3/25/13 Monday Night Raw Coverage

Raw opens with a video package highlighting the feuds between John Cena and The Rock, as well as CM Punk and The Undertaker.

We go live into the arena in Philadelphia, and CM Punk’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring with Paul Heyman holding the urn. Punk gets the urn and sets it in the ring. Punk says that “they” say that the streak will never be ended and that the urn somehow gives The Undertaker power. He says “they” say a lot of stupid things and asks Heyman who “they” are. Punk says “they” don’t know what they’re talking about. He says his opinion is the only one that matters. Punk says Undertaker’s legacy should have ended last year when he went 20-0, but Taker ruined that when he came on Raw and pointed at the WrestleMania sign. Punk says history is going to be re-written because of him. Punk says this is all Undertaker’s fault. Punk says he took the urn because it means everything to The Undertaker. He says it doesn’t mean anything to him and throws it on the mat. Punk says Taker is at a psychological disadvantage and is scared. Punk says he is the best in the world, the smartest in the world, and the “1” in 20-1. Punk says Undertaker and his perfect record will rest in peace as The Undertaker’s music hits and the lights go out. They come back on and Taker is in the ring. He beats down Punk in the ring. Heyman grabs the urn and runs, and Punk does the same seconds later. Punk and Taker stare each other down.

We see that John Cena and The Rock will face a panel of Hall of Famers later tonight, and see that Fandango will finally make his debut after the commercial break.

Fandango makes his way to the ring with his dancing partner. He grabs a mic and is about to speak, but Chris Jericho’s music hits and he charges the ring. Jericho takes Fandango down and lands a few punches before Fandango escapes.

Match #1: Chris Jericho vs. Dolph Ziggler (w/AJ Lee and Big E Langston)
Jericho takes Ziggler down and connects with a few right hands. Jericho sends Ziggler off the ropes and takes him down with a shoulder block. Jericho suplexes Ziggler and kicks him in the back. Jericho sends Ziggler off the ropes again, but Ziggler kicks him in the chest. Jericho comes back and catches Ziggler coming off the ropes. Jericho goes for the Walls of Jericho, but Ziggler fights out. Jericho goes up top and connects with a cross-body and goes for the cover, but Ziggler kicks out at two as we go to a commercial.
We’re back and Ziggler is in control. Ziggler sends Jericho into the ropes, but Jericho counters with a roll up for two. Ziggler connects with a dropkick and goes for the cover, but Jericho kicks out at two. Ziggler stalks Jericho in the ring and Jericho gets up. Jericho chops Ziggler a few times, but Ziggler gets him in an abdominal stretch. Jericho counters with a hip-toss and takes Ziggler down again with a couple of shoulder tackles. Jericho goes up top and connects with a double axe handle and a clothesline in the corner. Jericho drops Ziggler with a dropkick and knocks Langston off the apron. Ziggler comes from behind and drops Jericho with a DDT and goes for the cover, but Jericho kicks out at two. Ziggler goes for the Sleeper Hold, but Jericho counters and locks in the Walls of Jericho. Ziggler taps out.
Winner: Chris Jericho.
After the match, Langston attacks Jericho and lays him out with his finisher. Fandango comes back to the ring and he and his partner dance over Jericho. Fandango then attacks Jericho and beats him down even more while asking “What’s my name?” over and over again. Fandango finishes it off with a leg drop from the top rope.

We see that we will take a look back at the confrontation between Brock Lesnar and Triple H from last week’s Raw as we head to a commercial.

Matt Striker is backstage with Sheamus, and we take a look back to Smackdown where we saw some dissension between Sheamus, Randy Orton, and The Big Show before The Shield came to the ring. Sheamus begins to speak, but The Shield attacks him and beats him down. Orton tries to save him, but The Shield attacks him as well. The Big Show comes in and clears the area of The Shield.

Match #2: Handicap Match: Mark Henry vs. The Usos
Jey starts the match with Henry. Henry powers him down to the mat and tosses him around the ring. The Usos double-team Henry a bit and take him down with a few super kicks. Jey hits a Superfly Splash and goes for the cover, but Henry powers out at two. Henry tosses Jimmy into the barricade and then hits Jey with the World’s Strongest Slam for the pin fall.
Winner: Mark Henry.
After the match, Henry hits Jimmy with a World’s Strongest Slam and then hits Jey with a second one.

