– There was no YouTube pre-show despite WWE advertising it in advance.
– The 1,000th episode of WWE’s Monday Night RAW kicks off with a new intro video. We get another video that looks back at some of the many moments from 1,000 episodes. They also show some of the sadder moments like Eddie Guerrero’s tribute. The video goes on for about 4 minutes and shows a ton of clips.
– We’re live from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri as Michael Cole welcomes us to RAW 1000. He’s joined by Jerry Lawler.
– We go right to the ring and out comes Vince McMahon.
Vince comes out and thanks the fans. They throw a “thank you Vince” chant back at him. Vince welcomes us to Monday Night RAW and introduces DeGeneration X. The DX music hits and out comes Shawn Michaels and Triple H.
Shawn says he needs to catch his breath from running around. Shawn says he feels like something is missing. Triple H agrees and they do some DX comedy. Triple H says there used to be more of them. The DX music hits again and they introduce X-Pac, Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. They come riding in the Army tank from the WCW invasion years ago. DX reunites in the ring and the crowd pops big for it.
They do crotch chops as the X pyro goes off across the ring. Road Dogg takes the mic first and does his famous intro for The New Age Outlaws. Triple H does his intro and asks everyone if they’re ready. Triple H says he will see everyone at RAW 2000 and then tells everyone to get ready to suck it. More DX comedy. They pick on Shawn for posing for Playgirl years ago. They’re interrupted by Damien Sandow.
Sandow walks to the ring and Shawn says to let him talk. Sandow says this is what WWE and society at large has turned into – degenerates. Sandow runs them down some more but acknowledges that DX could beat him down and dispose of him like trash. Sandow says he won’t be a victim if they do – he will be a martyr for anyone who appreciates a sophisticated mind. DX discusses this as a group as Sandow looks on. HBK connects with Sweet Chin Music and then Triple H grabs him for a Pedigree. They tell everyone to suck it again before the DX music hits and they celebrate some more. They disrobe Sandow and toss him out of the ring.
– We get hype for The Rock’s return to RAW tonight. Also still to come, Brock Lesnar answers Triple H’s SummerSlam challenge. Cole and Lawler also hype AJ Lee and Daniel Bryan’s wedding for tonight. They plug tonight’s WWE Title main event and we go back to DX celebrating on the ramp. We go to commercial.
– Back from the commercial and out comes Jim Ross to join Cole and Lawler on commentary.
Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara and Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio
We go to the ring and out comes Rey Mysterio to a big pop. Out next come his partners – Sin Cara and then the World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus. Out first for the other team is Chris Jericho to a nice reaction from the crowd. His partners are out next – first comes Dolph Ziggler with his Money in the Bank briefcase and Vickie Guerrero, second is Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio comes in driving a 2012 Aston Martin as Ricardo Rodriguez does the intro.
Back from a commercial and it’s Ziggler with Cara in the corner. Dolph drops a big elbow and covers Cara for 2. Jericho tags in and takes Cara to the mat with a headlock. Cara fights free and rolls Jericho up for 2. Jericho with a dropkick and some trash talking to Sheamus. Jericho slams Cara and steps on him for a 1 count. Jericho tags in Del Rio to keep up the attack on Cara. Del Rio takes Cara to the corner and kicks him to the mat for a 2 count. Del Rio with knees to the back now.
Del Rio runs into a boot in the corner. Cara hits a tornado DDT from the top and both of them go down. Cara tags in Sheamus as Jericho tags in. Sheamus runs over Jericho and spears him in the corner. Sheamus with a big knee to the head. Jericho counters a move but Sheamus catches him in the backbreaker for a 2 count as Del Rio breaks it up. Mysterio comes in and takes Del Rio to the floor. Mysterio leaps from the apron and takes Del Rio out on the floor. Cara kicks Ziggler to the floor. Jericho knocks Cara to the floor. Sheamus comes at Jericho and they counter. Jericho goes for Walls of Jericho but it’s blocked. Sheamus blocks the Codebreaker but Jericho ducks a Brogue Kick. Ziggler hits Jericho, his own partner, with a cheap shot. Sheamus knocks Ziggler back to the floor and waits for Jericho to get up. Sheamus flattens Jericho with a Brogue Kick for the win.
