RAW
Raw comes to you live from Nashville, Tennessee.
Opener
Santino, Kozlov and Tamina come out and are being introduced for a tag match, but before they can even finish the intros, Nexus runs out and beats them down. CM Punk says that all five guys in the new Nexus have to prove their worth by sacrificing for the good of the group. He’s going to put them each through a test, and if they pass, they’re in the group. First up is Michael McGillicutty. I’m surprised Punk didn’t talk about his dad being Mr. Perfect. His initiation is to take a typical Nexus beatdown. After a pause, everyone eventually hits their finishers. MM is lifted unconsciously on top of Punk, who hits the GTS. The leave with four of them carrying MM up the ramp like a human sacrifice. Good segment, it makes Punk look like a crazy cult leader.
Alberto Del Rio d. R-Truth via DQ (1/2*)
They fought on the outside, and Ricardo Rodriguez distracted Truth by yelling “What’s Up?” repeatedly. Alberto jumped back into the ring for the win in 2 minutes. Very disappointing since they got 10 minutes last time. Post match, Ricardo sing La Cucaracha. Terrible rendition, and a terrible segment overall. Such a let down.
In-Ring
The GM emails ripping into Cole, who laughs it off and says “just kidding!,” but rather how intelligent, etc. he is. Ugh. Lawler grabbed a mic and told him to shut up, then went and slammed the laptop lid. The GM emails again saying that Cole is not a coward and neither is Lawler. Tonight’s main event will be Orton & Riley vs. Miz & Orton.
Backstage
Husky Harris’ initiation, and each Nexus ember gets to whip him in the back with a belt three times. Each guy got to do it three times, except for Punk who probably hit him closer to 15 times. Lawler says it’s the stupidest thing he’s ever seen. Wait, stupider than Mae Young giving birth to a hand?
Daniel Bryan & Mark Henry d. Tyson Kidd & Ted DiBiase (*)
No intros and no Jackson Andrews. Henry scored the pinfall on Kidd in 3 minutes. Not sure why Henry won this match. Or why Kidd lost it.
In-Ring
Big Show came out and said he’s going after Wade Barrett since he attacked him last week on SmackDown. Nexus’ music hits, and all four came out. As his initiation, Otunga got in the ring and slapped Show, then stood there with his eyes closed, ready for the KO punch. So Show beat the crap out of him along the outside, then brought him back in for a chokeslam and a KO punch.
John Morrison d. Sheamus (**1/4)
Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick, but Morrison fell down, which ended up saving him. JoMo hit his running knee strike for the pin.
Backstage
Punk had two Kendo Sticks in his hands and handed them to Gabriel & Slater, telling them to beat each other until he said to stop. After a few verbal exchanges, they stared at each other, then at Punk, then they dropped the sticks. So are they out of the group? Maybe they go to Smackdown with Barrett? I dunno.
In-Ring
Jerry Lawler introduces the first inductee for the 2011 WWE Hall of Fame: Shawn Michaels. Huge pop. He grabbed the mic to talk, but Alberto Del Rio came out and put over HBK’s career, but said now that Shawn’s done and that he’s going to win the Rumble and be known as the new Mr. WrestleMania. HBK gives him Sweet Chin Music to a huge pop. He licked his thumb and pretended to wipe his shoe clean. Great segment. As for HBK, he’s the greatest ever. It’s too bad the HOF is a joke, otherwise it’d be a real honour. Also, the Wrestling Observer reports that WWE has signed two other ‘big’ names for the Hall of Fame. Sting? Goldberg? Who knows.
In-Ring
CM Punk showed up on top of the jumbotron, threatening to jump off. He said we’re all sheep for thinking he would. The three Nexus guys came out, and Punk vowed to take over WWE. Cena comes on screen via satellite and says he’d kick Punk’s ass, and both agreed to a match next week.
Randy Orton & Jerry Lawler d. The Miz & Alex Riley (*1/2)
Orton hit the RKO on Riley and Lawler pinned him with the fist drop for the win in 12 minutes. Orton stared Miz down on the apron to make sure he didn’t break up the cover.
Three Stars of the Show
* HBK
** CM Punk
*** John Morrison
Final Score: 3
A big step back from the last three shows. The initiation stuff was different, but it’ll be interesting to see what happens with Slater and Gabriel. Wrestling-wise, this show was a big disappointment.