September 17 , 2012 Monday Night RAW results The September 17 , 2012 Edition of RAW is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE ' s RAW brand , which took place on September 17 , 2012 at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport , Connecticut . Summary . Raw began only 24 hours after the conclusion to Night of Champions , but the controversial coda to the pay - per - view left a fallout so severe it felt like it had been brewing for years . From the second the opening pyro boomed , the WWE Universe was riled up , hungry for answers as to what the implications of the WWE Championship Match — a double pinfall draw that saw CM Punk retain his title against John Cena — would be . Salvation seemingly arrived moments into the show as the opening chords of " Cult of Personality " ripped through the Webster Bank Arena , and who should arrive but . . . Paul Heyman . Far from a glimpse into the future , though , the mad scientist was only on hand to bring vindication to his friend ' s dubious retention . Heyman wasted no time in summoning WWE referee Chad Patton , who officiated the title contest , to the ring to bring vindication to the double pinfall that left the title in Punk ' s hands . Heyman produced not only a still photo from the title match , but somehow procured fan - shot footage from a camera phone in the front row of the fateful German suplex that led to the double pinfall . His work seemingly done , Heyman began to extol the virtues of The Second City Saint and took up the champion ' s cause of demanding respect . John Cena , however , was having none of it . The Cenation leader , showing no ill effects of the ankle injury he suffered at Night of Champions , stormed down to the ring and shockingly agreed with Patton ' s decision , but not the " finality " of it . Unable and unwilling to accept that Punk and Cena ' s roiling rivalry could possibly conclude in a double pinfall ( and unwilling to give Punk respect based on same ) , Cena offered up a solution : a title rematch later that same night . Heyman , evoking his status as " The Voice of the Voice of the Voiceless , " began to respond until the overture of Alberto Del Rio ' s music cut him and Cena off mid - sentence . The Essence of Excellence , still flanked by the injured Ricardo Rodriguez , wasted no time in condemning SmackDown General Manager Booker T ' s reinstatement of the Brogue Kick , and the fact that it ( according to Del Rio ) cost him the World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions . As " the man who never lies , " Del Rio demanded that he receive a title rematch . That brought out Raw GM AJ Lee to settle the debate : Eyes wide with the fire of inspiration , AJ declared she ' d come up with a " super main event " : A tag match pitting WWE Champion CM Punk & Del Rio against World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus & Cena . " And who knows ? " she concluded . " Whoever wins will go a long way toward determining if there will be a rematch and who will be in it . " Sure , they had a tense moment or two at Night of Champions , but there was no animosity between Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara when they teamed up against Primo & Epico in an electrifying tag team match that showcased the best of all four performers . Mysterio & Sin Cara , continuing what WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross ( helping fill in for Jerry " The King " Lawler on commentary ) referred to as a teacher - student relationship , showcased their dazzling lucha libre prowess against the former WWE Tag Team Champions , eventually sealing Primo & Epico ' s fate with a 619 into both men , followed by a senton bomb from Sin Cara to notch the three - count . This , however , brought out an unwanted pair of interlopers : The Prime Time Players , who , still steaming from losing their No . 1 contenders ' spot to the Tag Titles to Kane & Daniel Bryan , attacked Mysterio & Sin Cara from behind , planting the dynamic victors with a pair of punishing moves before grabbing the microphones and declaring that the No . 1 contenders ' spot was " taken " from them . From then on , Titus O ' Neil declared , nobody would take anything from them , because they would " take what [ they ] want " The conclusion of the CM Punk – John Cena WWE Title Match wasn ' t the only controversy at Night of Champions : Eve , who won the Divas Title under slightly suspect circumstances after Kaitlyn ( who was set to challenge Layla for the butterfly - emblazoned title ) was mysteriously incapacitated backstage , opening the door for Eve to take her place and claim the championship as her own . Still , Eve wasted no time in proving her prowess as Divas Champion , besting The Glamazon , Beth Phoenix , in a one - on - one contest between two stalwarts of the Divas division while Layla sat at commentary . Beth seemed like she would get the best of Eve early on , punishing the champion with her signature power moves , but Eve surprised the former Divas Champion with a rollup after she was slammed into the turnbuckle , sealing the match and , in a reversal of her recent sportsmanship , mugging with the title in front of Layla for good measure Brodus Clay took to the ring to do battle with The One - Man Band , Heath Slater , just one night after they took part in a Battle Royal to determine the No . 