Event: WWE Monday Night RAW
Airdate: Monday, February 3rd, 2014 (USA Network)
Location: The CenturyLink Center in Omaha, NE
Results by Jeff Johnson
“Yes, sir, we promised you a great main event…”
RAW Opener: Randy Orton & The Authority
This week’s show opens up with a shot of the live crowd in Omaha and Michael Cole welcoming us to RAW. After that, Randy Orton’s music hits and out walks the WWE World Heavyweight Champion to the ring to a chorus of boo’s. We shoot to the announce table during Orton’s entrance as Cole talks about Orton being in a bad mood due to his match at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
Orton begins speaking and almost immediately a loud “CM Punk” chant breaks out. Orton raises his voice to try and drown it out. Orton complains about having to defend his title at the upcoming pay-per-view. Orton says despite people wanting him to lose, he’s going to win the Elimination Chamber and go on to beat the “jacked up freak” Batista. He says during the Evolution days, he and Batista were equals. He says now he’s simply better than him. Orton calls himself the greatest Superstar of this and every other generation. He says he’s the main attraction each week on RAW.
Triple H’s music hits and out comes “The Game” and Stephanie McMahon. As soon as Stephanie begins speaking, another loud “CM Punk” chant breaks out. Stephanie tells Orton he’s paranoid and not to bite the hand that feeds him. Triple H says Orton comes out week after week complaining about facing unfair odds. HHH says that doesn’t sound like words that should be coming out of the mouth of the “face of the WWE.” Triple H says maybe The Authority should consider putting their faith in someone else. As soon as he says that, a loud “Yes, Yes” chant breaks out. Stephanie says in the next several weeks, Orton will face his Elimination Chamber opponents in one-on-one matches. Stephanie talks about considering they may have to consider making Daniel Bryan the new face of WWE. The crowd erupts with “Yes” chants as Triple H does the hand-raising gesture that Bryan normally does. Bryan will compete against Orton tonight and if Bryan wins, The Authority claims they will consider him as the new face of the WWE.
The Shield vs. Rey Mysterio, Big E. Langston & Kofi Kingston
The Shield’s music hits and out comes all three members through the crowd. We see video highlights of the Wyatt Family costing The Shield their chance to quality for the Elimination Chamber on RAW last week. After that, highlights are shown from SmackDown of the segment with Roman Reigns getting in Triple H’s face and setting up The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. We head to a commercial.
When we return from commercial, Rey Mysterio is making his entrance. Big E. Langston and Kofi Kingston are already in the ring. The bell rings and a six-man tag-team match begins. Langston and Dean Ambrose start things off for their respective teams. Langston gets the better of Ambrose and then tags in Kingston. Kingston picks up where Langston left off.
Ambrose tags Seth Rollins in and Kingston immediately goes to work on Rollins. The babyfaces are in firm control of this one thus far. Rollins gets Kingston in the heel corner and tags in Ambrose. The Shield seem to be taking over this match now. Ambrose tags in Roman Reigns and the crowd pops a bit as Reigns picks up where Ambrose left off with Kingston. Reigns beats Kingston up a bit and then tags Rollins back in the match. Rollins works over Kingston a bit and then tags Ambrose back in the match. The Shield are keeping Kingston in their half of the ring and utilizing quick tags to keep fresh guys on him.
Kingston finally makes a tag to Rey Mysterio. Mysterio tags the hot tag and is flying all over the place, beating Rollins from one side of the ring to the other. We are told that Roman Reigns is trending right now on Twitter. A “6-1-9” chant breaks out from the fans in Omaha. Mysterio ends up in the heel corner, where Reigns tags back in and now the bad guys are back in control. We head to a mid-match commercial on that note.
When we return from commercial, Reigns is dragging Mysterio to the heel corner. He slaps Mysterio in a rear-chin lock as we see footage, via the WWE App, of The Shield beating up Mysterio during the commercial break. Reigns tags in Ambrose and The Shield continue their beat down of Rey-Rey. Ambrose misses a spear on Mysterio in the corner and Mysterio finally makes the tag to Langston.
Langston takes the hot tag and is now throwing The Shield members around like rag dolls. Reigns ends up busted open during all of this. All six guys end up in the ring and there are bodies flying everywhere. Reigns ends up nailing Langston with the Superman punch. Ambrose tags himself in as Reigns was going for the spear. Ambrose steals the pin for his team.
