Detailed recap of the 4/23 3-hour WWE Raw Supershow
By Dave Kilgore
Live from Detroit, MI
Tonight’s 3 hour event opens with the contract signing between Brock Lesnar and John Cena. First out is former Smackdown GM Teddy Long. Teddy brings out John Cena first, to the usual mixture of boos and applause. Next, Teddy introduces Brock Lesnar. Cena’s expression is one of seriousness and fear. But instead of Lesnar, out comes GM Johnny. Says Teddy, you know Brock isn’t here yet. When Brock does get here, the contract signing will be done later, on Brock’s terms. Johnny tells Teddy to tell John to leave his ring. Teddy hesitates. Teddy then asks Cena to leave the ring now. GM Johnny then welcomes us to RAW. He is interrupted by the RATED R SUPERSTAR…EDGE! Edge to the ring. Edge grabs the mic, says he’s not suppose to be here and in a couple days won’t be under WWE contract. Says he came to talk to Cena, the John Cena that was his greatest rival ever. The Cena that beat him in a TLC match in Toronto. The Cena that threw him into Long Island Sound. But that Cena isn’t here now. Edge says he needs to find that John Cena. Edge says the one thing they have in common is that they have always wanted to do this (the WWE). Says Lesnar doesn’t give a damn about this or the fans, unless it’s to line his pockets. Edge tells Cena to wake up or it’s a slap in the face of HBK, the Undertaker, and to him (Edge). Edge yells at Cena to wake up!! Edge says he’s telling Cena to beat Lesnar and leaves the ring. Cena left in the ring in deep thought.
Commercial.
Back live, lights out…Break the walls down! Out comes Y2J. Next out is his opponent Kofi Kingston. Match begins with an attempted lockup but Y2J hits a knee to the gut followed by forearms to the back of Kofi, pushing him back into the corner. More punches by Y2j who then attempts an Irish Whip across the ring, countered by Kofi. Y2J into the corner, Kofi hits a running kick to the midsection of Jericho. Kofi then tries an Irish Whip of his own, countered by Jericho, Kofi ducks a clothesline, and Kofi hits a monkey flip on Y2J. 2 arm drag takeovers by Kofi, then a big dropkick to Jericho. Kofi then clotheslines Y2J to the floor. Kofi fakes a dive to the outside, Y2J takes a walk around the outside. Y2J back in but Kofi hits a drop toe hold on Jericho. Both men to the ropes, Y2J with a cheap shot to Kofi as the ref was trying to separate both men. Y2J whips Kofi into the corner, following him in with a big clothesline. Headlock on Kofi, Kofi tosses Jericho off into the ropes, leapfrog over Jericho then hits a reverse back elbow on Jericho. 2 count. Kofi off the ropes, caught by Y2J and driven hard into the mat face first with a high slam. Y2J kicks Kofi, then chops him in the corner. Another Irish Whip, but Jericho misses his move after following Kofi into the corner and falls to the floor. Kofi with a dive over the top rope onto Y2J on the outside as we head to commercial.
Back to action, Y2J has a head lock on Kofi, after catching Kofi with a running kick to Kofi on the apron during the break. Kofi with a quick roll up, 2 count. Jericho punches and slaps Kofi on the mat. Jericho pulls Kofi’s arms back while his knee is in Kofi’s back. Kofi up, but Y2J hits a bulldog on Kofi. Y2J misses the Lionsault, Kofi hits a hurricanrana for a 2 count. Kofi hits a couple chops on Y2J, but Y2J hits a huge clothesline. Chop by Jericho. Kofi whipped into the corner but hits a kick to Jericho’s head then climbs up to the top turnbuckle, hitting a high cross body but Jericho rolls through and gets a 2 count. SOS by Kofi, 2 count. Both men slowly get up, Kofi off the top with a cross body to the back of Y2J. Then he hits the boom drop. Y2J counters the Trouble in Paradise then Kofi counters out of the Walls of Jericho. Kofi then with a springboard off the top rope, only to get hit with the Codebreaker on the way down. Jericho with the Walls of Jericho, Kofi taps out. Winner….Y2J.