Winners: Sheamus. Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio
– More hype for The Rock before going back to commercial.
– Back from the break and apparently JR has left commentary. We see some Tout videos from WWE fans congratulating AJ and Daniel Bryan on their wedding.
– Cole and Lawler talk to actor Charlie Sheen live via Skype. Apparently he will be watching the show tonight and they are going to check back in with him.
– Cole leads us to a video looking back at Daniel Bryan proposing to AJ last week. AJ is backstage getting ready. She thinks she’s having a private wedding. She’s talking to Layla. Layla looks confused and asks her if she’s sure about the wedding. AJ talks about WWE being unstable. She opens her dressing room door and we see Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Then we see Roddy Piper and R-Truth playing with Little Jimmy. Mae Young appears with a man dressed up like a large hand. This is her son that was born on RAW years ago. Great stuff. Layla wishes AJ good luck and walks off. Back to commercial.
– A Sonic waitress comes down on roller skates through the crowd and gives some smoothies to Cole and Lawler.
Jack Swagger vs. Brodus Clay
Jack Swagger is making his way to the ring. Out next comes Brodus Clay with Cameron and Naomi.
Clay takes the mic and introduces Dude Love. Out comes one of Mick Foley’s alter egos. He watches from ringside as Swagger rushes Clay. Clay dodges it and suplexes Swagger. Clay nails the splash for the squash win.
Winner: Brodus Clay
– After the match, Dude Love gets in the ring and dances with Clay. Swagger tries to attack but he gets a tie-dyed Socko in his mouth. Love, Clay, Cameron and Naomi dance some more.
– Trish Stratus is backstage with Triple H. She’s showing him some Stratusphere Yoga moves. She has him bent over when the rest of DX walks in. They leave but Waltman sticks around with Trish to flirt with her but she resists.
– We see Daniel Bryan backstage with some odd looking groomsmen. Let’s just say they aren’t dressed in tuxedos. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and Cole hypes tonight’s WWE Title match.
– We go to Jerry Lawler in the ring for the wedding. Lawler introduces the reverend for tonight and out comes WWE Legend Slick. Slick does a promo and out comes the groom Daniel Bryan. Bryan chants yes as he comes out in a white tux. “Here Comes the Bride” hits as AJ makes her way out looking good in a wedding dress.
Slick begins his speech about marriage and the crowd chants “what” at everything. Slick asks if anyone can show just cause on why these two shouldn’t be married. The crowd boos but nobody comes out to interrupt. Slick hands Bryan the ring. Bryan admits they have had ups and downs but he says he loves AJ and always will. Bryan says a new chapter will begin for the both of them and he will finally have everything he’s ever wanted. Bryan slips the ring on hr finger. Slick asks if Bryan takes AJ to be his wife and he says YES. Slick can’t finish his sentence before AJ says yes. Slick goes to wed them but AJ stops him. She wasn’t saying yes to Daniel, she says. She was saying yes to someone else – another man. AJ says this man proposed to her earlier tonight.
Vince McMahon’s music hits and out he comes. Vince says it’s not that kind of proposal. It’s a business proposal. Vince introduces the new RAW General Manager – AJ Lee. AJ smiles, Bryan looks shocked and the crowd gets riled up. AJ hands Bryan the flowers back and skips around him in the ring as her music plays. AJ leaves up the ramp as Bryan gets upset in the ring. AJ chants yes from the stage while Bryan chants no in the ring. She has left him at the altar. Bryan tears apart the wedding set as we go back to commercial.
– Back from the break and Bryan is still throwing a fit in the ring. Out comes WWE Champion CM Punk to a big pop.
