WWE Raw 1/23
We are live in: Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler
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Intro video plays. Camera cuts to the arena.
CM Punk comes out with the WWE Championship. He heads into the ring and grabs a microphone before sitting cross-legged.
He says this Sunday is the 25th anniversary of the Royal Rumble event, and there's a huge WWE Title match in store. In one corner, CM Punk: WWE Champion, the best wrestler in the world. In the other corner, Dolph Ziggler: self professed showoff. He claims to have beaten Punk three times in the past month, and that's because he has beaten Punk three times in the past month. But if they wanna get to the root of it, each of those victories was hand wrapped and delivered by John Laurinaitis who happens to be the referee for the title match. He's not gonna bore them with Johnny's full title, but he'll describe him in one word.
CM Punk: "Failure!"
John Laurinaitis was a failure as a wrestler, he's a failure as an executive (these are all facts, it's on Wikipedia), and he's a failure as a human being. John Laurinaitis sucks at life. These are all things he's said to his face. He said them last week, and Laurinaitis did something that shocked him. He told the truth.
We cut to a video replay of John Laurinaitis in the ring with Mick Foley from last week. John says he's going to screw CM Punk. He says he’s sick and tired of being disrespected, and then knocks Foley down with a microphone to the head.
Cut back to Punk.
Given what was just witnessed, it's safe to say that Laurinaitis isn't going to be much of an unbiased referee on Sunday. Which means he's pretty good and screwed. Unfortunately for John he does know better. There's a course of action he can take that will not only get him the desired results, but he'll also have joy in taking because he knows that it's extremely hard to referee a match with two broken arms. So Johnny, the ball is in your court. Consider this a personal invitation to come out right now.
Punk stands up.
He wants Laurinaitis to come out and say all the things he said last week to his face. He wants John to take his balls out of his purse, look him in the eyes, and be a man for once. Say these things to his face.
Punk waits. Nobody comes out.
Punk says he gave him a chance. Now he's going to go find him.
John Cena comes out. He heads into the ring with a microphone already in his hand.
Punk says he gets it. He can see how Cena's been confused. He's been talking about a company man named John, but he didn't want John the Boy Scout, he wants John "nobody gives a crap about me" Laurinaitis.
John Cena: "Sorry, I was just sick of hearing you ramble."
Punk's out here to talk, but he's here for business. Watch and learn.
Mr. Laurinaitis will appear in minutes. He screwed over Zack Ryder and his United States championship last week, and tonight he'll give Zack a rematch. That same Mr. Laurinaitis is soon to appear, and he will give him a one on one match with Kane tonight who he will again face at the Rumble. Most importantly, Mr. Laurinaitis will soon appear in front of the world and resign as Interim General Manager of Raw.
Cena waits. Nobody comes out.
Punk says that's all fine and dandy. Laurinaitis considers himself champion of the people, it sounds like that's what the people want. The people have spoken, he's spoken, Cena's spoken, but he doesn't see why Cena coming out here-
John Laurinaitis: "Just to be clear..."
John Laurinaitis appears on stage with his own microphone.
Just to be clear, his name is John Laurinaitis, he is the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and the Interim General Manager of Monday Night Raw.
CM Punk: "Huh? Wha?!"
Laurinaitis says in life we all have our bad days. Sometimes we're not ourselves. Sometimes we says things that we wish we could take back and we regret. Well last week was NOT one of those days for him. He stands by what he said, and he won't be intimidated by either of them.
Punk says he can't hear a word he's saying. If he comes down to the ring he might hear him better.
Laurinaitis says let's get one thing straight. He doesn't work for Punk, Punk works for him.
Punk keeps telling him to get into the ring, he can't hear him.
Laurinaitis says he won't listen to him. He tells Cena that last week he made a mistake and he apologized to Zack. Fortunately, Ryder is here and medically cleared to compete. While Cena has Kane on Sunday, Zack Ryder will face Kane tonight in a Falls Count Anywhere match. If Cena gets involved, Ryder will never get a United States Championship rematch. Since they both seem to be on the same page, he's ordering them into a tag team match tonight. He just happened to find two opponents willing to face them.
