WWE Raw Results
November 8, 2010 - Episode #910
Taped in Manchester, England
Aired on USA Network
Report by James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Tonight's WWE Raw #910 episode started cold with Justin Roberts introducing John Cena, who was center ring standing a podium. Cena received a mixed reaction before starting to read a proclamation on an ancient scroll. Cena introduced Manchester's own, Wade Barrett, which still resulted in an abundance of boos.

Barrett came out first, followed by the Nexus group as they cut to the announcers on-camera. Cole said his partner, Jerry Lawler, is recovering from a knee injury, so he's joined by Josh Mathews tonight. In the ring, Barrett thanked Cena for the wonderful intro, which he wrote himself. Barrett said the prodigal son has returned to Manchester, which drew a strong mixed reaction. Barrett said they should have a preview of his championship celebration of Survivor Series tonight.

Before that, though, Barrett rolled footage from Smackdown on Friday when David Otunga brought Nexus to Smackdown, only to have David Otunga take the loss to Edge. Back in the ring, Barrett asked Otunga to step forward and account for himself. Barrett told Otunga that the next time he decides to undermine his authority - pause for an indecipherable chant - he better make sure he's successful. Barrett then ordered Otunga back in line with the rest of Nexus.

Barrett turned his attention to Cena and said Cena could have showcased the finish of Survivor Series last week on Raw, but Cena instead did this...cue up a video from Raw last week when Cena counted a pinfall for Orton and Truth over Barrett. Cena explained himself that he started rapping on Smackdown, his hat turned backwards, he tormented people with raps, and - Barrett cut him off and told him what happened in the match. "You lost," Cena said matter-of-factly.

Barrett reminded Cena that he could flush Cena's entire WWE career down the toilet at Survivor Series. Cena said he's glad Barrett is home, but he hopes Barrett remembers what he said last week that whether he's Free or Fired after the match, he's giving anyone who interferes the beating of a lifetime. Barrett waited out a cheer from the crowd before asking for a practice of what's going to happen right after Survivor Series. He wants Cena to announce Barrett as the new WWE champion. Cena shook his head no and said Barrett hasn't won anything yet. Barrett demanded Cena practice. "Whatever," Cena muttered before Randy Orton's music hit to a strong reaction.

Orton walked out on stage sporting his new WWE merchandise t-shirt to encourage holiday sales and perhaps boost WWE Shop revenue. Orton waited out one of the best reactions he's had in a while on TV and said he's still WWE champ last time he checked. Orton said there is no doubt in mind that he can beat Barrett no matter who the referee is. He said his goal at Survivor Series is to make sure Barrett never holds this (WWE Title belt). Barrett shouted back that he has an entire army of men behind him and no one is standing behind him.

The Raw GM buzzed, the lights flickered, and Cole stepped to the podium for a word from the GM. Loud "you suck" chant for Cole as he began. The GM said the championship celebration has been canceled. Also, to ensure a decisive victor, the WWE Title match at Survivor Series can only be won by pinfall or submission (so, it's No DQ and no count-out). Also, the remaining members of Nexus will be banned from ringside. As for tonight, they'll make sure Orton has his own army. Team Barrett compromised of Nexus will take on Team Orton in a ten-man tag match. The GM is selecting Orton's team. And the special referee will be John Cena. Cena crouched in the ring to sell the internal conflict of the situation. He then randomly knocked over the Nexus podium, shoved Otunga, and walked out of the ring.

Up next: Divas Cup. Not exactly one of their better graphics promoting the match.

WM27 plug: WrestleMania 27 comes to Atlanta on April 3, 2011. Tickets on-sale Saturday.

[Q2]

[Commercial Break. A quick plug aired for "Hunt to Kill" starring Steve Austin.]

In-ring: The Bella Twins and Eve came to the ring dressed in soccer outfits representing Manchester United. Out as the opposition were Maryse, Alicia Fox, and Tamina dressed as Liverpool. Cole recapped the football scores from yesterday as Cole and Mathews mocked soccer. And cue up the derisive, inefficient, and unproductive NXT commentary portion of the broadcast.

1 -- ALICIA FOX & MARYSE & TAMINA vs. BELLA TWINS & EVE -- Divas Cup

After a few minutes of basic back-and-forth and the announcers continuing to mock soccer, the Bellas pulled the switcheroo to score the pin and the win. Afterward, the babyface Divas bounced around in their soccer outfits to celebrate the win for Man U.