We see that Alberto Del Rio and Antonio Cesaro will face off in a Champion vs. Champion Match as we head to a commercial break.

Match #3: Champion vs. Champion Match: Alberto Del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) vs. Antonio Cesaro
Cesaro and Del Rio trade arm wrenches, and then Cesaro takes Del Rio into the corner. Cesaro tosses Del Rio down to the mat and drops an elbow. Cesaro grabs Del Rio, but Del Rio fights out and takes Cesaro down with a back-breaker. Del Rio sets up for a kick, but Zeb Colter arrives on the stage and Cesaro takes advantage of the distraction. Cesaro delivers a headbutt to Del Rio and goes up top. Del Rio knocks him down and climbs up with him. Del Rio delivers a superplex. Jack Swagger comes through the crowd and knocks Ricardo Rodriguez down. Swagger grabs Rodriguez and pulls him away from the ring. Del Rio gets out of the ring and attacks Swagger, resulting in a count-out.
Winner via count-out: Antonio Cesaro.
After the match, Del Rio attacks Cesaro and applies the cross arm-breaker.

We take a look back at the confrontation between CM Punk and The Undertaker from earlier tonight. We are also reminded that John Cena and The Rock will be in front of a panel of Hall of Famers later tonight.

We see Team Hell No walking backstage. They will be in action next.

Match #4: Team Hell No vs. The Prime Time Players
Bryan stomps O’Neil down in the corner and tags in Kane. Kane slingshots Bryan into O’Neil. Kane hits an uppercut for a two count. O’Neil tags in Young and Kane tags in Bryan. Ziggler and Langston come out to watch the match. Young connects with a belly-to-belly suplex and tags in O’Neil. O’Neil stomps Bryan and tags in Young. O’Neil slams Young onto Bryan, and he goes for the cover but Bryan kicks out at two. Young sends Bryan off the ropes, but Bryan takes him down with a clothesline. Bryan tags in Kane, who takes Young down with a dropkick. Kane clotheslines Young in the corner and takes him down with a big boot. Kane goes for the chokeslam, but Young reverses. Kane delivers the side slam, but O’Neil interrupts. Kane sends O’Neil to the outside and Bryan drives a knee into him. Kane delivers a chokeslam to Young for the pin fall.
Winners: Team Hell No.

We see that The Shield will be in Six-Man Tag Team action later, and that Triple H will respond to the stipulation for his match against Brock Lesnar after the commercial.

We take a look back at the contract signing for the WrestleMania match between Brock Lesnar and Triple H, where it was revealed that Triple H’s career is on the line.

Triple H comes to the ring. He says for the first time ever, he will enter a match where if he loses, he can never wrestle again. He says if you don’t go into a match with Brock Lesnar thinking your career is on the line, you’re crazy. Triple H says he has done this for twenty years. Triple H says Paul Heyman was mistaken when he thought he made this personal. Triple H tells Lesnar to come to WrestleMania and act like his career is on the line. He says his is not going to Mania to wrestle, he is going to Mania to kick Lesnar’s ass. Triple H goes to leave and Wade Barrett’s music hits. Barrett stops in front of Triple H and motions for him to go to the back. Triple H delivers a low blow and walks to the back.