Winners: The Shield
After The Match
Roman Reigns looks pissed at Ambrose. The two argue back-and-forth a bit while Rollins tries to calm the situation down. The Wyatt Family ends up appearing on the titan tron. Bray Wyatt cuts a promo. He says he has their blueprint stamped in his brain. He calls them pawns. Bray says The Shield’s moment is coming sooner than they think. Luke Harper ends up getting a speaking role. He says “he has always been your king.” He begins whistling as Erick Rowan leans in wearing the sheep mask. Rowan says “run.” We see Bray smiling as Harper continues whistling. And that’s about it. We head to another commercial break.
Daniel Bryan & The Seahawks
When we return from commercial, Michael Cole promotes the fact that the Seahawks did the “Yes” chant after winning the Super Bowl, as well as the Seahawks tweeting Daniel Bryan after their big victory.
Bad News Barrett & Jerry Lawler
We return live in the arena for a Bad News Barrett segment. He points out that the Super Bowl on Sunday was the most-watched show in U.S. history, but he’s afraid he’s got some bad news. He talks about people eating junk food during the game. As he laughs, Jerry Lawler jumps on the house mic. He says he’s afraid he’s got some bad news for him. Lawler says hopefully next week, Barrett won’t be around. Lawler’s music plays. That was it.
Christian vs. Jack Swagger
After a WWE App and WWE Network plug, Christian’s music hits. Christian makes his way to the ring as Michael Cole points out he qualified for the Elimination Chamber on SmackDown last week. We head to a commercial as Christian makes his way to the ring. When we return from commercial, Christian is in the ring, as is his opponent, Jack Swagger.
The bell rings and we have a rematch from last week. Antonio Cesaro and Zeb Colter are at ringside for this one. As soon as the bell rings, Swagger takes Christian down. He throws Christian into the corner and goes to work on him with punches. The announcers talk about possible jealously within The Real Americans due to Cesaro qualifying for the Elimination Chamber. Meanwhile, Christian knocks Swagger out to the floor.
Swagger ends up beating up Christian on the floor a bit before throwing him back in the ring. We see Colter talking to Cesaro outside the ring as Swagger continues to punish Christian inside the ring. Christian tries to fight his way back into the match, but Swagger cuts his attempt short and continues his beat down. A “let’s go Christian” chant breaks out as Swagger continues to dominate.
Swagger misses a big splash in the corner and now Christian is firing up on offense. Christian hits a big missile dropkick off the middle rope on Swagger. Christian goes for a big splash off the top rope, but Swagger catches him and reverses into his ankle lock. Christian escapes, looks for the Killswitch, but Swagger avoids it. Swagger goes for the Swagger Bomb but Christian avoids that. Christian rolls Swagger up. 1-2-3. Christian wins.
Winner: Christian
WWE Tag-Team Titles: New Age Outlaws (c) vs. Goldust & Cody Rhodes (Steel Cage Match)
Highlights are shown of last week’s match between The New Age Outlaws and the team of Goldust and Cody Rhodes. The steel cage, which has been hanging above the ring all night, is finally lowered. “Oh you didn’t know?” Road Dogg and Billy Gunn make their way to the ring as Road Dogg does his usual routine on the mic. Billy Gunn finishes with his usual stuff. With that said, Goldust’s music hits and out comes the former WWE Tag-Team Champions. As they finish up their ring entrance, we head to a commercial.
When we return from commercial, Justin Roberts does his official introduction for this WWE Tag-Team Championship contest. The announcers point out that you cannot escape the cage to win, there must be a pinfall or submission. It’s also noted that this will be a traditional tag-team match, as only one person from each team can wrestle at one time. Goldust and Road Dogg start things off. Goldust gets the better of Road Dogg, so Road Dogg tags in Billy Gunn. Gunn finally gets the upper-hand on The Rhodes Brothers, and the New Age Outlaws are in control of this one.
The crowd begins a very loud “CM Punk” chant as the match continues. The announcers argue and bicker over Daniel Bryan potentially becoming the new “face of WWE” if he defeats Randy Orton later tonight. Meanwhile, Goldust and Road Dogg, the legal men in the match now, are fighting back-and-forth. Goldust ends up getting the better of him as a “you don’t age” chant breaks out. I believe that’s what they were chanting. Road Dogg finally gets the better of Goldust and tags in Billy Gunn. A loud “We want Punk” chant breaks out as Michael Cole takes us to a mid-match commercial.
When we return from commercial, Goldust and Road Dogg are battling it out. The guys go back-and-forth for a couple of minutes. The finish sees Cody Rhodes do a wicked moonsault off the top of the cage. In the end, however, Gunn hits the FameAsser for the 1-2-3. The New Age Outlaws retain the titles.
