WWE RAW Results: 1-24-11Results courtesy of
PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.
1 -- EDGE vs. JACK SWAGGER vs. DREW MCINTYRE vs. TYSON KIDD -- Over-the-top rope match
Jack Swagger stormed the ring, followed by Drew McIntyre, then Tyson Kidd. Edge fought them all off, then tossed Kidd over the top rope. McIntyre then blasted Edge with a boot to the head. Mac proceeded to drape Edge over the top rope, but Swagger jumped Mac from behind. Edge then tossed Swagger over the top rope. It was Mac and Edge left in the ring. Mac tried the Future Shock, but Edge dumped him over the top rope. So, none of the three gets the #40 slot.
WINNER: Edge at 1:07.
2 -- JOHN MORRISON & MARK HENRY vs. KING SHEAMUS & ALBERTO DEL RIO
Cole made light of Jerry Lawler's Royal Rumble history and excitedly said WrestleMania Season begins at the Rumble. It should have begun weeks ago. Sheamus and Del Rio isolated Morrison early on. Morrison then flipped the tables and the heels retreated on the outside as they cut to break.
Back from break, the heels were working over Morrison as Cole talked up Del Rio's recent mean streak. Suddenly, they cut to a shot of Michael Tarver watching the match on a backstage monitor. Cole and Lawler said he was lurking around all day before the show. Ol' Tarver was at the scene of Teddy Long's attack on Smackdown. Maybe something, maybe nothing. Back in the ring, Morrison tried to fight back against Sheamus, who cut him off and continued to wear down Morrison. In the big "turning point" spot of the match, Sheamus missed with a Brogue Kick and Morrison slingshot him across the top rope.
Morrison tagged in Henry, who quickly went to work on Del Rio. Henry fired up the crowd, then made a cover, but Sheamus broke it up. Henry slowly stood up to ask Sheamus if he really just did that. Henry then pounded on Sheamus, clotheslined Del Rio, and turned around to take the Brogue Kick square in the face. Morrison dropped Sheamus to the outside, though, then nailed a corkscrew splash ringside. Morrison instantly sold his left knee. Back in the ring, Del Rio suddenly dropped Henry to the mat with the cross armbreaker and Henry furiously tapped out to sell the submission move. Del Rio celebrated and was proclaimed the winner to a strong heel reaction. They went to a replay of Morrison selling his knee injury before the finish.
WINNERS: Del Rio & Sheamus via submission at 10:05. Good tag match designed to each of the four men's chances of winning the Rumble match on Sunday. The slow first eight minutes paid off in the end after they built to a nice two-minute finish that the crowd was hot for. (**)
3 -- Divas champion NATALYA vs. MELINA -- Divas Title match
The match quickly moved to the outside where Melina gained control. In the ring, Melina applied a unique submission trying to stretch Natalya. Melina then tried to a kick to the mid-section, but Natalya grabbed Melina's foot and fluidly transitioned into the Sharpshooter. Natalya even leaned back on the Sharpshooter to where her shoulders were nearly on the mat, and Melina tapped out.
WINNER: Natalya via submission at 2:47. Good match. It could have meant more if given more time, but they put together a nice match for only three minutes. (*)
4 -- World Hvt. champion EDGE vs. WWE champion THE MIZ (w/Alex Riley) -- non-title match
Everyone was so concerned about Teddy Long's condition that no one brought it up. It's like the Paul Bearer murder angle where WWE struggles to maintain a consistent tone when they run an angle beyond the scope of a wrestling show. After burying the lead, Cole finally mentioned they will have an update on Long later in the show. In the ring, Edge and Miz started off with a feeling-out process as Ziggler and Vickie shared sweet words with each other. They sounded like NPR radio hosts ripe for an SNL parody. For the first move of the match, Edge knocked Miz to the outside and they cut to break three minutes in.
Back from break, Miz and Edge traded control as Lawler went through more insults aimed at Vickie. Ziggler seems too nice to be a top heel. Cole called it confidence from Ziggler. Lawler continued to run through his jokes as they cut away from the ring to a shot of the announcers. Edge set up for the Spear at 7:00, but Miz ducked to the outside. Edge sold his ribs, but whipped Miz hard into the guardrail.
Back in the ring, Miz cut off Edge up top. He wanted a superplex, but Edge head butted him down to the mat. Edge then came off the top with a cross-body block for a nearfall. Edge then clutched his ribs and Ziggler noted that might have taken more out of Edge than Miz and criticized him for a poor decision. Ziggler said he wants to beat the champion at 100 percent. Edge then missed with a corner splash and Miz dropped Edge across the top rope to continue focusing on the ribs. Miz slowly looked around the arena, which signaled another break was coming. It's a rare three-segment match, but they were only 9:40 in when they headed to the next break.