Punk mocks Bryan for getting left at the altar. Punk says AJ as General Manager can’t be good for Bryan’s luck. Punk tells Bryan to continue throwing a fit while he continues to be the best in the world. Bryan goes off and yells that he is the greatest of all-time. He is interrupted by The Rock’s music. Out comes The Rock to a huge pop.
The Rock hits the ring and the crowd chants his name. Rock says Bryan doesn’t get to say who the greatest of all-time is because the fans do. More chants for The Rock. Bryan goes to cut Rock off but Rock isn’t having it. The crowd chants Boots To Asses as Punk looks on from the side. The Rock points out that he first won a WWE Title in St. Louis and the crowd pops some more. Rock knocks Bryan and says he’s here to talk about the WWE Champion. Rock announces that whoever the WWE Champion is at Royal Rumble will face The Rock that night with their title on the line. Punk says Rock is looking at who that man will be. Punk says he will beat John Cena tonight and if Rock wants a match at Royal Rumble, he wishes it was tomorrow. Punk says CM Punk vs. The Rock sounds good to him but he’s going to win.
The Rock declares that he will be the next WWE Champion at the Royal Rumble. Bryan starts chanting no and the crowd chants yes. Bryan says this is supposed to be about him. This was supposed to be the greatest night of his life. Bryan gets in Rock’s face and says someway, somehow, Rock will fight him at the Rumble. Bryan says he will be the face of WWE. Rock says Bryan is what would happen if a homeless lumberjack banged an oompa loompa. Rock wishes Punk good luck for tonight and goes back to Bryan. Rock says he got Bryan a wedding gift anyway and drops him with a Rock Bottom. Rock hits the mic one more time before leaving the ring.
– They hype Lesnar’s return and tonight’s WWE Title match before going back to commercial.
– Back from the break and Justin Roberts introduces WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart as the special ring announcer and timekeeper for the next match. Bret comes out to a big pop. Bret says one of the best moments of his career was winning the Intercontinental Title from Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig. Bret says it’s an honor to be here and does the introductions for the match.
WWE Intercontinental Title Match: The Miz vs. Christian
Out first comes the WWE Intercontinental Champion Christian. Out next comes his opponent The Miz.
The bell rings and they lock up. Christian ends up dumping Miz out to the floor and diving out from the top rope. Christian lands on his knee as we go back to commercial.
Back from the break and Miz is in control. Christian fights him off and starts a comeback. Christian hits a crossbody from the corner for a 2 count. Christian goes t the second rope for a back elbow and waits for Miz to get up. Christian goes back and forth and rolls Miz up from the corner for 2. More back and forth. Miz kicks Christian in the face and covers him for 2. Miz runs into a bot int he corner and Christian catches him with a DDT for 2.
Christian goes for a spear but Miz hits him and drops the DDT for a close 2 count. Miz charges in the corner but misses. Christian goes for Killswitch but Miz blocks it. Miz goes for Skull Crushing Finale but it’s blocked. Christian lands on his bad knee and Miz hits the SCF for the win and Intercontinental Title.
Winner and New WWE Intercontinental Champion: The Miz
– After the match, Miz takes the mic and declares that he’s the Intercontinental Champion and awesome.
– Cole and Lawler go to Charlie Sheen via Skype. He’s happy to see The Rock back and talks about the Bryan and AJ wedding. We’re going back to Sheen later on.
– Cole and Lawler hype tonight’s WWE Title match. Cole is plugging Tout when he’s interrupted by a commercial break.
– Back from the break and we get a RAW 1000 video of Regis Philbin talking about how much he loves WWE. He congratulates WWE on 1,000 episodes of RAW.
– We go to the ring and out comes Triple H to to a big pop. We cut to the Slam of the Week which is actually Triple H and Brock Lesnar going at it 3 months ago.
Triple H is still dressed in his DX gear. He says he’s had his fun so it’s time to pick the intensity up. He knows Brock Lesnar is here and calls him out. Triple H wants to fight Lesnar at SummerSlam and he wants the answer right now. Lesnar’s music hits and out comes Paul Heyman.
