Monday Night Raw TV Report for 02/27/2012

Reported By Ernest I Aguilar

Subsequent to an AWESOME Monday Night Raw last week, we get another huge promo tonight, as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson comes back for another rebuttal to John Cena's call-out (which again, was excellent, passionate and heart-felt). 

What will "The Great One" have to say to his WrestleMania XXVIII opponent? Also, we now know that it will be Chris Jericho challenging WWE Champion C.M. Punk for the title at the pay-per-view, so who will gain the upper hand in their feud? 

And what is the next chapter for The Undertaker and Triple H as they build to their Hell In A Cell match? All this and much more as we continue on the Road To WrestleMania, so read on!

Monday Night Raw for February 27, 2012 - "Them's Fightin' Words!"

Introduction Segment: Recap Video/Opening/Welcoming

A highlight package of John Cena's inspiring and fiery promo from last week begins, as does the regular Raw video and pyro. Michael Cole introduces us to the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, where we are just 34 days away from WrestleMania!

Match #1: Single - WWE Champion C.M. Punk VS. World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan (Non-Title)

Or maybe not, as instead of the World Champ's music, Chris Jericho struts out abruptly. He climbs in the ring and faces off with WWE Champion C.M. Punk. 

Segment #1: Arena Promo

Jericho puts over Punk as an amazing performer, but still not as good as him. He still claims to be the best in the world, especially since he received accolades from his colleagues and fans. Y2J says he is part of a "special breed of performers." This "dying breed" toured the world and learned their craft before getting to the WWE. This breed didn't care about the politics or where they were on the card, they just wanted to have the best match on the show. 

Jericho admits that he had a chip on his shoulder, along with a bad attitude and reputation from the "powers that be." He didn't give a damn though, because he knew he was the best. Jericho calls "The Straight-Edge Superstar" a "Chris Jericho wannabe." 

At this point, Punk interrupts him, saying that he and these people do know how good Jericho is. However, the problem C.M. has is the accusations of stealing Jericho is making toward Punk. The "Second City Saint" instead accuses Jericho of stealing the "best in the world" line from a former WWE & World Champion, an all-time great and Hall Of Famer, "the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be..." Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

Jericho still backs up his "best in the world" moniker, providing evidence of his career accomplishments. (Hard to argue!) Punk blames "inferiority" for Jericho, and a "Napoleon complex" to his personality. Punk lays out a distinction, that all he was born to do and does is wrestling, while Jericho comes and goes - writing books, hosting radio shows, and "dancing with stars."

"The Ayatolla Of Rock N' Rolla" intensely gets in his face and forms Punk that he came back for one reason - to embarrass him on the biggest stage of them all, at WrestleMania. He will prove that he is "the best in the world every single night!" Punk retorts by telling Jericho that's all he had to say - he didn't have to have the video packages leading up to the hype of his return, or the entrances, celebrities, or "light bright jackets", and that is the only ingredients they need to have quite possibly "the greatest wrestling match in WrestleMania history." 

Punk than notifies Jericho that when he is holding his WWE Championship up in the air at WrestleMania, that will be the end of Jericho's world.

World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan now comes out, with David Otunga and Interim General Manager of Raw, John Laurinaitis.

Match #1: Single - WWE Champion C.M. Punk VS. World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan (Non-Title)

Bryan immediately jumps Punk from behind and kicks & punches away at him in the corner. Punk reverses and delivers blows of his own, then chucks Daniel out of the ring.

Commercials.

Punk has Bryan cornered again with chest chops, then hits him with a springboard crossbody. Bryan gets out of a wrist lock with an upper cut. He drops a knee on C.M.'s face and continues to push it into his chin on the mat. They both trade stiff kicks back and forth, until Punk gets the "upper leg" and fiercely kicks at Bryan's back. 

Bryan tries running at Punk but gets tossed to the floor for his effort. Just as C.M. was going for a suicide dive, the World Champ gets his girlfriend A.J. to walk in front of him. Punk puts on the brakes and this allows Bryan to gain the upper hand again, cutting him off on the apron.

Ads.