1 contender to the U . S . Title at the live - streamed Pre - Show for Night of Champions . However , unlike their previous encounters , Slater was able to fend off the funky one for a few minutes , mounting some impressive offense against The Funkasaurus while Cesaro , who had some strong words for Clay following the big man ' s attack of him last week on SmackDown , sat at commentary . However , befitting his hooligan background , Cesaro didn ' t seem content sitting at ringside , as he nearly stormed the ring in an attempt to put hands on the massive " disgrace " ( yes , he said it in five languages ) who he felt disrespected him the previous Friday . It wasn ' t enough to distract big Brodus from the task at hand , though , because one headbutt and splash later and The One - Man Band ' s set came to a crashing halt . Admit it , you knew in your heart of hearts it was only a matter of time . The Miz ' s mouth could never be contained by a simple microphone . Mere speeches would never satiate the mouthy Intercontinental Champion and he would never be satisfied with anything less than " The Most Must - See Talk Show in WWE History . " And so it was that " Miz TV " was born , amid a flurry of self - aggrandizing pontification from The Awesome One , who wasted no time in extolling his own controversy , charisma and AAAAAWESOOOMMEEEE - ness when stacked against previous WWE talk show hosts like " Rowdy " Roddy Piper , Chris Jericho and Edge . And unwilling to settle for anything less than a public shaming of some kind , The Miz also wasted no time in bringing SmackDown General Manager Booker T to the cushy - looking “ Miz TV ” set for the inaugural interview . The Master of the Spinaroonie obliged , despite Miz ' s clear - cut desire to slam the SmackDown GM for setting him up in a Fatal 4 - Way Match at Night of Champions , but Miz refused to let Booker get a word in edgewise . " Why are you against me ? " The Awesome One sneered . " Why did you put me up against three different competitors last night ? " Miz also took Booker to task for banning and reinstating the Brogue Kick before attempting to answer for him . " You miss the spotlight , don ' t you ? You so miss being the center of attention that it drives you insane . " " Your time is over , " Miz continued while Booker stared daggers at The Awesome One before taking the mic from his hands . " That was interesting , " Booker said . " You like to talk a lot , but I think it ' s time you got a new guest for your show , Miz . A Superstar who ' s used to defeating multiple competitors at one time . " And if Miz didn ' t pick up what Booker was putting down right away , the booming " FEED ME " through the loudspeakers certainly got the point across : The guest of the guest was Ryback . The human wrecking machine thundered down to the set and , while Miz and Booker both made themselves scarce , Ryback commenced to dismantling the “ Miz TV ” set bit by bit . He tossed furniture left and right before sending Miz scurrying with a couch as his projectile weapon of choice ( yes , a couch ) . It would appear the food chain has itself a new link . Both Santino Marella and Dolph Ziggler didn ' t have the most fortuitous Night of Champions . Santino came up short in the Pre - Show Battle Royal and , despite taking Randy Orton to the absolute limit , The Showoff fell victim to The Apex Predator in a show - stopping contest . Both Superstars came to Raw looking to reverse their fortunes , but it was ultimately Ziggler who came out with the win , countering The Italian Stallion ' s unorthodox offense to notch an impressive victory in the win column . Ziggler admittedly didn ' t know what to make of Santino for the first half of the contest , but he ultimately got a leg up on The Milan Miracle when he separated the former U . S . Champion from The Cobra . Ziggler attempted to demoralize Santino by screaming that he was a " joke " before discarding The Cobra near the ropes . Santino was quick to rally , though , felling Ziggler with a hiptoss , but he found himself unable to finish the job after Vickie Guerrero snatched the fallen Cobra from the apron , leaving Santino ' s back exposed for Ziggler to strike with the Zig Zag . Not satisfied with a simple pin , The Showoff administered his signature maneuver a second time , with Vickie shoving The Cobra into Santino ' s maw for good measure after the referee counted to three . The brutal reinvention of Wade Barrett continued on Raw when the brawling Brit took to the ring against Justin Gabriel , where he proceeded to make a furious example of the " Cape