The 18^th July 2011 episode of Monday Night Raw starts with Vince McMahon making his way to the ring with John Laurinaitis, before he says that we will never again hear him say that man’s name (referring to CM Punk as the crowd are chanting it).

He says that the crowd don’t get it, and that they are chanting the name of the biggest ingrate in WWE history, who turned his back on each and every one of them, everyone in the locker room, and anybody who has ever been in that ring, so he is an ego-maniacal selfish turd.

McMahon says that there is no man who is bigger than the WWE, not Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and that the WWE is a global juggernaut that cannot be stopped, so later on a new WWE Champion will be crowned in an eight-man single elimination tournament.

He lists the starting brackets for the tournament and says that conspicuous by his absence in the tournament is John Cena, and when the crowd boos the mention of Cena, McMahon says that they are right and that he will boo him too.

Vince McMahon says that Cena let him down, and he warned him that if his opponent had not been signed to a new contract and somehow walked from the arena with the WWE Championship, there would be severe consequences (click here for our Money In The Bank report).

He says that after consulting with Laurinaitis, there will indeed be severe consequences later on, but he promises that the night will be a night of historic proportions, and that it will be a night that we will always remember.

Now, it’s time for the WWE Championship Tournament to kick off, with The Miz taking on Alex Riley in a match which sees The Miz get the victory and advance to the next stage when he hits Riley with the Skull-Crushing Finale for the 3-count.

After a video hyping John Morrison, the next match in the tournament sees R-Truth pitted against Jack Swagger in a match which sees Truth get the victory and advance when he counters Swagger’s ankle-lock attempt into victory roll for the 3-count.

Next up, the tournament continues with Alberto Del Rio against Kofi Kingston. Before the bell rings however, Del Rio introduces himself as “Mr. Money In The Bank, Alberto Del Rio” and says that we know that he won the Money In The Bank Ladder match and it gives him the chance to cash it in at any time and at any place.

He says that he tried to cash it in the night before, but Punk ran away like a chicken. Del Rio says that this happened because John Cena couldn’t get the job done, so he hopes that he gets fired, because the WWE needs a new leader – a better one, a stronger one, and a Superstar that everyone can respect.

Del Rio says that we know that it is his destiny to become the new WWE Champion. His own music starts playing again and heralds the return of his personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez hypes Del Rio and refers to him as the new WWE Champion.

The match ends with Kingston getting the victory to advance in the tournament when he counters Del Rio’s cross-armbreaker attempt into a pin attempt, which Del Rio counters with one of his own, until Kingston reverses the pin to get the 3-count.

After a SummerSlam Recall video of the British Bulldog vs. Bret Hart match at SummerSlam 1992, Josh Mathews interviews Kofi Kingston about his win. He congratulates him and asks how excited he is, to which Kingston says that the night before, he participated in one of the most devastating matches in WWE history and came up short.

Kingston continues by saying that it is a new day and opportunity, and what we saw when he defeated Alberto Del Rio was him taking his first step towards becoming the new WWE Champion – one down, two to go – boom!

Now, Rey Mysterio goes against Dolph Ziggler (accompanied by Vickie Guerrero) in another tournament match which sees Mysterio get the victory to advance when he hits Ziggler with the 619 and follows it up with a diving splash from the turnbuckle for the 3-count.

Next, Kelly Kelly, Kaitlyn, AJ, Gail Kim, Eve Torres, Beth Phoenix and Natalya take on Maryse, The Bella Twins, Melina, Rosa Mendes, Alicia Fox, and Tamina in a short 7-on-7 Divas Tag Team match which sees Beth get the victory for her team when she hits Rosa with the Glam Slam for the 3-count.

It’s time for he first semi-final tournament match, with Kofi Kingston pitted against The Miz in a match which sees The Miz get the win and advance to the finals when he drops Kingston head-first onto the turnbuckle and follows it up with the Skull-Crushing Finale for the 3-count.

Backstage, Scott Stanford interviews R-Truth and reminds him that if he wins his next match against Rey Mysterio, he is on his way – at this point, Truth interrupts and asks what. He asks if he’ll be another match away from what is rightfully his, as he says that he deserves to be the WWE Champion more than anybody in the tournament.

He says that the truth is that the conspiracy kept him away from the Money In The Bank briefcase, but that they won’t keep him away from beating “Little Rey Rey” and anyone who is after him, so all the Little Jimmy’s better close their eyes, as the title is going to get got, and that’s the truth.

After a video hyping Tough Enough winner Andy Leavine and him visiting and talking about where he grew up, Rey Mysterio goes against R-Truth in the next semi-final match of the tournament which sees Mysterio advance to the final when he hits Truth with the 619 and follows it up with a diving splash from the turnbuckle for the 3-count.