An abdominal stretch submission (haven't seen that in a long while!) is clamped on by Bryan. Daniel now tries to run at him with double knees in the corner but Punk moves in time. A couple kicks and a calf-kick give C.M. the new momentum. Swinging neckbreaker and running knees in the corner, however the follow-up bulldog is moved by Bryan. A scoop slam lays Daniel down, which allows C.M. to ascend the top rope and dive off with an elbow drop.

He signals for the G.T.S., but Otunga distracts him, giving Bryan a quick advantage. Punk rolls through a Labell Lock and both men run into each other with a double crossbody. David jumps the apron again, but is quickly taken down by a Cobra from Santino Marella (he was also beside Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long). Laurinaitis yanks Marella off the apron, inciting an argument between the show leaders.

During that, Sheamus runs out and chucks Bryan (who tried to escape) back into the ring, letting Punk drive him down with the G.T.S. Before the referee can count, Laurinaitis throws the match out based on interference from Bryan's WrestleMania opponent. Teddy Long, David Otunga, & Santino Marella all get back in and have a dispute, with Long pushing "Big Johnny down."

Daniel leaves, and just as Punk is going to, Jericho comes back out and takes him down on the stage, then locks on the Walls Of Jericho submission against the steel grates. Jericho releases the hold after refs separate him, and then holds up the WWE Championship high in proud.

Winner: No Contest due to Outside Interference

Commercials.

Segment #2: Video Recap

Cole & Lawler present a highlight package on Undertaker VS. Triple H at WrestleMania, complete with comments from current and former WWE wrestlers, like The Big Show, John Cena, The Rock, Edge, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Pat Patterson, The Miz, C.M. Punk, & Randy Orton

Ads.

Match #2: Single - Nikki Bella VS. Kelly Kelly

Kelly dives for Nikki and rolls around with her on the mat. Bella quickly kicks her and drives Kelly down with a faceplant for a near fall. Kelly hits a kick of her own, then a spinning headscissors and faceplant. Brie tries a quick distraction and twin reversal, giving Nikki an opportunity for a rollup. Kelly counters it with a bridging one of her own for the 1 - 2 - 3!

Winner via Pinfall: Kelly Kelly

Coming up tonight, a tag-team match with Sheamus & Big Show taking on Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes and Mark Henry. Also, of course The Rock will speak, but up next is John Cena facing The Miz!

Commercials.

Match #3: Single - John Cena VS. The Miz

Prior to the bout, The Miz has a microphone and cuts a promo. He tells all that no one has worked harder than him in the last year. Miz lists all his commitments the WWE relies on for him. However he does wonder why he hasn't been chosen yet for WrestleMania. He calls it a crime, but soon will rectify the wrong doing. He is going to prove that he is WrestleMania worthy and that he IS WrestleMania. He will do it by beating Cena, because "he's the Miz and he's AWESOME!"

The bell rings and we are now under way. Head lock by Cena which is reversed into one of his own from Miz. Irish whips off the ropes and a hip toss from Cena. Fisherman's suplex now on The Miz and a quick Attitude Adjustment attempt. Miz reverses it into a knee-to-the-back and neckbreaker. 1 - 2 - shoulder up from Cena.

Miz stomps away on John then hits a running knee, but only for 2! Loud "let's go Cena/Cena sucks" chants motivate Cena. He counters an Irish Whip with a back body drop and a body splash in the corner and clothesline. Another A.A. try is turned around into a harsh DDT, but Cena gets the shoulder up again!

Miz stalks Cena around into the corner, running at him with a hard clothesline. (Great camera shot of a sadistic, intense Miz expression). Miz climbs the turnbuckle, but Cena ducks under and runs at him with a couple shoulder-tackles. Cena spinout powerbombs Miz and follows it up with a 5-Knuckle Shuffle and an Attitude Adjustment. Cena finishes off Miz with an STF submission to get the victory!

Winner via Submission: John Cena

Ads.