Laurinaitis orders a referee to come out, and one does. He heads into the back.
Vickie Guerrero: "Excuse me! EXCUSE ME!"
Vickie Guerrero comes out and introduces the United States Champion Jack Swagger and the future WWE Champion Dolph Ziggler who stand by her side.
Vickie hands Ziggler the microphone.
Ziggler tells Punk he shouldn't worry about John Laurinaitis, he should worry about him. He doesn't need to screw him, because just like three times in the past five weeks and just like tonight, he's going to flat out beat him.
He hands the microphone over to Swagger.
Swagger says for what Cena did to him last week, he's dead meat.
All three head down to the ring for the tag match. John Laurinaitis comes back out and watches the match from ringside. Cena and Ziggler start things off.
Match #1
[CM Punk and John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger]
[Tag Team Match]
The bell sounds. Cena and Ziggler tie up. Cena with a side headlock into a snapmare takedown. Cena keeps the headlock applied and gets back to his feet. Ziggler pushes Cena back and presses him against a turnbuckle. They make a clean break. Ziggler goes for a clothesline, but Cena ducks it and hits Dolph with a punch to the abdomen. Cena power whips Ziggler into the opposite turnbuckle. Ziggler stumbles forward, Cena runs the ropes and when the two meet John connects with a running bulldog for a two count. Cena gets Ziggler back up and applies an armlock. He points over at Punk and tags him in. Punk hops over the apron, grabs Ziggler by the head and snapmares him down followed by a kick to the back. Punk covers for a one count. Punk lifts up Ziggler and goes for a suplex, but Ziggler manages to slip behind Punk and land on his feet. Punk turns around and gets kicked in the stomach. Ziggler hits a couple punches, but Punk manages to duck one of them and lift Ziggler up for the GTS. Ziggler manages to drop down from Punk's shoulders and roll out of the ring before the finisher can be hit.
-Commercial Break-
Back from break and Cena has Ziggler pinned for a two count. Cena applies a sleeper submission. Ziggler gets to his feet and Cena turns it into a side headlock. Ziggler breaks the hold by kicking Cena into the ropes. Ziggler tries to whip him off, but Cena counters and whips Dolph into the ropes. A clothesline attempt by Cena is ducked by Ziggler and on the return Ziggler ducks a back elbow. Dolph bounces back, stops himself in the middle of the ring and starts strutting across the ring as a way of showing off. He takes a moment to pose before tagging in Swagger. Swagger charges forward but Cena manages to kick him and hit a fisherman suplex. Cena mocks Dolph’s strut before hitting Ziggler with a punch that knocks him off the apron. Cena turns around and gets hit with a running clothesline from Swagger. Swagger kicks away at Cena. He brings Cena to his corner and punches away at him. Ziggler gets back on the apron, and when Swagger distracts the referee he throws in a a punch of his own. Swagger covers the fallen Cena for a two count.
Swagger grabs Cena and pulls his arms back for an arm stretching submission. Cena gets to his feet but Swagger quickly flips John around and now applies a front face lock submission. After awhile Cena manages to fight back. Cena pushes Swagger towards Punk's corner and tries to make the tag, but is stopped halfway. Cena decides to power out of it by tossing Swagger over his back and to the mat. Swagger crawls over to Ziggler and tags him in. Dolph with a dropkick to Cena for a two count. Dolph hits Cena with one, two, three, four, five, six, seven elbows before doing sit-ups next to him. After he finishes taunting he covers Cena for a two count. Ziggler grabs Cena by the head and drives an elbow into his chest. Cena gets up and gets punched into Swagger's corner. Ziggler distracts the referee while Swagger gets a free kick. Ziggler tags Swagger in and Swagger hits Cena with a corner slingshot splash for a two count. Swagger applies a bear hug submission to Cena. Cena gets up and makes his way over to Punk by pushing Swagger back. Cena suddenly finds the strength to lift Swagger up and hit Attitude Adjustment. Cena and Swagger are both down. Swagger rolls over to Ziggler and tags him in. Cena manages to tag Punk a second later.
