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Week in Photos, August 31, 2012 ^+ P, ]# u1 `7 p' V9 `# s9 T
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+ ]2 Q3 N- z, i1 R9 oOne week after CM Punk kicked Jerry "The King" Lawler in the back of the head, the WWE Hall of Famer confronts the WWE Champion on Raw.& }, M1 o9 u I J: Q, M8 i
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The WWE Champion has an answer for Lawler, however, saying that "The King" "turned his back" on the WWE Universe when he "slandered its champion."
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' g: ?( S$ Q9 l9 ?+ i$ JAfter Punk diminishes Lawler's WWE Hall of Fame career, the WWE Champion lays down a challenge for the night.
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' p3 @" l7 r# D1 A; ?/ mRyback looks to continue his path of wreckage, this time going up against Jack Swagger.8 G% V9 T- R! ~& w% X
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6 d- W, u3 i& F# HWhile Swagger manages to get in some offense ...+ P" A4 _# ?/ T4 I- p4 L8 x% G
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... Ryback powers through.' b0 L- [# J. D9 r& _$ }, j
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+ F7 j) @% X( \! q fThe All-American American is left feeling Shell Shocked when the bell rings.
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/ b/ ]) Q' j+ n8 I# h: kDivas Champion Layla takes on Natalya.
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\9 f2 m8 z6 K8 GIt's a back-and-forth Divas battle ...
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) L7 T w; t; h) v. `... but in the end, the champion prevails.0 o0 t' \1 K5 ~
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John Cena battles Intercontinental Champion The Miz on Monday night.
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* O) {. M. M, u$ dAfter a crushing Attitude Adjustment, Cena puts away the Intercontinental Champion in a non-title bout.
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Santino Marella (and The Cobra) take on Heath Slater.
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& p( p5 W; c: s9 z! _5 u0 rThough momentarily distracted by Aksana ...4 a& Y; J/ g+ l" n/ _! Y. a" b
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# ~) [3 d C. y, l) \9 ^The Cobra and Santino regroup and score the victory over The One-Man Band.! @* ^0 R! X5 M9 c
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Brodus Clay & Sin Cara team up to face Damien Sandow & Cody Rhodes.% j8 l' W1 I( \+ F; b; L# C
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Sandow goes sailing over the top rope and out onto the ringside floor.1 _4 F4 [; `, m5 u0 L1 i
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Brodus and the high-flying Sin Cara prevail, and celebrate with the WWE Universe.
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WWE Tag Team Champion R-Truth takes on Daniel Bryan in singles competition.5 W: W4 m u7 q! q; J
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" n" }7 r- U& t9 j" S, H$ v' mAnger management not going well? Bryan gets into a heated exchange with a WWE Universe member.1 k/ G: Y% [ d5 f) {) g
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In the wake of his SummerSlam loss to Brock Lesnar, Triple H comes to Raw to address the WWE Universe about his future plans.
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: n* ]1 _% T. e1 e; [0 `! GThe Game says, "For the first time in my career, I find myself at that crossroad, and Brock Lesnar has made me ask the question, 'Am I done?' " Triple H says he doesn't know.
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Pointedly, Triple H says, "Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for letting me play the game."5 f0 v5 [/ H* q7 e' r$ J: m
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The Game leaves the ring to "Thank you, Hunter" chants from the WWE Universe./ g: o7 O/ @7 i4 ], g* y8 \
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World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus & Randy Orton take on Alberto Del Rio & Dolph Ziggler in tag team action on Raw.
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1 H8 ]$ x+ t3 [It's an exciting bout featuring four of WWE's biggest Superstars.- E( ~- O5 V8 t3 A t5 k8 O
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* J% y+ s" ?+ h8 f. ~; @In the end, The Great White and The Viper score the big victory.
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: D; j% j; {" s. q2 p/ KWith Kane sitting in on commentary ...
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" q1 ^& z% @# R7 h8 e... Zack Ryder locks up with David Otunga.
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! E, X7 T' }+ g( M# Z& Y, ]After Ryder gets the win, The Big Red Monster stalks his way into the ring.) Y- I, ^$ r& e2 U
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But this time, Kane's wrath is directed at Otunga, who is on the wrong end of a monstrous Chokeslam!- X% I. L2 ^& X/ ]7 G' e E( x3 V& _
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Raw General Manager AJ Lee announces that, as a result of the night’s RAWactive poll, WWE Champion CM Punk takes on Jerry "The King" Lawler in a Steel Cage Match.8 y8 T# S$ u% ]% h9 S" M
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Punk gives Lawler the first shot, and "The King" takes full advantage.9 B8 w! z+ _' B& I
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Lawler, who has been in every type of fight imaginable throughout his storied career, puts up a valiant effort against The Second City Saint in a brutal bout.0 q9 Y! _. n: L. o" d
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u3 x7 b. [; \" E0 rWhen the WWE Champion locks in the Anaconda Vise, Lawler has no choice but to tap out.
