By Jason Powell

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Nashville, Tenn.

[Q1] The opening video kicked off the show... Santino Marella, Vladimir Kozlov, and Tamina headed to the ring. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler introduced the show. They said John Cena would join them live tonight to address the attack by the new Nexus.

Ring announcer Justin Roberts was about to introduce a tag title match when the new Nexus hit the ring and attacked the WWE Tag Champs. Nexus roughed up Santino and Kozlov and threw them to ringside. C.M. Punk took the mic and apologized. He said the tag title match will have to be rescheduled for a later date.

Punk and the rest of the troops were wearing new shirts that incorporated Punk's hand symbol with the Nexus colors. Punk said he can give the other members of Nexus the tools to succeed unlike Wade Barrett. He said the days of John Cena's hustle, loyalty, and respect were over, while his were just beginning.

Punk said that in an act of selfless leadership, he will make the ultimate sacrifice by initiating himself as "the new leader of the new Nexus." Punk said the rest of Nexus must prove to themselves, the rest of the group, to Punk and to the "worthless people" that they have what it takes to belong in the new Nexus.

The troops stood in a line while Punk said that if they pass their initiation they can become the strongest force in WWE history. David Otunga took the mic and said that he thinks he speaks for the rest of the group when he says they would be honored to be initiated.

Up first was Michael McGillicutty. Punk said Nexus is famous for their jackal-like beatdowns. He said McGillicutty's initiation is to be on the receiving end of a Nexus beatdown. Punk called Husky Harris the leadoff hitter and told him to get it started. Husky glared at a protesting McGillicutty. Otunga stepped in and hit his finisher on McGillicutty.

Heath Slater hit his finisher. Husky Harris took a moment, but he eventually hit a move on McGillicutty. Harris and Otunga dragged him to the corner. Punk led Justin Gabriel to the corner and told him to hit his 450 splash. Gabriel hesitated, but eventually hit the move.

Punk dropped to one knee and had the other members put McGillicutty on his back and then he tagged him with GTS. Punk started to leave the ring. The Nexus music played and the others started to leave the ring. Cole said McGillicutty is officially the first member of the new Nexus. He claimed it was the ultimate self-sacrifice. The troops picked up McGillicutty and carried him to the back on their shoulders while he did the Jesus Christ pose... [C]

Powell's POV: I'm guessing someone out there is offended by the way McGillicutty was carried off. I'm not easily offended, so it didn't strike a nerve with me. The live crowd's reaction seemed mixed. They were chanting for John Cena at one point, and then there was a mix of "don't do it" and "boring" calls that could be heard during the beatdown of McGillicutty. It wasn't the hottest opening segment, but it left me curious to see where they go from here.

[Q2] 1. Alberto Del Rio beat R-Truth via countout in 1:45. The great Ricardo Rodriguez handled the introduction of Del Rio, who drove a rare Bentley to the ring. Cole said the car is worth more than $100,000. Cole was anti-Truth and pro-Del Rio.

Truth clotheslined Del Rio over the top rope and went with him. They both sold the move. Rodriguez taunted Truth by saying "What's up?" over the mic. Del Rio snuck back inside the ring while Truth was busy punching Rodriguez. Truth failed to beat the ref's 10-count.

After the match, Del Rio boasted that he's going to win the Royal Rumble. He mocked Nashville for being music city. He mocked Justin Bieber and others, and then mocked country music. He said they know about music and culture in Mexico. A "USA" chant broke out.

Del Rio said he wanted to show the fans mariachi music. He acted like he was going to do it himself, but then called on Ricardo to do it instead. He performed a horrible version of La Cucaracha... [C]

Powell's POV: I'm pretty sure that 20 of my cars would be worth $100,000. Anyway, they haven't done a good job of explaining why Del Rio keeps crossing the brand split lines and appearing on Raw. By the way, I'm the self-proclaimed world's biggest Ricardo Rodriguez fan, but that was bad. Obviously, it was an intentionally bad performance, but that portion of the segment was lousy.

Highlights aired of The Miz attacking Jerry Lawler two weeks ago...