Punk springboards off the ropes and knocks Ziggler down with a clothesline. Ziggler gets up and is hit with another clothesline. Up again and Punk hits him with a swinging neckbreaker. Ziggler finds himself against a turnbuckle. Punk runs over to him, hits a running knee to the face followed by a running bulldog. Punk signals for GTS. He lifts Ziggler up, but Dolph’s slides out of it once more. He pushes Punk against the ropes and goes for a clothesline, but Punk ducks it, spins around and hits Ziggler in the head with a spinning roundhouse kick. He goes for the cover, but Swagger breaks the count. Cena charges in and tosses Swagger out of the ring. Cena goes after him, but Swagger manages to hit a leg takedown on Cena and apply the anklelock submission. Cena rolls out of it and applies a STF to Swagger. Meanwhile, Punk hits Ziggler with a scoop slam. Punk pushes the referee aside and climbs the turnbuckle looking for the elbow drop, but Laurinaitis suddenly appears on the apron and yells at Punk for putting his hands on an official. Punk jumps off and puts his hands on Laurinaitis. He goes for a punch, but Laurinaitis hops off the apron. Ziggler suddenly grabs Punk from behind and rolls him up for a three count.
[Winners via Pinfall: Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger]
Laurinaitis heads back up the ramp while Ziggler and Swagger retreat. Punk grabs a microphone.
He says this doesn't change a damn thing. Both our courses of action remain the same, and on Sunday he plans on screwing him which is fine because at some point he plans on beating the hell out of him. He seems to have such an affinity for Dolph Ziggler. He likes to gift-wrap him victories against him, well he's gonna give Johnny a present. For one night he wants Laurinaitis to be something he's never been in his entire life. He's going to give him this opportunity. He doesn't want him to be an EVP or a GM, for one night only he wants him to be a WWE Superstar. He wants to be famous? He'll make him famous. Tonight, CM Punk goes one on one against him. Unless of course he's afraid.
Laurinaitis pauses for a moment before saying he accepts.
Laurinaitis leaves and Punk nods with approval. Later tonight CM Punk will take on John Laurinaitis one on one.
Cut to backstage. Chris Jericho is heading down to the ring. Lawler says that he will talk tonight as the Highlight Reel makes its return to Raw.
-Commercial Break-
Back from break, and the ring is set up for The Highlight Reel.
Justin Roberts tells the fans to please welcome Chris Jericho.
The lights go out. A familiar blue jacket lights up on top of the ramp. The lights turn back on and Jericho can be seen. He heads down to the ring and steps inside. He grabs a microphone and gestures for the fans to be quiet. It looks like he's about to speak, but he holds back and keeps telling people to shush. Suddenly, he acts like he forgot something and exits the ring. He runs up the ramp and gestures for everyone to hold on. He steps backstage. A few seconds later Jericho comes back out with a t-shirt cannon. He steps back inside the ring with the gun. He puts a t-shirt inside the gun and points it to all four sections of the audience. He suddenly decides to drop the cannon and grab the cameraman's camera. He takes the camera and holds it up at the fans close to ringsides. He pans around the entire ring before handing the camera back. Jericho grabs the microphone again and once more shushes the fans before showing a video on the television screen.
We get a quick promotional video showing the highlights of Chris Jericho's entire career in WWE
We cut back to Jericho. He shushes the fans one last time before finally saying something.
Chris Jericho: "This Sunday at the Royal Rumble, it's going to be the end of the world as you know it."
The lights go out and Jericho shows off his lighted jacket to the fans.
-Commercial Break-
We're back, and up next Zack Ryder takes on Kane in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Also later tonight, Miz takes on R-Truth one on one.
We get the usual "numbers matter" promotional video for the Royal Rumble.
Cut to backstage. Zack and Ryder and Eve are talking to each other with Ryder telling Eve not to worry about it. Ryder's ribs are still taped up.