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But Punk isn’t done, as he locks himself inside the cage with "King" in an attempt to force the WWE Hall of Famer into saying that The Second City Saint is "The Best in the World.", ^7 @" u* Y" r: y( n) N# C
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When "The King" refuses, Punk escalates the onslaught.
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John Cena arrives and desperately tries to help "The King."
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When Cena gets officials to finally raise the cage, Punk ducks out of the ring while the Cenation leader attends to Lawler./ n' H! }* x9 X. K3 E0 A
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World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus kicks off SmackDown by talking about the career of the legendary Triple H.7 `- Q5 {1 `: d' o; v( X
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1 f* V6 S# I. h, f; ABut The Great White is interrupted by Damien Sandow ...; T8 c+ Z$ S) g5 F6 q0 V3 H
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2 Z6 u6 m/ _! ^3 p: @0 [- A/ f# C... Which leads to SmackDown GM Booker T making a first-time ever match on Friday night - Sheamus vs. Sandow!9 c$ y- w8 P+ ]9 _* i# M
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& J2 V+ _- D6 MRey Mysterio gets set to face off against Cody Rhodes on SmackDown.
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After Mysterio gets the victory, Rhodes attacks The Ultimate Underdog and desperately tries to remove his mask.
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6 X, S$ E- f6 G9 L2 }But Sin Cara comes out for the save ...
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... And adds insult to injury, as he affixes a replica mask to Cody's head.
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No. 1 contender to the Divas Championship Kaitlyn takes on Natalya.
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# p, c6 `! ^5 I3 J1 Y$ wAssistant to SmackDown General Manager Booker T, Eve, sits in on the match.
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Kaitlyn picks up another big victory as she readies to challenge Layla for her Divas Title at Night of Champions Sept. 16.
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$ C, f4 B$ A5 D7 B- D" ]World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus locks up with Damien Sandow.4 B5 ~) h) c. K: z& F
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! B# o) v3 L( y* t5 [Sandow takes the fight to The Great White ...) P3 p4 j# Q6 l
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& g8 z$ c1 Q& b3 |3 d... But as the WWE Universe is well aware, Sheamus is more than capable of living up to any fight.9 h! t3 S+ R9 q
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3 G6 L- E+ I* M5 m0 L+ _3 [5 M/ jWhen Sheamus turns the tide of the bout, Sandow hightails it out of the ring ...* o; T! M- c1 G* l( h1 ^
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; a5 ~: D! B9 R$ o! F9 V7 z... And Sheamus wins via count-out.: S! W" E6 M/ _' r$ G* I$ s
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% J! Q) Z! C" [6 u$ B% }6 T& E; S+ W! aJustin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd take on The Prime Time Players in an exciting tag team battle on Friday.3 v8 O2 K9 W6 c' G0 j J: `, I
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3 ~7 @" q( z) d" lThe high-flying Gabriel goes for a high-risk maneuver.
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3 i& {! a, P7 I& Q* X4 A; s9 MDarren Young and Titus O'Neil prevail as they attempt to reassert their place in the rising Tag Team Division.
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) k/ ?8 g2 D0 p0 I# w( Y4 gTheodore Long, Senior Advisor to the SmackDown GM, makes an impromptu match between Kane and Alberto Del Rio., A# k e5 w) I6 N* K" M. S
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Thanks to Ricardo Rodriguez, The Big Red Monster is distracted, allowing Del Rio to roll him up for the win." L+ ~$ J5 x! W+ Y' g- G
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An irate Kane takes out his frustrations on Josh Mathews.
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In the night's epic main event, Randy Orton takes on Mr. Money in the Bank, Dolph Ziggler.
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9 a; x) v' [3 N! pThe Viper connects with a picture-perfect dropkick in the middle of the ring.7 e" q# Q5 o" |6 n
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It's an intense match from start to finish ..., D( `* v0 k* ] R( X
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& U- ^ l4 i( ~* S- [) Q7 w... But a ring-shaking RKO from WWE's Apex Predator seals the deal, and Orton picks up a massive win.
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0 n% u, } @ M% {5 L0 ^$ {The force of nature that is Ryback squares off against Johnny Curtis on "WWE Superstars."
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The Usos take on Primo & Epico in tag team action on "WWE Superstars."% `4 e; \# S9 ]0 Q
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Alex Riley goes head-to-head with Jinder Mahal on "WWE Superstars."
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