Match #5: The Miz vs. Wade Barrett
The Miz takes the advantage early on. Barrett is still reeling from the low blow from Triple H. The Miz goes for the Skull Crushing Finale, but Barrett escapes and goes to the outside. Barrett comes back into the ring and delivers an elbow to The Miz. Barrett gets The Miz in the corner and beats him down and connects with a high knee. Barrett drops an elbow on The Miz and then delivers a few right hands. The Miz comes back and hits the back-breaker and goes for the neck-breaker, but Barrett reverses. The Miz sends Barrett to the outside and connects with a double-axe handle from the top rope. The Miz tosses Barrett back into the ring and goes for the cover, but Barrett kicks out at two.
We’re back and Barrett has a cover on The Miz, but he kicks out at two. Barrett chokes The Miz over the middle rope, and then drives his knees into The Miz, who falls to the floor. Barrett goes out after him and tosses him back into the ring and gets a two count. Barrett works over The Miz’s back, but The Miz fights out and tosses Barrett into the corner. The Miz connects with a high running knee and a big boot. The Miz connects with an axe handle from the top and gets a two count. The Miz goes for the Skull Crushing Finale, but Barrett reverses and hits the Winds of Change and gets a two count. Barrett sets up for Wasteland, but The Miz reverses and goes for the Figure Four. Barrett rolls him up, but The Miz kicks out. The Miz goes for the Figure Four again, but Barrett shoves him into the corner. Barrett kicks The Miz in the head and goes for the cover, but he kicks out at two. Barrett sets up for the Bull Hammer Elbow, but The Miz rolls him up for two. The Miz hangs Barrett up on the top rope and then locks in the Figure Four, and Barrett taps out.
Winner: The Miz.

We see Team Hell No backstage. Bryan says he needs some things from Kane, and Kane says he’s had enough of the “I needs.” They argue over which one hasn’t gotten over her, and Kaitlyn stops them. She says they should just forget about her. AJ eavesdrops and Kaitlyn trash talks her until AJ attacks her. Kane and Bryan try eventually pull her off of Kaitlyn.

We are reminded again that John Cena and The Rock will face a panel of Hall of Famers later tonight and see that The Shield is in action next.

Match #6: The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins) vs. Justin Gabriel, The Great Khali, and Zack Ryder
Khali and Rollins start the match. Khali knocks Rollins down and then chops him in the corner. Khali tags in Ryder, who slams Rollins in the corner. Ryder goes up top and jumps off, but Rollins moves and begins to beat down Ryder. Rollins tags in Ambrose. Ambrose pummels Ryder and delivers a dropkick. Ambrose tags in Reigns, who takes Ryder down with a clothesline. Reigns tosses Ryder into the corner, but Ryder reverses with an elbow. Ryder tags in Gabriel, who gets taken down by Ambrose after a blind tag. Ambrose holds Gabriel on the mat and tags in Rollins, who comes off the top rope and takes Gabriel to the mat. Rollins gets the pin fall.
Winners: The Shield.
After the match, The Shield attacks The Great Khali and deliver the triple-powerbomb. Sheamus’ music hits and he stand on the stage. Randy Orton’s music hits next and he does the same. Orton and Sheamus walk towards the ring and The Big Show shows up behind The Shield. Orton, Sheamus, and Show get into the ring and beat down The Shield.

We take a look back at what happened earlier between Chris Jericho and Fandango. We see Jericho walking out of Vickie Guerrero’s office. Josh Mathews stops him and asks him what they were talking about. Jericho says Fandango has proven nothing. Jericho says he will go one-on-one with Fandango at WrestleMania. Jericho says Fandango will never be the same again.

Team Rhodes Scholars make their way to the stage. Sandow talks badly about Philadelphia before Rhodes introduces The Bella Twins.

Match #7: Brodus Clay and Tensai (w/Cameron and Naomi) vs. Team Rhodes Scholars (w/The Bella Twins)
Clay and Sandow start the match. Clay clotheslines Sandow in the corner and tags in Tensai. Tensai splashes Sandow and tries to keep the offense going, but Sandow takes control and drops a series of elbows on Tensai. Sandow tags in Rhodes, who applies a stretch to Clay. Rhodes comes off the top rope, but Tensai uppercuts him. Tensai tags in Clay, who tosses Rhodes across the ring. Clay splashes Rhodes in the corner and the women brawl on the outside. Tensai tries to break it up, and Rhodes connects with the Disaster Kick on Clay and gets the pin fall.
Winners: Team Rhodes Scholars.

We take a look at The Rock’s newest movie, G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

We see Ryback walking backstage, as his Handicap Match is next.

