– Tonight’s WWE RAW opens up from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler talk about Randy Orton winning last night and John Cena being fired. The Nexus music hits and out comes Wade Barrett.
Barrett heads to the ring and is joined by the rest of the Nexus members. Lots of heat here for Barrett from the crowd. Barrett goes to speak but the crowd is all over him. Barrett talks about how Cena thinks he did the right thing last night. Barrett says he didn’t even have a fighting chance because Cena had already decided he wouldn’t win. Barrett says that isn’t fair.
Barrett says in the name of justice, he wants another shot at Randy Orton, this time with a neutral referee. Barrett says he will become WWE Champion. The e-mail alert goes off and Michael Cole prepares the announcement. It’s announced that Orton will defend the WWE Title against Barrett tonight. Barrett says he is appreciative of this. Barrett also says he has allowed John Cena to appear on RAW tonight to say his final words to the WWE Universe. Barrett says he’s going to enjoy hearing those words about as much as he will enjoy becoming the new WWE Champion.
– Cole and Lawler hype up what just happened with Barrett and tonight’s main event with Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett for the WWE Title. We go to commercial.
– Back from commercial and the announcers plug next week’s three-hour King of the Ring RAW. Cole says he has a special announcement and introduces the newest member of RAW’s broadcast team… CM Punk. Out comes Punk to a nice pop and joins Cole & Lawler on commentary.
King of the Ring Qualifying Match: Sheamus vs. R-Truth
We go to the ring for the first KOTR qualifying match and out comes Sheamus. Out next comes his opponent, R-Truth. Truth has Eve Torres with him and he’s rapping to his old “What’s Up?” theme song.
The bell rings and they lock up. Sheamus takes it to the corner and then takes Truth to the mat. Sheamus continues to keep Truth grounded to the mat. Truth finally gets free but Sheamus continues the assault. Truth fights back with rights and kicks and mocks Sheamus. Truth with a big kick to the face and Sheamus retreats to the floor. Sheamus shows some frustration as we go to commercial.
Back from the break and Sheamus has Truth back on the mat. Truth fights free again with right hands but Sheamus drops him again with a knee to the gut. Sheamus with a 2 count. Sheamus grounds Truth again. Truth tries to fight back but Sheamus hits a headbutt and drops him again for 2. Truth rocks Sheamus with a jawbreaker. Sheamus charges in the corner but misses. Truth with right hands and kicks. Truth drops Sheamus with three clotheslines but runs into Sheamus’ elbow in the corner. Truth with a big hip toss and a 2 count.
More back and forth action. Truth with a big kick in the corner. Truth goes to the top rope and hits a big missile dropkick but it’s only good for a 2 count. Truth tries to roll Sheamus up but Sheamus counters with a 2 count. Sheamus hits the big kick to the jaw on Truth and he goes down. Sheamus goes for the High Cross and nails it on Truth for the pin and the win.
Winner: Sheamus
– The announcers talk about John Cena leaving WWE. Cole leads us into a clip from WWE’s new John Cena Experience DVD set. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and we see Layla walking with Michelle McCool outside the arena. They want their Divas Title back from Natalya. Security won’t let them in the building, telling them this entrance is for RAW stars only. They’re not on the list and he won’t let them in. WWE Divas Champion Natalya appears and says she’s never seen LayCool a day in her life. Security forces LayCool out of the building as they try to argue. LayCool are shocked as the door gets shut in their face.
– We see Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov talking backstage about their title match at Survivor Series. Kozlov says they will get the belts another time. Santino says he’s depressed and wonders if anything can make him feel better. Tamina appears in the room playing a song and singing to Santino. Santino acts nervous but leans in for a kiss. Tamina kisses him and tells him to call her later, before walking off. Santino is overcome with good feelings as she walks off.
– We see Randy Orton backstage when Josh Matthews walks in. Matthews asks if Orton can successfully defend his title again tonight. Orton says Cena called it right down the middle last night and says he respects him. Orton says it doesn’t matter who the referee is tonight. He guarantees Barrett won’t leave with the WWE Title tonight.
– Cole plugs The Miz vs. Ezekiel Jackson in another KOTR qualifying match up next. We go to commercial.
King of the Ring Qualifying Match: Ezekiel Jackson vs. Alex Riley
Back from the break and we get highlights of Ezekiel Jackson since returning to RAW. We go to the ring and out Zeke comes for his KOTR qualifying match against The Miz. Out next comes Alex Riley to The Miz’s music. Riley says he has some news. Riley says The Miz had an anxiety attack a few minutes ago so he is the replacement. Riley says he will qualify for Miz. Riley enters the ring and here we go.
