, turns, and amazing feats, as well as surprise entries.  All three members of the commentary team entered the Rumble at one point or another (Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Booker T).  WWE Diva Kharma made her return to the ring to become the third diva to compete in a Rumble.  Other former WWE stars such as Mick Foley, The Road Dogg Jesse James, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan were also part of the match.

However, there could only be one true winner and this year's was The Celtic Warrior Sheamus.  Sheamus arrived at the 22nd spot for the match, and managed to last until the end, facing Chris Jericho.  Jericho and Sheamus went back and forth, nearly eliminating each other.  Finally, Sheamus was able to block the Codebreaker and put Jericho over the top rope.  Despite Jericho hanging on and getting back to the apron, Sheamus' Brogue Kick sent him to the outside.

Here's a look at all 30 competitors, their entry spots and their order of elimination for the Royal Rumble 2012 edition!


01) The Miz (24th by Big Show)
02) Alex Riley (1st by Miz)
03) R-Truth (2nd by Miz)
04) Cody Rhodes (25th by Big Show)
05) Justin Gabriel (4th by Ricardo Rodriguez/Mick Foley)
06) Primo (3rd by Mick Foley)
07) Mick Foley (8th by Cody Rhodes)
08) Ricardo Rodriguez (5th by Santino Marella)
09) Santino Marella (7th by Cody Rhodes)
10) Epico (6th by Mick Foley)
11) Kofi Kingston (18th by Sheamus)
12) Jerry Lawler (9th by Cody Rhodes)
13) Ezekiel Jackson (11th by Great Khali)
14) Jinder Mahal (10th by Great Khali)
15) The Great Khali (14th by Rhodes & Ziggler)
16) Hunico (16th by Kharma)
17) Booker T (13th by Rhodes & Ziggler)
18) Dolph Ziggler (26th by Big Show)
19) Hacksaw Jim Duggan (12th by Cody Rhodes)
20) Michael Cole (15th by Booker/Lawler/Kharma)
21) Kharma (17th by Ziggler)
22) Sheamus **WINNER**
23) Road Dogg Jesse James (19th by Wade Barrett)
24) Jey Uso (20th by Randy Orton)
25) Jack Swagger (23rd by Sheamus/Big Show)
26) Wade Barrett (21st by Randy Orton)
27) David Otunga (22nd by Chris Jericho)
28) Randy Orton (28th by Jericho)
29) Chris Jericho (29th by Sheamus)
30) Big Show (27th by Orton)

It should be noted that several of the eliminations above were assisted by outside interference.  Michael Cole was technically eliminated by Kharma who was in the ring, but it was his fellow commentators, Lawler and Booker, who yanked him off the apron.  Also, Sheamus was in the middle of pushing Jack Swagger over the top rope, when Big Show made his way to the ring and pulled Swagger to the outside.

Smackdown Results 01/27/12

Smackdown Results from Tucson, AZ:

The latest Smackdown episode opened with the Big Show coming to the ring and discussing how upset he is about injuring AJ.  He contemplates retirement, with Daniel Bryan coming out to taunt him.  Bryan ends up slapping Big Show for what he did, and Show shoves Bryan into a corner of the ring.

Mark Henry comes out to interrupt them and started to taunt them about Sunday's steel cage match.  It ends up with GM Teddy Long arriving out to book Mark Henry vs. Big Show for later tonight.

Cody Rhodes defeated Justin Gabriel by pinfall after hitting the Cross Rhodes finisher.

Backstage, Santino Marella suggests to Teddy Long that he form a tag team with Yoshi Tatsu called Santoshi.  Drew McIntyre comes in with Teddy telling him he's about done on Smackdown.  He books him to face Sheamus in a match.

Sheamus defeated Drew McIntyre by pinfall after hitting the Brogue Kick.

Epico and Primo defeated Santino Marella and Yoshi Tatsu by pinfall in a non-title match.

Backstage, Daniel Bryan talks to Mark Henry saying he respects him and knows he can beat Big Show later on.  Bryan suggests Henry should go teach Show a lesson tonight.

