WWE Raw TV Results
May 20, 2013 - Episode #1,042
Live in Kansas City, Mo.
Aired on USA Network
Report by James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

6 -- THE SHIELD (WWE tag champions SETH ROLLINS & ROMAN REIGNS & U.S. champion DEAN AMBROSE) vs. KOFI KINGSTON & DANIEL BRYAN & KANE -- six-man tag match

The match started with the face trio attacking Shield's Dean Ambrose with successive offense. Bryan then put Ambrose on the mat with a chinlock, but Ambrose broke free and tagged in Rollins. Danielson vs. Tyler Black turned into Bryan going for a surfboard stretch. "I am not the weak link!" Bryan shouted before stretching Rollins. Bryan followed with rapid-fire kicks to the chest as JBL mocked Cole for botching names during the broadcast.

Kane tagged in and smacked around Rollins. Kingston was next in as Cole brought up Kane & Bryan's impressive nine-month title reign as tag champs that ended last night. Rollins finally broke free and brought in Reigns, who shoved a boot into Kofi's throat to inflict punishment to the former U.S. champ. Reigns then wrestled Kofi to the mat with a takedown slam before tagging in Ambrose.

[Q9 -- third hour] Ambrose continued to dominate Kingston before bringing in Rollins as Cole reset the show. During the reset, Cole noted Heyman introduced a new client tonight, and Lawler mentioned Curtis Axl being the son of "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, which is noteworthy after WWE previously shied away from Curt Hennig references. Back in the ring, Rollins mocked Kofi's boom-clap routine, which drew boos. Rollins got too cocky and walked into a head-scissors from Kofi, who then reached Bryan with a hot-tag.

Bryan cleaned house with rapid-fire offense before corner-dropkicking Rollins. Bryan sized up Rollins to deliver multiple rapid-fire kicks to the chest, missed a roundhouse, but didn't miss a follow-up kick, resulting in a close nearfall. Bryan then climbed to the top rope, but Rollins crotched Bryan and tagged in Ambrose. Ambrose immediately attacked Bryan, but Bryan blocked a superplex. Bryan then balanced himself and delivered a missile dropkick for a close two count.

Bryan followed right up with the No! Lock, but Ambrose fought his way to the bottom rope before Bryan could apply the hold in-full. Shield then dragged Ambrose to the outside to recover. The faces stood tall in the ring firing up a hot crowd and Raw cut to break 11:30 into the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back from break, the pace had slowed to a crawl with Kane controlling Reigns in the ring. Kane then tagged in Kofi, who delivered a smash to Reigns's arm that was softened up during the PPV last night. Reigns managed to escape Kofi, then tag in Ambrose, who accepted Ten Punches in the Corner from Kofi. A fired-up Kofi delivered an uppercut to the new U.S. champ before tagging in Bryan.

Bryan hung up Ambrose in the corner, then delivered more rapid-fire kicks to the chest before charging Ambrose for a basement dropkick. Moments later, Ambrose escaped Bryan before tagging in Rollins. Bucklebomb from Rollins in an ROH flashback, but Bryan escaped the pin attempt. Reigns then tagged in and destroyed Bryan with a short-arm clothesline. This warranted a replay, which showed a great sell from Bryan. The match slowed down with Shield isolating Bryan as the trio taunted Bryan as the weak-link.

At 19:20, Bryan fought back on Ambrose with headbutts, but Ambrose cut him off with a knee to the gut. Rollins then tagged in and continued taunting Bryan. "You want your titles back, weak link?!" Rollins taunted in his face. Ambrose returned and continued to taunt Bryan, drawing boos from the crowd. From the ring apron, Rollins asked Bryan if he has anything left in him, then Bryan popped Ambrose with a kick to the head. Ambrose shook it off and tagged in Reigns, who cut off Bryan from tagging, but Bryan kicked him away and tagged in Kane.

[Q10] Kane came in hot cleaning house on Shield members. Kane clotheslined Reigns, then delivered a sidewalk slam for a nearfall when Ambrose broke up the pin. Kofi then smashed Ambrose before clotheslining him to the outside. Suddenly, Bryan and Kofi went flying through opposite ends of the ring with simultaneous suicide dives.

Left in the ring were Kane and Reigns. Kane delivered a DDT, but Reigns kicked out in-time, drawing gasps from the crowd. Suddenly, Shield took out Bryan and Kofi on the outside. Back in the ring, Kane big-booted Reigns, then wanted the chokeslam, but Ambrose distracted him coming off the top rope. Kane didn't see Rollins, though, who kneed Kane off the ropes. Reigns then measured Kane for a giant spear and connected, taking the air out of the building. Reigns covered Kane for the win.

WINNERS: The Shield at 22:55. Excellent six-man tag match. Just excellent action, with WWE giving The Shield about 30 minutes of TV time tonight. This is WWE at its best when they protect an act, reinforce the act, and keep building on the act. It helps that Shield delivers each time in the ring to back up WWE's investment in them. (***3/4)

After The Shield left the ring to celebrate in the arena, WWE replayed footage from earlier tonight when Paul Heyman introduced Curtis Axl before Triple H interrupted to set up Hunter-Axl tonight in the main event.

(Pause for a Kevin Jonas tweet: "Great match with #theshield #teamhellno and @truekofi."

Trainer's Room: Triple H was shown taping his wrists. A stagehand walked in and told Hunter that the doctor doesn't think Hunter should compete tonight. Hunter used his power to say if the doctor wants to keep his job, then he'll re-consider. Hunter went back to taping his wrists.

(Pause for a tweet from PWTorch columnist Sean Radican: "So that's how the Wellness Policy works.")

Still to come: Jack Swagger faces the App Poll winner - Orton, R-Truth, or Khali.

[Commercial Break]

Backstage: Natalya caught up with Kaitlyn, who claimed to have a phone number from her secret admirer. Natalya wanted the number so that Great Khali could snoop around and find the number. Suddenly, Cody Rhodes walked by texting. Kaitlyn and Natalya stopped talking, so Cody thought they were talking about him. Kaitlyn then took Cody's phone and saw he's not the secret admirer. Cody asked what their problem is, then Kaitlyn said she's glad Cody is not her secret admirer. That was mean. Cody left, then Natalya tried to calm down Kaitlyn.

In-ring: Jack Swagger, selling injuries from Extreme Rules last night, marched out to the ring as Cole plugged the number of votes for tonight's poll. Swagger, looking massive in an under-sized t-shirt, stood in the ring with Zeb Colter behind him. Jerry Lawler then stood up to reveal the poll results, which was a blow-away vote of 72 percent for Randy Orton.

Orton emerged on-stage to a massive reaction, similar to Extreme Rules, as Lawler called him Mr. Landslide. JBL said Swagger probably knew it would be Orton, so he's ready. As the crowd continued to roar for Orton, Raw cut to break with Orton half-way down the entrance ramp.

[Q11] [Commercial Break]

7 -- JACK SWAGGER (w/Zeb Colter) vs. RANDY ORTON

The bell sounded immediately back from break. Swagger, sporting a taped right elbow, went for an early headlock as Lawler plugged Colter's weekly conspiracy promo occurring on the App during the break. Orton then dropkicked the bad shoulder, sending Swagger to the outside. On the floor, Orton suplexed Swagger into the guardrail as the announcers argued about the Swagger-Del Rio replay-aided reversal last night.

Back in the ring, Orton covered Swagger for a nearfall, then mounted Swagger for Ten Punches in the Corner. Meanwhile, Colter went fishing in his pocket for something. Maybe he needed to adjust his wallet. Swagger then cut off Orton and ran him over with a big shoulder tackle. Orton made a comeback, but sold a knee injury before stomping around Swagger. Orton audibly called for a chopblock spot, then shot Swagger off to the ropes and Swagger took out Orton's knee on-cue.

At 5:00, Swagger began working over the knee. Swagger and Orton then spilled to the floor, where Swagger ran Orton back-first into the guardrail. Back in the ring, Swagger continued attacking the knee. Orton had enough and rolled to the outside for a breather as Raw cut to break.

[Commercial Break]

Back from break at 10:30, Swagger was still working on Orton's knee. "This is the match you wanted, WWE Universe," Cole said. Well, the audience was given a limited number of options. It would be like a sandwich shop only offering three types of sandwiches and turkey being the only meat available. "This is the sandwich you wanted, customer!" In any event, Orton broke free and bodyslammed Swagger for a nearfall, causing Colter to breathe a sigh of relief. Swagger came right back with a close nearfall of his own, drawing encouragement from Colter.

[Q12] Swagger wanted the Swagger Bomb, but Orton popped to his feet and kicked Swagger in the gut. Orton with a powerslam and it's comeback time. Orton sold the knee, then wanted a second-rope DDT, but Swagger escaped and suplexed Orton for a nearfall. Swagger couldn't follow up, though, allowing Orton to deliver the second-rope DDT.

At 15:00, Orton started feeling it and he went to That Place for the RKO, but Swagger blocked and slapped on the Patriot Lock. Swagger tweaked Orton's knee, but Orton was able to break the hold after fighting for a while. Orton flung Swagger away in the process, then Swagger tried to run back into the ring, but Orton ducked, paused, and RKO'ed Swagger center-ring. A satisfied Orton then pinned Swagger for the win.

After the match, Orton took his time posing in the ring after another successful singles match following his big victory over Big Show last night. On commentary, the announcers talked up Orton's great 24-hour stretch.

WINNER: Orton at 16:14. And Orton is back on the road to the World Title, similar to Sheamus. If WWE does have to do something with the World Title, depending on Ziggler's health, they have #1 contender Del Rio, Orton, Sheamus, and Langston in the title picture. Overall, an interesting match in that it was slow-paced early on, but because it's been a strong show and they were following a hot six-man tag match, they had momentum to work with, as opposed to a typical three-hour Raw where wrestlers are in the ring with zero momentum at this point in the show and have to create their own momentum from scratch. (**3/4)

Earlier Tonight: Ryback challenged John Cena to an Ambulance Match at Payback, then shoved Zack Ryder in an ambulance later in the show.

Still to come: Triple H vs. Curtis Axel. And, Hunter has vowed to take out Paul Heyman.

[Commercial Break]

This Friday: Dean Ambrose vs. Kofi Kingston in a U.S. Title re-match on Smackdown.

In-ring: Triple H's music played back from break. "We've been waiting three years for this!" Lawler excitedly said. Hunter then emerged on-stage looking like the Michelin Man in the arena's green lighting. Hunter marched to the ring as Cole noted doctors have not cleared Hunter to participate in this match. After Hunter posed in the ring, the former Michael McGillicutty's dramatic Mr. Perfect re-mix played to bring out Curtis Axel flanked by Paul Heyman.

8 -- TRIPLE H vs. CURTIS AXEL (w/Paul Heyman)

The bell sounded one minute before the top of the hour. Axel paced the ring, then tried to lock-up, but Hunter clotheslined him to the mat.

[Q13 -- over-run] Hunter scored an early nearfall, then taunted Heyman that he's coming for him next. Hunter chucked Axel to the floor, then chased away Heyman, drawing laughs from the crowd. Back in the ring, Axel found an opening to attack Hunter and deliver successive kicks to the mid-section. Axel was slow following up, though, allowing Hunter to reverse momentum. But, Axel came back with a dropkick to the chest for a one count.

Axel began targeting Hunter's jaw, which the announcers played up as being injured from Extreme Rules last night. Axel scored a nearfall, prompting Heyman to shout, "You got a two-count on Triple H! Keep going!" Heyman said people will know Axel's name along with Brock Lesnar and C.M. Punk after this.

Hunter fought back and took Axel to the floor, where Hunter walked into a boot to the gut. Hunter got up selling tiredness, then he suddenly exploded on Axel with a clothesline. Hunter struggled to get back into the ring, though, selling that he couldn't pull himself together. Hunter then walked over the ringside doctor and sat down in a chair. Hunter doused himself with water selling exhaustion before sitting up and walking back toward the ring. But, he sold dizziness and sold losing feeling in his body. WWE cut to a quick shot of Heyman selling concern across the ringside area. The announcers said the doctor cannot let Hunter continue this match as Hunter sat down in the chair again. The crowd went dead-quiet, then Hunter tried to stand up, but he collapsed to the floor. "We're done," the doctor told the referee.

WINNER: No Decision and no bell around 7:30. An interesting way to get out of a finish to the main event, although both WWE and TNA have over-done the "end a match without ending a match" deal as of late. It's a basic TV cliffhanger to see where they go from here with Hunter potentially written off TV (or an expanded role for another McMahon family member in Hunter's absence). Meanwhile, WWE continues to try to "own the story" of wrestler health and injuries to take control of a real issue. Or, as WWE would say, it's "topical," so they've incorporated it into key angles. Finally, not exactly the hot start for Axel, so the follow-up will be very important for Joe Hennig's new act to have a chance.

Hunter crawled across the floor trying to regain his bearings as the ringside fans picked up a "Triple H" chant. Hunter sold not being aware of anything before fighting to get back to his feet, but then collapsing to the floor. Hunter sold with something that looked like a look of his shock on his face that his body was failing him. Raw quietly faded to black, ending the show seven minutes past the top of the hour.

After Raw went off the air, Lawler tweeted a kayfabe comment about the injury angle: "I want to apologize to Triple H and his family for insinuating that he may have had a stroke. I know firsthand how upsetting it could be."

OVERALL: No John Cena tonight was newsworthy, but WWE seems to have some momentum coming out of Extreme Rules Weekend after a good, solid night of wrestling tonight and some interesting story developments. Follow-up will be key, of course, but WWE delivered a strong Raw that never felt dull and was well-paced over three hours.

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