Triple H wanted the horse’s head not his ass, he says. Heyman admits that Lesnar is here tonight. Lesnar has authorized Heyman to answer his question now. Lesnar’s answer is no. Triple H says he’s tired of the crap and says maybe he will just go backstage and find Lesnar. Heyman wonders if that’s really best for business but Triple H doesn’t care at this point. Triple H calls Lesnar a little coward, a little bully. Triple H wonders if Lesnar is afraid of him. Heyman mocks Triple H for resorting to name calling. Heyman asks if that’s what Triple H teaches his children. Triple H backs Heyman up and says not to talk about his family or his kids. Heyman apologizes and says he feels sorry for Triple H’s children. Triple H moves in but out comes Stephanie McMahon to a nice pop.
Stephanie gets in Heyman’s face and says to never speak about her kids again. Stephanie says the lawsuits are personal and brings up his failures in WCW, ECW and WWE. Stephanie says when it comes to being a visionary, Heyman is looking in the rear-view when compared to her father Vince. Not a typo. Stephanie says Heyman’s kids are ashamed of him because he’s a professional parasite. Stephanie slaps Heyman. Heyman gets upset and says it’s on – Triple H vs. Brock at SummerSlam. Heyman applauds and says Stephanie did it again. He fell for it – she always gets her way. Heyman brings up her kids again and Stephanie tackles him. Stephanie unloads on Heyman when Brock Lesnar’s music hits and out he comes.
Stephanie rolls out of the ring as Brock enters and spears Triple H into the corner. They brawl back and forth throwing big shots. Triple H knocks Lesnar out of the ring as the crowd goes crazy. Brock and Heyman look on from the ramp as Triple H stands in the ring. Lesnar yells for him to “f” off and they bleep it out.
– More hype for the WWE Title match before going to commercial.
– Back from the break and we get more Tout videos and then some hype for WWE ’13.
– We get a look back at the Steve Austin and Vince McMahon feud. Back to commercial.
Lita vs. Heath Slater
Back from the break and out comes WWE United States Champion Santino Marella and Hornswoggle. WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel is the special ring announcer. Heath Slater is out next. He takes the mic and says what has happened in the past doesn’t matter – only tonight matters. Slater challenges the Legends to a No DQ, No Countout match. The music hits and out comes Lita.
Slater takes the mic and laughs but accepts the challenge. She brought some protection and out comes JBL and Ron Simmons – the return of the APA. Slater leaves the ring and heads up the ramp. He’s interrupted by the LOD music and out comes all the Legends who have faced Slater in recent weeks. Animal, Sid, Vader, Rikishi, Sgt. Slaughter, Roddy Piper, Diamond Dallas Page, Doink the Clown and Bob Backlund. They throw Slater back in the ring. She hits a Twist of Fate while JBL hits a big Clothesline from Hell. Lita gets the win.
Winner: Lita
– All the Legends come into the ring to celebrate with Lita. Everything stops and Ron Simmons does a “DAMN!” at Slater. The Legends celebrate some more and taunt Slater.
– We get a look back at the wedding and Vince McMahon naming AJ the new General Manager. They show The Rock laying out Bryan with a Rock Bottom.
– Former announcer Sean Mooney is backstage with Daniel Bryan. Bryan isn’t happy about what happened or being insulted by Charlie Sheen. We go back to commercial.
– Back from the break and Michael Cole is at ringside with WWE’s 100 millionth social media fan. He talks about how he’s having a better night than Daniel Bryan. The next RAW 1000 video features Muppet Fozzie. He talks about some of the WWE catchphrases over the year and shows us a video.