Wade Barrett arrived to the ring for his match against Randy Orton, talking trash about The Viper prior to the match.  Orton arrived out to a big ovation from the crowd, and then started to attack Barrett in the ring.  The match was a no contest as it never got started.  Officials and wrestlers came to the ring to break things up.  Barrett eventually escaped, and Orton hit RKO's on the wrestlers who intervened like Reks, Hawkins, Barreta and one of The Uso Brothers.

Hunico defeated Ted Dibiasae by pinfall, then post-match he and Comacho attacked Dibiase more, working on his hurt wrist.

Brodus Clay defeated Alex Riley by pinfall.  There was a bit of a dance-off prior to the match with Alex Riley trying to show some moves.

Aksana defeated Natalya by a quick roll-up pinfall.  Post-match, Natalya beat down Aksana and put her in the Sharpshooter.  Tamina rushed to the ring and saved Aksana, hitting the Samoan Drop and Superfly Splash on Natalya.

In the main event, Big Show won due to count out against Mark Henry.  Daniel Bryan watched from ringside as the two fought outside the ring, eventually with Henry getting counted out.  Post-match, Bryan attacked Show with a chair, and they wound up fighting in the ring.  Bryan put the Lebell Lock on Show, but Show broke out of it, then chokeslammed Bryan.  Show delivered a WMD punch on Bryan to end Smackdown.

Raw Results 01/23/12

WWE Raw Results from Phoenix, AZ:

After a shot of the live crowd,  Cole introduced fans to the latest Supershow from Phoenix.  Next, the WWE Champion CM Punk arrived out to start off the show.  Punk cut a promo about how Laurinaitis said last week he's going to screw him out of the WWE title at the Royal Rumble.  Punk asked JL to come out and say those words to him right here in the ring again.

John Cena came out instead.  He demanded that Laurinaitis appear to give Zack Ryder a US title rematch, to give him a one-on-one against Kane, and to resign.  Punk started to say JL wasn't coming out after everyone spoke.  He finally came out and said he stands by what he said last week, and won't be intimidated by either of them.  Punk tried to bait JL to get into the ring but he wouldn't.

JL said Ryder's there tonight and medically cleared, so he'll face Kane in a falls count anywhere match.  If Cena interferes, Ryder never gets a US title match again.  JL then said he booked a tag team match with Punk and Cena against two opponents he found.  JL walked backstage as a ref went down to the ring.  Then Vickie Guerrero arrived out with her "Excuse me" and Ziggler/Swagger with her.  Ziggler cut a promo said just like tonight and the past week's he'll beat Punk at the Rumble.  Laurinaitis sat near the commentators to watch the opening tag match.

Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger defeated CM Punk and John Cena by pinfall.  Towards the end of the match, Laurinaitis distracted Punk by getting onto the ring apron.  Punk tried to grab him but JL avoided it.  Ziggler managed to grab Punk for a quick rollup pin and held Punk's trunks to win it.

Post-match, Punk baited Laurinaitis saying he thinks JL should be something for one night he's never been in his life: "WWE Superstar for one night" and face him one-on-one, unless he's scared.  JL accepted the challenge for the match.

A replay video was shown from last week's six man tag match where Jericho got a hot tag and came into the ring all fired up.  After rushing around a bit he slap tagged Daniel Bryan and left the ring.

Justin Roberts introduced Chris Jericho as the host of The Highlight Reel show.  The lights went out and he arrived out in his light up jacket before his pyro and music went off.  Jericho came down the ramp all excited slapping hands with a fan.  Lawler announced that Jericho will be one of the participants in Sunday's Rumble match.

Jericho rushed backstage up the ramp after being in the ramp a bit, drawing boos.  Y2J came back with a T-shirt gun and got in the ring.  He pretended he was going to fire a t-shirt off, but never did it.  He grabbed a TV camera and started taking shots of the cheering fans and Cole waving "look I'm on TV!"  Jericho did a "shh" to the crowd and then pointed to his Jerichotron in the ring.  A highlight reel of Jericho moments through the years was shown.  There were mixed cheers and boos from the crowd.  Jericho finally lifted the mic up and spoke saying "This Sunday at the Royal Rumble, it's going to be the end of the world as you know it."  That was it, as the lights went out and Jericho's jacket lit up again.  Y2J's music played as Lawler asked "is that it?"