Winners and STILL WWE Tag-Team Champions: The New Age Outlaws
Titus O’Neil vs. Zack Ryder
Titus O’Neil makes his way to the ring with new theme music. Highlights are shown of O’Neil turning on his former Prime Time Player tag-team partner Darren Young on last week’s SmackDown. As O’Neil beats up Zack Ryder with ease, The Miz raids the RAW commentary and complains about not being booked on RAW. He whines a bit and then walks off.
Meanwhile, O’Neil continues to dominate Ryder in the ring. As O’Neil continues to punish Ryder, another “CM Punk” chant breaks out from the fans in Omaha. Ryder is finally getting some offense in, but eventually O’Neil catches him coming off the top-rope with a big slam. O’Neil hits a big splash on Ryder in the corner. He hits his finisher on Ryder for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Titus O’Neil
Dance-Off: Summer Rae vs. Emma
We head to a commercial after O’Neil’s win. When we return from commercial, Fandango makes his way to the ring with Summer Rae. As he makes his entrance, WWE airs a Black History Month vignette. The vignette focuses on “The Big Cat” Ernie Ladd. As we return, Justin Roberts introduces a “Dance Off.” His “opponent” for the dance off is none other than Santino Marella. Santino makes his way to the ring to a decent pop.
Santino gets to the ring and tells “Fandingo” he wants no part of Santino in a dance competition. He says maybe the WWE Universe would like to see a dance off between “Summer Day” and a member of the audience. Santino chooses NXT Diva Emma. Emma comes into the ring with her sign. Santino tells Summer Rae to go first. Fandango’s music plays as Summer dances around.
The music stops and Santino tells us to feast our eyes on the swirling hips and fantastic manauvers of Emma. Some hokey music plays and Emma dances badly. The music stops and Santino says he will poll the audience. He mentions Summer Day and the fans boo. He mentions Emma and the fans cheer. Santino announces that Emma is the winner. The hokey music plays again and Santino and Emma hop around.
Winner: Emma
Sheamus vs. Curtis Axel
Sheamus makes his way to the ring to a big pop. As he continues his entrance, we head to a commercial. When we return from commercial, Sheamus is still in the ring with his music playing. Out comes Curtis Axel, accompanied by Ryback. It appears as though we’re getting a one-on-one match between Sheamus and Axel.
As the bell sounds to make this one official, the fans in Omaha break out in a loud “Goldberg” chant, which is obviously directed at Ryback. As Axel and Sheamus lock up, the crowd breaks out into another loud “CM Punk” chant. Meanwhile, Sheamus takes Axel down with a headlock. Axel finally gets a couple of shots in on Sheamus in the corner. Moments later, Sheamus is back in control, beating Axel with power moves.
Sheamus knocks Axel out to the floor. Sheamus goes out after him as we see Ryback looking on. Sheamus bashes Axel face-first into the announce table and then rolls him back in the ring. Axel finally gets back in control of the offense after throwing Sheamus shoulder-first into the ring post. As Axel continues his beat down of Sheamus, another loud “CM Punk” chant breaks out. Sheamus finally starts fighting back, pummeling Axel with punches in the corner.
Sheamus goes for his White Noise move but Axel escapes it. Sheamus slams Axel down. Sheamus nails Axel with the Brogue Kick. 1-2-3. Sheamus wins.
Winner: Sheamus
Batista Coming Up Next
We see Batista backstage making his way to the ring. As he gets closer to the entrance way, we head to a commercial break. Michael Cole informs us that the Royal Rumble winner will address the WWE Universe next. We head to another break.
In-Ring Segment: Batista & Alberto Del Rio
When we return from commercial, Batista’s music hits and “The Animal” comes out and makes his way to the ring. The crowd seems to be giving him somewhat of a mixed reaction. WWE gave him an insane amount of pyro to try and ensure a pop for his entrance. It will be interesting to see how the crowd reactions once the music stops and he starts speaking. Michael Cole points out that Batista won the Royal Rumble and will main event this year’s WrestleMania.
When the music stops, the crowd starts boo’ing a bit. Alberto Del Rio’s music quickly hits. Smart move. Bring out a dastardly heel before Batista even speaks. Gives the crowd less of a chance to crap all over Batista. As Del Rio begins to speak, the crowd erupts in “CM Punk” chants anyways. Batista says “look man, I don’t have a problem with you.” Del Rio talks about Batista sitting on his couch waiting for his movie agent to call him. He says while Batista was doing that, he was in WWE winning world titles. Del Rio gets in Batista’s face in the ring and says Batista is afraid of him. He says he’s going to hurt him. The “CM Punk” chants start up again.
