WWE Monday Night Raw
Liverpool, United Kingdom
November 7, 2011
Commentators: Jerry Lawler & Michael Cole
Reported by: David Stephens of Wrestleview.com
Are you ready for a jolly ‘ole time? Then stop questioning your heart and join me, because it’s time for Monday Night RAW!!!
John Cena’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring to a monstrous mixed reaction. He thanks the crowd for the reception, as they are still going crazy. He says he knows why they are upset, he is upset himself. He says that WrestleMania tickets went on sale on Sunday, with tickets moving at a record pace. He says that The Rock couldn’t make it tonight, but he did accept his invitation to be his tag partner. So for the first time ever, and never again, Cena will team up with The Rock for a tag match at Survivor Series. Cena says everyone in the WWE is talking about The Rock being on RAW next week, but they should be talking about tonight, because it is the first time that Liverpool has hosted RAW. Cena says that The Miz & R-Truth will be in action tonight in a tag match against Cena and a future Hall of Famer.
The Miz & R-Truth come out onto the entrance ramp. Miz asks, “Really?” Cena is really teaming with a future Hall of Famer? Miz says that everyone has been talking about Cena beating them down last week, which will only add to the emotion going into their tag match. Miz says he did the one thing that many people were unable to do, he pinned Cena in the middle of the ring at WrestleMania to retain the WWE Championship! R-Truth cuts a promo on Cena also putting over how he and Miz will defeat Cena both tonight, and at Survivor Series. The tag team then runs down to the ring to attack Cena. It is time for Cena’s tag team partner for tonight and so-called future Hall of Famer, to make the save… Zack Ryder!
Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero are shown in the back; Dolph will be in action next!
****Commercial****
Dolph Ziggler w/ Vickie Guerrero v. John Morrison
We are informed that John Morrison has not won a match since the middle of August.
They lock up and Morrison hits an arm drag into a side headlock. Ziggler escapes and goes for a head scissors. Both men continue to exchange control until Ziggler kicks him in the gut and hits an elbow to the back. Morrison bounces into the ropes but slides under his legs and goes for the cover. Dolph kicks out. Morrison has a front headlock applied which is broken with a jawbreaker. Ziggler goes for the cover, but Morrison kicks out. Morrison knocks Dolph out of the ring and looks to fly out of the ring, but Dolph slides into the ring in record time and hits a vicious clothesline.
****Commercial****
Back from the break, Dolph is in control with a side headlock. He dumps John to the mat and applies pressure to the back of his neck. Vickie screams for Dolph to finish him, from her vantage point on the outside. Cover, but Morrison kicks out. John starts to get up, but is met with a dropkick. Cover, but Morrison kicks out again. Dolph is taunting Morrison with kicks and punches, but John gets to his feet and backs him into the corner. The referee has to pull him off, which allows Ziggler to hit a high elbow. Cover, but Morrison kicks out. Ziggler returns to an arm bar and works the neck of Morrison. Ziggler with another big clothesline leads to a cover, Morrison kicks out. The crowd begins a, “Let’s go Ziggler” chant. Morrison finally manages to escape and hits a kick which knocks Ziggler out. Morrison goes to the top for Starship Pain, but Ziggler moves out of the way. Morrison goes for a running knee, but Dolph dodges and goes for a roll up. Morrison kicks out. Morrison then goes for a cover, but Vickie interrupts with a distraction. Ziggler then goes for a cover of his own, but finds it reversed into a roll up for Morrison, and Morrison gets the pin! This match is over.
Winner: John Morrison
This win tonight ended John Morrison’s nearly 3 month losing streak.
****Commercial****
Mason Ryan v. JTG
The Welsh superstar locks up with JTG, and throws him to the mat. JTG gets to his feet, only to be knocked down with a shoulder block. Mason is in the corner, and counters a JTG monkey flip. Ryan lifts him up into the air for a one shoulder torture rack. JTG is thrown to the mat, and then gets sent into the corner. Ryan hits a couple shoulder blocks, and then tosses him into the middle of the ring. JTG gets in a couple kicks and punches, but Ryan bounces back and kicks his head off his shoulders. Ryan lifts JTG up over his head, and hits a press slam. Ryan then locks on a full nelson, and transitions into a slam. Cover and this match is over.
Winner: Mason Ryan
Video Package: WrestleMania 28 in Miami
Zack Ryder walks up to the Bella Twins and puts over his match with Cena against Miz & Truth tonight. They say his catch phrase before walking off and ignoring his request for a phone call.