Cole and Lawler talked about the Rumble PPV and then had the annual "by the numbers" video package shown.  The narrator also mentioned that this year every WWE superstar is eligible for the match.

They had Zack Ryder backstage talking to Eve.  Mick Foley showed up and asked Ryder how he's doing, then tried to give him a pep talk for fighting Kane.  He said Kane's a human being and can be beat.  Eve tried to tell Ryder not to do the match, but Ryder insisted on it, even though his back was hurting still.

Cena showed up and told Ryder he's there if he needs him.  Ryder told Cena to stay out of it because he wants another US title match.

Kane and Zack Ryder fought to a no contest in a Falls Count Anywhere match.  Kane brutally attacked Ryder all over the arena, eventually hitting a huge chokeslam up on the stage which sent Ryder crashing through the stage.  Eve was up there horrified and shocked at what happened.  Kane turned, looked at her then began to stalk her slowly down the ramp.  Eve backed towards the ring, with John Cena arriving out on stage.  Kane saw him and jumped over the barrier leaving through the crowd.  Eve went up on stage with Cena and they looked on worried about Ryder's condition as he was put on a stretcher.

Raw returned to show Ryder being carted away on a stretcher with Cena  and Eve following.  Eve was crying asking "is he ok?"  Refs trailed behind them as Ryder was brought to the ambulance.  In tears, Eve told Cena it was all his fault and he's done enough so she's going with Zack.  Eve got into the back of the ambulance and the door shut as it pulled away leaving Cena looking dejected.

Josh Matthews showed up behind John cena to ask how he was feeling about all this.  Cena looked choked up and angry, but didn't say anything.  He turned and looked at Matthews, then hit the mic out of his hands.  Cena glared into the camera and got an enraged look on his face as Raw went to break.

Lawler and Cole talked in a somber manner as Raw came back about Ryder being transported to a medical facility.  They said these were some of the most uncomfortable moments they've seen in some time.

Sheamus defeated Jinder Mahal by pinfall after hitting the Brogue Kick.  Wade Barrett was on commentary during the match to say he'll be the 2012 Royal Rumble winner and made cracks about Sheamus.  Post-match, Barrett left the commentators' table and started to walk around the ring.  Sheamus taunted him telling him to get in the ring.  Barrett got on the apron then dropped off before Sheamus could get to him.  On the mic, Sheamus told Barrett to take a good look at this image because on Sunday he'll be the only one left in the ring.

Backstage, The Miz was interviewed by Josh Matthews.  Miz said every single person who has crossed him in WWE has seen their careers disintegrate.  Tonight, Miz faces R-Truth in a match.  He said tonight Truth will become irrelevant like all the others.  Miz vowed to win the Royal Rumble and headline Wrestlemania for the second year in a row.

R-Truth showed up wearing a white shirt and glasses, saying he was a head of marketing research.  He told Miz he was #1 in all sorts of categories like whining and the #1 jackass.  Miz got enraged and got in Truth's face.  Laurinaitis came out all upset that the two were fighting as he was trying to get ready for his match with CM Punk.  JL told them if they want to be #1 so bad whoever loses tonight will be #1 in the Royal Rumble match.

William Regal joined Cole and Lawler for commentary on the next match.  They reviewed footage of Regal trying to show his dance move against Brodus Clay, but got hit by a huge splash move.

The Funkasaurus Brodus Clay made his entrance after getting introduced by his backup dancers.  Clay got in the ring with his two dancers to do some moves to his music before pyro shot off from the ringposts.  Heath Slater was laughing from outside the ring at the antics.

Brodus Clay defeated Heath Slater by pinfall in a quick match.  Clay hit his flying splash move for the pinfall then danced more with his dancers.  Regal didn't get involved but kept saying one of Clay's dancers was looking at him.

They showed highlights of the 2007 Royal Rumble where Undertaker defeated Shawn Michaels to become winner.

They showed highlights from two months ago when Miz doublecrossed Truth and hit Skullcrushing Finale on him on the ramp.  Cole reminded fans that Miz did this to Alex Riley, John Morrison and R-Truth.