Jericho then takes mic….says that’s the proof that this Sunday he will become the new WWE champion. Punk knows all about extreme….has an extremely alcoholic dad, an extremely drug addicted sister and is himself an extreme failure. And this Sunday, in front of Punk’s family, Punk will get an extreme beating. Says he bought Punk a gift that he will give Punk tonight. One that will help him cope with getting beat and losing everything.
Recap of Brock Lesnar’s first career match against Jeff Hardy is shown.
Commercial.
Back live, GM Johnny is on the phone, talking about the contract signing later on tonight. Eve walks in, Johnny says he has an opening in his administration, an Executive Administrator. Eve says she would be honored and he says welcome aboard.
More Lesnar hype…..interview with Lesnar shown, along with highlights of his NCAA career, earlier WWE career, & UFC career.
CM Punk is shown backstage, Josh Mathews walks up, Punk says the gift Y2J gave him was a liquor basket. Says he will re-gift his gift. Tells Josh to take the basket. Interesting though that Punk kept the bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand.
Commercial.
Back from commercial, recap of Cena/Tensai match from last week is shown with Tensai getting the win with help of Otunga, his assistant, and green mist.
Next out is R-Truth. His opponent Lord Tensai is out next. Match starts with a knee to Truth’s stomach, a forearm to his back and Truth is down. Elbow drop across Truth’s back. Truth tossed into the corner, but hits Tensai with boots to the face as he comes in. Punches to Tensai, Truth ducks a clothesline and hits a reverse kick but it barely staggers Tensai. Truth off the ropes and is floored by a big right hand. Tensai misses a running splash in the corner, but catches Truth with a big shoulder tackle coming off the ropes. Multiple head butts to Truth. Double underhook suplex by Tensai. Then the running splash on the mat. Followed with the big sit down powerbomb. Truth pulls himself up, Tensai spits the green mist over his hand and locks the claw onto Truth’s head and slams him down. 1-2-3….winner Lord Tensai.
Kane is shown walking backstage.
Commercial.
Back live, out comes Kane. Says this Sunday WWE gets Extreme and it means bad things for Randy Orton. Says Orton can’t beat him with rules, let alone without. Says he discovered Randy’s one true weakness. That he saw the fear in his eyes when he hit his dad with the lead pipe. Says disappointment overcame him when he realized Orton is nothing more than a scared little boy, crying for his daddy. Praying the monster will go away. Says he is the monster that Orton will never wake up from. Orton on the big screen. Says ask anyone, you mess with his family, there’s no turning back. Says he has to return the favor. Pan over to a tied up Paul Bearer. Kane is pacing in the ring, then starts laughing. Kane says his true father is the devil himself and he could care less what happens to Paul. Says he has no intention of saving him. Pyro hits and Kane leaves. Orton runs out and he and Kane battle at ringside. Kane thrown into the ringpost. Orton gets a pipe from under the ring and nails Kane in the stomach then across the back with it. Then he nails Kane in the head with it, knocking Kane over the ringside barrier. Kane then leaves through the crowd as Orton poses in ring.
Recap of Edge/Cena in ring segment from earlier tonight.
Commercial.
Back live, Y2J is shown backstage…..Alex Riley comes up and says he caught Punk drinking one of the bottles Y2J gave him. Says lead the way to Punk, Y2J opens the door and sees Punk drinking from a red Solo cup next to the bottle of Jack. Y2J smirks and looks at Riley.
In ring, Alberto del Rio is introduced by Ricardo Rodriguez. Next out is Cody Rhodes. Their opponents Big Show & Khali are out next. Match starts with Cody vs Khali. Cody goes to kick Khali, gets his foot caught and Khali delivers a hard punch to Cody’s leg. Cody rammed into the top buckle, then Khali hits a big clothesline in the corner. Another kick attempt by Cody caught and another big punch to Cody’s leg. Cody then rolls out of the ring. Cody then tags out to Alberto. Kick to Khali’s leg, but Khali shoves Alberto into the ropes and hits him with a clubbing blow to the head, knocking Alberto down. Alberto shoved to the corner, BIG open hand slap to the chest of del Rio. Alberto rolls outside as we head to commercial.