[Q3] Lawler was addressing the situation at ringside when Cole told him he should just apologize to The Miz. The anonymous general manager's email chime sounded. Cole stood up and did his usual schtick. Cole stated on behalf of the GM that he supports Cole even though he's a conceited, pompous, arrogant, self-centered, pretentious jerk.

Cole read that the general manager was just kidding. Rather, the GM feels that Cole is doing a phenomenal job and is the epitome of manhood. The Cole praise continued and concluded with "handsome." Cole said the highest honor one can achieve is to call yourself a Cole Miner.

Lawler stood up and said he received word from the entire WWE Universe. "Would you please shut up?" Lawler said. The fans cheered. Lawler said no one in their right mind would say or type those things. Lawler said Cole is a coward. Cole screamed that Lawler would be fired if he touched him. Lawler slammed the laptop shut.

The email chime sounded again. "It still works," Cole said with a smile. The GM said Michael Cole is not a coward, nor is Lawler. The GM said that even though Lawler's body hasn't recovered, he/she knows that Lawler can't wait to get his revenge. Thus, Lawler will team with Randy Orton in a match against The Miz and Alex Riley...

Powell's POV: A decent setup for a match it's hard to get too excited about. It looks like they're going light tonight with the big college football game running head-to-head.

Backstage, it was time for Husky's initiation. Punk held up a strap and asked if Harris would take three lashes from the other members. "I accept," Husky said. Punk ordered him to take his shirt off. The whippings began and looked painful as hell. Slater looked remorseful while delivering his lashes. Harris fell to his knees.

Punk ordered the others to pick up Harris. Punk delivered several lashes to Harris's back. "This is the stupidest thing I've ever seen," Lawler said on commentary... [C]

Powell's POV: My girlfriend the wannabe comedian walked into the room and responded to Lawler's comment by saying, "Well, this is Monday Night Raw." Nice one. Those lashes were brutal. Ouch.

2. Mark Henry and Daniel Bryan (w/The Bellas) defeated Tyson Kidd and Ted DiBiase (w/Maryse) in 2:40. There was no sign of Jackson Andrews. Henry hit the World's Strongest Slam on Kidd for the clean pin...

Powell's POV: I guess they felt the need to have Henry and Bryan avenge their shocking loss to Kidd and DiBiase on WWE Superstars.

Backstage, Big Show was shown with his arm around a production crew member. He wished the guy well and then headed on his way with a big smile on his face. The announcers questioned why Show was on Raw and said we'd find out after the break...

Powell's POV: A really weak show so far. The Nexus stuff is interesting, but everything else has felt like major filler. The Bellas may want to wear longer skirts for their ring step walks if WWE wants to continue to try to pass this off as a PG show. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying...

[Q4] [C] Highlights aired of Jacob Novack being eliminated from NXT. Cole plugged tomorrow's show. Yes, really, they hyped NXT...

Big Show headed to the ring. Show thanked the general manager for giving him the time to discuss a couple issues. He mentioned Wade Barrett attacking him, and then spoke about how he's going to win the Royal Rumble match. The Nexus music interrupted Show's promo.

Punk, Slater, Otunga, and Gabriel stood on the ramp. Punk glared at Otunga, who reluctantly headed toward the ring. He looked back at Punk when he was at the bottom on the entrance ramp. Punk nodded. Otunga climbed inside the ring and punched Big Show. Otunga stood there and looked like he was going to cry while waiting for Show to attack him.

Show kicked Otunga and then threw him to ringside. Show threw Otunga over the announcers desk and onto Cole's empty chair. Show laid Otunga over the desk and slapped him across the chest. Show slammed him on the floor and asked Otunga if he thought he was playing games. Show rammed Otunga into the ring steps.

Show threw Otunga inside the ring. A "Knock him out" chant broke out. Show chokeslammed Otunga. He grabbed Otunga's arm and sat him up so that he could punch him. Punk and the others held up their fists on the stage. Slater looked especially concerned. "It's not frightening, it's stupid," Lawler said...

