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Monday’s Raw saw the largest crowd ever for a WWE live event in Oklahoma City, with 11,560 fans in attendance to witness Jim Ross’ farewell to Raw. Though the packed show began without the brand holding a World Championship, it was a different case by the time the night ended. In the course of the evening, CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to compete against Edge and win the Rated-R Superstar’s World Heavyweight Championship, bringing the title back to Raw for the first time in years.

Another recent draftee who found himself wearing gold on Monday night was new Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston. The Jamaican Superstar was forced to defend his title against the man he won it from the night before, Chris Jericho. Y2J came to the ring bitter at the Night of Champions turn-out, blaming his loss on Shawn Michaels for interfering in the match, and challenging HBK to a contest at The Great American Bash in just three weeks. The match ended with Jericho being disqualified for pulling on Kingston’s tights during a pin, leaving the Intercontinental Championship securely around the Jamaican Superstar’s waist. Furious at his second loss to Kingston in two nights, Y2J assaulted the Intercontinental Champion after their match, going for the eyes just as he has against HBK in recent weeks.

Though the night was packed with action and fallout from Night of Champions, it began on a down note. As promised, Shane McMahon addressed the WWE Universe in regards to the accident that fell Mr. McMahon at the end of last week’s Raw. Shane opted to keep the WWE Chairman’s condition private, but did urge the Raw Superstars and all WWE employees to pull together during this period of uncertainty.

Having just joined the Raw Roster as part of the 2008 Draft, Rey Mysterio greeted the Raw audience and told them how excited he was to be on Monday nights. Before he could say much else, however, Santino Marella came to the ring and interrupted the Master of the 619. The Italian Superstar spoke down to the Ultimate Underdog, insulting the former World Champion and not allowing him a word in edgewise. Mysterio bided his time, and then gave the audience exactly what they wanted: Attacking Marella and shutting him up with the 619.

At Night of Champions, Cody Rhodes shocked the world by betraying his partner and mentor, Hardcore Holly, teaming with Ted DiBiase to defeat the veteran and become the new World Tag Team Champions. On Monday night, the two competed in their second match as a team against Darren Wade & Steve Anthony. After winning the match with a particularly strong showing, Cody explained his betrayal the night before, saying that he approached DiBiase about forming a partnership, since he was tired of carrying Hardcore Holly in the ring. DiBiase added that most other young people don’t have the spine that they do, declaring their new partnership “simply priceless.”

Fresh off her Night of Champions victory over Katie Lea Burchill, WWE Women’s Champion squared off against Jillian in a non-title match. The Women’s Champion showed why she deserves to have gold around her waist, pinning Jillian for the win after hitting the songstress with a Mick Kick.

The night before, Kane had lost his ECW Championship to Mark Henry, so he probably wasn’t the best person to show aggression toward on Monday night. Jamie Noble, however, was hoping to impress Katie Lea Burchill by issuing a warning to the biggest, baddest guy around, who happened to be the Big Red Machine. Kane didn’t take kindly to Noble’s threats, and chased him to ring, where he physically punished the recent Raw draftee.

As mentioned earlier, CM Punk made good use of his Money in the Bank briefcase on Monday night, winning the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge. Proving that he was no “paper champion,” the Straightedge Superstar went on to successfully defend his new title against JBL. To get all the details on CM Punk’s triumphant win, and his first World Title defense.

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