GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – For all his championship victories, Alberto Del Rio can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to the post-title win fiesta. One night after his morally iffy reclamation of the Word Heavyweight Championship, Del Rio took the stage in Grand Rapids to the unmitigated disapproval of the WWE Universe. The crowd hadn’t taken too kindly to Del Rio’s winning strategy – kick the recently concussed Dolph Ziggler in the head, repeat – but he didn’t seem to mind the opinion of a WWE Universe who he felt had disrespected him while he competed in their name.
But none took less kindly to the champion’s posturing than CM Punk. The ragamuffin hero of the 312 didn’t much appreciate Del Rio’s claims of superiority (commandment one of the Cult of Personality: Thou shalt not name thyself “The best”), and wasted no time – despite Paul Heyman’s unwelcome attempts to stop him – laying down a (non-title) challenge against Del Rio for later in the evening. And thanks to a quick ruling by Vickie Guerrero, the answer was a resounding Si! Si! Si!
CM Punk def. World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio via Count-out
It was shades of Survivor Series 2011 when CM Punk faced off against World Champion Alberto Del Rio on Raw, and while the ending of their bout was technically the same – Punk claimed the win – the circumstances and aftermath could not have been more different.
The two scrappy Superstars came out swinging against each other, though Del Rio’s frustration boiled over as the WWE Universe cheered for Punk, leading him to unleash a similar barrage of kicks he had against Dolph Ziggler the previous night. Del Rio targeted Punk’s left arm rather than his head, but the strategy paid dividends until Punk rallied with a last-ditch Go to Sleep that sent Del Rio rolling outside the ring. This, as they say, is where it got interesting.
Ricardo hauled hishermanoto his feet at the count of ten and carried him to the locker room, but the pair was besieged by a furious Dolph Ziggler (defying doctor’s orders by showing up of his own accord) and chased away with referees in pursuit. Punk was left to celebrate his win, but imagine his surprise when Brock Lesnar’s music hit instead of his own. And imagine his surprise when The Anomaly appeared in the flesh, stalking Punk outside the ring before he clipped The Second City Saint's wings with a ruthless F-5. What's that old adage again? Here comes the pain.
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