Back in ring, both men are down, Khali rolls over and tags in Show. Two clotheslines to Alberto, then whips him into the corner and delivers his running backside splash to del Rio. Show goes to bounce off the ropes but Cody pulls the top rope down, with Show falling to the floor. Cody runs over and kicks Show in the knee. Ref is counting, Show rolls in at 9, getting kicked by del Rio. Cody then tagged in working over Show’s knee. Tag to Alberto, kicks to Show’s head. 2 count, Show powers out. Cody back in, still working over Show’s knee. Alberto back in. Grapevine on Show’s leg, pulling on the knee. Show counters with a kick to Alberto. Cody tagged in, off the ropes, Show catches him with a chokeslam attempt but Cody counters out and hits a chop block on Show’s knee, knocking him down again. Figure 4 on Show. Show rolling around, Cody yelling at him. Big punch to Cody’s chest breaks the hold. Cody off the ropes and kicks Show in the head. 2 count, Show powers out. Alberto in, Show punches him down. Alberto refuses to tag back in and Show gets up. Show knocks Cody down, picks him up and delivers a huge backdrop to Cody. Cody up and gets hit with a big chop by Khali then a huge chokeslam by Show as Alberto walks out on him. Winners….Khali and Show.
Commercial.
Back live, Eve is in with GM Johnny and Teddy Long with Y2J. Jericho says he saw Punk drinking. Eve says she’s been reading up on WWE policies and that WWE superstars are prohibited from drinking alcohol within 24 hours of an event and that Johnny has every right to strip Punk of his title. Johnny says to avoid legal action by Punk he needs credible proof that he was drinking. Y2J says he has an idea. Says get a couple of cops here, get them to give Punk a breathalyzer in ring and when he fails it, Johnny can strip him of the title and give it to him. Johnny agrees. Johnny then tells Teddy he will do it.
Lesnar is shown entering the arena. Josh Mathews runs up and asks where he was earlier. Then asks if he loses on Sunday, will he still be the face of the WWE. Brock grabs him by the throat and pins him against a truck. Brock lets him go then Josh mumbles that he’s just trying to do his job and then Brock attacks him, throwing him into a barricade.
Commercial.
Back live, the Bella Twins are in the ring, with Nikki being in the next match against Beth Phoenix. Recap is shown of Nikki defeating Beth on Smackdown 3 weeks ago. Then Eve comes out. Eve says as newly appointed Executive Administrator, her duty is to improve the show. Says Johnny has approved this match to be a Lumber Jill match. Out come all the other Divas. Match begins with a lockup, with Beth shoving Nikki off. Another lockup attempt and Beth tosses Nikki aside using her hair to throw her. Nikki back up, hits a dropkick to Beth followed by a monkey flip. Beth picks up Nikki and drives her into the corner. Shoulders to the mid section of Nikki. Nikki catches Beth coming in with an elbow, climbs to the top rope, only to be caught by Beth, who presses her over her head and drops her down in the middle of the ring. Kicks to Nikki then drapes Nikki over the middle rope and delivers a knee to the back of Nikki. 2 count by Beth. Rear chinlock by Beth. Both ladies up, Nikki shoved to the ropes, Beth catches her with a backbreaker. 2 count by Beth. Rear arm lock by Beth. Nikki counters out, then runs toward the ropes, slips down and Beth hits the ropes and bounces back with Nikki hitting a bulldog on Beth. 2 count by Nikki. Beth tosses Nikki to the floor. Beth hops off the ring apron and acts as if she hurt her ankle jumping down. None of the Divas do anything. Brie then comes over and Beth shoves her down. Then Brie jumps on Beth and all the other Divas get involved. Natalya throws Nikki in and Brie shoves Beth in, who is favoring her ankle. Ref is checking on Beth, who sounds like she’s crying, saying “I’m fine”. Roll up by Nikki for the 1-2-3 and we have a NEW Diva’s Champion. Ref is back checking on Beth. Trainer is out. Could hear Beth say when she jumped down it just twisted.
