WWE Raw Results
December 6, 2010 - Episode #914
Live in Louisville, Ky.
Aired on USA Network
Report by James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Tonight's episode of WWE Raw opened with a video package recapping last week's main event when The Miz retained the WWE Title over Jerry Lawler with a little help from lead Raw announcer Michael Cole.

Announcers: After that video, they went straight to the announce table where Jerry Lawler and C.M. Punk were alone at the desk. The crowd chanted, "Jerry, Jerry," as Punk commended Lawler on his efforts last week.

On the stage, Michael Cole interrupted and slowly began walking to the ring as he said he's been wrestling with what happened last week for the entire week. Cole said he's received so much hate mail and he can't figure why people would write such hurtful things about him. He said he will not apologize for the way he feels about The Miz. Why? Because when Miz started in WWE, he was the only person who supported him. When Miz won the WWE Title, it was like his own son won the title.

Now in the ring, Cole waited out a "you suck" chant and addressed Lawler. Cole rubbed his lips and told Lawler that he got caught up in the emotion of the moment when he saw Lawler climbing the ladder. He said he deeply regrets it. Cole looked down at the ground. Lawler took the mic and said he expected Cole to apologize to him. Cole said he regrets his actions last week. He turned it on Lawler, asking him if he's never made a mistake. Lawler said he might be making a mistake coming into the ring to finish what he started last week. Cole tried to calm him down and said they should talk this out. He said he thinks Lawler is as much to blame for what happened last week as he is. Cole tried to quiet the boos. He said Lawler tried to make the news last week. "You were the headline!" he said. Cole said he had to be Jerry "the King" Lawler one more time and couldn't let The Miz have his one moment. He accused Lawler of stealing the moment from him. Cole talked himself into saying Lawler owes him an apology, not the other way around. Lawler decided to go give Cole an apology of his own, but the Raw GM buzzed.

Punk surmised he'll handle this, so he stepped to the podium to a babyface pop. "Hello everybody," he said. Punk said he's always really wanted to do this. Punk mocked Cole's introductions and read from the screen that the GM is ordering a cease and desist on any physicality between Cole and Lawler. Violation will result in termination. Cole liked the sound of that. What he would like is for Lawler to get in the ring and shake hands with Cole.

Lawler slowly entered the ring as Cole tried to reason with Lawler, who maintained a scowl on his face. Cole kept his hand extended for the shake while sporting a big grin on his face. Lawler shook, but pulled Cole back toward him. Lawler said he gets it. No physicality. But, there is someone in the back who might want to say something to him.

Cue up Randy Orton's theme music to a big pop. Lawler kept the handshake grip with Cole as Orton marched to the ring. Orton slowly walked toward Cole, who tried to beg off and plead his case regarding The Miz, who took the WWE Title from Orton. Orton said he wants Cole to send a message to his boy, Miz, that he doesn't blame Miz for cashing in MITB. Because if the roles were reversed, he would have done the exact same thing. As a matter of fact, Miz and he are a lot alike. The only difference is he has proven the ability to back up his words in the ring. Cole was like, "Yeah, yeah." Orton said injured knee or not, he's going to take back the WWE Title from Miz...tonight.

Cue up Miz's music for an interruption. Miz, in street clothes, walked out on stage with the WWE Title belt over his shoulder. Alex Riley was still holding the MITB. It's like having your cake and eating it too. Miz said Randy sounds like everyone else underestimating him. He noted Orton was in the same MITB match as he was, but the difference is Orton lost and Miz won. Miz said that's not going to happen on Orton challenging for the title tonight. He made it official that it's Miz vs. Orton at TLC per the Raw GM.

[Q2] Orton asked Miz where the other seven guys are who are going to try to take him out. Miz looked toward Riley and Orton said he doesn't even count. Riley cut a promo that he has five minutes to kill to take out Orton tonight. Orton said he's not even sure what Riley just said, but he accepts. Miz said he also gets to pick the type of match they're having at TLC. He said he's going to think long and hard because his decision is going to be awesome. Orton said he's really looking forward to that. And for anyone who thinks he's too injured to compete, there's one thing he can still do really well. Lawler kinda pushed Cole toward the middle of the ring and Orton dropped Cole with the RKO center ring. (Would Lawler's push be considered physicality?) Miz no-sold on stage before Orton posed on the top turnbuckle and his music played. A medic entered the ring to check on Cole in the background as the camera went back and forth on Orton and Miz to close the segment. PYB (3) talk time: 14:03.