Cole hyped that John Cena would address the Nexus attack. Lawler hyped that King Sheamus and John Morrison would heat up their rivalry... [C]

Powell's POV: The only thing more vicious than the lashes that Harris took would be for Heath Slater to spend an hour listening to LayCool promos.

[Q5] John Morrison made his entrance. A highlight video recapped the Morrison and Sheamus feud. King Shemaus came out for the match...

3. John Morrison defeated King Sheamus in 12:00. Lawler stated that the HOF inductee is the greatest superstar of all-time. It must be Shawn Michaels with that type of buildup. Morrison had Sheamus down and set up for Starship Pain, but Sheamus recovered and pushed him over the top rope. [C]

After the break, the wrestlers traded offense. Morrison got the advantage and sent Sheamus to ringside. When Morrison tried to dive on Sheamus, he ended up taking a knee to the gut. Cole put it over nicely by saying you could almost hear the ribs cracking. Morrison came back with a running knee and pinned Sheamus clean...

Powell's POV: A strong television match. The running knee still hasn't connected, as I don't think anyone in the building had any idea that was the finish based on their initial response. They popped big once they realized Morrison won, but it's going to take more time to get the running knee established. Finishes like that will help...

[Q6] The announcers narrated highlights of the Nexus initiations... Backstage, Punk was shown standing with a pair of kendo sticks. He told Slater and Gabriel not to worry, he wasn't going to beat them with the sticks. Rather, he said they were going to beat each other with the kendo sticks until he told them to stop.

They squared off, but never hit one another. Punk said they should swing for the fences. "Do it," he yelled. They looked at him with the sticks in their hands. The crowd cheered. "Are you going to hit me?" Punk asked. He raised his arms, closed his eyes, and told them to do it. They lowered the sticks, dropped them on the floor, and left the room. There were more boos than cheers from the live crowd...

Lawler told viewers that the roof would come off the building when they named the first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011... [C]

Powell's POV: Oddly enough, that kendo stick fight is exactly what I put Chris Shore and Marv Hermanstyne through when they wanted to write for the site. Unfortunately, Marv took one too many shots to the head and now cheers openly for the Chicago Bears. If you think that initiation was bad, wait until you see what we have in store for new WWE Superstars reviewer Adam Dunn (no, not the baseball player).

Jerry Lawler stood in the middle of the ring and delivered a nice setup for the video package that announced that Shawn Michaels will be a member of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011. A great video package played. The live crowd chanted "HBK." Cole said that Michaels was perhaps the greatest of all time.

Shawn's music played and he walked onto the stage. Michaels struck his pose and the pyro went off. Shawn slapped hands with the fans at ringside as he headed to the ring. Cole and Lawler were giving him a standing ovation at the announcers' table. Shawn entered the ring and played to the fans.

[Q7] Shawn grabbed the mic and stood in the middle of the ring. Alberto Del Rio's music interrupted him. Del Rio came out and said the fans used to cheer Michaels. Shawn surveyed the crowd and a big "HBK" chant broke out. Del Rio claimed the people cheer him now instead.

Del Rio said he is the present and future of WWE, whereas Shawn is just the past. Del Rio said he'll win the Royal Rumble and capture one of the new title belts. "And after that, I will be known as the new Mr. WrestleMania." Shawn blasted Del Rio with Sweet Chin Music. Shawn played to the crowd. He took Del Rio's scarf and put it on as he exited the ring and greeted the fans at ringside...

Powell's POV: Wow. Where the hell did that come from? It looked like WWE was coasting tonight while going up against college football, and then they trot out HBK for an a great Raw moment? It was a real Raw moment that reminds viewers that anything can happen on Raw, but did they cost themselves a big ratings boost by not advertising HBK in advance? There will be plenty of wrestling fans who are watching college football kicking themselves over missing this one.

An ad for WWE Smackdown hyped Big Show vs. Wade Barrett... Backstage, Alex Riley was excited about getting Orton and Lawler in the ring together. Miz didn't look happy. He explained that he's the WWE Champion, but everyone is talking about Orton. Miz said he'll be the champion for a long time. Riley tried to deliver his catchphrase, but Miz stopped him and said he wouldn't say it until after his match...