Backstage, Teddy is talking to Punk about Johnny demanding the in-ring sobriety test. Punk starts tossing things around as we head to commercial.
Back live, Teddy Long is in ring with 2 police officers. He calls for Punk to come out. Out comes Y2J instead saying he’s here to make sure this is done right. Teddy says if Punk fails the test, he will be stripped of the title and subject to further discipline. Again, he calls Punk out. Out comes CM Punk, grabs a mic and says this whole thing is ridiculous. A cop then says he must recite the alphabet backwards. Punk says has anybody ever done that? He starts to do it, in wrong order, laughing. Says no one can do it, drunk or sober. Says this is stupid. Cop then says walk the straight line in the ring. Punk says what line? Y2J tells Punk to quit stalling. Punk says he’s watched COPS, he knows how it’s done. Punk says he can’t concentrate with Jericho yelling at him. Punk then acts like he can’t do that either. Y2J says this guy is drunk! Teddy asks the officer for his opinion and the cop says obviously this man is intoxicated (without a breathalyzer). Teddy says thank you, you may leave now. Teddy then tells Punk “I’m sorry, I have no control. Please hand over the title”. Punk then looks at the belt and hands it to Teddy. Y2J then demands it be given to him. Punk stops Teddy. Punk says please give me one more chance. Y2J says no. Punk walks to the red line in ring, then stands there and recites the alphabet backwards (though doing S & T in wrong order) as he walks the straight line. Then he hits Y2J with the mic and goes off on Jericho with punches, knocking him to the floor. Punk throws him into the ringside barricade, then they brawl up the ramp, with Jericho taking the exit stage right to escape Punk. Backstage, GM Johnny and Eve look mad and embarrassed.
Commercial.
Back live, Sheamus is out followed by Mark Henry. Out comes special ref Daniel Bryan. Lockup with Henry shoving Sheamus back into the corner. Sheamus comes out with a headlock on Henry. Sheamus shoved into the ropes and Henry catches him with a big shoulder tackle, knocking Sheamus down. Henry goes for a scoop slam but Sheamus counters out, punches to Henry, but Henry tosses Sheamus into the corner but gets caught with boots to the face by Sheamus. Sheamus is punching Henry in the corner when Bryan comes in and grabs the arm of Sheamus, getting him to back off. Bryan dares Sheamus to hit him. Sheamus tries to walk away but Bryan pulls on his arm, turning him back around. Sheamus and Bryan go nose to nose, but when Sheamus turns around, he gets caught by a charging Henry. Ultra fast 3 count by Bryan giving the win to Mark Henry. Bryan takes off his ref shirt and leaves but Sheamus runs out and clobbers him, throwing him back in the ring. Brogue Kick to Mark Henry but then Bryan clips Sheamus’ knee then kicks him in the head. Bryan then locks in the Yes Lock on Sheamus. Bryan releases and chants YES all the way up the ramp.
Commercial.