****Commercial*****
Alberto Del Rio w/ Ricardo Rodriguez v. Kofi Kingston
They square off and Rio takes control by grabbing the arm of Kofi. He takes him down to the mat with a strong arm bar. Kofi gets back to his feet, but Del Rio head butts him and knocks him into the corner. Kofi dodges a splash and leaps from the top rope with a huge crossbody. Cover, but Rio kicks out. Del Rio hits the double knee arm breaker, and transitions straight to the cross arm breaker. Kofi has no choice but to tap, and this match is over.
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
After the match, Del Rio looks to continue the beat down on Kofi. CM Punk’s music hits and he walks out onto the ramp, which is enough to end the attack.
****Commercial****
Alberto Del Rio is in the ring with CM Punk. Rio complains about the way that Punk earned his shot for the WWE Title at Survivor Series by attacking him. Rio says that if he doesn’t cancel the match, then he is going to make Punk cancel it. Punk laughs and says that Rio won his Title by cashing in Money in the Bank against him, so he isn’t going to apologize from getting the match in a cheap way. He then goes on to mock Del Rio for being one dimensional on the mic. Punk says he is going to win the Title and make the WWE Championship interesting again. Del Rio says that he is the Champion, which makes him the best in the world. So he asks Punk for the last time, if he is going to cancel the Survivor Series matches. Punk looks to debate his options, and then obviously answers, “no”. Del Rio begins an attack, and goes for the cross arm breaker. Punk fights his way out and goes right to the Anaconda Vice. Ricardo makes the save, but gets hit with the GTS for his trouble. Alberto heads up the ramp to escape.
****Commercial****
Jack Swagger w/ Vickie Guerrero v. Santino
They lock up and Santino is quickly taken down to the mat. Swagger gets behind him for a Nelson variation, and then leaps up into the air for a high elbow. Santino appears to dodge, but it doesn’t matter because he is quickly sent shoulder first into the steel post. Swagger grabs the ankle of Santino and applies the hold. This match is over.
Winner via Ankle Lock: Jack Swagger
****Commercial****
Jerry Lawler is in the ring, and introduces the newest Maxim cover girl, Kelly Kelly! He hands her the mic and exits the ring. Kelly says when she started in this company she was just a kid, but she has grown up so much in front of the WWE Universe. There is a large sheet covered banner behind her. Beth Phoenix and Natalya walk down the ramp to mock Kelly. They get into the ring and continue the mocking of Kelly and her family. Kelly says she doesn’t know why they are doing this, because she wouldn’t mock them for making the cover of National Geographic. An attack looks about to break out, so Eve Torres and Alicia Fox run down to the ring to make the save. Eve calls for a drum roll and they do the big reveal. Yay.
****Commercial****
John Laurinaitis comes out on the ramp and introduces his newest Superstar signing… Kevin Nash!
Nash makes his way down to the ring with a mic. He thanks Laurinaitis for rehiring him. He says everyone has been asking him why, but he doesn’t owe anyone an explanation. Nash says that in 1995 he watched HHH walk into the building shadowing Killer Kowalski. HBK was a fan of HHH, so Nash let him into their Kliq. Nash says he should have buried him at the start, if hindsight is 20/20. He says that they had a rare thing in this business, an actual friendship. Then the Rumble comes around and Nash gets the biggest pop of the night. He calls up and asks for the band to be put back together, but he didn’t even get a response. Nash says that HHH betrayed him, because without Nash he would have been nothing. In Nash’s eyes, HHH is still the measuring stick around here. Nash says that he was given a has-been Legends contract, but he is still the best there is. Nash says that he booked himself in a main event match, and took HHH’s sledge hammer and used it against him. Nash contemplated the action for 6 hours, and it felt so good. Nash says that what he did two weeks ago when he attacked HHH was show the audience how you play the game!
Vignette: Brodus Clay
In the back, David Otunga compliments John Laurinaitis on rehiring Nash. Otunga asks why Brodus Clay didn’t debut tonight. John says that Brodus is too special to debut in Liverpool. Punk walks into the shot. Otunga says that the WWE Champion shouldn’t look like he works at a gas station. Punk responds by punching him in the face. Alberto Del Rio runs up out of nowhere and attacks Punk.
