WWE Raw Buy or Sell: Wade Barrett must rehire John Cena or be kicked out of The Nexus, The Miz and Randy Orton, Michael Cole, King Sheamus, new Tag Team Champions, and more

By Rich Twilling

-Wade Barrett must rehire John Cena or be exiled from The Nexus: I am both buying and selling this. I'll start with the former. Cena showing up every week and running roughshod has already been played out. I like this hook for next week's show. It's positive incentive for viewers to tune in next week.

Additionally, for the first time since The Nexus debuted as a group, Barrett is vulnerable. He has been in a position of power with Cena and his own guys for a long time now. It's nice to see the shoe on the other foot. Cena and The Nexus are strange bedfellows and Barrett is the odd man out.

Logically, this stipulation makes very little sense. I have the same mindset as an emailer that wondered what incentive Barrett has to rehire Cena? If he rehires Cena, he will be protecting The Nexus; the same group that has proven they will band together against him. Either way, Cena will continue to go after Barrett.

So, Barrett can leave Cena fired and have his own guys exile him from the group. The Nexus cannot figure out how to eliminate one guy, while that one guy beats the crap out of many. Or, Barrett can rehire Cena, go back to leading a group that at the drop of a hat will leave him, and continue to face attacks from Cena. If Barrett does rehire Cena, it really will make little sense.

-The Miz and Randy Orton: I am buying the work these two are putting in toward their WWE Championship program. Orton is getting the best of The Miz to the point where he is getting through Alex Riley, but The Miz slips out of there before Orton can get to him.

It's basic, but very effective booking. This is one of those programs that would really benefit from having less pay-per-views per year. If they weren't rushed, they could really build nicely to their first real championship match.

-Michael Cole explains his actions to Jerry Lawler: I'll admit; my expectations here were too high and unrealistic, but I am still selling. Lawler came that close to winning the WWE Championship. The title should mean more to everyone and Lawler should have been very upset.

Instead, he had a little fun with Cole and pushed him into an RKO. Cole's "bombshell" announcement was that he loves Miz and Lawler should apologize. I was expecting more and was disappointed at what the payoff was.

-King Sheamus to continue feuding with John Morrison: I am selling this big time. Sheamus's getup is solid. He made it work. However, the segment died when Morrison came out with a microphone. WWE is ass backwards sometimes. They don't push those who deserve a push, and they give multiple chances to those who don't perform.

Morrison is a main event star in the ring. He is Matt Hardy on the mic. If Morrison was a heel and Bobby Heenan was his manager, he could be a WWE Champion. However, it's 2010. His mic work continues to hurt him.

-Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov become Tag Team Champions: I will buy this simply because the titles mean next to nothing. Santino is very over right now, so maybe his entertaining segments on Raw will help make a mid-card championship watchable and intriguing. If not, well, it was worth a shot.

-Michelle McCool and Layla continue to feud with Natalya: Sell. LayCool in the announce booth took away from the match and the show. LayCool will be in the title picture, probably forever. I guess we all have to get used to it.

-Maryse walks out on Ted DiBiase: I am buying this because the pairing has not worked and DiBiase's sinking ship needs to be plugged. DiBiase looks to be the sympathetic figure out of this duo, so I would love to see WWE push him as a babyface. He has a quality that works in terms of people wanting to cheer for him. We've seen it before and I think we will see it again.

-Daniel Bryan is a ladies' man: This is a buy for me because we all know Daniel Bryan can wrestle. We all know he is great in the ring. We also know that WWE doesn't always push the Daniel Bryan's of the world. However, they are willing to put him in these segments with the Bella Twins and that is a good thing. They are allowing him to shine in areas that he has been criticized in in the past. He is doing a great job and becoming a very well-rounded character.

-Tyson Kidd vs. David Hart Smith: I am selling this because the breakup of former Tag Team Champions should mean more than this. This looks like it will be a low card feud and will not elevate either man. The addition of FCW's Jackson Andrews could proved to be interesting. Or, it could lead to a bunch of tag matches on Superstars.

-CM Punk in the announce booth: Punk continues to excel in the booth and I am buying both his work and his improvement. Punk provides a dynamic we are not used to. It's one thing to have a retired wrestler in the announce booth. It's another thing to have someone who is currently on the roster in the announce booth. I love what we are getting from Punk and he will be missed when he heals up from his injury and gets back into the ring.