Back live, in ring already are Primo and Epico with Rosa awaiting their opponents Zack Ryder & Santino Marella. Match starts with Zack and Epico. Arm drag by Ryder, then tries another but Epico stops and rolls him up. Both men up, another arm drag by Ryder. Again, both men up, Epico off the ropes and Ryder catches him with a flapjack move (Midnite Express reference). Ryder whips Epico into the corner and follows him in with a jumping forearm. Ryder then hits the Broski boot. Primo pulls Epico out to the floor. Ryder then jumps out, getting in the face of Primo, turning his back on Epico, who runs Ryder into the ring post. Epico tosses Ryder back in, covers and gets a 1 count. Ryder is run into the top turnbuckle and Epico kicks him in the corner before tagging Primo in. More kicks in the corner then a snapnare to Ryder, then Primo delivers a kick to the spine of Ryder. Both men up, Ryder off the ropes, catches Primo with a sunset flip for a 2 count. Primo back on Ryder, scoop slam to Ryder. Primo misses a flip onto Ryder. Santino tagged in. Punches to Primo, split legged duck of a clothesline, hip toss to Primo. Santino then hits his diving headbutt. Cobra time! Epico runs at Santino who again ducks and Ryder pulls Epico out of the ring over the top rope. Primo catches Santino with a dropkick but Santino rolls back up and hits the Cobra on Primo for the 1-2-3.
Commercial.
Back live, Kane is backstage, sliding open the metal door to the cooler where Paul Bearer was thrown earlier. Kane walks in and wheels out a shaking Paul Bearer. He takes the duct tape off Paul’s mouth and Paul asks him if he came to save him. Kane says save from me and wheels him back into the cooler and shuts the door.
Cut to Primo, Epico, and Rosa who are arguing. The new guy who is there to recruit talent comes up and says they are being treated like jokes and if they need guidance, give him a call.
In ring, the next match of Brodus Clay & Hornswaggle vs. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger (with Vicky) is up next. Out comes Clay & Hornswaggle. Cole calls Hornswaggle a Microceratops LOL.
Commercial.
Back live, out comes Dolph & Swagger. Match begins with Dolph and Brodus but Dolph wants Hornswaggle. Dolph drops to his knees. Hornswaggle tags in….turns and does a shake and then runs at Dolph hitting him with a kick to the chest. Dolph then catches Hornswaggle with a kick, knocking him down. Dolph is showboating, standing on Horny’s head. Dolph picks him up but Horny counters out, sending Dolph to the floor as he tags in Brodus. Brodus in, two clotheslines to Swagger. Irish Whip to Swagger, running splash to Swagger in the corner. Dolph jumps in and gets caught with a headbutt to the sternum. Overhead suplex to Swagger. Vicky up on the apron, then jumps in the ring and slaps Clay. Swagger & Dolph are DQ’d. Vicky then turns into Hornswaggle then into Clay’s dancers. Vicky runs around and gets Clay’s hat and gives it to him. Hornswaggle then bites Vicky in the ass, chasing her out of the ring.
More Brock hype as we head to commercial.
Back live, out comes GM Johnny to oversee the contract signing. Out first is Brock Lesnar. Next, Cena is called out, but no Cena. Brock smirks, Johnny wondering where Cena is. Brock picks up the mic and says come on out little Johnny. He then asks GM Johnny you flew me here for a contract signing and he doesn’t show up? Says that’s fine. Brock says he was late because he has a little business to discuss with GM Johnny. Asks John to sit down. Brock says he spent time today going through in his head some changes he needs. Says he isn’t happy about things and he has some demands…requests…to have John sign off on. Brock says they have to be done now or the match Sunday doesn’t happen. Brock says he isn’t the same naive farmboy that was here 8 years ago. Brock says this company needs him. Number 1 any thought gets run by him first. He also wants Vince’s private jet usage. Says he will show up on Monday night when he wants and how he wants. Says he won’t fine him like he did Sheamus. In fact, he will pay him more money. Until these demands are met, the match on Sunday is off. Also says the show will be Monday Night Raw starring Brock Lesnar. GM Johnny shakes Brock’s hand and says I agree. Brock then signs the contract and hands it to John. Out comes Cena. Cena walks to ring, takes off his chain, wraps it around his hand. Brock is sitting arms on the 2nd rope, looking smug. Cena walks over and looks at contract. Brock stands up, Cena seems hesitant to sign. Brock asks what’s the matter John? Sign the contract. Brock says the problem is he senses Cena is scared. He is the reason he lost last week. Cena signs the contract. They both stare down each other. Brock leaves the ring.
Weak end of show.