Back from break at 12:50, Miz was pounding away on Edge as Ziggler talked about his match strategy against Edge at the Rumble. Ziggler continued to get over the idea that he will fairly approach Edge in their sporting event contest at the pay-per-view event on Sunday. Cole randomly referenced Lou Thesz, Bruno Sammartino, and Shawn Michaels, then explained he was endorsing Miz in that category. Ziggler and Vickie agreed with Lawler that they don't see it with Miz. Ziggler said it's time for a change with him as champ and Edge out of the way.
Miz measured Edge for a corner clothesline, but Edge moved and rolled up Miz for a close two count. Riley then tried to grab Edge's foot from the outside, which drew Edge to the outside. Edge stared down Riley, then returned to the ring, where Miz tried a small package roll-up for a nearfall. Edge then bumped Riley off the ring apron, kicked Miz in the gut, and landed a DDT center ring. The crowd started chanting, "Spear, Spear," as Edge backed up to a neutral corner. He wanted the Spear, but "fair play" Ziggler grabbed Edge from behind for a DQ.
WINNER: Edge via DQ at 16:40. A lot to review from this sequence. The commentary was a bit of a distraction at times and shifted the focus away from the match. It seemed like the audience only saw three minutes of action in the near-17-minute. Before the post-match, Orton almost seemed like a lost player in WWE land until his big spot on the show dropping heels with signature moves. The crowd being red-hot for Orton helped sell Orton vs. Miz more than anything WWE has really done thus far. (**)
5 -- U.S. champion DANIEL BRYAN & BELLAS (NIKKI & BRIE) vs. TED DIBIASE & MARYSE & ALICIA FOX
Bryan and DiBiase started things off with some basic offense. Maryse had enough of DiBiase's inability to defeat Bryan...after 20 seconds, so she tagged herself in, much to DiBiase's chagrin. That also meant one of the Bellas had to enter the ring. While Maryse and Brie battled, Nikki tried to work on DiBiase on the ring apron. Brie took exception to Nikki's tactics, then Maryse rolled her up from behind. Post-match: More drama with the Bellas arguing amongst themselves and Bryan trying to calm them down. On the other side, Maryse high-fived Michael Cole, then tried to show off in front of an upset DiBiase.
WINNERS: Maryse & Fox & DiBiase at 0:59. Oh, the humanity. (n/a)
6 -- WWE tag champion SANTINO (w/Tamina) vs. NEW NEXUS (HUSKY HARRIS w/ Michael McGillicutty, Mason Ryan, and David Otunga) -- non-title match
Lawler absolutely cut a promo on Cole, calling him a liar about the Tag Title false announcement and having his head so far up Miz's back side that he's lost sight of the show. They seem to be building to that inevitable Cole vs. Lawler match. Santino was sporting some new blue basketball shoes, which seemed somewhat silly.
Harris took apart Santino with power offense, building to Santino making a comeback without a hot tag. He teased the Cobra, but Mike threw off Santino, allowing Harris to drop Santino with a clothesline. He followed with an inverted facebuster for the pin and the win.
WINNER: Harris at 3:50. Random match that was clearly presented as filler. Cole's Tag Title announcement threw off the entire exchange for the TV audience. (3/4*)
7 -- WADE BARRETT (w/The Corre) vs. C.M. PUNK (w/New Nexus) -- John Cena special referee -- Loser's team out of the Rumble
Cena finally called for the bell and opened the match by punking both men, trying to draw a DQ from one or the other. Cena then dumped Punk over the top rope, which would have been good for a Rumble elimination. Cole noted that as well. Punk ran back in the ring with a clenched fist, but did not strike Cena. Punk had a pin on Barrett, but Cena suddenly left the ring and started signing autographs for fans on the front row. Cena "realized" there was something going on in the ring and returned to the ring to "apologize" to Barrett, who was now in control.
After a double knockdown, Cena suddenly called for the bell. He DQ'ed both wrestlers for "excessive use of profanity," claiming it's a PG show. (Instead of doing the PG excuse, an easier one would have been they failed to answer a ten count he made up in his head, which would have avoided the inevitable and unproductive PG reminder.) He then told Roberts that both Corre and Nexus are out of the Rumble. Roberts made the official announcement, the crowd popped, and viewers were given a brief and scary pause trying to think of how WWE would fill nine fewer slots than the current 26 slots (25 heading into Raw + Mason Ryan) for the 40-man Rumble.
WINNER: Double DQ at 2:01.