Paul Heyman, accompanied by his client Brock Lesnar, opened up the show by bragging about how Lesnar was able to force Triple H, the same man that he had witnessed first hand tear a quadricep years ago and finished the match, tap out to a submission hold the previous night at SummerSlam. He went on to state that 'The Game' by accepting the match and loosing in such a fashion had let all of his friends, fans and family down.
He then called out referee Scott Armstrong who had officiated the bout so Lesnar could congratulate him on a "Good job" after Armstrong had been told by Triple H before the match up to regard it as a No Disqualification and No Count Out contest, thereby allowing Lesnar to destroy 'The Game'. Heyman then went on to announce his client as "The conquerer of the WWE" after defeating the COO, quite a cool title, and it was a solid promo to start the show.
Sin Cara, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth defeated Cody Rhodes, Darren Young and Titus O'Neil in an average six man tag match. The action was okay, just a bit bland for the most part. Sin Cara and Kofi managed to fortunately liven it up a bit.
Ryback won via disqualification versus two rookies in a routine squash match. The DQ came after Jinder Mahal ran in and began attacking Ryback, but he managed to mount a comeback and scare off Mahal.
Backstage Dolph Ziggler demanded a rematch with Chris Jericho to prove he's the better man. So General Manager AJ granted the rematch, but with the stipulations that if Jericho wins then he obtains Ziggler's Money in the Bank contract, and if Ziggler is victorious then Y2J's contract with WWE will be terminated.
Alberto Del Rio complained about how he should be World Champion after his foot was under the rope when the referee counted Sheamus' winning pin against him the night before in their title match. As he demanded a rematch right there and then, GM AJ informed him that the World title scene was Booker T's deal over on SmackDown, but while he was able to compete on Raw she booked him against Randy Orton.
Randy Orton beat Alberto Del Rio in a solid contest. Both men put in a good effort and provided a very enjoyable bout as they went back and fourth. Del Rio almost had the win but World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus (who's provided decent guest commentary) alerted the referee to Orton's foot being on the bottom rope. As a furious Del Rio had a go at 'The Great White' he was caught out with an RKO. Well it looks like they're setting up these three for a Triple Threat for the title at Night of Champions, should be a good match up.
Damien Sandow defeated Brodus Clay in a passable to drab match up. Clay dominated for the most part, with Sandow managing to grab the one-two-three with a quick roll up pin.
When interviewed live via satellite, Shawn Michaels spoke about the possible retirement of Triple H and how there's no way to really prepare for it even when you know it's coming. An emotional Michaels also said how his long-time friend has nothing to be ashamed of, and how he and the fans will always love him and respect what he's accomplished. It was a nice segment and actually quite touching at times, it made a nice change of pace.
Big Show beat David Otunga in a fairly brief squash match. I'm guessing this wasn't the return Otunga was hoping for.
Daniel Bryan and The Miz versus Kane and Zack Ryder ended in a no contest after Bryan and Miz decided to leg it away from the deranged Kane. The actual match itself was solid enough, with the always entertaining Bryan on his usual good form.
Dolph Ziggler defeated Chris Jericho in a match that ranged from exciting to slightly sloppy here and there. But on the whole it was a worthy effort from both wrestlers. As per the stipulations this meant that Jericho was officially fired. A disgruntled Y2J then went to hand over Ziggler's Money in the Bank briefcase as a sign of good sportsmanship, but decided to instead attack the arrogant Ziggler with it and Codebreakered him before leaving.
Kaitlyn won a messy and quite forgettable Divas Battle Royal to earn a title shot against Layla. Looking at some of the talent in there it's hardly surprising that there's barely any attention on the Divas division anymore. Some of the others in the match include Eve, Natalya and Tamina.
WWE Champion CM Punk came out to officially announce the next number one contender to his title, when he noticed Jerry Lawler at ringside and asked him to apologise for claiming that he had turned his back on the fans on the 1000th Raw when he attacked The Rock. But before Lawler could John Cena came out, so Punk reprimanded him by claiming that he couldn't have waited and just had to hog the spotlight.
CM Punk also brought up the fact that he's always asked by fans why it is that although he's WWE Champion he's not normally in the main event of PPV's. He explained that he hadn't minded because for him it was about respect and wherever he was on a card that was the real main event anyway. Punk went on to tell Cena that a title match at Night of Champions was his if he can admit that Punk is the "best in the world". Cena retorted by claiming that his relationship with the fans wasn't built on holding a championship, but on respect. Something which Punk is so desperate to attain as the title holder.
Cena went on to inform Punk that he'll not call him the best in the world even if it means loosing out on a title shot, as he believes that each wrestler has to believe that they are the best to succeed. After he left CM Punk called Lawler into the ring to once again apologise, so Lawler did. But the champ wasn't done, as he also asked Jerry to call him the best in the world. Lawler proclaimed that he couldn't do that, and as he went to leave he was met with a kick to the head by Punk. It was an entertaining segment, with solid mic work from all the men involved. The more serious Cena is always much more engaging then the childish, jokey one we normally get.
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