Cole stood in the ring and said they were about to be joined by John Cena. C.M. Punk interrupted Cole. Punk was standing on top of Titan Tron. Punk said we're through talking about Cena because Raw is the C.M. Punk show now.

Punk teased that his initiation was jumping of the Titan Tron. He asked the fans if he should dive off the Tron and break every bone in his body. The cheered. Both announcers were saying he shouldn't do it on commentary. Punk struck the Jesus Christ pose.

Punk said he had one more question. "Exactly how gullible are all of you people?" Punk asked. He pulled up his shirt and showed that he's wearing a harness. He said he had two guys behind him. He said he's safer than the fans sitting in their seats. Punk asked what idiot would jump from the Tron? RIP Road Warrior Hawk. Punk congratulated Nashville for being initiated.

[Q8] Husky Harris, Michael McGilicutty, and David Otunga headed to the ring as Punk's theme song played. Highlights aired of the initiations again.

Powell's POV: I'm enjoying the initiations for the most part, but how in the blue hell can anyone from WWE claim with a straight face that a man being whipped like Harris was and Punk teasing that he was going to jump off the Titan Tron be considered PG? Again, I'm not offended in any way, but WWE has crossed the PG line as far as I'm concerned.

Punk joined the other Nexus members in the ring. He mocked the fans again for thinking that he was going to jump off the Tron. He said he doesn't need initiations because he's the leader of Nexus.

John Cena appeared on the big screen and delivered a promo "live via satellite." Cena recalled saying he would get his hands on every member of Nexus. He said he's done that with the exception of "C.M. Sucks." Ugh. Cena challenged Punk to face him in a match next week on Raw. Punk smiled and accepted.

Cena said he was hoping Punk would accept the match. He removed his hat and took a more serious tone. Cena said that Punk is right in that if he is provoked, he will be the most violent man on the planet. Cena yelled intensely while saying Punk will be dealt with next week. "It's not about t-shirts or armbands, it's about me whopping your ass"... [C]

Powell's POV: Damn, it feels like the reign of PG terror is over if only for one night.

4. Randy Orton and Jerry Lawler defeated The Miz and Alex Riley in 11:20. Cole complained that Lawler had to be in the spotlight, so Josh Mathews was filling in on commentary. Lawler went to work on Riley early. They went to ringside and Lawler slammed Riley's head off the announcers' table before taking the match back to the ring.

[Overrun] Orton tagged in at 1:50 and continued the assault on Riley. Later, Miz ended up working over Lawler. He took a page out of Orton's playbook by applying the Chinlock of Doom on Lawler briefly. The Miz hit Lawler with a clothesline in the corner. Cole said they had to take their last commercial break (which never happens during the overrun). [C]

Late in the match, Miz was setting up for the Skull Crushing Finale on Lawler when Orton hit him with the RKO instead. Lawler had Miz beat, but Riley broke up the pinfall. Orton checked in and hit some of his signature spots on Riley. Orton struck the Viper's Pose. Miz teased sneaking in, but Orton spotted him.

Riley tried to hit Orton from behind, but took an RKO instead. Orton shot right up and glared at Miz, who didn't enter the ring. Orton tagged in Lawler. Jerry climbed to the second rope and lowered his strap. Lawler performed the fist-drop on Riley and got the pin. Miz grabbed his belt and backed his way up the ramp as Riley was writhing in pain on the ground.

The announcers hyped John Cena vs. C.M. Punk for next week's show...


Powell's POV: The main event felt like a letdown. It was fine for what it was, but it just didn't pack a punch or leave me looking forward to Miz vs. Orton at the Royal Rumble. Overall, though, this was a strange show. It was great at times (HBK), dull at other times (the first hour minus everything involving Nexus), and even bizarre at some points (Nexus initiations). I'll have more to say about this show tomorrow in Dot Net Audio. Thanks for watching along with me tonight.

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