The bell rings and they lock up. Zeke tries to overpower Riley. Riley holds his own until Zeke kicks him to the mat. Zeke launches Riley into the opposite corner but misses a splash. Riley runs in and hits a big splash of his own. Riley drops Zeke on his face but only gets a 2 count. Riley with a headlock now. More back and forth action until Zeke runs right over Riley twice. Zeke hits the huge clothesline in the corner followed by his Rock Bottom move for the win.
Winner: Ezekiel Jackson
– Cole and Lawler hype tonight’s main event. We see John Cena talking with Eve and R-Truth backstage. Santino, Gail Kim and Yoshi Tatsu all walk up to say goodbye to Cena. We go back to commercial.
– Back from commercial and we go to the ring where Justin Roberts introduces John Cena to a big pop from the crowd. Cena says if you’re going to go out, that’s how you do it. If he’s leaving, he’s leaving just like this with the fans behind him. The crowd starts chanting Cena now. Cena reminds us Orton is still WWE Champion so he’s fired. Cena says he didn’t think this would happen. He says he was living in his car cleaning toilets before he got a job with WWE. Cena says everyone has got to know him over the past few years but says you only know what you see on TV. Cena says we have no idea how much he respects this company. Cena brings up names like Steve Austin, Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Undertaker. Cena says his goal from the start was to be able to look them in the eye and they say he was alright.
Cena says he has got to live out a fantasy while with WWE and won’t let Nexus ruin the past 9 years of his life. Cena goes on, talking about sacrifices, his family and everything else. Cena gets a little emotional when talking about family. Now Cena is crying but no tears are coming out. Cena says he looks like an idiot. Cena wants every woman and child to chant “Let’s go Cena” and every man over the age of 18 to chant “Cena sucks.” Cena get the fans to do a dueling chant. The “Cena sucks” chant is deafening. This goes on for about a minute and Cena says it’s beautiful.
Cena addresses Wade Barrett now and says he should stop taking shortcuts. Stop trying to take the easy way out. Cena tells Barrett that karma is a bitch and it will come back to haunt him. Cena says Billy Kidman, former WCW star and current WWE agent, is probably ready to strangle himself because he’s went over the time they gave him. Cena has one big thank you he says and that’s to the WWE Universe. Cena thanks the fans for letting him share his life with them for 9 years, thanks them for standing up for WWE, watching the shows and everything else. Cena says he loves them to death and “let’s go home.” Cena drops the mic, kisses his dogtags and leaves up the ramp as the fans chant his name. Cena stops on the stage and salutes the fans one last time before going to the back. WWE scans the crowd looking for sad Cena fans. We cut backstage where Cena is walking and a line of WWE Superstars and Divas applaud him. Orton stops Cena, they shake hands and hug. Cena walks on down the ramp out of the arena outside and Wade Barrett appears in front of the camera. Barrett does the “you can’t see me” gesture to Cena’s back as he walks toward the street. We go to commercial.
King of the Ring Qualifying MAtch: Ted DiBiase vs. Daniel Bryan
We go to the ring and Ted DiBiase is waiting for another KOTR qualifying match. Out next is the WWE United States Champion Daniel Bryan. Bryan comes to the ring and Brie Bella comes running out after him, holding his arm. The bell rings and Ted attacks first, unloading on Bryan. DiBiase keeps control, hits Bryan with a big knee to the gut and gets a 2 count.
More back and forth. Ted drops Bryan with a big sit down powerbomb but only gets a 2 count. Bryan counters a hold and locks on the LaBell Lock. Ted taps out to give Bryan the win.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
– After the match, Brie Bella comes in the ring to check on Bryan. Nikkie Bella runs down and she wants a piece of Bryan too. Bryan is definitely the ladies man now.
Natalya vs. Alicia Fox
We go to the ring and out comes the new WWE Divas Champion Natalya. Out next is her opponent, Alicia Fox. The bell rings and they go at it. Alicia strikes first and takes Natalya down. Alicia rips some of Natalya’s hair extensions out. This angers Natalya and she unloads on Alicia with rights and everything else.
Natalya continues to keep control. She goes for a Sharpshooter but Alicia slides to and holds onto the ropes. Natalya picks her up and applies a bear hug. Alicia turns that into a roll-up for 2. Natalya locks the Sharpshooter on now and makes Alicia tap for the win.
