WWE Monday Night Raw Coverage: Goat vs. Viper III

John Cena is pissed at Mark Henry.

Dolph Ziggler is champing at the bit at the thought of another title shot with Alberto Del Rio.

CM Punk wants answers from Paul Heyman.

Daniel Bryan deserves respect.

Damn, the WWE is cooking lately.

With a plethora of matches, and excellent storyline developments involving Punk, Heyman and Bryan and Orton, this was another episode of RAW that wasted zero time. Don’t let the beefy card fool you though; there was more than in-ring action this week. Promo from Cena, Henry and Punk proved that.

Simply put, this episode built some impressive momentum for what looks to be a fun Money in the Bank pay per view in a few weeks.

Matches:

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton: After a few seconds of back and forth again, the two brought the fight to the outside before referee Charles Robinson DQed them both.

Sheamus and Christian vs. Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow: A generally uneventful tag match with four talented performers. Both teams traded offense for a few minutes until a hot tag unleashed Sheamus. After some of his signature offense and some miscommunication among the Rhode Scholars, Sheamus hit Rhodes with the Brogue Kick for the win.

Kaitlyn w/Layla vs. Aksana: AJ Lee interrupted the match in a muscle suit, mocking the former Divas Champion, but Kaitlyn still beat Aksana with a massive spear.

Chris Jericho vs. World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio w/Ricardo Rodriguez: The fans still love Y2J and Del Rio is a wonderful worker. Together, they put on a fast-paced, stiff and counter-filled match. Del Rio got the advantage after a wicked kick to Jericho’s head that sent him to the outside. Once Y2J got back in the ring, Del Rio continued the attack. The two then traded chops and Del Rio looked to slow down Jericho with head butts, but Jericho wasn’t finished. After some signature offense, Jericho nearly got the win. After Del Rio countered The Walls of Jericho with his signature kick, he missed an opportunity for the Arm Bar, but a counter of the Lionsault allowed him to apply the maneuver. Fighting vigilantly, Jericho reversed the move into the Walls again, but Rodriguez interfered to earn Jericho the DQ win. After the match, Dolph Ziggler hit the ring and beat up on Del Rio, while Jericho finished off Rodriguez. After a stare down, Ziggler nailed Jericho with the Zig-Zag.

Ryback vs. The Great Khali with Nattie Neidhart and Hornswoggle: Khali shouldn’t wrestle anymore. He can barely walk. Surprisingly however, he was able to get in a few chops, elbows, clotheslines and kicks before Ryback put him out of his misery. This match lasted longer than it should have, but Ryback still won with The Shellshock.

#1 Contenders Matches: Brodus Clay and Tensai w/Cameron and Naomi vs. Jinder Mahal and Drew MacIntyre w/Heath Slater vs. Jimmy and Jey Uso: A quick encounter that saw the Usos get the win after a Samoan Drop and a Top Rope Splash. After the match, The Shield made their presence known. This will be a fun match between two high-energy teams.

Darren Young w/Titus O’Neill vs. CM Punk: “The Best in the World” wasn’t on top of his game early as Young held on much longer than you might have expected. Young even almost got the win after the Gutbuster, but Punk isn’t your average superstar. After a Roundhouse Kick, Punk latched on the Anaconda Vice for the win. After the match O’Neill and Young tried to double-team Punk, but fellow Heyman guy Curtis Axel made the save.

Streetfight: Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton: These two can put on a show. Like Mikey Whipwreck, circa 1995, Bryan took a beating and kept fighting. Between Orton’s use of weapons and Bryan’s “controlled frenzy,” this was another epic in the duo’s journey. Bryan evened the match up with a Powerbomb through a table about 10 minutes in, but he couldn’t pin Orton. Soon enough, Orton used the table himself, hurling Bryan through a table with a T-Bone Suplex. Orton nearly won after he countered a top rope maneuver into a Powerbomb, but Bryan latched on the No-Lock in the middle of the ring. Managing to get a kendo stick, Orton broke the hold and then nailed Bryan numerous times. After the second-rope DDT, Orton went for the RKO, but Bryan countered into the Backslide for a near-fall. After a kick and a few kendo stick shots of his own, Bryan latched on the No Lock and eventually used the kendo stick to supplement the effectiveness of the move, Bryan earned the hard-fought submission victory.