Time for the final match of the tournament, but as Mysterio is being introduced, Vince McMahon’s music interrupts and he makes his way to the ring. McMahon apologises and says that he’s not going to deny Mysterio or The Miz the opportunity to be the WWE Champion, but they are running out of time and there is something just as important that he needs to do, so asks him to postpone the final until next week.

He tells Mysterio not to be selfish and says that it’s bigger than him, and Mysterio reluctantly leaves. McMahon says that he mentioned earlier that no one man is bigger than the WWE and says that he can make a new John Cena.

Vince McMahon says that there is no denying the contributions of Cena, his work ethic, and his popularity and he’d like to thank Cena for that, but at the same time he has to make some difficult decisions.

He says that sometimes you have to set an example in business, and that it’s not about his personal ego or having to win all the time, but about business, as he does and has for years what he does from a business perspective.

McMahon says that sometimes the fans don’t recognise it or are blinded by the short-sightedness and don’t understand what he’s doing because he’s making long-term decisions, but in time they will and they will thank him.

He says that as much as he’d like not to have to do it, he says to get it over with, so John Cena’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring. Cena takes McMahon’s microphone and tells him that he’s not going to go on a tirade or show his genitalia, and he’s not going to talk bad about his family or company, and he knows exactly what he’s about to do and is okay with it.

John Cena says that he’s not going to have to go through the same things Vince McMahon made Shawn Michaels go through, and says that Shawn Michaels is the best performer to ever step in that ring, but McMahon made him bend over backwards and for years despite all his accomplishments, all people would say was that he screwed Bret.

He says that no matter how many championships he won or stopped the show, Michaels carried that burden and it began to define him, and he had to take that with him his entire career. Cena says that he thought about that a lost in the last week, putting himself in Michaels shoes and asking if he’d want to be the guy who screwed Bret, if he wanted to be the guy to screw CM Punk, and his answer was no.

Cena says that hew knew exactly what was at stake and it was more than just CM Punk vs. John Cena in a classic, it was all about Vince McMahon wanting to keep his bubble intact and Cena was going to be the patsy, and he says no way, before addressing CM Punk to tell him that they had a hell of a match, and thanking him.

He says that McMahon put him in a position to make a decision, but he doesn’t do business like that, and he’s not going to play along with that crap because it would have made the WWE Championship meaningless.

John Cena says that he’s had a great career and if McMahon says that he can make another one of him or ten, he doesn’t care, he’s even giving him some time as he’s got about eight months to find another opponent for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at WrestleMania XXVIII (28).

He says that he’s not an idiot, and Vince McMahon will wave a magic want and find a great opponent for The Rock, but meanwhile he gets to walk out with his pride and his dignity. Before they get into the formalities however, he wants to tell him something that he wants to make sure will sink in.

Cena says that he loves the WWE and truly believes he belongs there, but though he hates saying it, if he’s about to tell him that he’s no longer welcome there and he has no other option… He says that he loves this and it’s what he does, so if he is made to walk, he will walk on somebody else’s television show and keep doing this “brother”, which he says is not a threat but a promise.

He says that there are a lot of people out there who say a loof things, but he proves there and then that one thing he will not do is kiss Vince McMahon’s ass. McMahon says that he’s not going to deny him the satisfaction of what he is about to do.

McMahon appears to be about to fire John Cena, when Triple H’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring in a suit. McMahon happily introduces his son-in-law, but Triple H apologises and says that he got there as quick as he could, but there was a Board of Directors meeting that morning.

He says that he flew to the office for the meeting, and the board asked him to see McMahon to talk to him because they are concerned about the current situation, and asks if they can talk about it in the back instead.

Triple H says that he tried to make it before Vince McMahon came out, but he didn’t make it in time, and he continues to say that specifically the board is concerned about McMahon. He says that they completely understand that he has built a global empire and that it is all because of him and his vision, but at the same point in time, the board is concerned about his – in the words of the board – extremely questionable decisions as of late.

He says that the board has asked him there to tell him that they have filed an injunction against McMahon with a vote of no confidence, and that the family agrees. Triple H says that the board has appointed somebody to take over the day-to-day operations of the WWE, and though he can’t believe he’s going to say it, but it’s Triple H himself.

Triple H says that McMahon is not going to fire John Cena, and he’s not going to be doing anything else, and starting to get upset about it, he says that he taught him from day one that nobody is bigger than the business and this is just business, but with all due respect, he is there to inform McMahon that he is relieved of his duties.

While the crowd chant “na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye”, Vince McMahon cries, and Triple H says that he didn’t want to do it, but he’s trying to do what is right for the business. Telling McMahon to look at him, he tells him that he loves him and he’s sorry, before leaving.

Vince carries on crying in the ring and the Triple H chants make way for applause and “Thank You Vince” chants as Raw goes off the air.