– Zack Ryder is backstage with Mean Gene Okerlund and John Cena. Ryder says Gene was behind GTV, an old angle from years ago. The Rock walks up so Gene and Ryder leave. Cena says it’s been a long time. Rock wishes Cena good luck. Cena brings up The Rock and the Royal Rumble. Cena says he’s cashing in tonight and will become the WWE Champion so he can get one more shot at The Great One. Rock says he can’t begin to tell Cena how much he’s looking forward to that. Rock wishes Cena good luck again as we go back to break.
– Back from the break and out comes Kane. Kane goes to do his pyro but is interrupted by Jinder Mahal. He comes out with Tyler Reks, Curt Hawkins, Camacho, Hunico and Drew McIntyre. They surround the ring but the lights go out and here comes The Undertaker.
Taker makes his entrance to the ring as Kane looks on. The other Superstars are talking at ringside. Taker takes his hood off to reveal the same hairstyle he had at WrestleMania. Kane and Taker stare at each other. The heels hit the ring but Taker and Kane fight them off. It comes down to Hawkins and Hunico but they catch chokeslams at the same time. They do the cutthroat and scoop Hawkins and Hunico up for Tombstones. The crowd chants “this is awesome” as Taker and Kane clear the ring of Hawkins and Hunico. Taker drops to one knee and poses while his music starts. Kane stands behind him and makes the pyro go off to end the segment.
– We go to video from a “be a STAR” rally in St. Louis earlier today.
– Back from commercial and the announcers go back to Charlie Sheen on Skype. They ask him about Daniel Bryan’s threats from earlier. Sheen disses Bryan and says he won’t be hiding from him. Lawler asks if Sheen is challenging Bryan to a match and he says Bryan can interpret it however he wants. Cole teases that there may be a confrontation at SummerSlam.
WWE Title Match: John Cena vs. CM Punk
We go to the ring and out comes John Cena with his Money in the Bank briefcase. Out next comes the WWE Champion CM Punk. We go to commercial.
Back from the break and they lock up. Cena drops Punk with a shoulder as the crowd does dueling chants. Cena with a headlock now. Cena drops Punk with another shoulder. Punk comes back and backslides him for a 2 count. They go to lock up again and Punk works on Cena’s arm now. They break again after more back and forth action. They lock up again and go to the corner. Punk hits Cena with chops on the ropes. Cena beats Punk over the back and turns it around. Cena takes Punk back to the mat with a headlock.
Punk powers but and kicks Cena in the back. Punk with a backbreaker for a 2 count. Cena fights out of a hold and they trade shots in the middle of the ring. Cena comes back with shoulders but Punk blocks the back drop. Punk with a kick and a clothesline. Punk ends up hitting the high knee in the corner. Cena blocks the bulldog and slams Punk on his back. Cena goes for the Five Knuckle Shuffle but Punk kicks him in the head. Punk takes Cena down with another kick to the head. Punk goes for GTS but Cena slides out and accidentally shoves Punk into the referee. Cena hits the Attitude Adjustment and pins Punk for the win but the referee is out on the floor.
Big Show comes down and spears Cena. Cena gets up as Punk looks on and Show waits. Show drops Cena with a knockout punch and leaves the ring. Punk watches and gets up, acting unsure about what to do. He goes out to get the referee and brings him back in the ring. Punk finally covers Cena but he kicks out at 2.
Punk picks Cena up for the GTS but Cena blocks it and locks in the STF. Big Show comes back in and breaks the hold with a big elbow for the disqualification.
– After the bell, Show unloads on Cena as Punk looks on. Show stomps away on Cena after beating him down. Show continues to beat Cena up while Punk does nothing about it. The Rock’s music hits and here he comes running. Rock unloads on Big Show and takes him down with a spinebuster. Rock goes for the People’s Elbow but Punk stops him with a clothesline. A bit of a mixed reaction from the crowd. Punk waits on Rock to get up and hits him with GTS. Still a mixed reaction for Punk but more boo’s. Punk grabs the WWE Title and walks out of the ring as Rock tries to recover. More fans are booing Punk now. RAW goes off the air with Punk walking away with the WWE Title.