Mick Foley appears and says hello to Zack and Eve. He tells Zack that he's wrestled Kane many times and he's teamed up with Kane many times. He's an animal, but deep down he's just a human being. Foley says he knows Zack can do this, and he is serious, bro.
Foley leaves.
Eve says that Zack doesn't have to do this. She doesn't care that Ryder is medically cleared, he should not have to do this, especially against Kane.
Ryder says his back's killing him, but he has to do this.
John Cena walks in. Cena says he heard what Laurinaitis said, and he's got Ryder's back if he needs him.
Zack says no. Don't interfere. He wants his United States Title rematch. He tells him to just stay out of it.
Ryder walks away to head to the ring.
We cut back to the ring, and Zack Ryder comes out. He heads inside the ring and waits for Kane.
Fire shoots from the top of the ramp before the lights turn off. Kane heads down to the ring for his match.
Match #2
[Zack Ryder vs. Kane]
[Falls Count Anywhere Match]
The bell sounds. Ryder goes on the attack first. He pushes Kane into a turnbuckle, climbs up on him and throws a flurry of punches. Kane simply shoves him off causing Ryder to land on his ribs. Kane kicks Ryder in the ribs. Ryder rolls up on the apron. Kane goes to grab him, but Zack manages to drop Kane's neck on the top rope. Kane stumbles back, but he recovers quickly and boots Ryder off the apron. Ryder hits the commentary table head first. Kane exits the ring and picks up Ryder. He kicks and punches away at Zack, targeting the injured ribs while doing so. Kane then lifts Ryder up and rams his back into the turnbuckle post twice before slamming him down. Kane then tosses Ryder back first into the ring steps. Kane kicks stomps down on Ryder. Eve shows up and heads down at ringside to keep an eye on Ryder. Kane grabs Ryder and tackles him back first into the commentary table.
-Commercial Break-
Back from break and Kane tosses Ryder into the barricade. He continues tossing Ryder from the ring apron to the barricade. Kane drags Ryder over to the other set of steel steps and drops him face first on them. Kane covers for a two count. Ryder tries to get back up, but Kane grabs him and starts suffocating him with his hand for a bit before letting go. Kane picks up Ryder and tosses him over the barricade. Kane goes into the audience and tosses Ryder into a traveling case. Kane grabs Ryder by the head and tosses him into more cases. Ryder manages to grab a briefcase and whack Kane in the head with it. Ryder falls to the ground while Kane is stunned. Ryder goes after him but Kane knocks him back down with a chop to the neck. Kane start pulling Ryder's bandages off and punches at his back. He tosses Ryder on the top of the ramp. He keeps kicking and then tosses Ryder face first into the WWE logo on the ramp. Kane picks up Ryder and lands a knee to the ribs. He covers for another two count. Kane picks up Ryder and headbutts him down. Ryder can barely move on his own, but it doesn't stop Kane from continuing to hurt him. Kane lifts Ryder up, and this time Ryder starts fighting back with punches. Kane knocks him down with another chop to the throat. He lifts Ryder up one more time, grabs him by the neck and chokeslams him through the stage. Kane watches while Eve goes over and cries out to Ryder. Kane turns to Eve and goes after her. Eve backs away in fear. Cena suddenly comes out and Kane heads into the crowd to avoid him. Evan runs back up the ramp. She and Cena look down at Ryder who is still not moving. A medical team rushes in to put Ryder on a stretcher. Eve is distraught while Cena just stares speechless at what just occurred.
[Winner: No Contest]
-Commercial Break-
Back, and Ryder is being carted out by the EMTs. Cole and Lawler explain what just occurred as Ryder is taken to the back. The camera follows Cena and Eve as Ryder is put into the ambulance.
Cena tells Zack to hang in there and he'll take care of it.
Eve tells Cena it's all his fault. He's done enough. She's going with Zack.
Eve heads into the ambulance with Zack. The ambulance soon drives off to the hospital.
Josh Matthews appears next to Cena with a microphone. He says that Cena must feel awful about this.