Match #8: 3-on-1 Handicap Match: 3MB (Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater, and Jinder Mahal) vs. Ryback
Slater starts the match for 3MB. Ryback goes after McIntyre and Mahal, who jump off the apron. Ryback slams Slater down and slams his head into the mat. Slater tags in McIntyre. Ryback takes McIntyre in the corner and clotheslines him. Ryback knocks Mahal out of the ring and McIntyre connects with a big boot to Ryback. Slater gets into the match and takes Ryback down. Slater tags in McIntyre, who takes Ryback down and applies a headlock. Ryback fights out and slams McIntyre to the mat. Mahal tags in and takes Ryback down with a running knee. Mahal tags in Slater and tosses him towards Ryback, but Ryback moves. Ryback takes Slater down with the Meat Hook Clothesline. Ryback tosses McIntyre into Mahal and power slams Slater down. Ryback delivers a spine buster to Mahal. He picks Mahal and Slater up and delivers a double-Shell Shocked for the pin fall.
Winner: Ryback.
After the match, we see that Ryback and Mark Henry will compete in a weightlifting competition on this week’s Smackdown.

We take a look back at last week when Jack Swagger broke Ricardo Rodriguez’s ankle, and then earlier tonight when Swagger attacked him again before Del Rio made the save.

We see AJ Lee skipping backstage. She will take on Kaitlyn after the commercial.

Match #9: AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn
Kaitlyn takes AJ down and delivers some right hands. Kaitlyn tosses AJ into the corner a couple of times before AJ slaps Kaitlyn twice. Kaitlyn takes AJ down with a big clothesline and lifts her onto her shoulders. Kaitlyn delivers a gut-buster and AJ rolls to the outside. Kaitlyn goes for the Spear on the outside, but AJ moves and Kaitlyn goes into the barricade. Kaitlyn can’t make it back into the ring and gets counted out.
Winner via count-out: AJ Lee.

John Cena and The Rock will face the panel of Hall of Famers after the commercial break. The Rock returns to Smackdown this week.

Jerry Lawler is in the ring and he hypes the WWE Championship Match before bringing out the Hall of Fame panel. Booker T’s music hits first and he makes his way to the ring. Mick Foley is the second one out. Dusty Rhodes is next. Bret Hart is out fourth.
Lawler introduces The Rock, who shakes hands with everyone in the ring. John Cena is out next and the segment begins. Foley asks Cena if he is ready to live with the regret that might accompany another loss to The Rock as this year’s WrestleMania. Cena says the match will change the face of the WWE forever. If he wins, he gets the title and redemption. Cena says losing is an option this year. Cena brings up Donovan McNabb and how he couldn’t win the big one, and he will carry the legacy of McNabb if he loses again. Rock responds and talks about tearing his knee and saying he could have quit, but he didn’t and main evented WrestleMania XV. Bret Hart wants to know what changed between last year and this year. The Rock said two guys wanted to be the best, and there was no complaining and now there is respect between the two. Cena pretty much agrees. Booker asks Cena why he is going to beat The Rock at WrestleMania. Cena says because he has to. The Rock mocks his answer and Cena says The Rock didn’t beat him. Cena says he beat himself. Cena says he made a mistake when he tried to beat The Rock with his own move, but he will never make that mistake again. Cena says he knows he is better than The Rock. Cena says The Rock knows he is better than him, too. Rock quotes Flair, and says Cena can’t be the man because he can’t beat the man. Rhodes asks them what they really want on April 7th. Cena says he wants to dominate The Rock and win the big one. Cena says he wants The Rock to realize that Cena is better than him. Cena says he wants to hand The Rock a loss so devastating that it haunts him for the rest of his life. The Rock says the day after WrestleMania, he will wake up still the WWE Champion. The Rock tells Cena to prove him wrong right now. Cena goes for the AA on The Rock, but Rock counters and leaves Cena lying with a Rock Bottom. Cena and Rock stare each other down as Raw comes to a close.

Quick Results:
1. Chris Jericho def. Dolph Ziggler
2. Handicap Match: Mark Henry def. The Usos
3. Champion vs. Champion Match: Antonio Cesaro def. Alberto Del Rio via count-out
4. Team Hell No def. The Prime Time Players
5. The Miz def. Wade Barrett
6. Six-Man Tag Team Match: The Shield def. Justin Gabriel, The Great Khali, and Zack Ryder
7. Team Rhodes Scholars def. Brodus Clay and Tensai
8. 3-on-1 Handicap Match: Ryback def. 3MB
9. AJ Lee def. Kaitlyn via count-out