Batista laughs and cuts Del Rio off. He goes to tell Del Rio he has no problem with him again, but before he can finish his sentence, Del Rio hits him with a cheap shot. Del Rio puts the boo’s to Batista as the crowd boo’s. Batista finally gut-shots Del Rio, but as he goes to Batista Bomb him, Del Rio ducks out the back door and slides out of the ring. Batista takes off his shirt as he music hits.
Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth & Xavier Woods vs. The Wyatt Family
After the Batista segment ends, Dolph Ziggler’s music hits. Ziggler comes out as we are informed that this will be a six-man tag-team match. Out next is R-Truth and Xavier Woods. Truth raps as the two make their way to the ring. Cole points out that these three men will take on The Wyatt Family when we return from the break. On that note, we head to a commercial.
When we return from commercial, The Wyatt Family make their usual creepy entrance to the ring. The bell rings and our six-man tag-team match is officially underway. Erick Rowan and Xavier Woods start things off for their respective teams. Woods eventually gets the better of Rowan and tags in R-Truth. Woods and Truth double-team Rowan and then Truth picks up where Woods left off. Rowan tags in Bray Wyatt. Bray gets the better of Truth and then tags in Luke Harper.
Harper beats up Truth as a loud “we want Ziggler” chant breaks out from the fans in Omaha. Truth finally explodes on Harper and both guys are down. The crowd rallies behind Truth. He finally makes the tag to Ziggler. Ziggler takes the hot tag and comes in flying all over the place. Ziggler does his ten-punch spot on Harper in the corner as the crowd counts along. Ziggler neckbreakers Harper down and then drops an elbow to the chest of the big man. Ziggler hits a bit DDT on Harper. Ziggler goes for the pin but Rowan comes in and breaks it up. Bray Wyatt comes in and lays out all of the babyfaces.
When the smoke clears, Harper blasts Ziggler with his big clothesline. Harper tags in Wyatt. Bray comes in and picks up where Harper left off with Ziggler. Bray hits his Sister Abigail on Ziggler and that’s all she wrote. The Wyatt Family wins.
Winners: The Wyatt Family
After The Match
The Shield appears on the titan tron, much like The Wyatt Family did after their match earlier in the night. Dean Ambrose tells them that they’re not afraid of them and that they don’t live in his weird little world. Seth Rollins calls him dilusional. He says they can’t hang with The Shield. Roman Reigns tells The Wyatt’s to take a look around because they’re standing in The Shield’s playground. He says when the Elimination Chamber comes, The Wyatt Family’s time is over. When The Shield are done, we see Bray laughing in the ring. He screams out loud that he welcomes this war. We head to another commercial.
Naomi vs. Aksana
When we return from commercial, a vignette for Alexander Rusev and Lana airs. They speak in Bulgarian, the same stuff we saw on SmackDown last week. After that, we see The Funkadactyls dancing on the ring apron as Michael Cole points out that Naomi is in Divas action next. AJ Lee’s music plays and she dances her way to the ring, accompanied by Tamina Snuka. The bell rings and it’s time for Divas singles action between Naomi and Aksana.
Aksana stretches before the two lock up to get this one going. AJ Lee talks trash about Naomi and the other WWE Divas on commentary as Naomi beats up Aksana in the ring. Michael Cole keeps pointing out that Naomi has pinned AJ Lee twice recently. AJ keeps making excuses for her losses. Meanwhile, Aksana is finally getting some offense in.
Naomi tries fighting back but Aksana cuts her comeback attempt short. We see Cameron cheering Naomi on from ringside as AJ calls her a glorified cheerleader. AJ jokingly asks the announce team how to download the WWE App. Naomi tries fighting back again but once again Aksana cuts her short. Naomi finally hits her finisher on Aksana out of nowhere. 1-2-3. Naomi wins.
Winner: Naomi
Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton
We are told that Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan, tonight’s main event, will be next after the break. On that note, we head to another commercial. When we return from commercial, Daniel Bryan’s music hits. The crowd explodes and immediately start doing the “Yes!” chant as he runs to the ring. Randy Orton’s music hits next and the WWE World Heavyweight Champion makes his way to the ring for tonight’s RAW main event. As Orton enters the ring, Michael Cole takes us to another commercial break.