Matthews tries to get an answer, but Cena doesn't say a word. He smacks the microphone out of Josh's hand and stares into the camera, his hatred towards Kane now more evident than ever before.
-Commercial Break-
Back, and Cole and Lawler explain what just occurred with Zack, and they hope to hear about his condition later tonight.
Jinder Mahal is already in the ring for his match.
Sheamus comes out and heads down to the ring as Jinder's opponent.
Match #3
[Sheamus vs. Jinder Mahal]
[Singles Match]
The bell sounds. Sheamus and Jinder tie up. Both men try to overpower each other as they wind up pushing each other into a turnbuckle. Jinder manages to trap Sheamus in the corner and hits a couple knees to the stomach. He goes for a punch, but Sheamus counters with his own. Sheamus starts clubbing Jinder in the back a few times before scoop slamming him. As Sheamus drops an elbow Wade Barrett can be seen heading down the ramp in his business attire. Sheamus cover Jinder for a one count. Barrett walks around the ring and heads to the commentary table while Sheamus hits Jinder with a ten forearm clubs to the chest. Sheamus drops Jinder with a short arm clothesline. He climbs to the top rope, but Mahal manages to toss him off the top. Sheamus gets up and Jinder hits a running knee to the face. He covers Sheamus for a one count. Jinder brings Sheamus close to the apron and then goes on the apron himself. He strikes Sheamus with a couple more knees to the face. He steps back in the ring and covers for a two count. Jinder now applies a stepover armlock camel clutch submission. Sheamus fights out of it and knocks Jinder down with a couple clotheslines. He then places Jinder over his shoulder and drops him with a rolling fireman's carry slam. Sheamus grabs Jinder and goes for the Celtic Cross, but Jinder slides out of it and lands an elbow to the face. Jinder goes for a clothesline, but Sheamus ducks, turns around and hits Jinder with a Brogue Kick for the three count.
[Winner via Pinfall: Sheamus]
Barrett steps away from the commentary table and heads up the ramp. Sheamus taunts Barrett and tells him to get in the ring. Wade climbs up on the apron. Sheamus walks towards him, but Wade jumps down and decides to leave instead. As he does, Sheamus grabs a microphone. Sheamus tells Wade that he wants him to take a good look at this image because come Sunday he will be the one only left in the ring as the winner of the 2012 Royal Rumble match.
Sheamus celebrates in the ring while Barrett shakes his head.
We cut to the back and Josh Matthews is standing by with The Miz. He says that Miz will finally go one on one with his former friend R-Truth.
Miz tells Josh that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Every single person that has teamed with him and has crossed him, from John Morrison to Alex Riley to even the Big Show, have seen their careers disintegrate. Whether it's losing the world Heavyweight Championship in 45 seconds, or getting fired from WWE, when you forget your place and you turn on Miz, you become irrelevant. R-Truth will be no different. He will win the Royal Rumble match, and he will headline WrestleMania for the second year in a row. Because he is the number one superstar in the entire WWE. He is the most must see superstar of all time.
The Miz: "I am the number one-what do you want?!"
The camera pans out and R-Truth appears wearing glasses and a lab coat while holding a clipboard.
R-Truth: "Good Evening."
He says his name is Eric Flicher and he's from WWE Market Research. According to their data, Miz IS number one. Research don't lie. He's number one annoying, number one whining, number one nincompoop, and number one W.E.I.O.
Miz glares at him.
Truth says he must not know what W.E.I.O. means. It means that every time Miz is on TV, the fans are saying W.E.I.O., as in "What Else Is On?" Miz is, without any question, WWE's number one jackass.
The Miz: "Now you listen to me, Truth-"
R-Truth: "It's Flicher!"
The two argue back and forth until John Laurinaitis appears alongside David Otunga and interrupts them.
He says that he's been in his office trying to prepare himself for his first WWE match against CM Punk, and he can't hear himself think. Do they know why? Because all he hears is number one this, number one that. Well he's got their number one. Whoever loses their match will be the number one entrant in the Royal Rumble.