R-Truth defeated The Miz by pinfall, making Miz hae the #1 spot in the Royal Rumble.  Truth won it after the ref warned Miz about attacking him too much.  Miz came back towards Truth but Truth hit him in the gut then hit his finisher for the win.

The commentators reviewed Zack Ryder's match with Kane earlier.  Lawler updated the fans on Ryder's condition saying they just got word he has a broken back.

John Laurinaitis was shown backstage in a red robe getting psyched up for the match.  David Otunga came into the office saying a fax just came in for him from the main office and he's not going to like it.  Laurinaitis took a look at it for a bit then got a look on his face.

Punk arrived out first for the main event.  John Laurinaitis arrived out with some serious news that everyone needs to hear.  He had David Otunga with him to read the note.  The note read that the Board was concerned about Laurinaitis' recent judgements in day-to-day decisions.  They decided to put JL's status as the Raw GM officially under review.  Next week on Raw, JL will have an official review to determine if he continues as GM or will be terminated.  The job evaluation will be conducted by WWE COO Triple H.

Laurinaitis started to talk, but Punk says if JL tries to screw him this weekend out of the title, he's out of a job.  JL said the board of directors' note is a wake up call for him.  He apologized to the WWE Universe and Punk for any wrongdoing he's done during his tenure.  Laurinaitis said Mick Foley is now in the Royal Rumble match.  He also said he had planned to call Punk's Rumble match down the line the whole time.  Punk said he hopes that JL hears the words "You're Fired" next Monday.  Laurinaitis said that won't happen and tonight's match won't either.

Laurinaitis said he has an adequate opponent to replace him in Punk's match tonight, David Otunga.  Otunga immediately hammered Punk down and started to beat him up in the corner. Punk slapped the Anaconda Vice Grip on Otunga staring at JL.  He then jumped up and kicked down Otunga out of the ring.  Punk kept staring at Laurinaitis across the ring.  JL put out his hand for a shake, but Punk grabbed him and put him on his shoulders, then hit GTS.

Punk's celebration was shortlived as Dolph Ziggler rushed into the ring and knocked Punk down, smiling.  Raw ended with Ziggler standing tall as the camera showed Punk and Laurinaitis both down on the mat.

Smackdown Results 01/20/12

Daniel Bryan comes out to start off the show.  He does a promo bit talking about how what Show did to AJ last week was a sin.  Bryan says Show only pretended to be sorry.  He said AJ was there because she loves him, and suggested Show do the right thing and quit.  The crowd was all over Bryan for this.

Cody Rhodes tried to take on Hornswoggle in a match.  Instead, Justin Gabriel came down to stick up for Horney and replaced him in the match.  Rhodes ultimately won the match by pinfall after hitting Cross Rhodes.

Since it's Sin City Smackdown, Mark Henry gets to spin the wheel for his title match against Daniel Bryan.  It comes up as a Lumberjack match.

The WWE Tag Team Champions Primo and Epico defeated The Uso Brothers.

Brodus Clay came out and had a dance off against Vickie Guerrero.  The crowd backed Clay as the winner.  Vickie started to dance again, but William Regal came out to stop her, begging the people not to laugh at her.  As Regal's escorting Vickie away, Clay insults Regal, then challenges him to a dance off.  Brodus hit a  splash on Regal in the ring, then started dancing some more.

Sheamus and Wade Barrett had a tables match.  Jinder Mahal was there and distracted Sheamus, allowing Barrett to smash him through the table.  Mahal attacked Sheamus, but Sheamus ended up smashing Mahal through a table.

Ted Dibiase defeated Hunico in a flag match, where Dibiase was the first one to retrieve his flag, the USA flag.

Backstage, Teddy Long fired Drew McIntyre.  Santino Marella begged for Drew's job back, then challenged him to a match.  They have a blindfold match, Santino ends up winning by using The Cobra, meaning Drew is fired.

Mark Henry and Daniel Bryan fought to a no contest in the World Heavyweight Title Lumberjack match.  Both guys were attacked by the lumberjacks, with Daniel Bryan and Henry eventually leaving the scene.  The Lumberjacks fight Rumble style, with Sheamus tossing guys out.  Eventually everyone's eliminated with Sheamus standing tall in the ring.

That concludes the latest episode of Smackdown for 01/20/12.