With a bitter Vickie Guerrero barring The Rock from the arena it looked like Paul Heyman was free to make his “Paul Bomb”, but the Great One found a loophole by purchasing a ticket and made his way to the ring anyway. Apparently seeing this as an injustice, The Shield decided to weaken the Rock before his match with CM Punk at the Royal Rumble.

Also on tonight’s Raw Dolph Ziggler won a “Beat the Clock” challenge, giving him the right to choose his entry number in to the Royal Rumble match, and John Cena found himself in a premature rumble with half of the locker room.

Quick Results:

- After being humiliated by The Rock last week, Vickie Guerrero and Paul Heyman opened the show by banning the Great One from the arena. Despite the police presence Rock promised he’d find his way to the ring.

- Randy Orton def. Antonio Cesaro with the RKO, to set a time of 11:36 in the Beat The Clock Challenge.

- Big Show def. Zack Ryder and pinned him for a 10 count with just his foot!

- Ryback squashed Heath Slater.

- CM Punk addressed The Rock: “A long time ago I was forced to make a choice between hypocritical humility and honest arrogance,” said Punk, claiming that Rock chose the former while he walked the latter path, claiming his glory through blood and sweat that The Brahma Bull could not claim to have shed. “You can call him The Great One, you can call him The Brahma Bull … but you cannot call him a champion, because he does not have this,” Punk hissed, displaying his title in all its glory before the WWE Universe.

- Dolph Ziggler def. The Miz with help from AJ and Langston, setting the new Beat the Clock time at 10:56.

- Team Hell No graduated from anger management.

- Divas Champion Kaitlyn def. Alicia Fox.

- The Rock was ambushed by The Shield after Paul Heyman’s “Paul bomb”.

- Wade Barrett and Sheamus failed to Beat the Clock.

- Vince McMahon announced that if The Shield interfere in The Rock vs CM Punk match at Royal Rumble, then he will personally strip Punk of the belt.

- World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio def. Tensai.

- Bob Backlund will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

- John Cena brawled with the Royal Rumble Match competitors: “I am going to win the Royal Rumble Match!” Cena roared. Unfortunately, that sentiment was far from unique among the WWE locker room, and Cena soon found himself surrounded by an array of Superstars with similar aspirations of victory. Sheamus, The Prime Time Players, Randy Orton, The Miz, Team Hell No, Antonio Cesaro and 3MB had all surrounded the Cenation leader and proclaimed themselves as the future Rumble Match winners. Heath Slater didn’t even get a chance to finish his sentence, though, before the entire locker room emptied. An all-out frenzy soon erupted both among friends and foes, as a mass of humanity took the WWE Universe to black as Raw’s road to the Royal Rumble wound down to its tumultuous end.

News:

- In a dark match prior to tonight’s show The Usos defeated The Prime Time Players.

- Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio at Sunday’s Royal Rumble will be a Last Man Standing match.

- Next week’s Raw from Las Vegas will have a RAW Roulette theme.

- After the show went off air John Cena and Sheamus def. Big Show and Wade Barrett. Following the match Wade Barrett attacked Big Show.

- As part of the beat down angle on The Rock from the Shield, the Great One said on Twitter that he sustained internal bleeding to the lungs. While he was visibly bleeding from the mouth on the show, if it was a freak accident it’s unlikely to really be internal bleeding. He probably just took a stray elbow and is selling it. Or it’s a complete work.