Match #4 - Tag-Team Triple Threat for the WWE Tag-Team Championship - R-Truth & Kofi Kingston (Challengers) VS. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger (WWE United States Champion) (Challengers) (with Vickie Guerrero) VS. Primo & Epico (Champions) (with Rosa Mendes)

Kofi, Primo, & Dolph start out, but Ziggler suddenly rolls out, leaving it to Kofi and Primo. Kingston quickly overtakes Primo and then flapjacks Dolph who came back in. Tag to Truth after a monkey flip on Dolph, and R hits a front dropkick. Truth does the splits and jumping calf-kick, but Swagger runs in and tackles Kingston to the outside.

Commercials.

Swagger is now hammering away on Truth in the corner. Primo is in and tries a quick cover to no avail. Jack tags in Dolph, and R-Truth gains thrust, even delivering a double-suplex/flatliner on Dolph & Primo. All three manage to tag their partners, and Kofi flies all over, dominating the ring with his high-flying moves. He then scoop slams Epico on the back of Jack, and then Boom Drops both of them on one!

From behind, Dolph brings down Kofi with the Zig-Zag, but Truth takes him out of the ring. Swagger tries to get the win, but Kofi kicks out at 2! Epico sneaks up on Swagger but is reversed into an Ankle Lock, however Swagger gets double-teamed with a Trouble-In-Paradise kick and Backstabber. Primo pushes Kofi out and Epico covers for the 1 - 2 -3!

Winners & Still WWE Tag-Team Champions: Primo & Epico (with Rosa Mendes)

Before they can celebrate, 8 days after his ambulance match, Kane comes out and destroys all six competitors. He then brings the flames out of the post, and leaves the destruction behind. Not a word said.

Segment #3: Backstage Segment

Interim Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis and David Otunga are discussing the Oscar awards (which I did not care to watch) when Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long walks in. Laurinaitis immediately orders him out, but not before Long informs him that Laurinaitis may NOT be running Raw next week. John retaliates with a rumor of Teddy being fired from Smackdown, to which Teddy's response is "you're a horse's ass!" (Right on cue, crowd chants "horse's ass" - betcha that's now "trending!")

Ads.

Segment #4: Arena Promo

After a lengthily video montage detailing the love triangle of herself, John Cena, and Zack Ryder, Eve Torres is out to explain herself - I'm guessing. She looks around nervously and shakes her head. Big "hoeski" calls. Torres plays the "woman in man's world" card and puts herself over as someone who all men want to be with, no matter what. She tells us not to blame her for her "natural strengths" (two of which look like their going to pop out - and they ain't natural!), but instead we should blame ourselves for our "natural weaknesses." (That was pointless and emotionless.)

Backstage, Kelly tries to confront Eve, but she just gets laughed off.

Commercials.

Segment #5: Movie Promo

"Bending The Rules" starring WWE Hall Of Famer Edge, about a easy-going cop teamed with a prosecutor. (Supposed to be a comedy, but I'll wait till DVD or free TV!)

Ads.

Match #5: Tag-Team - Big Show & Sheamus VS. Mark Henry & Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes

Preceding the match, Cody Rhodes announces boxer Floyd Mayweather's next fight. Why is this important? Because Rhodes shows footage from No Way Out 2008 and WrestleMania XXIV of him owning Big Show.

Cody quickly exits to the apron and then tags in Henry. Show just dominates Henry out of anger, spearing him, and then chases Rhodes around the ring. Cody gets up to the aisle and taunts Show. Sheamus self-tags and bulls through "The World Strongest Man" with a Brogue Kick. 1 - 2 - 3!

Winners via Pinfall: Big Show & Sheamus

Segment #6: Recap

The same recap to open tonight's of John Cena's promo plays again, hyping The Rock's upcoming response.

Commercials.

Segment #7: Arena Promo

First, it is announced that Shawn Michaels will be back again for Raw on March 5 (next week!)

Anticipation builds, with many "Rocky" chants and a huge ovation for the man himself when he enters the arena. It takes him a while to get a word out due to the crowd noise. He gets an up close on his arm, which he says is covered in goosebumps from the reaction of the fans, which "feels so damn good!"

The Rock says that he was born and created here in the WWE, so if it wasn't for them and for all of us, The Rock would never exist. He claims that he meant it when he said he was back and never leaving, but of course, not for every single Raw. 