Laurinaitis leaves. Miz looks upset. He walks away while Truth gives him a crazy look.
R-Truth: "QUACK QUACK!"
We cut to an advertisement for CM Punk vs. John Laurinaitis later tonight.
Up next, "Funkasaurus" Brodus Clay is in action.
-Commercial Break-
Back from break, and William Regal is joining Cole and Lawler at commentary.
They show a clip from last week on Smackdown when Regal took part in a dance contest before Brodus knocks him down with Aw, Funk It.
Back to ringside, and Brodus Clay comes out. He heads down to the ring, this time in a white tracksuit, and dances in the ring along with his escorts.
His opponent, Heath Slater, is outside the ring laughing at how ridiculous he looks.
Match #4
[Brodus Clay vs. Heath Slater]
Slater enters the ring. The bell sounds. Brodus starts shaking. Heath runs the ropes and Clay knocks him down with a shoulder tackle. Heath complains about it. Clay runs the ropes and Heath manages to get him with a dropkick that knocks him into the ropes. Heath taunts the fans, but Brodus recovers quickly and hits a running headbutt. He lifts up Slater and hits an exploder suplex. Slater gets up against the turnbuckle and Brodus hits him with a body splash. He then runs the ropes and hits Aw, Funk It for the three count.
[Winner via Pinfall: Brodus Clay]
After the match, Brodus goes back to dancing with his escorts.
Still to come, CM Punk vs. John Laurinaitis
-Commercial Break-
We get a video highlight of the 2007 Royal Rumble. The Undertaker wins the Rumble, and it marks the first time someone at number 30 has won the Rumble.
The Miz comes out and heads to the ring for his match.
We get a clip from two months ago when Miz turned on R-Truth and took him out.
R-Truth comes out next and heads to the ring as his opponent.
Match #5
[The Miz vs. R-Truth]
[Singles Match]
[Loser Becomes Number One Entrant In The Rumble Match]
Miz and Truth tie up. The two struggle against the ropes until Miz gets a knee in on Truth. He punches and kicks him. He whips Truth into the ropes, but Truth counters and hits Miz with an elbow. Truth goes on the offensive, but Miz rolls out of the ring to avoid it. Truth goes after him and knocks him down with a clothesline. Truth tosses him in the ring and goes to enter, but Miz beats him to the punch and kicks him down. Miz stomps on Truth a few times. He pauses to taunt the fans. He turns around and Truth tackles him down. Truth then whips Miz into the ropes. Miz holds himself against the ropes and kicks Truth in the stomach. He grabs Truth and drops him with a front suplex on the top rope. Miz runs the ropes and tackles him off the apron.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from break with Miz covering Truth for a two count. Miz gets Truth back up and applies an abdominal stretch submission. Truth fights out of it and hip tosses Miz down. Truth stops and rests at a turnbuckle. Miz gets up and charges towards Truth, but Truth manages to kick him back. He runs and Miz goes for a clothesline, but Truth ducks it, bounces off the ropes and hits a clothesline on Miz, then another, and then jumps on him for a twisting roll up pin for a two count. Truth grabs Miz and hits a front suplex for another two count. Truth goes for the corkscrew scissors kick, but Miz dodges it, grabs Truth's neck from behind and drops it on his knee. He goes for the neckbreaker portion of the move, but Truth catches him with a backslide pin for a two count. Both men get up. Miz ducks a clothesline, grabs Truth and manages to hit the knee/neckbreaker combo for a two count. Miz waits for Truth to get up as he prepares for Skull Crushing FInale. He goes to hit it, but Truth tosses off. Truth goes over to Miz and goes for Consequences, but Miz grabs the ropes to stop him from falling. Miz grabs Truth and hits a DDT for a two count. Miz starts throwing punch after punch at Truth before the ref pulls him off. Miz goes to grab him again, and Truth manages to hit Consequences from out of nowhere for the three count.
[Winner via Pinfall: R-Truth]
Miz will now be number one in the Royal Rumble match.
We get footage from earlier tonight when Ryder was hit with a chokeslam through the stage by Kane.