Town Werewolf " before the Bridgeport , Conn . , crowd . Despite Barrett ' s history with Gabriel as members of The Nexus , there was no old - time easiness to the way Barrett manhandled his former comrade , dropping Gabriel with brutal strikes to the body . Barrett paused only occasionally to resort to a technical ground game . Gabriel countered handsomely with his signature high - flying dynamism , but the brawler from across the pond would not be denied : A skull - rattling elbow to Gabriel ' s cranium put any hopes of an upset ( not to mention a Nexus reunion ) to rest . What ' s a WWE Tag Team Title Match to get in the way of Little Jimmy ' s birthday ? R - Truth & Kofi Kingston were only minutes away from their Tag Team Championship rematch against Kane & Daniel Bryan , but it didn ' t stop Truth from throwing his buddy a shindig with Jared from Subway catering the proceedings . No sooner did Kofi & Truth take their leave , though , than a series of WWE Superstars made their way to Jared , offering their ideas for new Subway sandwiches . First came Damien Sandow , whose eponymous sandwich promised to satiate any and all appetites . Jared , however , satisfied “ The Intellectual Savior of the Masses ” with a meatball parm offering of his own . Zack Ryder was up next , and his " Woo Woo Woo You Know It " sub was the next idea to pass by Jared . The Ultimate Broski got an Italian BMT instead . Seemingly satisfied , Jared took the scene until he became uncomfortably aware of an unseen visitor . He slowly turned around to reveal Ryback , who demanded the sandwich spokesman " FEED . [ HIM . ] MORE . " Jared cautiously handed the rampaging Superstar a sub , but Ryback grabbed a second one before taking his leave . At least the couches remained blessedly un - thrown . They ' re ( still ) the Tag Team Champions ! Following their unlikely victory over Kofi Kingston & R - Truth at Night of Champions , the perpetually dysfunctional Kane & Daniel Bryan took to the ring to defend their titles in a rematch on Monday Night Raw and , despite some continued bickering ( including arguing over just which of them , exactly , is the Tag Team Champions ) , the anger management buddies stood tall when the final bell tolled . It didn ' t look like it would be so easy , though : Following an extended argument over who would start the match , Bryan found himself being worked over by Kofi & Truth , whose own chemistry wasn ' t in doubt for a moment of the contest . Bryan eventually relented , tagging in Kane and allowing The Devil ' s Favorite Demon to try his hand against the former champions . The decision proved wise , as Kane managed to withstand a barrage of Kingston ' s kicks but ultimately found himself tossed over the ropes . Bryan ' s attempt to equalize the contest backfired when Kofi tossed him over the ropes and onto his masked partner , sowing seeds of dissent between the fragile twosome . Still , the two eventually settled into a rhythm , systematically dismantling R - Truth during the commercial break in action that streamed exclusively on the WWE App . Truth tilted the match toward his team ' s favor after a tag to a fresh Kofi , whose high - octane offense seemed to stymie The Big Red Monster . But the Boom Squad General took too long to set up Trouble in Paradise , allowing Kane to recover and deck the Ghanaian Superstar with an uppercut . Bryan cut Kane off before he could set up for the Chokeslam , though , wanting to hog the victory for himself . Truth nearly denied the " No ! " man the pleasure , mounting a flurry that left Bryan reeling and tagging in Kofi again in an attempt to finish the job . Bryan eventually managed a tag to Kane , however . The Devil ' s Favorite Demon seemed to have the match finished when he set Truth up for a Chokeslam , and then a series of strange things happened . Bryan attempted to steal the pin again , but before he could get the tag to Kane , The Big Red Monster grabbed his irritable partner by the throat . Bryan countered , bouncing Kane ' s head off the ropes , causing him to stumble directly into a Lie Detector from Truth . Bryan managed to break up the pin , opening the door for Kane to finally hit the Chokeslam . Bryan then finally got his tag in , twisting Truth into the " No ! " Lock and retaining the championships . The two didn ' t let five minutes pass before the bickering resumed , with each grabbing hold of the titles and screaming that he was the Tag Team Champions . And then , heeding the cries of the WWE Universe , they hugged it out . Of course , Bryan snatched one of the titles off Kane ' s shoulder , and the back and forth began anew . The saga continues . Randy Orton had one of the harder - won victories of his life against Dolph Ziggler at Night of Champions , but there was no rest for the weary as The Viper clashed with the towering Tensai just 24 hours later . And make no mistake : Tensai did not make it easy for The Viper . The big man made a point to target Orton ' s