WINNERS: Bellas & Eve in 3:00. Odd to place Maryse in this slot, but they apparently only brought a limited number of Raw Divas on the European Tour, and this match was booked on all of the Raw house shows over the weekend.

Backstage: David Otunga was at the center of a discussion with Husky, Hennig, and the tag champs. Barrett then walked in and told Otunga he needs to step it up tonight. He said Otunga won't be part of Team Nexus tonight. Rather, he'll be in a match tonight against the other member of Nexus, John Cena. Barrett reminded Otunga of what he said last week claiming to be the most talented member of Nexus. He said they'll find out of that's true tonight. Barrett told Otunga to give Cena some damage and he'll be telling Cena the same thing. Everyone slowly walked off, leaving Otunga alone selling dejection.

[Commercial Break]

[Q3]

In-ring: Hart Dynasty's music hit to bring out Natalya ahead of Tyson Kidd and D.H. Smith. Cole noted Natalya will now challenge Lay-Cool in a handicap match for the Divas Title at Survivor Series. Cole then went into heel announcer mode saying Lay-Cool is so nice to even given Natalya another title shot, ignoring the cheating by Lay-Cool in the previous two title matches to retain the title.

2 -- HART DYNASTY (TYSON KIDD & D.H. SMITH w/Natalya) vs. THE USOS (JIMMY & JEY USO)

HD started things off in control of the match before Kidd missed with a springboard elbow smash. Mathews said people shouldn't look much into HD's current issues and tension. Split personality Cole is now endorsing Kidd a few weeks after mocking him. But, he's still mocking Smith. The Usos controlled the match, then Smith picked up a conversation with Natalya. He eventually returned to the ring apron and took a tag from Kidd to work on one of the Usos. Smith landed a running powerslam and attempted a pin, but the action broke down. On the outside, Kidd was wiped out with a superkick. Smith turned his attention to Kidd, then walked into a kick to the face. Jey then went up top and landed a Superfly Splash for the pin and the win.

WINNERS: Usos at 3:35. Obviously, the story continues to be on tension with HD, but the Usos looked solid following their Superstars match that no one watched. The crowd isn't reacting to the Usos right now, but they just need time being relatively fresh acts. (*1/4)

Still to come tonight: Tea Time with Santino. Sheamus is the guest.

[Commercial Break. The new Carmelo Anthony commercial where he plays every role in an NBA game is great.]

Next Monday: Old-School three-hour Raw. They played the old-school Raw theme music while rolling through non-Raw clips from the 1980s. Stars from the past and present come together. They even had the old USA Network logo on the final graphic promoting next week's show. Oh, if only they bring back the Silk Stalkings spots.

Backstage: Matt Striker was on the show to bring in Randy Orton. Orton said he does care who the Raw GM selects. So, his team better be the best. Suddenly, Miz walked in. Striker walked off, which means there was no mic available. How are we going to hear what they're saying?! Amazingly, Miz continued to talk and we could still hear him. Miz said he's on Orton's team, which will make Team Orton...awesome.

Announcers: Cole and Mathews talked about the situation going into the ten-man tag match.

Backstage: Nexus members were having a conversation minus David Otunga. He walked in and everyone grew quiet. Otunga said he didn't really mean what he said last week that he's the most talented member of Nexus. Otunga made sure they would have his back tonight. Gabriel said Barrett didn't give them the word. Otunga said they can think for themselves and don't need Barrett's help. The other Nexus members were apprehensive about having Otunga's back vs. Cena tonight as Otunga walked off.

[Commercial Break]

[Q4]

In-ring: After a video package on Aksana slapping Goldust on NXT following their shotgun wedding, Goldust came to the ring for a singles match against Ted DiBiase. Cole naturally heeled on Goldust, saying he was an idiot for thinking Aksana was interested in him. DiBiase and Maryse then came to the ring.

3 -- TED DIBIASE (w/Maryse) vs. GOLDUST

DiBiase landed an early slap to add insult to injury. Cole mocked Goldust and cackled wondering how the honeymoon went. Cole used an old Double A line about finding the world's smallest violin to lament Goldust's turn of events. DiBiase continued to dominate while Maryse seemed a bit preoccupied watching ringside. DiBiase slowed the pace while Maryse screamed into the ring. Cole then sarcastically said he can't wait for Lawler to return to commentary.

Meanwhile, Maryse randomly retrieved the Million Dollar Title belt. Aksana then ran down to ringside, slapped Maryse, grabbed the title belt, and took off running. Meanwhile, in the ring, Goldust rolled up DiBiase for the pin and the win. Cole said Goldust (the babyface) "stole one" from DiBiase. Goldust sold confusion over the turn of events as Aksana disappeared to the back. Cole said it's just like a woman to toy with a guy's emotions. More of that misogynistic tone usually reserved for TNA programming.

WINNER: Goldust at 3:26. The match was about fifth on the pecking order of stories to get over here and it wasn't that interesting. Cole's commentary and delusional heel persona just gets more and more grating by the week. It's not interesting, it's not "fresh," it's not entertaining, it's not useful. At some point, WWE has to pull the plug on the character because it's affecting business.

[Commercial Break]

Friday on Smackdown: how does World Hvt. champion Kane respond to Edge ahead of their title match at Survivor Series?

In-ring: After a pause, John Cena's music hit to a mixed reaction. Cena entered the ring, then waited for Nexus's music hit to hit. Otunga came out followed by the other Nexus members while sporting a brand new Nexus hoodie to encourage holiday sales and perhaps boost WWE Shop revenue. Otunga entered the ring and looked to the stage where Barrett was suddenly standing in front of the other Nexus members. Barrett then sent them packing to the back.

[Q5 -- second hour]

4 -- JOHN CENA vs. DAVID OTUNGA

The bell sounded and Otunga tried to run away, but Cena caught him on the stage and used one of the "Raw in the U.K." props as a weapon. Back in the ring, Cena worked over Otunga and landed a gutwrench suplex. Cena landed a dropkick, which caused Cole to nearly leap out of his suit. Cena then missed with a corner attack and ate the ringpost. A graphic flashed on the screen plugging "Old School Raw" next Monday starting at 8:00 p.m. EST. The crowd then started a dueling chant of "Let's go Cena" and "Cena Sucks." It was interesting they actually cut to a crowd shot showing two people next to each other doing the dueling chant.

Cena made a comeback and did the usual routine, including the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena then dropped Otunga with the Attitude Adjustment. Instead of going for the pin, Cena slapped on the STF and Otunga tapped out with both hands. Afterward, Cena did his full celebration to play to the WWE fans and continue protecting the character while part of Nexus.

WINNER: Cena via submission at 4:02. An expected series of events continuing to present Otunga as the weakest link while giving Cena's fans the Cena they want to see. Just by the book here. (*1/2)

[Commercial Break]

Backstage: Otunga had ice on his neck selling the effects of the STF. Barrett then sat down and put his arm around Otunga's shoulder to remind him of the poor judgment calls he's made recently. He told Otunga he will give him a chance to redeem himself on Smackdown this Friday. If he doesn't beat Edge, he's done with Nexus. Barrett said he won't have to worry about being Nexus anymore since he'll be against them. Barrett smiled and left Otunga to contemplate his situation.

In-ring: Santino's music hit to bring out Santino for Tea Time. Santino was joined by Kozlov in traditional Englishman wear with a derby, walking cane, and dark suits. They looked like Laurel and Hardy. And Cole said that right after I typed it. Mathews: "Who?" Oh, the classic TV of my youth. Santino gave a shout-out to Manchester before saying they studied English culture for three weeks before coming here. He referenced Austin Powers, Mr. Bean, Benny Hill. Santino did a "driving on the wrong side of the road" routine, which drew a cheer from the crowd.

[Q6] Santino said he wants to bury the hatchet with a Superstar from "Irishland." Santino said he's going to sit down with Sheamus and everything will be okay...he thinks. Santino dryly and quickly introduced Sheamus. Santino's voice inflection and timing is just perfect. Actually, Kozlov looks like a character from The Avengers. In any event, everyone sat down at the Tea Party table to discuss international peace. Santino said he has "ginger tea," which drew a smirk from Sheamus and a laugh from the crowd. Santino also had an autographed picture of Mr. T.

Sheamus began his promo. He said he thinks Santino is just misunderstood because he's really just the village idiot. Santino missed the insult and decided on a spot of tea. Santino accidentally tried to be "smart" mocking Sheamus's lack of pigmentation. He then offered his theories on why Sheamus has so much rage. The crowd popped after Santino shared his theories and Sheamus had to hold in laughter to avoid breaking character. Santino said it's their party and he won't treat Sheamus like he's a ghost. Oops.

Santino kept trying to dig himself out of his hole, then Sheamus said he's laughing so hard that he almost forgot why he hates him so much. Kozlov interjected the explanation to Santino that Sheamus hates him because he beat him. Sheamus's demeanor flipped and Kozlov reminded Santino that he beat Sheamus in "biggest upset in Double Double E history." Santino sarcastically thanked Kozlov for his great memory. "Kozlov" chant from the crowd. Santino tried to change the subject and offered Sheamus some more tea. Santino's hand began to shake and the crowd started roaring in anticipation of Santino spilling tea all over Sheamus. Sheamus then flipped over the table and cornered Santino before the Raw GM buzzed to interrupt. Cole read that it's time for action and Kozlov needs to be cleared out because Santino is going one-on-one with Sheamus.

JC Reax: Santino was just amazing handling a potentially terrible segment with advanced acting skills. They picked the right audience to have this exchange in front of, as the crowd ate up Santino's act and played along with the silly bit. I'm not buying this being the right way to showcase Sheamus, but Santino nailed a home run here.

[Commercial Break]

5 -- SANTINO MARELLA vs. SHEAMUS

Back from break, Santino was still in his suit as Sheamus tried to go after him. Cole said the audience won't want to miss this "train wreck." Santino eventually stripped down to his ring gear and the announcers questioned why Santino had his ring gear underneath his clothes. Cole said all WWE stars wear their ring gear under their clothes. Mathews: "How do you know?" Pause. Santino bailed out of the ring to stall for time before Sheamus gave chase. Santino ran over the guardrail to stall, then the Raw GM buzzed again. Cole read from the podium that Santino has two choices. Get back in the ring and compete or be immediately suspended. "Right now?!" Santino asked, as if he were asking a serious question. Mathews suggested Santino respond with a question on how long the suspension could be.

Santino then tried to pump himself up and warmed up the Cobra, but Sheamus absolutely creamed Santino with a sledgehammer blow. Sheamus stomped down on Santino, who then begged off. He then landed a low blow right in front of the ref for a DQ. Santino sold confusion over what he did, then did his celebration routine. Santino's celebration was cut short, as Sheamus blasted Santino with a Brogue Kick to the face. Sheamus wanted the Irish Curse, but John Morrison hit the ring to interrupt. Cole was indignant over Morrison's interjection. Mathews defended Morrison, who smashed Sheamus with a Flying Chuck to the face that sent Sheamus rolling to the floor. Morrison then dragged Santino away from the ring and helped revive him on the way out of the ring.

WINNER: Sheamus via DQ at 3:00. More seeds planted for to a potential Sheamus vs. Morrison match, which could be really good based on the house show reports from over the weekend. Cole's commentary remains so off. Morrison's babyface character is fragile and he needs to be built up as doing admirable things, not torn down for helping the comedy figure. (n/a)

[Q7]

Backstage: Cena was shown watching the WrestleMania 27 video package as if to suggest Cena could have that taken away from him if he doesn't help Barrett win the WWE Title at Survivor Series. After the video ran, Cena was joined by Barrett. Barrett smirked and repeated all of the big marketing lines in Cena's ear. "Imagine never being able to experience that again, John," Barrett told him. All Cena has to do is raise his hand and award him the WWE Title. Then, Nexus will only be a distant memory to Cena. Barrett forcefully gave Cena a referee t-shirt and told him to do his job and do it right, otherwise his WWE career will be nothing but a distant memory.

[Commercial Break. Commercial spot for "Faster" starring "The Rock" Dwayne Johnson.]

This Friday: Kane vs. Big Show on Smackdown. Plus, David Otunga vs. Edge with Otunga's Nexus future on the line.

Announcers: Cole said it's been a rollercoaster ride for WWE over the last two weeks. He introduced the "second and third generation" video package with current WWE wrestlers talking about growing up in wrestling. Cue up Kevin Dunn's quote from Tuesday during NXT, "It's a (expletive) great video, man. It really puts over the (expletive) talent." Back to the announcers talking up the "Stand Up for WWE" campaign. Cole gave another shout-out to Lawler and plugged the main event up next.

In-ring: WWE champion Randy Orton was out first to captain Team Orton. Cole plugged Orton vs. Barrett for the WWE Title in two weeks at Survivor Series. After Orton got his shine in the ring, they paused before bringing out Team Member #2: R-Truth. Cole said one of the best things about tonight is Truth does not have a mic tonight. Team Member #3: Daniel Bryan, which drew Cole's ire. Cole questioned the GM's choice of Bryan. Mathews mocked Cole, then Mark Henry came out as Team Member #4. Orton liked having some muscle with his group. Cole excitedly waited for Team Member #5: The Miz. Miz had Alex Riley behind him with possession of the MITB briefcase. Cole left the announce table and hugged it out with Riley while Mathews leaned back in his chair selling disdain over this.

[Q8] Nexus's music then hit to bring out Wade Barrett alone. Barrett then waved out Slater, Gabriel, Husky, and Hennig. Bringing up the rear was zebra-striped John Cena, who entered the ring to give everyone their pre-match instructions. The ten-man tag main event is up next.

[Commercial Break. Austin in "Hunt to Kill" tomorrow.]

During the break via Twitter, Iron Sheik has a word ahead of his appearance on Old-School Raw next Monday: "(expletive) the nexus, I see them next week and i beat the (expletive) out of them. which one do i give the camel clutch first to?"

6 -- TEAM NEXUS (Wade Barrett & Husky Harris & Michael McGillicutty (Joe Hennig) & WWE tag champions Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel) vs. TEAM ORTON (WWE champion Randy Orton & U.S. champion Daniel Bryan & Mark Henry & R-Truth & The Miz w/Alex Riley)

Immediately back from break, Cena called for the bell to start things off. Miz actually helped Bryan out with a clothesline from behind on Hennig to begin working over Perfect's son. The crowd began chanting as Miz measured Hennig for a charging corner clothesline. Hennig eventually dragged himself to Nexus's corner and tagged out to Slater, who ran into a clothesline from Orton. Enter Truth. Suddenly, the action broke down and all ten men brawled while Cena leaned back in the corner selling frustration. Team Orton eventually cleared Nexus from the ring and David Otunga picked this as a good time to slowly walk down to the ring. Otunga stared toward the ringside area as they cut to break.

[Commercial Break]

Back from break, Otunga was ringside watching things intently as Gabriel and Truth exchanged offense in the ring. Cole used a slow point in the match to talk up Cena and said he "entertains" for the acceptance of the WWE audience. Mark Henry then tagged in to go opposite big Husky Harris. Henry landed a big press slam and Mathews dropped "cruiserweight" into the broadcast saying Henry lifted up Husky as if he were a cruiserweight. Harris came back with a corner football tackle, then tagged in Hennig, who lost control.

Bryan then entered the ring and landed rapid-fire kicks. Bryan showed off his athleticism before landing a release German Suplex followed by a corner kick attack for a close two count. Bryan landed another kick, then slapped on the LeBell Lock, but Harris blind-tagged into the match to break it up and land a big inside-out clothesline. Cole said Mean Gene Okerlund will be on Raw next week handling interviews. Mathews excitedly said he gets vacation. In WWE world, Mathews would actually have a full weekend of publicity duties, perhaps even in another country.

[Q9 -- over-run] The match continued with Nexus working over Bryan as the babyface in peril. Bryan teased a comeback, but Barrett cut him off. Barrett then tagged in Slater, who lost control of the match. Bryan crawled across the desert and hot-tagged Orton, who came in hot on Barrett, who also tagged in. Orton with a powerslam, then he wanted the spike DDT and waited for Cena to count to four on the five count before dropping Orton. Orton then wanted the RKO, but Barrett came back with a Wasteland tease. Crowd was heated for this exchange that led to Orton hitting a fallaway backbreaker for a two count.

The action broke down again and Henry called out everyone to come get some. Bryan suddenly came off the top with a double missile dropkick that sent bodies flying. Orton and Barrett were left in the ring. Orton hit another backbreaker, then went into RKO mode. Otunga tried to get involved again, but Cena held him off. Miz then suddenly turned on Orton and hit the Skullcrushing Finale with Riley's help behind Cena's back. Cena hollered at Miz and Riley, but had to make a three count for Barrett on Orton for the pin. Cena then chased Miz and Riley to the back while Nexus gloated on the way out of the ring. Orton recovered in the ring while Nexus hoisted Barrett on their shoulders. Cole recapped the questions going into Survivor Series on whether Cena would make the same count for Barrett at the PPV.

WINNERS: Team Nexus at 15:25. Better main event situation than last week trying to escalate the hype for Orton vs. Barrett. There was a really key segment during the match where Orton and Barrett were in the ring together and there was a noticeable "anticipatory" crowd response with the audience buying into the exchange. It seemed to indicate a higher level of interest in the PPV title match than going into this show. Overall, the Survivor Series title match hype came off better than last week's show. The PPV hype is still handicapped by not having that authoritative voice on commentary to sell the story, the match, and the PPV. Miz turning on Orton was a bit lost in the shuffle, though, when it could have been made out to be a bigger deal. That's a potential money match down the road that needs to be protected. (**1/4)

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