RAW LIVE and Discussion Thread - Feb 25th 2013

[LG]

- Still to come, CM Punk vs. John Cena. We see Randy Orton walking to the ring. Back to commercial.

- Back from the break and we see that during the commercial, Zeb colter accused The Miz of conducting a bias interview. Miz was laid out by Jack Swagger.

Randy Orton vs. Antonio Cesaro

WWE United States Champion Antonio Cesaro is waiting in the ring as Randy Orton comes out. Back and forth to start the match. Orton with a nice throw and a 2 count. More back and forth. The end comes when Cesaro comes off the top and catches a RKO for the win.

Winner: Randy Orton

- Daniel Bryan and Kane are backstage talking about their match with Titus O'Neil and Darren Young tonight. Vickie Guerrero and Brad Maddox come up and already have tension. Bryan will be blindfolded while Kane will have one hand behind his back.

- Back from commercial and Sheamus is out wearing a suit. He talks about the Oscars and has a bone to pick with Hollywood. He shows footage of Dead Man Down. Sheamus shows another clip that has Barrett in the background. Sheamus mocks Barrett's small role in the movie. Out comes the WWE Intercontinental Champion with a mic.

Barrett makes his way to the ring and they have words. Sheamus ducks a clothesline and Barrett avoids a Brogue Kick.

- Still to come, Punk vs. Cena. Also, The Shield will deliver a message. Back to commercial.

Cody Rhodes vs. R-Truth

Cody Rhodes is in the ring and Damien Sandow is on commentary as R-Truth makes his way out for the next match. We see footage from last week where R-Truth returned and saved Kofi Kingston from Sandow. Truth with some dancing and offense early on. Cody turns it around in the corner and drops Truth. Cody wails away and slams Truth on his face.

Cody with a submission now. Truth ends up getting the win and the best of Sandow also.

Winner: R-Truth

- We get another "We The People" video from Swagger and Colter. The Miz vs. Swagger is announced for tonight. Back to commercial.

Stay tuned for live coverage...

[LG]

Cody Rhodes vs. R-Truth

Cody Rhodes is in the ring and Damien Sandow is on commentary as R-Truth makes his way out for the next match. We see footage from last week where R-Truth returned and saved Kofi Kingston from Sandow. Truth with some dancing and offense early on. Cody turns it around in the corner and drops Truth. Cody wails away and slams Truth on his face.

Cody with a submission now. Truth ends up getting the win and the best of Sandow also.

Winner: R-Truth

- We get another "We The People" video from Swagger and Colter. The Miz vs. Swagger is announced for tonight. Back to commercial.

Kane and Daniel Bryan vs. Darren Young and Titus O'Neil

Back from the break and here we go. Bryan is blindfolded and Kane has one hand behind his back. Young works fine in the match so apparently he's not injured. Bryan finally gets a tag to Kane and he unloads with one arm. Kane works over Young with one arm and goes for a chokeslam. Kane kicks off Titus and fights off Young. Kane chokeslams Young for the non-title win.

Winners: Kane and Daniel Bryan

- Still to come, a message from The Shield. Back to commercial.

- Back from the break and we see what happened with Triple H and Brock Lesnar earlier.

- Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns make their way through the crowd and down to the ring.

Ambrose says things have to get worse before they get better. He says there will be no peace in WWE. He says The Shield makes a lot of people in the back nervous. Ambrose says nothing will stop them from doing the job they came to do. Reigns speaks next and says they will win every single team. Rollins talks about how they've dropped Chris Jericho, John Cena, Ryback, Sheamus. He asks if anyone else wants to step up and out comes Sheamus. Sheamus tells them to come fight him on the stage. Reigns and Ambrose start up the ramp. Randy Orton comes in the ring and drops Rollins with a RKO. Orton leaves back through the crowd. Ambrose and Reigns run back to the ring as Sheamus looks on. Orton watches The Shield from the crowd while fans chant his name.

- Still to come, Cena vs. Punk in the main event. Swagger vs. Miz is after the next commercial.

The Miz vs. Jack Swagger

Back from the break and Jack Swagger is out with Zeb Colter. Out next comes The Miz. Miz with offense early on. Swagger gets dumped over the top and out to the floor. Swagger tries to come in but Miz kicks him back to the floor. Miz comes off the apron but Swagger slams him hard on the floor. We see Del Rio and Ricardo watching backstage. Swagger brings it back in the ring and works Miz over.