lower back , mauling The Viper with vicious power maneuvers and attempting to keep The Apex Predator grounded with a series of punishing elbows and strikes . The contest was every bit as brutal as their match on SmackDown , and ultimately , the result was the same . Orton ' s comeback came following a crushing nerve hold from Tensai that brought The Viper to his knees . The Apex Predator then withstood a series of kidney shots before taking Tensai down with a powerslam and hauling him over the ropes for a hanging DDT . Hobbled by Tensai ' s strikes , The Viper still found it in him to fell Tensai with an RKO , securing his second win in as many nights . It was a classic matchup of summer fun vs . academic tenacity and , in a result sure to disappoint schoolchildren everywhere , Damien Sandow ( representing the highfalutin intellectualism of back - to - school season ) managed to overcome Zack Ryder ( representing the bros of summer ) in an impromptu matchup made by Raw GM AJ Lee . Sandow was the one who inadvertently got the matchup made in the first place when he attempted to expand the WWE Universe ' s vocabulary at the end of the " season of sloth , " or summer vacation . As The Intellectual Savior of the Masses ran through his lesson plan , The Ultimate Broski made his presence known and declared that he had a few vocab words of his own : " Shut " and " Up . " He also had a surprise for Sandow : AJ had made a matchup between the two of them for right then . The Long Island Iced - Z wasted no time in taking it to Sandow , unleashing a series of offensive strikes to leave the " soverign of civility " stunned outside the ropes . Sandow rallied after Ryder tossed him back into the ring though , stomping The Ultimate Broski ' s ribcage and dropping an un - padded knee on Ryder ' s neck before pummeling him with the Elbow of Disdain . Ryder was the next to rally though , trapping Sandow in a small package before decking the enlightened one with a series of clotheslienes . Sandow narrowly avoided the Broski Boot , but Ryder rolled him back into the ring and connected with the move quickly thereafter . Even then , though , it wasn ' t enough to defeat Sandow , who recovered from the broski ' s strike and felled Ryder for the 1 - 2 - 3 . Cue the " Hallelujahs . " " Super main event " was , as it turns out , an understatement . Raw General Manager AJ Lee ' s big idea for Raw ' s main event — a tag match pitting Sheamus & John Cena against CM Punk & Alberto Del Rio — was a battle for the age . With four of WWE ' s most dynamic competitors clashing between the ropes , rematch implications were on the line for the victors . And , when all was said and done , it was Cena who got the monkey off his back , finally getting a hard - earned pin over The Second City Saint to seal the contest for his team . Surprisingly , The Voice of the Voiceless seemed to want no part of Cena following his narrow retention of the WWE Title at Night of Champions . Punk went out of his way to avoid a one - on - one matchup with the Cenation leader and either sent Del Rio in to do the dirty work or waited until Cena was outnumbered to get his licks in . The strategy didn ' t last long , though . After ending up on the wrong exchange of a Cena offense , Sheamus tagged in and promptly pounded The Second City Saint into the corner before Punk managed to tag in Del Rio . The longtime rivals from opposite ends of the social spectrum clashed yet again , with victory seemingly in hand as Sheamus called for the Brogue Kick . Punk ' s instincts kicked in and a cheap shot on The Celtic Warrior saved the match for his team , leaving him an opportunity to tag in again . The WWE Champion got the better of Sheamus this time , trapping The Great White in a torturous - looking submission hold and slowing him down enough for Del Rio to re - enter the match . A strong surge from Del Rio met a brick wall , though , after The Celtic Warrior felled The Essence of Excellence with the Irish Curse . Two tags later and Cena and Punk re - entered the fray , with Cena unleashing his signature sequence of moves , countering Punk ' s counter into an STF before Del Rio broke up the hold . . . only to suffer a Brogue Kick that sent him into next week . Punk was next to strike , but his sneak attack on Sheamus left Cena just enough of an opportunity to send Punk flying with an AA and notch that long - elusive pin over the WWE Champion But … The victory , hard - earned as it was , did not come without controversy . As Cena finally secured that three - count , Punk placed his foot on the bottom rope , negating the pin . But the official didn ' t see Punk ' s foot on the ropes , and counted the pin anyway . And so , 24 hours after controversy favored CM Punk , the scales tilted back in Cena ' s favor . As Raw drew to a close , the final images were of Punk screaming at the official all the way up the ramp , with respect , peace of mind and a decisive victory over John Cena still eluding him .