Raw opens with Bret Hart coming out and speaking to the Montreal crowd. CM Punk comes out and insults him. They exchange words and it gets heated as Punk insults Lawler. Punk says Cena will become an empty shell of a man just like Bret is before the segment ends.
^Solid opening segment from a great talker and a great legend. Bret has never been a standout on the microphone, but this segment worked in the face vs heel sense.
Kofi Kingston and R-Truth defeat Antonio Cesaro and the Miz. Kofi hits trouble in paradise on Cesaro to win the match.
^It’s nice to see all the champions together in a match. Cesaro keeps impressing me every time I see him wrestle. The tag champs look as good as ever and both could be placed into a world title rivalry and shine at this point in their careers.
A segment is shown from WWE Headquarters with Sheamus, Otunga, Ricardo Rodriguez, and some legal dudes discussing the brogue kick. Sheamus takes out the camera to end the segment.
^This was lame. I really do like the fact that WWE is trying to make the World Title important and keep Sheamus interesting, but this storyline sucks and feels very recycled.
Eve, Natalya, and Kaitlyn defeat Beth Phoenix, Natalya, and Alicia Fox.
^Six divas on Raw? Am I dreaming? Good work from WWE, even if it was just a short match.
Punk confronts AJ backstage for making him fight tonight. She taunts him and says that he should consider himself lucky she didn’t make him face Sheamus.
^All this talk of Punk/Sheamus makes me wonder when that big match will actually go down. I hope it’s sometime in 2013.
Randy Orton defeats CM Punk by DQ when Dolph Ziggler interferes.
^Orton and Punk are great in the ring together. I would’ve been happy to see these two go another ten minutes solo.
Randy Orton and Jerry Lawler defeat Dolph Ziggler and CM Punk. Punk is distracted by a conversation with Paul Heyman as Orton nails an RKO on Ziggler and gets the three count.
^Fun match from these four. I’m afraid it’s probably the King’s last.
CM Punk and Paul Heyman tell Matt Striker that Punk is a Paul Heyman guy and that’s why he walked away from the match.
^Punk and Heyman are good together if this is how they’re going to book it. I’m just glad Punk is still speaking for himself. It’s not like Punk sounds like Lesnar in terms of talking like a teenage boy about to hit puberty.
Kane and Daniel Bryan are confronted by AJ and their anger management instructor. They’re told they have an idea that couild save them or destroy them.
^Where could this be headed? I don’t really care because I like the relevance of Kane and the storyline as a whole.
Ryback defeats Heath Slater. Slater wanted a rematch with Zack Ryder but Ryder introduces Ryback as Slater’s opponent.
^It really seems like WWE is going the extra mile this week to make even the most overlooked rivalries seem important. Good work from WWE writers. I would’ve laughed if Slater had upset Ryback somehow.
AJ tells the PTP they need to beat Kane and Daniel Bryan tonight if they want to be number one contenders for the tag titles.
^So the PTP are going to take a backseat to Kane and DBry? You can’t tell me this doesn’t have anything to do with AW and Vince not wanting the PTP in the major spotlight just yet until his news simmers down.
Kane and DBry defeat the PTP when Kane chokeslams Bryan on top of Darren Young for the three count.
^Good tag match here. You could see the crowd focus their attention to the announce table.
Alberto Del Rio defeats Tyson Kidd using the cross armbreaker
^Tyson Kidd makes it back on Raw and gets jobbed out. So much for that Tyson push that was coming after Money In The Bank.
Michael Cole tells us the Jerry Lawler has collapsed and has been taken backstage to receive medical attention.
Sheamus defeats David Otunga using the Texas Cloverleaf. Otunga uses the brogue kick on Otunga after the match. Booker T comes out and tells Sheamus that he will be stripped of the World Title if he uses the brogue kick before the investigation of the kick is over.
^There was no commentary for this match, and so it was even worse than normal. Good for Sheamus to look strong going into NOC. Maybe Otunga will join the announce booth and bore us there.
Michael Cole says that Jerry Lawler has been taken to the hospital and there will be no more commentary tonight out of respect for Lawler.
Cody Rhodes defeats Rey Mysterio with help from the Miz. Rhodes nails his finisher on Miz after the match and holds up the IC Title.
^A Miz face turn? Cody Rhodes getting the IC Title back? I like the possiblity of a triple threat match between these three at NOC.
Bret Hart interviews John Cena. CM Punk interrupts. Words get heated. Punk goes to attack Hart but Hart nails him with a right hand and Punk rolls out of the ring. Bret and Cena celebrate.
^Great mic work from Punk and Cena. Awesome segment overall. Great way to close out the show.
Michael Cole tells us that Jerry Lawler is breathing on his own and his heart is beating on his own as he waits for a CT scan. Raw ends.
Final Thoughts: You could see Kane and the crowd watching the announce table when Lawler got sick and went down. It’s a scary situation. Without this awful incident, Raw was well put together as the go home show for Night of Champions. More columns coming later this week and I’ll talk more about Night of Champions in my predictions column.
Jerry Lawler has been confirmed to have had a heart attack. He is said to be stable but not out of the woods. I hope he pulls through this and recovers.
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