When we return from commercial, Orton and Bryan get their match underway. The “Daniel Bryan” and “Yes” chants break out immediately as Bryan takes the early offensive lead in the match. At one point, some loud “CM Punk” chants broke out as well. Bryan worked over the arm of Orton for a bit, but Orton eventually gained the upper-hand of the match. As Orton beat up Bryan, the crowd again erupted in “Daniel Bryan” and “Yes” chants. Daniel Bryan starts fighting his way back into the match. Bryan is working over the leg of Orton now.
As Bryan continues to attack Orton’s leg, another loud “CM Punk” chant breaks out from the fans in Omaha. Orton finally fights his way back into the offensive lead of the match. The crowd boo’s and starts chanting “No! No!” as Orton taunts them. Bryan cuts Orton’s offensive run short, however, and continues to go to work on the leg of Orton. The fight spills out to the floor and Michael Cole ends up getting bumped as the two fought near the announce table. Lawler and JBL take over commentary and continue to ask if Cole is okay. Finally, Cole returns to the commentary and says he’s ok.
Bryan goes to work on Orton in the ring as a random “JBL” chant breaks out. Bryan locks Orton in the surf board and then stomps away on the leg of Orton that he’s been working over throughout the match. The fight makes its’ way out to the floor again. Orton throws Bryan into the barricade and now seems to be in control of the offense for the first time in a long while. Orton is selling his leg as the action returns to the ring.
Back in the ring, Orton continues to go to work on Bryan, all-the-while selling his leg. The crowd tries cheering Bryan on with “Yes” chants, however Orton powerslams Bryan with a vengeance and continues his attack. We head to a mid-match commercial on that note.
When we return from commercial, Bryan is blasting Orton with repeated “Yes!” kicks. Orton cuts Bryan’s offensive momentum short, however, and dumps Bryan on his head. Bryan rolls out to the floor to recover. Bryan is selling his shoulder after that spot. Orton goes out after Bryan and rams him shoulder-first into the ring post. Orton picks him up and again rams him shoulder-first into the post. Orton throws Bryan into the ring steps. Orton throws Bryan back in the ring.
As the action returns to the ring, Orton continues to focus his attack on the arm of Bryan. Orton starts doing his Ronnie Garvin stomps on the body of Bryan, again focusing mainly on Bryan’s arm. A loud “Daniel Bryan” chant breaks out in Omaha as Orton continues to work over the arm of Bryan. Orton does his pose to taunt the fans as Bryan continues to sell his arm. Orton grabs Bryan’s arm and yanks it over the top-rope as he drops to the floor outside the ring.
Orton rolls back in the ring as the crowd begins another “Daniel Bryan” chant. Orton sits Bryan on the top rope. Orton goes for a superplex but Bryan fights his way out and headbutts Orton down to the mat. Bryan comes off the top rope with a big missile dropkick. As Bryan lands, Michael Cole points out that he hit his bad shoulder. Bryan stays down and sells his shoulder. Another “Daniel Bryan” chant breaks out as Bryan and Orton trade punches and kicks. Orton grabs Bryan and yanks his arm hard.
Bryan gets Orton in the “Yes! Lock” out of nowhere, but Orton eventually makes it to the ropes to break the hold. Bryan continues to sell his arm as both guys make their way back to their feet. Bryan starts blasting Orton with “Yes!” kicks in the corner. Bryan hits Orton with a big dropkick in the corner. Bryan goes for another one, but Orton catches Bryan coming in with a big dropkick of his own. Orton hits Bryan with his draping DDT off the middle ropes.
Orton drops down in his “Viper” pose. He goes for the RKO, but Bryan counters with a big kick. Bryan goes to the top rope. He comes flying off the top rope and nails Orton with his trademark flying headbutt. Bryan starts blasting Orton with “Yes!” kicks again as the crowd chants “Yes” along with each of them.
Out of nowhere, Kane comes down to the ring. Kane hops on the apron and Bryan knocks him down. Orton is outside the ring next to Kane and Bryan does a big suicide dive through the ropes, splashing onto both guys. Bryan blasts Kane head-first into the ring steps. Back in the ring, Bryan avoids the RKO and counters with his running knee. 1-2-3. Bryan wins.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
After The Match
Bryan’s music plays and he leads the crowd in some “Yes!” chants, all-the-while still selling his right shoulder. Kane and Orton creep up on the apron and Bryan goes after Kane. Orton attacks Bryan from behind and now both Orton and Kane are stomping away at Bryan. Kane chokeslams Bryan down as the crowd boo’s. Kane does his pose and the fire explodes out of the corners. Orton grabs his two belts and both guys stand tall over the fallen Bryan. RAW goes off-the-air on that note.