We're told he now has a broken back.
We cut to John Laurinaitis in his office wearing a training robe.
Otunga walks in with a paper in his hands. He says that a fax just came in for him, and he really thinks he should read it before he goes out. It's very important, and he's not going to like it.
Laurinaitis reads the fax. He looks upset.
We cut to CM Punk backstage making his way to the ring for his match.
-Commercial Break-
After the final break of the night, we get a recap of the matches that will take place at the Royal Rumble event this Sunday.
Back at ringside, CM Punk comes out and heads to the ring for his second match for the night. Justin Roberts calls out John Laurinaitis, but nobody comes out. He calls him out again, and still nobody. He tries a third time, and Laurinaitis finally comes out along with Otunga wearing a "Future Endeavored" sleeveless shirt. He heads into the ring with a microphone.
He tells Punk that before they go any further, he has some unfortunate news that he'd like to share with the WWE Universe and talent. He received a fax from the Board of Directors, and even though it pains him to read this, he thinks it's information everyone needs to hear.
David reads the fax for the fans.
The fax says that the Board has become concerned about the questionable judgment of Mr. Laurinaitis while running the day-to-day operations of Monday Night Raw. Especially troubling is his declaration that he intends to abuse his authority as special guest referee by intentionally favoring Dolph Ziggler in his match against WWE Champion CM Punk at the Royal Rumble event. Therefore, the Board has decided that his status as Interim General Manager of Monday Night Raw will be officially under review. Next week on Raw, he will receive a formal job evaluation to determine whether he continues as Interim General Manager, or if he will be terminated. His job evaluation will be conducted by WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H.
Laurinaitis: "Punk, what this means-"
Punk takes his shirt off.
He says what this means is if he intentionally screws him at the Royal Rumble, it looks like he's out of a job. Boo hoo! What this also means is that now there's nothing stopping him from knocking his teeth out of his face before Triple H shows him the door.
Laurinaitis says Punk's got it all wrong. The Board of Directors is right. This is his wakeup call. He needs to take this apology and he would like to extend his apology to the WWE Universe and to Punk for any wrongdoing he's done while in his tenure.
Punk says so this is all just a misunderstanding? Just like last week when he didn't let Mick Foley in the Royal Rumble, that's a misunderstanding.
Laurinaitis says he made a mistake, and Foley is in the Royal Rumble match. Also, he was always going to call his match right down the middle. He only said what he said because Punk made fun of him. But he was mad; he knows what that's like.
Punk says that right now, he's like that spoiled little girl that year round gets what she wants, but all of a sudden it's Christmas time and now he's worried that Santa's coming and that all Santa's going to bring him is a big fat piece of coal. If Triple H has ever inherited any of his father-in-law's traits, he hopes it's one thing. And he hopes he says it to him. And it's...YOU'RE FIRED!
Laurinaitis says that's not going to happen. He's been with WWE for 10 years. He took over Talent Relations when it was in the dark ages under Jim Ross and made it a corporate entity. He's not going anywhere. Unfortunately, tonight's match isn't going to happen under these circumstances. But he assures him that he has an adequate substitute in David Otunga.
Otunga attacks Punk from behind and kicks him while he's down. Otunga lifts punk and pummels him in the corner. Otunga steps back and charges towards him only for Punk to tackle Otunga down and land a few punches of his own. He then applies the Anaconda Vice and Otunga starts tapping. Punk lets go and goes towards Laurinaitis. He looks ready to attack, but Punk then hits Otunga with a back kick followed by a roundhouse kick that knocks him out.
Laurinaitis is caught alone in the ring with Punk. Laurinaitis tries to get out of it by offering a handshake. Punk looks at him, shakes his hand, and pulls him in. He lifts Laurinaitis over his shoulders and drops him with the GTS. Laurinaitis is out cold. Punk is about to celebrate when Dolph Ziggler suddenly appears in the ring and hits Punk with the Zig-Zag. Ziggler stands tall while both Punk and Laurinaitis are down as the show comes to an end.