Reax: Lawler was terrific with his deliberate mannerisms, Cole was fine in his role, Orton seemed a bit rusty on the mic, and Miz carried himself like a star. Overall, a good, heated segment to start the show while still leaving questions on the announce team.

[Commercial Break]

Post-commercial: Lawler and Punk recapped Cole taking the RKO. Apparently a different camera angle showed Cole "stumbled" forward into the RKO from Orton. They showed Cole being helped out of the ring by medics during the break. Now at the announce table was Josh Mathews with Lawler and Punk.

In-ring: Ted DiBiase's music hit to bring out DiBiase and Maryse for a mixed tag match. DiBiase was still sporting the scraggly heel beard. Backstage, they showed Nikki Bella walking up to Daniel Bryan's locker room to be his tag partner, but Brie walked out on Bryan's arm. So, Brie gets the assignment, leaving Nikki the jilted girlfriend.

1 -- U.S. champion DANIEL BRYAN & BRIE BELLA vs. TED DIBIASE & MARYSE

Five seconds into the match, Nikki headed to ringside for a closer look at the action. Punk said he hopes another Maryse comes to the ring. Bryan started things off in control of the match. Punk slipped and called him "Bryan Daniel" before wondering aloud why Bryan has his own locker room. The Divas then entered the ring and collided center-ring. Suddenly, the Bellas pulled the Switcheroo while Maryse was arguing with Bryan, who smiled at her. Nikki then rolled up Maryse with a small package for the win.

Post-match: Bryan congratulated his other date while Brie half-clapped ringside. "Yeah....go team." DiBiase and Maryse had their own issues, with Maryse telling DiBiase to talk to the hand. She bailed and DiBiase flashed his angry face. Meanwhile, Bryan celebrated on the stage with the Bellas.

WINNERS: Bryan & Bellas at 2:07. Interesting developments coming to a head. Bryan could certainly be utilized in a different way, but it keeps him on TV while waiting for an opportunity to be involved in something more important. (n/a)

Coming up: Four-team WWE Tag Title match with champs Nexus vs. Santino & Kozlov vs. Henry & Yoshi vs. the Usos. Also, an exclusive interview with Wade Barrett up next.

Slammys plug: Before going to commercial, they plugged next week's three-hour Slammy Awards show. Additional categories: Knucklehead of the year, Guest Star of the year, and "Oh Snap" Meltdown of the year.

[Q3]

[Commercial Break]

Announcers: Mathews welcomed the audience back to the show from the brand new KFC Yum! Center. He fed to a video package on last week's Raw when John Cena reappeared to wreak havoc on Nexus after being "fired" from WWE. Back live, the crowd popped for the footage of Cena dropping Justin Gabriel onto the roof of a car last week.

Live via satellite: Back to the announcers, they were set to bring in Wade Barrett from a nearby hotel, but David Otunga was standing by instead. He revealed that Barrett was on his way to the building. Mathews thought Otunga was game to reveal the plan to take out Cena. Otunga wasn't that gullible and said they have a plan and they just need to stick to their strategy. There was a knock on the door. He claimed his food is here. Otunga opened the door and a man walked in with room service. The camera was apparently so interested to find out what Otunga was having that they stayed with his first bite of a cold hamburger. Otunga sent him packing, refusing to pay for it. There was another knock on the door and Otunga opened up. It was Cena. "Hey!" he said before attacking Otunga. Husky Harris tried to grab Cena, but Cena KO'ed him into a piece of hotel artwork. Cena took off and Husky sold a concussion on the hotel room floor.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Back live, D.H. Smith was in the ring standing still. Mathews said Smith has been waiting a long time for this match. Cue up Tyson Kidd's theme music. Um, they just had a match on Superstars four days ago. Kidd stood on the ring entrance, then waited for a large man to emerge from behind him. It's Jackson Andrews from FCW. The announcers sold they had no idea who he is. Andrews walked straight into the ring and towered over Smith. Kidd told him to back up and the bell sounded.

[Q4]

2 -- TYSON KIDD (w/Jackson Andrews) vs. D.H. SMITH

Kidd took control early on as Punk noted he doesn't believe Kidd needs "this guy" ringside. Mathews said his sheer presence ringside is enough to intimidate an opponent. Smith and Kidd traded control of the action before battling up top. Smith went for like a delayed vertical suplex, teased dropping Kidd on his neck, then flexed Kidd over his head for a superplex. That was a sick display of power. Moments later, Kidd scored a surprise pin for the win.

Post-match: Smith tried to attack Kidd on the outside, but Andrews grabbed Smith and threw him back into the ring. Andrews executed a developmental-quality left-arm clothesline that floored Smith. Kidd and Andrews then stood over Smith ala Michaels and Diesel.

WINNER: Kidd at 2:11. Too short to amount to much in the ring, but Smith's three-step superplex was sick. Andrews is pretty rough around the edges, but we know why he was called up to the main roster.

Locker room: Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater were complaining to Wade Barrett about Cena's actions. Gabriel said his neck is still hurting from Cena. Slater said Husky was just taken out. Otunga then barged in. The hotel must have been very close to the arena. Otunga said Barrett's plan failed. Barrett told everyone to calm down. He told Gabriel and Slater to focus on defending the titles. That left Otunga, who was still catching his breath. Barrett said he's going to call out John Cena tonight. He suggested Otunga watch to see how to take care of business. Otunga: "You better. Because if you don't, you might have a mutiny on your hands." Barrett smirked at him and left.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Justin Roberts announced a four-team elimination match for the Tag Titles up next. Prior to the break, WWE plugged the new John Cena DVD. Punk noted it's odd they're still shilling for Cena's DVD despite him being "fired." Santino and Kozlov were the first ones out, followed by the Usos. Mark Henry then came out with Yoshi Tatsu as the next team. Nexus's Gabriel and Slater were out last to defend the titles.

3 -- WWE tag champions NEXUS (JUSTIN GABRIEL & HEATH SLATER) vs. SANTINO & KOZLOV vs. THE USOS (JIMMY & JEY w/Tamina) vs. MARK HENRY & YOSHI TATSU -- Tag Title match -- Elimination style

Gabriel and Yoshi started things off. They collided mid-ring before trading chops to the chest. Henry tagged in, then Gabriel scrambled to the Usos. The Usos wanted no part of Henry, picking up their issues from the Superstars show. The action broke down momentarily allowing Slater to drop Yoshi with his finisher that looks like a transition move for a pin. **Yoshi & Henry eliminated at 3:04**

[Q5 -- Second hour]

The Usos and the tag champs battled, then Slater forced Kozlov into the ring with a "collision tag" near the ropes. Kozlov gladly entered and dropped Jimmy with the Iron Curtain for an elimination. **Usos eliminated at 4:38** The Usos started to leave, but Tamina stayed behind to stay in Santino's corner. She nervously bit her lip looking back and forth between Santino and the Usos. Back in the ring, Nexus controlled Kozlov until Santino took a tag at 6:00.

Santino landed two moves before Nexus cut him off and began double-teaming him. Tamina continued to nervously bite her lip as Santino tried to fight out of the heel corner. Despite the relatively rapid-fire nature of the falls in the match, they cut to a break with the heels maintaining control of Santino.

[Commercial Break]

Back live, referee Chioda audibly told Kozlov and Gabriel, "Okay, we're live." Whoops. On cue, Kozlov broke free and hot-tagged Santino, who landed signature offense. Santino did like a Stunner while doing the splits and it resulted in a nearfall. The action broke down and John Cena suddenly appeared from under the ring. The crowd popped as Cena hopped on the ring apron and distracted Gabriel, who then walked into the Cobra from Santino. Santino made the cover for the win to capture the tag titles.

Post-match: Cena ran into the stands and smiled toward the ring while celebrating with the crowd. Santino and Kozlov celebrated with the belts, then Tamina joined them. Santino encouraged Tamina to do the big trumpet dance celebration, which she obliged on. Lawler laughed before agreeing with Punk that it's weird.

WINNERS: Santino & Kozlov at 11:56 to capture the WWE Tag Titles. Another weak endorsement of the Nexus also-rans behind Barrett, while also setting up Barrett's follow-through on addressing Cena. Santino & Kozlov as tag champs fits WWE's harmless "entertainment for the family" type marketing that seems to be more prominent by the week. (*1/2)

Still to come: Orton vs. Riley and Sheamus's King of the Ring coronation.

Tribute to the Troops: A video package aired introducing the Troops show on December 18 airing on NBC. Celebrities promoted were Rima Fakih, Sherri Shepherd, Cedric the Entertainer, Ariel Winter, Trace Adkins, and P. Diddy's "Diddy Dirty Money" group. Adkins is new to the list.

[Commercial Break]

[Q6]

NXT 4 plug: A video package introduced the new group of six NXT Rookies to start NXT Season 4 tomorrow night.

Recap: The announcers recapped Cena costing Nexus the tag titles. Punk said he wants to see his tickets. Lawler said you don't need tickets for under the ring.

In-ring: Justin Roberts formally introduced Sheamus, who came out on stage sporting a very dark green cape and odd-looking crown as the new King of the Ring. The announcers recapped Sheamus defeating John Morrison in the KOTR finals last week. Sheamus entered the ring and sat down on his throne. Sheamus said it's good to be the king. He did the "I'm superior to the peasants in the crowd" promo. Sheamus name-dropped Triple H, saying he ended his career. He proclaimed himself the greatest high king in history.

John Morrison's music interrupted, which brought out Morrison in street clothes. Morrison walked to the ring and asked Sheamus why he didn't bring out some goblins or elves or gnomes. Sheamus told Morrison to cut the jokes. He sees his jealousy. Morrison waited out the reasons why he must be jealous of Sheamus. Morrison said the way he sees it, the score is even at 1-1 since he beat him at Survivor Series. Morrison concluded he's the better man. Sheamus had a good laugh before telling him that from now on, he wants Morrison to refer to him as the High King of WWE.

Sheamus told Morrison to get on his knees and bow to him. Morrison said no and said he will never bow down to King Sheamus. Sheamus then popped him in the face. Morrison looked down, then stared at the hard camera with an intense look on his face before blasting Sheamus with a right hand. Morrison knocked Sheamus out of his get-up before knocking him into the throne. Morrison grabbed Sheamus's scepter and stood tall in the ring while Sheamus sold on the floor.

Reax: Basic theater with the characters getting to play dress-up. The logical third match in the series would be a Kiss My Foot match or a similar match where the loser has to be disgraced even further than losing.

Still tonight: Barrett calls out Cena. ... Before going to break, a new WWE Shop commercial aired plugging Christmas shopping deals.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Back from break, Divas champion Natalya hit the ring. Mathews introduced Lay-Cool, who were at the announce table. Mathews said he doesn't understand why. Lay-Cool said they were invited to Raw by Michael Cole. So, a five-person booth was set up for a Divas match, which brought out Melina to face Natalya. Since they're babyfaces, they shook hands before the match.

[Q7]

4 -- Divas champion NATALYA vs. MELINA -- non-title match

Natalya landed a delayed vertical suplex early on, then Melina caught Natalya in the ring ropes and delivered a backstabber. Melina tried to work on Natalya's back before Natalya made a comeback and applied the Sharpshooter. They zoomed in tight on Melina fighting the hold, then Natalya leaned back on the hold, and Melina tapped out.

Post-match: Lay-Cool slowly left the announce table and circled the ring. Natalya was too wrapped up in celebrating her victory that Layla and McCool high-lowed her in the ring. They followed by grabbing a handful of hair to slam Natalya to the mat. Meanwhile, they spotshadowed Melina walking off to the back selling her back. Lay-Cool left Natalya KO'ed in the ring to conclude the segment.

WINNER: Natalya at 2:26. Fine match to continue building up Natalya's hot streak. WWE is playing fast and loose trying to keep up with their explanations of how certain people can appear on the show. In any event, the next chapter of Natalya vs. Lay-Cool begins.

[Commercial Break]

Announcers: Mathews, Lawler, and Punk were shown on-camera. Punk had a pen in his mouth that he promptly removed. Lawler recapped how they arrived at this point of Mathews on commentary, replacing Cole, who took an RKO. After a video recap of what happened earlier in the night, they went backstage.

Locker room: Riley talked and talked to Miz, who stood up and told Riley that he represents him out there. Miz said the entire world is obsessed with what he's doing right now. Miz said him becoming champion is the turning point of this company. (One of those TNA lines that has nothing to do with anything because there's no hint in the context of storylines that anything is wrong with the company's standing.) Riley tried to talk, but Miz cut him off and told him sternly that he needs to beat Randy Orton. He said he will show Orton what type of match they're having at TLC tonight, then told Riley to get his belt.

In-ring: Randy Orton came to the ring for the apparent TV main event. Orton posed in the ring while the announcers plugged TLC on December 19. Orton continued to do his thing before they cut to break.

[Commercial Break]

[Q8]

In-ring: Orton was still pacing back from break and they recapped Nexus costing Orton the WWE Title two weeks ago. Back live, Orton was on the verge of snapping as Punk said he's had two weeks to think about what happened. Miz's music hit and Riley marched to the ring with Miz behind him in street clothes.

5 -- RANDY ORTON vs. ALEX RILEY (w/WWE champion The Miz)

The bell sounded and Miz distracted Orton, which allowed Riley to start attacking the "injured" left knee from Raw two weeks ago. Punk said he doesn't believe it was a good decision by Orton to take the match two weeks before TLC. He suggested the match at TLC could be a ladder match, which would hurt Orton's cause trying to climb a ladder on a bum knee. Orton made a comeback with a clothesline, then he delivered a snap powerslam. Orton then caught Riley on the ring apron and delivered a spike DDT. Orton stared down Miz, then turned around and entered IED mode. Orton wanted the RKO, but Miz stormed the ring and dropped Orton from behind with the Skullcrushing Finale for a DQ.

Post-match: Miz took the mic and said he's going to show Orton what kind of match they're going to have at the PPV. Miz went looking for an object under the ring and found a table. (Punk with the red herring of a ladder match.) There was also a big tub of what appeared to be sports drinks underneath there. Miz set up a table in the ring and teased the SCF into the table, but Orton slipped out. They teased a table spot in Orton's favor, but Miz slipped out and bailed from the ring. Miz retrieved his WWE Title belt and stood his ground on the outside. Suddenly, Orton turned toward Riley, who was selling in the corner. Orton scooped up Riley, stared down Miz, and proceeded to powerbomb Riley through the table. (Orton channeling his inner Batista.) Miz clenched his jaw and slowly backed away, not giving into Orton's mind games. Orton paced around the ring while Miz clutched the WWE Title and backed away.

WINNER: Orton via DQ at 2:45. Expectedly short with the inexperienced Riley in the ring opposite Orton, whose in-ring time needs to be limited while nursing an injury. Miz not over-doing his reactions after his plan was foiled was a good touch. (*)

Hallway: Barrett was shown walking toward the ring. He stopped and told Otunga to make sure the guys are ready. He kept walking and the Raw music played going to break.

Smackdown plug: Kane and Edge are playing mind games. Del Rio wants to take out Mysterio. So, this week on Smackdown, it's Edge & Rey vs. Kane & Del Rio in a tag match.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Two minutes before the top of the hour, Wade Barrett marched to the ring alone. Lawler said he would be looking over his shoulder right now for Cena. Punk said perhaps even under the ring. Barrett said he has to admit to something he's never had to admit before. "I was wrong," he said. Barrett said he thought Cena was a man of his word. At Survivor Series, it was "free" or "fired." Barrett said if Cena had one ounce of integrity, he wouldn't show up on Raw anymore.

[Q9 -- over-run] Barrett said the only person who can get Cena re-hired is him, not anyone else in Nexus he's trying to take out. He invited Cena to the ring from wherever he's hiding because he has something to get off his chest. Cena showed up in the crowd and hopped the guardrail before entering the ring. Otunga, Gabriel, Slater, and Husky then appeared on the entranceramp.

Barrett said he allowed Cena in the ring, but if Cena threatens him, Nexus will come to the ring and beat him within an inch of his life. Cena agreed. The crowd interrupted with a loud "Cena, Cena" chant before Barrett shook his head. He said the cheers don't help at all. Barrett said he'll say this very, very slowly. "This is not going to work. I will never re-hire you." Cena smiled and told Barrett he's "just so stupid." Cena said being fired isn't that bad. Technically, he's not a WWE Superstar anymore, but now he's part of the WWE Universe. He still has a lot of friends who are stars and now he can tailgate with the fans.

Cena said he has so much time on his hands that all he thinks about is making the lives of Nexus a living hell. Cena told "Justin Heath" it must have stung when they lost the tag titles. He asked them how the beat downs were last week. Cena asked about the room service call. Cena told Barrett he's content being "fired," buying a ticket, and making the lives of every Nexus member miserable. Cena told Barrett, "I could care less." Barrett said he's not intimidated by this approach. He asked a hypothetical question on what would happen if he re-hired him. Cena sarcastically listed all of the cool things he would do, including competing for the WWE Title. Cena said the problem is that if Barrett keeps him fired, all he'll do is buy a ticket and ruin their lives.

Cena changed to a serious tone and said if Barrett has the guts to hire him back, the attacks on Nexus might stop, but his attacks on Barrett will not. Cena said he deserves payback and payback is what he will get. He told Barrett to hire him back and have a match tonight. And if Barrett doesn't, he's going to get him. Cena said he won't stop. "Every single day that Wade Barrett is in WWE, I make it my promise that your life will be a nightmare," Cena said.

Barrett took that as a threat. He called Nexus to the ring, but they remained standing on the entranceramp. Husky slowly backed off and left. Barrett wanted to know what they were doing. Slater, then Gabriel left to the back. Otunga was left standing on the ramp. Otunga turned and left as well. Barrett said it's a direct order. Cena shrugged his shoulders and jumped Barrett, chasing him around the ring to the outside. Cena rammed Barrett into the ring steps as Mathews noted it's the first time Nexus has walked out on their leader. Punk wanted to know why Cena is allowed to do this.

Cena started clearing the announce table while interacting with Punk. Cena then hoisted Barrett onto his shoulders and walked up the ring steps next to the announce table. Barrett slipped out, then ran away from ringside to the back. Cena briefly gave chase, but returned to the ring to celebrate for the crowd. Lawler tried to put a bow on things, asking if Cena finally accomplished his goal of taking apart Nexus. Cena did a victory lap around the ring before handing a wristband to Punk, who threw it back to him. Cena laughed and threw it into the crowd. Cena posed in the ring one more time as the announcers tried to give a hook for next week's show. PYB (3) talk time: 11:55.

Suddenly, they cut backstage where Barrett was shown marching down the hallway. He found Nexus huddled up and yelled at them. Otunga cut him off and gave him an ultimatum. He told Barrett he either hires Cena back next week or he's out. "What? Are you kidding me?" Barrett shouted back. The four Nexus members walked by Barrett, who stood shocked as the show went off the air 12 minutes past the top of the hour.

FINAL THOUGHTS: An average episode of Raw sandwiched in-between bigger episodes and PPVs. It feels weird to have a Slammys show next week when it doesn't seem to fit where Raw storylines are right now. Regarding the commentary, it was refreshing not hearing Cole on the air when the focus could be on the in-ring product, but there were still times when the announcers were unsuccessful trying to create banter to fill airtime.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "Raw Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. To contribute your thoughts on Raw, email to pwtorch@gmail.com using our Feedback form.

We suggest these recent related articles...

CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 10/5: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - Lesnar returns, Cena's Open Challenge, more

CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 9/28: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - John Cena's Open Challenge, Paul Heyman, Reigns vs. Wyatt main event, MizTV, more

CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 9/21: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - Night of Champions fall-out, Cena vs. Rollins U.S. Title re-match, Bizzaro Kane, more