****Commercial****
The Miz & R-Truth v. John Cena & Zack Ryder
Cena and Truth start things off, but Truth quickly tags in Miz. Cena pushes him into the corner and hits a splash. He bounces off the ropes for a shoulder block and goes for the cover. Miz kicks out and the crowd begins a “we want Ryder” chant. Cena turns towards the corner, and Miz tags in Truth. Truth exits the ring and says he wants Ryder. He gets back in, and finally Ryder gets the tag! Truth and him square off as the crowd roars their approval. Truth hits a shoulder block and then gets sent off the ropes and into the air for a front body drop! Ryder throws him hard to the outside as we head to the final commercial of the night!
****Commercial****
Back from the break, Cena and Ryder hit a stereo suplex on Miz. Ryder exits the ring and Miz gets in a kick on Cena. Truth gets the tag and goes for the cover. Cena kicks out. Truth slides behind for a rear headlock. Truth goes for a cover, but Cena kicks out. Truth goes back to working the head lock. Miz gets the tag and kicks Cena hard in the face. He looks to the crowd for a moment, and then tags Truth back in to the match. Truth pulls Cena’s arms behind him and looks to isolate his pectorals. Cena escapes and Ryder gets the tag! He comes in to help clear the ring and Miz and Truth are both lying in opposite corners. Cena puts on Ryder glasses and hits a running boot at the same time as Ryder. Miz regains his bearings and fights off Ryder long enough to get the tag to Truth. R-Truth isolates Ryder in the middle of the ring with a chin lock. Ryder escapes, but misses a dropkick. Truth goes for a cover, but Ryder kicks out.
Miz gets the tag and is stalking Ryder. He hits a hard punch and then gloats to Cena. Ryder hits a roll up, but Miz quickly escapes and charges for a devastating splash! Truth gets the cover and sits down with a rear headlock. Truth lifts him to his feet and they both bounce off the ropes looking for a clothesline. Both men crash and burn. Cena and Miz both get the tag, and Cena charges in hard. He hits two shoulder blocks on Miz and follows with a side slam first on Miz, and then on Truth! Cena brings Ryder into the ring, and they hit stereo 5 Knuckle Shuffles! Ryder throws Truth out of the ring, but gets pulled out himself. Cena lifts Miz up for the AA, but Miz escapes and goes for the cover. Truth holds his legs! This match is over!
Winners: The Miz & R-Truth
David’s Thoughts
Cena opening up RAW is not as common as it used to be, nice reactions from the crowd at the start. Not much to say about an opening segment that helped put over Zack Ryder of all people.
So it seems that John Morrison’s nearly 3 month losing streak has come to an end… yay? I just really don’t care if I’m being perfectly honest. He had a new shirt and pyro tonight, so the win wasn’t that much of a surprise. They could have done a bit more with the whole losing streak angle by playing it up at a time other than when it was about to end. They are trying to transition the streak over to the United States Champion, but there is only so long Ziggler can hold on to the belt with that sort of storyline and I can’t figure out how it will help him. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Mason Ryan’s match tonight showcased a bit more of his skill than we’ve seen in the past. Poor JTG never stood a chance. We rarely see squash matches on a weekly basis, so I actually do enjoy them when they spring up. And by rarely, I mean less than the early 90s.
Not much to note about the Kofi/Del Rio match. For those unaware, Evan Bourne is under a 30 day suspension which is why he was not featured, or even mentioned, on the show tonight.
I have no problem with Santino losing to Swagger this week. He got the fun win last week, and tonight was important to make sure that the Swagger character stayed on the right course. This at least gave Vickie something to celebrate after Ziggler lost earlier in the evening.
Punk was kind of clever on the mic by calling out Del Rio for being one dimensional, but the segment as a whole was nothing to write home about. For whatever reason I just don’t care all that much about this Championship match, especially after Rio’s horrible showing against Big Show last week on RAW.
Congratulations on Kelly Kelly receiving the cover of Maxim magazine, which actually is a pretty big deal. This segment was much more enjoyable than actually watching Divas wrestle on RAW, but I had a root canal four years ago that was also more enjoyable than watching Divas wrestle on RAW, so I guess that’s not saying much.
The Nash segment was interesting, but oddly reminiscent to some of his TNA promos. Oh, and I’m so tired of hearing about the damn, “band”.
Decent match to end the show. If Truth & Miz were to lose to Cena & Ryder, than there would be no chance of them beating Cena & The Rock. Especially after Cena handling them both last week. This match is clearly the main focus of the PPV, and perhaps rightfully so given the WrestleMania ramifications.
If I were to choose one word to describe RAW tonight, it would probably “apathetic”. This show happened, I guess.
I do read every single e-mail you guys send, even the Facebook comments below, and really appreciate hearing your thoughts. Send me some e-mails, and have a safe week everyone!
– David Stephens
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