Raw: Oct. 27, 2014

Randy Orton confronted Seth Rollins

An incensed Viper gets his hands on Seth Rollins

SAN ANTONIO — What do you do when your younger, faster counterpart upstages you in the most must-win environment WWE has to offer? Well, if you’re Randy Orton and your would-be usurper is Seth Rollins, you steal your thunder right back. The Apex Predator picked the perfect moment to sink his fangs into Rollins, too. Orton shut down the would-be coming out party for The Authority’s appointed “standard-bearer of WWE” (thrown in honor of Rollins’ dubious Hell in a Cell victory) with a red-faced tirade. He followed with a — yep — RKO outta nowhere that dropped Mr. Money in the Bank like loose change and a smile splayed across the once (and maybe future) Face of WWE.

Watch: Orton drops Rollins |  Roman Reigns' word of warning for Mr. Money in the Bank

WWE Tag Team Champions Gold & Stardust def. Big Show & Mark Henry

The World's Strongest Man and The World's Largest Athlete challenge the WWE Tag Team Champions.

The Hall of Pain is dusting off its exhibits and opening its doors once again after Mark Henry turned on Big Show, derailing their bid for the WWE Tag Team Championships and checking his running buddy into the former World Heavyweight Champion’s agonizing asylum. With their friendship fraying at the edges, surely the Tag Title challenge was an opportunity for the two big men to refocus. In fact, Henry arranged the contest as an olive branch of sorts to The World’s Largest Athlete for interfering in his bout the previous night.

Watch:  Big Show feels the pain |  Photos of the shocking betrayal

Instead of getting on the same page, however, Henry flipped the script as Big Show was about to seal the deal, administering his earth-shattering signature maneuver to the giant when Show stole the spotlight from under his nose. Admittedly, Henry’s betrayal was a godsend for the cosmic brothers, who retained their titles and escaped with their bodies — and titles — intact, leaving the giant to suffer a second World’s Strongest Slam … and then a third. And then a splash. It’s what he does.

Divas Champion AJ Lee def. Alicia Fox

Two of Paige's former friends collide just 24 hours after Hell in a Cell.

AJ Lee’s a self-proclaimed “One-Girl Revolution,” but the Divas Champion can at least claim solidarity with Alicia Fox in one respect: their association with Paige. Despite the fact that Alicia’s BFF-ship with The Diva of Tomorrow is shaky at best after the events of Hell in a Cell, Miss Fox seemed relatively intent on impressing the former Divas Champion, (wo)manhandling AJ until the champion stunned her with a DDT into the ground.

Alicia wasn’t getting the job done fast enough, however, so Paige sprang up from commentary and shoved her in the back … straight into an AJ roll-up. Having proven herself to be “the worst best friend” that anyone could have, Paige then subjected Alicia to further pain and humiliation after the match in the form of a mauling and a whipping with her leopard-print coat.

The Authority confronted John Cena

After refusing to trust Triple H, John Cena must contend with The Authority at Survivor Series.

With John Cena gearing up for a third in-ring war against Brock Lesnar, Stephanie McMahon offered the 15-time World Champion something near-unprecedented since The Authority took power: a cease-fire. Having been well and duly impressed by Cena’s performance inside Hell in a Cell — and with Randy Orton having broken rank earlier in the night — the corporate power extended the Cenation leader a spot as their Survivor Series team captain in lieu of further conflict. With the proposal, she hinted that Cena’s compliance could lead to an Authority-guaranteed victory over The Conqueror and a record-tying 16th World Title.

Watch:  Is Cena best for The Authority's business?

It was a tantalizing offer that the Cenation leader unsurprisingly shot down. So with an armistice out of the question, Triple H instead made the battle lines official, proclaiming that Cena would need to assemble a team to battle an Authority-selected squadron of “the future” in an official Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match.

The Usos def. The Miz & Damien Mizdow

Jimmy & Jey Uso collide with the self-professed "A-lister" and his doppelganger.

Choosing between Uso Craziness and Mizdow Madness is a difficult proposition indeed, but that’s the challenge the WWE Universe faced when the former WWE Tag Team Champions looked to redeem themselves against the would-be U.S. Champion Miz and his much-beloved understudy. Unfortunately for Mizdow, The Awesome One declined to tag in his ascending-star stunt double for a long stretch, opting instead to shoulder the load all on his own.

When Mizdow entered the match, he both put Miz in position to win it and, ironically, cost it for the duo when all was said and done: Mizdow put the boots to Jimmy Uso to save Miz at a crucial moment, leading to a brief scuffle with the referee. With the official otherwise occupied, Jey Uso performed Twin Magic and swapped for his brother, rolling up Miz for the win. Oops.