Without naming "the name," Rock says that unlike "him," he respects the fans and this business, which his heart and soul is in. He will always be a part of the WWE and the WWE will always be a part of him.

At first, Rock though that John Cena was a phony, with his "Dr. Of Thuganomics" gimmick, but after last week, he sees the passion. Rock calls out Cena for being a liar, and instead just wants to whoop him. He labels him as a "kung-pow bitch!"

Something that stuck in Rock's mind from Cena's words last week was that he was going to "fight for the people in the back who grew up wanting to be a professional wrestler." The Rock disputes this, saying that everyone only fights for himself.

He lists more icons in pro-wrestling that have fought for THEMSELVES to attain what they have in their careers. Men such as "Stone Cold," Triple H, Hulk Hogan, and the late-great Randy "Macho Man" Savage. Rock says that while John fights for them, he fights for the PEOPLE.

Rock says that the people are tired of Cena every night, but not being ENTERTAINED. The Rock says that he has come back to ENTERTAIN. He cites all the new phrases, such as "fruity pebbles" & "lady parts" that he came up with to "trend world wide" and ENTERTAIN. He gets the crowd to chant both "lady parts" and "Rocky" several times.

Rock says that the most entertaining thing Cena has done is change the color of his shorts. He makes a remark about the camoflouge working, since they can't find "Cena's missing balls." (Another trend world wide and chant for the crowd).

At this point, Cena interjects himself, mocking the format of Rock's promo. He then tells him that he is right, that Cena is the one who runs down The Rock anytime. Cena accuses DWAYNE JOHNSON of being a "self-centered, egotistical, see-thru son-of-a-bitch that wouldn't give a rat's ass if the company closed it's doors tomorrow."

Cena calls out Rock on his "trending words" and having his promo notes on his wrist, none of which Cena needs. He is just going to be a dude who "beats the hell out of you at WrestleMania." 

Cena leaves, telling Rock to "carry on, continue trending." The Rock informs John that The Rock & Dwayne Johnson are the same man, and IT DOESN'T MATTER. The only thing that matters is that at WrestleMania, he is going to "kick your candy-ass all over WrestleMania, IF YOU SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKIN'!"

End OF Raw.

Reporter's Rumblings - By Moe Tapp

Another great addition as we continue to travel to Miami for WrestleMania. However, this week I have a few more insights and opinions, so I go back to my picking apart of the show.

Excellence: Promos - pretty much all of them (except for Eve's). The opening one between Chris Jericho and C.M. Punk was awesomely engaging & truthful, keeping me interested and invested in their feud. They have great chemistry together and I look forward to it continuing. Bryan/Punk match - the technical side of this was great, as expected by both phenomenal workers, and the finish was actually a bit unique, not something we see every week. 

Video packages - both on Cena's promo from last week and The Undertaker/Triple H one putting over their awe-inspiring match from last year's WrestleMania. It was also nice to have current and former WWE Stars comment on it, adding that "legitimate" feel to the bout. Matches - all of them were well-wrestled (yes, even the Divas was decent enough to warrant this comment) and contained good to great finishes.

The Rock & John Cena - with both you can feel the desire and passion they have for this business of professional wrestling in their own styles. Just as I am with Punk/Jericho, I am deeply glued in on this rivalry and can't wait for the showdown. As stated though last week, Cena NEEDS to go over and legitimize himself as the next man to be THE future of the company Also, they SHOULD NOT touch each other before 'Mania, to add to that "sizzle."

Bogus: Really only three - Eve's promo I though was out of place, especially if she was supposed to have a "mental breakdown" last week, then she should've been off for a long while. The G.M. War - already been there done that. Don't really want to see it again. (However, I will give props to both Long & Laurinaitis for at least being decently funny with smart-ass lines and truly great in their overall individual roles.) Kane as a monster destroying everyone - again, been there done that. Should've also been off for another week or two.

All in all though, a show I was happy to watch and write about, as I feel they are continuing to build their biggest Pay-Per-View the right way. Let's hope they can keep going again next week, especially with the return of Shawn Michaels! Until then, as always, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans!