UNIONDALE, N.Y. – It's a brave, new world for Raw, and it's one without John Laurinaitis. The former General Manager of Raw and SmackDown was fired by Mr. McMahon at No Way Out, then given a painful farewell by John Cena on Raw SuperShow after Big Show and David Otunga both abandoned him. Replacing Big Johnny for this week as Interim General Manager was none other than Mick Foley, and the WWE Legend quickly made an impact with his savvy matchmaking. Also on Raw, find out what Brock Lesnar's representative Paul Heyman did to make WWE COO Triple H knock him out cold!
Mick Foley named Interim General Manager for Raw and SmackDown this week
Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy is back! After receiving a warm ovation from the Nassau Coliseum crowd, Long Island, N.Y.'s own Mick Foley said he received an invite from the Board of Directors to host both Raw and SmackDown this week as WWE evaluates who will run the shows after John Laurinaitis' firing. With his first act as the guest General Manager, Foley revealed WWE Champion CM Punk and World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus would face Daniel Bryan and Kane in a tag team match tonight. ( PHOTOS | WATCH: MICK FOLEY VIDEOS)
Laurinaitis came out to make his farewell address, but was promptly greeted by chants of "You got fired!" by the WWE Universe. When he tried to make his formal introduction, the vocal WWE fans gave Big Johnny an earful of boos, to which he yelled at them to shut up and stop being rude.
Saying he would make his farewell address later, Laurinaitis announced that as his final act as General Manager, he made a 3-on-1 Handicap Match for tonight's Raw, pitting him, Big Show and David Otunga against John Cena – his "parting gift" to the Cenation leader and the WWE Universe.
Mick Foley's first match as the interim GM turned out to be a spectacular – and bizarre – one. ( PHOTOS | VIDEO)
Kane and Daniel Bryan let out their frustrations on WWE Champion CM Punk after winding up on the losing end of a Triple Threat Match at No Way Out. Bryan repeatedly whipped Sheamus' midsection with some vicious kicks and The Big Red Monster dished out some punishment of his own. However, the resilient Celtic Warrior hung tough and was able to make the tag when he needed to most. The Straight Edge Superstar laid into Bryan with a brutal running knee at the turnbuckle and followed with a running bulldog, but the submission specialist powered back with a big superplex.
Then, totally out of nowhere, AJ made a jaw-dropping entrance, skipping out to the ring in a Kane mask and matching outfit. After continuing to skip around the ring, AJ made her way back up the entrance ramp, leaving Kane bewildered by her creepy cameo. As The Devil's Favorite Demon wandered off distracted, Punk capitalized with a Go to Sleep and Sheamus nailed Bryan with a crushing Brogue Kick to get the victory.
Backstage, Dolph Ziggler got into a heated argument with Jack Swagger, calling him the weak link in their tag team, and claimed The All-American American was just riding his coattails. Vickie Guerrero interrupted the altercation and said it was time to make her decision over which Superstar truly deserves her admiration, respect and affection. The Cougar revealed that she asked Mick Foley to make a match so the two Superstars could settle the dispute in the ring one-on-one. ( PHOTOS | VIDEO)
The crowd was firmly behind Ziggler from the early going, but Swagger exerted his strength to keep The Showoff glued to the mat. When Ziggler appeared to injure his knee, The All-American American wasted no time inflicting pain on his ligaments, twisting on the bad knee with an ankle lock. Dolph showed plenty of heart, however, by fighting through the pain and surprising Swagger with a Zig Zag for the victory. Guerrero then showed her approval by planting a passionate celebratory kiss on Ziggler.
Brock Lesnar's representative Paul Heyman told the WWE Universe that Brock will not agree to fight Triple H at SummerSlam and he will not drop his lawsuit against WWE. Before Heyman could get far into his diatribe, Triple H came out to the ring and said Brock will agree to fight The Game because the WWE COO can give him what he wants. Showing off a mock poster of SummerSlam with Lesnar on it, Triple H played up to the behemoth's apparent ego and claimed Brock can either fight him at SummerSlam or go down as the man who was too scared to fight The King of Kings. ( PHOTOS | VIDEO)
Heyman quickly denied Triple H's claims and even dared the fuming WWE COO to hit him. After saying he didn't have anything for Triple H, but had something for Stephanie, Triple H's wife, The Game ferociously grabbed Heyman by the tie and cut off his airflow.
After Triple H let him go, Heyman said he sees everything The Cerebral Assassin does from a mile away. The Game responded by knocking Heyman out cold as the crowd erupted. As Brock's representative laid unconscious on the canvas, The King of Kings left him with some final bold words: "You tell Brock Lesnar I will see him at SummerSlam ... that is, unless he's afraid the same thing will happen to him."
Alberto Del Rio was full of fire after missing out on an opportunity to face Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Title at No Way Out due to a concussion. After U.S. Champion Santino Marella weakened The Mexican Aristocrat, he reached for The Cobra and prepared to strike, but Del Rio drilled The Milan Miracle with a head-snapping enzuigiri and locked on the Cross Armbreaker to make him tap out. ( PHOTOS | VIDEO)
Ricardo Rodriguez, clearly still miffed after losing his Tuxedo Match to Marella at No Way Out, added insult to injury by inflicting further punishment on Santino's arm following the bout.
Divas Champion Layla introduced Grammy Award-winning musician Cyndi Lauper and WWE Hall of Famer Wendi Richter and thanked them for paving the way for the future generation of Divas. In her first appearance in a WWE ring in 27 years, Lauper accompanied the very woman she managed at the very first WrestleMania in Madison Square Garden to the ring. ( PHOTOS | VIDEO )
(WATCH: CYNDI LAUPER WWE HIGHLIGHTS | VISIT CYNDILAUPER.COM)
Cyndi told everyone how great it is to be back in WWE alongside her girl Wendi before she was swiftly interrupted by Heath Slater, who began to sing his new single, "The One Man Band," much to the crowd's displeasure. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper made a shocking appearance to put an end to the musical sideshow and told "Ms. Slater" to take a hike.
A visibly emotional "Hot Rod" presented Lauper with a framed gold record on behalf of himself, the late, great Captain Lou Albano and the entire WWE Universe for her contributions. Slater then began to sing again, but Piper countered with a poke to the eyes, followed by Lauper smashing the record over The One Man Southern Rock Band's head.
A.W. proved he's out to protect his No. 1 contenders, regardless of what the WWE Universe thinks of his tactics.
The Prime Time Players had their hands full with Primo & Epico as the former WWE Tag Team Champions took it to the arrogant duo from the get-go. After Primo & Epico hit a double baseball slide on The Prime Time Players and knocked them to the arena floor, A.W. sensed trouble and pulled his clients to safety and completely out of the matchup, resulting in an intentional count-out. ( PHOTOS | VIDEO)
John Laurinaitis refused to make a quiet exit. Sporting a neck brace and crutches, the former General Manager and Executive Vice President of Talent Relations repeatedly called members of the WWE Universe "losers" because they've lost "People Power." After making his entrance, Big Show thanked Laurinaitis for signing him to an ironclad contract and the big, fat bonus, but stated there's no reason The World's Largest Athlete should be in the ring tonight. Big Show then left Laurinaitis and David Otunga high and dry, making it a 2-on-1 Handicap Match against John Cena instead. ( PHOTOS | VIDEO)
(READ MORE: WAS BIG SHOW RIGHT TO ABANDON BIG JOHNNY?)
It was all Otunga in the early going as The A-Lister tossed Cena hard into the steel ringside steps and bowled over the Cenation leader with a big running shoulder block. Laurinaitis' farewell match took a turn for the worse, however, after Big Johnny tagged in and started to pile on Cena. It was then that Otunga stunned his old boss by refusing to tag back in and taking a walk, becoming the second Superstar to leave Laurinaitis hanging in the main event.
From there, it was pain on top of humiliating pain for Big Johnny. The Cenation leader hit Laurinaitis with the Five-Knuckle Shuffle and slammed him to the canvas with an Attitude Adjustment, but he wasn't done yet. Pointing to former SmackDown GM Theodore Long, who was sitting ringside, Cena dropped Laurinaitis with another A.A., then a third one for good measure at the cheering fans' request. Finally, Cena put an end to Laurinaitis' misery as he made him tap out with the STF.
It was a farewell address – and beating – that the WWE Universe won't soon forget.