Swagger keeps control and works on the leg of The Miz. Swagger hits the Swagger Bomb for another 2 count. Miz makes a comeback and hits the neckbreaker. Swagger catches Miz and dumps him on his head for another pin attempt. Miz makes another comeback and hits the clothesline in the corner. Miz goes to the top with an ax handle shot for a 2 count. Miz goes for a kick to the face but Swagger catches him. Miz counters and rolls Swagger up for 2. Swagger blocks the DDT and shoves Miz back, getting his leg tangled up in the ropes. Swagger goes after the leg and takes Miz back down. Swagger applies the Patriot Act for the win.

Winner: Jack Swagger

- Cole and Lawler are snacking on some food from Sonic at ringside.

- We see footage of The Rock unveiling the new WWE Title last week and then CM Punk attacking John Cena with the old title.

[LG]

Cole and Lawler are snacking on some food from Sonic at ringside.

- We see footage of The Rock unveiling the new WWE Title last week and then CM Punk attacking John Cena with the old title.

- We get a Tout video from Triple H and see what happened earlier with Brock Lesnar. We see some fan Tout videos also discussing the brawl.

- Josh Mathews is backstage with John Cena. Cena cuts a promo on his match with CM Punk tonight. He says you either step up or step aside tonight. Cena says he asked for this match to prove that John Cena is back. Cena says he hopes his critics are hungry. He doesn't care what The Rock is cookin' but he's serving humble pie. Cena says our time is now.

- Cole leads us into a preview for Chris Jericho's Robot Combat League on SyFy. We get a preview.

- Back from the break and we see a clip of The Undertaker's entrance from Saturday night's live event in Waco. Lawler talks about the speculation that comes this time of the year about Taker returning for WrestleMania.

#1 Contender's Match: CM Punk vs. John Cena

We go to the ring and out first comes CM Punk. The winner of this one will face WWE Champion The Rock at WrestleMania 29. Out next comes John Cena.

trol after blocking an Attitude Adjustment during the commercial. Cena comes back with the flying shoulders. Punk counters and locks in the Anaconda Vice. Cena turns it into a 2 count. Punk with a swinging neckbreaker for 2. Punk calls for GTS but Cena goes for the STF. Punk scrambles to the ropes and knocks Cena back. Punk springboards in with a clothesline for 2. Punk springboards in again but Cena catches him in the STF. Punk fights out and counters with an Anaconda Vice. Cena breaks it and applies the STF again.

Punk turns that into a 2 count and finally they're separated for a minute. They get up and trade lots of big shots in the middle of the ring. Cena ducks a kick and slams Punk. Cena calls for the Five Knuckle Shuffle but Punk kicks him in the face. Punk goes for GTS but Cena slides out. Punk counters that with another pin attempt. Punk nails a big knee to the face in the corner. Cena blocks the bulldog and slams Punk on his head. Cena nails the Five Knuckle Shuffle and goes for the AA. Punk slides out. Cena blocks GTS and nails a powerbomb for a close 2 count.

Cena climbs to the top but can barely make it. Punk cuts him off and nails a chop and right hand. Punk climbs up for a superplex. Cena counters and hits headbutts, sending Punk back to the ring. Cena climbs up and hits the big leg drop for a 2 count. Punk with a big kick to the head. Punk with another high knee in the corner. Cena grabs him and nails the AA out of nowhere for a 2 count. Cena ends up on the floor and the referee counts. Cena makes it in at the 9 count. Punk goes for GTS again and nails it but Cena kicks out at 2. Punk goes for another GTS but Cena catches his leg and applies the STF. Punk makes it to the ropes to break the hold. Punk goes for the knee and hits a solid piledriver. Cena still kicks out at 2. Punk covers again for 2. And again.

Punk goes to the top but misses the big elbow drop as Cena rolls out of the way. Cena botches a hurricanrana and nails the Attitude Adjustment for the win and the WWE Title shot at WrestleMania 29.

Winner and New #1 Contender: John Cena

- After the match, Cena celebrates as we go to replays. We get a graphic for Cena vs. Rock II at WrestleMania 29. Cena heads up the ramp and poses as RAW goes off the air.

[LionDen]

I have to say, I loved this RAW It was great from beginning to end and kind of reminded me of the old days. I know they pushing to Mania and bringing out the big guns but I really did enjoy it Proper Live Coverage begins next week with caps. Thank you LG for this one.