Winner: Natalya
– We see real-life couple Melina and John Morrison backstage talking. Melina wishes him luck and taps him on the rear end as he walks off. Morrison is heading to the ring for a King of the Ring qualifier as we go to commercial.
King of the Ring Qualifying Match: John Morrison vs. Tyson Kidd
We go to the ring and out comes John Morrison for the final KOTR qualifier of tonight. Out next comes Tyson Kidd with new theme music and a new entrance. The bell rings and they lock up, going to the corner. They lock up again and Kidd with a back kick. Kidd takes Morrison down in the corner and stomps repeatedly on him. Kidd kicks and drops an elbow on Morrison on the apron. Kidd brings it back in for a 2 count.
Kidd with a side headlock. Morrison comes back and hits a kick to the head. Morrison starts to come back and drops Kidd with another kick to the face for a 2 count. Kidd goes to the floor but Morrison comes after him. Kidd with a kick to the head and a nasty swinging neckbreaker for another 2 count. Kidd works over Morrison in the corner again. Kidd charges in the corner but runs into an elbow from Morrison. Morrison hits a springboard kick off the ropes followed by Starship Pain on Kidd for the pin and the win.
Winner: John Morrison
– We see Randy Orton and Wade Barrett heading to the ring for tonight’s main event. Back to commercial.
WWE Title Match: Wade Barrett vs. Randy Orton
We come back and out comes the WWE Champion Randy Orton for tonight’s main event. Orton makes it half-way down the ramp when Nexus runs down and beats him down as Barrett looks on. WWE officials finally run down and make Nexus leave. Orton tries to recover and is holding his knee. Out of nowhere, Husky Harris runs back down the ramp and kicks Orton’s knee out. A big “Nexus sucks” chant breaks out as officials hold them back. We go to commercial as Nexus goes to the back and Orton tries to recover.
Back from the break and out comes Wade Barrett for the match. Cole says that the RAW General Manager has banned Nexus from ringside. We wait a minute and Randy Orton’s music hits. Orton comes out slowly from the back and he’s limping. Orton enters the ring and Justin Roberts does official introductions.
The bell rings and Barrett strikes first but Orton fights back. Barrett goes for the knee but Orton fights him off. Barrett takes it to the corner and begins working on Orton’s knee. Barrett with a running shot in the corner and Orton goes down. Barrett slides to the floor and uses the apron against Orton’s knee. Barrett comes back in for a 2 count. Barrett stomps away at the knee now.
Barrett continues working over the knee. He slams it hard to the mat for a 2 count. Orton fights back and hits a backbreaker on Barrett. Orton goes for a kick in the corner but Barrett catches it and drops him on the mat. Barrett goes for Wasteland and nails it. Barrett covers for the pin but John Cena runs over. Cena pulls the referee out of the ring. Cena hits the ring, hits the Attitude Adjustment on Barrett and a few right hands. Nexus runs down and Cena flees. Nexus chase Cena through the crowd. The referee recovers as Orton and Barrett get up. Orton nails the RKO to a huge pop from the crowd and covers Barrett for the win.
Winner: Randy Orton
– After the match, The Miz and Alex Riley run down to the ring. The Miz is cashing in!
WWE Title Match: The Miz vs. Randy Orton
The bell rings and Miz stalks Orton around the ring, going for the knee first. Orton fights him off. Miz charges Orton in the corner but Orton fights him off again.
Miz takes Orton down and starts working on the knee. Miz drags Orton over and uses the ringpost on Orton’s injured knee. Orton kicks Miz off and he hits the fan barrier at ringside. Miz comes back in the ring but Orton meets him with a clothesline. Miz goes for the Skull Crushing Finale but Orton counters. Orton drops Miz with an uppercut. Orton goes for the second-rope DDT but Miz blocks it and goes for the knee. Orton catches Miz in a big powerslam. Orton hits the mat and gets hyped.
Orton goes for the RKO but Miz blocks it. Miz turns it into the Skull Crushing Finale and pins Orton for the win and the WWE Title.
Winner and New WWE Champion: The Miz
– After the match, The Miz is given his WWE Title belt as he climbs the ropes and poses. There’s a lot of shocked looking fans in the crowd. Michael Cole declares that the era of awesomeness has begun on RAW. Miz and Riley head up the ramp to the stage. We see a pissed off Randy Orton down on the ground at ringside, holding his knee. RAW goes off the air with Miz and Riley celebrating on the stage.