Hulk Hogan addressed the WWE Universe

With October winding down but the fight against breast cancer just beginning, The Immortal Hulk Hogan made his return to Raw to pay one final tribute this month to the survivors seated at ringside. After leading the WWE Universe in a rallying cry to help join the fight for the cure, Hogan invited the survivors to run wild like the man himself, joining them for a Hulkamania posedown that brought San Antonio to its collective feet.

Join the fight with Komen and WWE

Ryback def. Bo Dallas

A voracious Superstar returns to answer Bo Dallas' open challenge.

With Bo Dallas crowing about his four defeats of Mark Henry and self-proclaimed status as the new “World’s Strongest Man” (his timing is fantastic, no?), the inspirational one thought it best to flex his newfound muscles by issuing an open challenge to the WWE locker room. While Bo was surely expecting some ham-and-egger to present himself for a Bo-dog, he all but served himself on a plate for Ryback, who returned from injury, “Feed Me More” chants ablaze. Ryback subjected the former NXT Champion to the same fate as Stan Stansky, Arthur Rosenberg, and all the other unfortunate souls before him. Which is to say, he dished out a merciless beating, a Shell Shocked, and a 1-2-3. Done.

Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro never happened

One night after Bray Wyatt targeted Dean Ambrose inside Hell in a Cell, The Eater of Worlds delivered a chilling message to The Lunatic Fringe.

Dean Ambrose got Cesaro in a match Monday night. Dean Ambrose wanted Bray Wyatt instead. So he did what anyone in his questionable state of mind would: He beat Cesaro mercilessly with a microphone before the bell even rang and demanded his newfound foe present himself for a similar fate. Wyatt didn’t oblige Ambrose an in-ring confrontation just yet, but The Eater of Worlds appeared on the TitanTron and set the terms for their forthcoming conflict: He would “dismantle [Ambrose’s] mind and feast on the spoils.”

Nikki Bella def. Naomi

With new personal assistant Brie Bella by her side, Nikki collides with her "Total Divas" co-star, Naomi.

Having already established Brie Bella’s baseline as a smoothie-fetcher, Nikki Bella’s first night in earnest as her sister’s boss ended in a far more devious command for the former Divas Champion: the abject humiliation of a fellow “Total Diva.” Forced to act as Nikki’s No. 2, Brie stood idly by as Nikki battled Naomi in a singles match. Under her sister’s orders, however, Brie treaded the fine line between assistant and accomplice when she  tripped Naomi on the apron in the midst of a late-match comeback, leading to a final, ill-gotten Rack Attack and win from Nikki. 29 days to go.

Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler def. Kane

The Showoff needs to back up his bold words when he faces Corporate Kane.

As difficult as it is to believe, Dolph Ziggler isn’t a fan of authority — to say nothing of The Authority — and The Showoff’s perceived interest in joining Team Cena got him into hot water with none other than the demon-dabbling Kane. While any ordinary employee would likely suffer severe discipline from WWE’s hellish Director of Operations, Ziggler escaped his sinister performance evaluation with top marks, thwarting the former World Heavyweight Champion’s sadistic take on corporate justice with the same skills that extended his Intercontinental Title reign at Hell in a Cell.

Watch:  Ziggler faces Kane's fire | Photos:  Stealing the show (and a win)

Kane delivered a dominant physical performance for much of the match, putting his size and strength advantage to good use and stopping Ziggler cold both figuratively and, in the case of a splash-halting right hand, literally for the majority of the contest. Ziggler leaned on his speed advantage over the big man to win the match by reversing a Chokeslam into a sunset flip pin. But he wasn’t fast enough to stop a post-match beatdown from Seth Rollins that was only halted by an appearance from John Cena himself, who helped Dolph beat The Authority into retreat.

John Cena def. Seth Rollins via Disqualification

The Cenation leader battles The Authority's Seth Rollins in this out-of-control Raw main event.

Propensity for selling out aside, it’s a testament to Seth Rollins that he fell off the side of a Hell in a Cell and ate an RKO within 24 hours and still showed up for his main-event match against John Cena on Raw. Mr. Money in the Bank was impressive given his injuries, but considering that every blow from Cena targeted Rollins’ ribs, the former WWE Tag Team Champion understandably leaned on Joey Mercury & Jamie Noble, aka J&J Security to provide underhanded interference.

Watch:  Chaos erupts in Cena vs. Rollins |  Photos of the epic brawl

Rollins ultimately battled his way into the advantage on his own in impressive fashion, as he utilized the steel steps and announce table to his advantage while still remaining within the rules. He found himself locked in an STF all the same, though Kane’s timely arrival ended the match in a disqualification favoring Cena. Happily, Dolph Ziggler soon arrived to even the odds … followed by the entire locker room in an apparent group audition for Team Cena and Team Authority alike that ended with Cena and The Authority staring down above the fray. So who’s it gonna be?