WWE Week In Review: January 2, 2011- January 8, 2011

WWE Week in Review: Edition #140

January 2, 2011- January 8, 2011

Welcome to the one-hundred fortieth edition of the WWE Week in Review. Feel free to contact me on TWO or Wrestling 101 anytime with comments, questions, and anything in between. Make sure to check out the section at the end of the article highlighting a different WWE Superstar, Diva, or Alumni every week. I have also added a section that lists where WWE will be hosting their weekly television shows and monthly pay-per-views.

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WWE Week In Preview

Monday Night RAW

WWE Championship: Falls Count Anywhere Match:

The Miz © (with Alex Riley) Vs. John Morrison

First RAW of 2011

WWE Superstars

Daniel Bryan & Mark Henry Vs. Tyson Kidd & Ted DiBiase

First WWE Superstars of 2011

Friday Night SmackDown

World Heavyweight Championship: Last Man Standing Match:

Edge © Vs. Kane

2-out-of-3 Falls Match:

Rey Mysterio Vs. Alberto Del Rio

First SmackDown of 2011

The 919th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW (the first RAW of 2011) came to you, live, from the U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, AZ. After defeating Sheamus in an incredible and hard-fought Ladder Match at WWE TLC to become the new #1 Contender for the WWE Title, John Morrison would get his shot at the gold as Morrison will challenge his former tag team partner, The Miz, for the WWE Title in a Falls Count Anywhere Match!

First RAW of 2011 (January 3, 2011)

Good Week For: Randy Orton (survived a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match against King Sheamus & Wade Barrett to become the new #1 Contender)

Bad Week For: Wade Barrett (thanks to CM Punk, lost the Triple Threat Steel Cage Match, resulting in his forced exit from The Nexus)

Detailed Results Follow…

The first RAW of 2011 kicks off with commentator Michael Cole, without Jerry Lawler as the Hall of Famer was brutally assaulted by The Miz last week, states that, after being attacked by CM Punk and The Nexus last week and after suffering a hip injury at a WWE Live Event last Tuesday, it is highly unlikely that John Cena will be on RAW! Cole then reveals that the very first match of 2011 will see the WWE Title on the line!

The very first match of 2011 would be for the WWE Title as The Miz, with his “apprentice” Alex Riley in his corner, would defend the WWE Title against “The Monday Night Delight” John Morrison in a Falls Count Anywhere Match which, as the name suggests, means that pinfalls and submissions count anywhere in the arena and there will be no disqualifications and no count-outs! Early on in the match, John Morrison would battle The Miz and Alex Riley up to the staging area where Morrison would climb the large WWE logo set up as a part of the stage and would dive off of the top of it, taking down Miz & Riley! A little bit later on in the match, John Morrison would get fed up with the constant interference from Alex Riley, so Morrison would attack Riley and would deliver a knee to Riley on the outside, knocking Riley off the top of the ringside barricade, which would result in EMT’s being called out to assist Riley to the back as the match continued! Later on in the match, John Morrison would hit Starship Pain on The Miz in the ring, but Miz would kick out of the move, prompting Morrison to send Miz to the outside where he would place Miz on a table and would go for Starship Pain, but Miz would move out of the way and Morrison would go crashing through the table, but would still kick out of a pinfall attempt by Miz, prompting The Miz to deliver the Skull Crushing Finale to Morrison on the arena floor en route to finally defeating John Morrison to successfully retaining the WWE Title to kick off 2011 with a big win!

After The Miz successfully defended the WWE Title against John Morrison in a Falls Count Anywhere Match, the main event of RAW was revealed as three to-be-announced Superstars would compete in a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match with the winner being named the new #1 Contender for the WWE Title with that Superstar getting their shot at the title at the Royal Rumble in four weeks’ time! What Superstars will compete in the dangerous Triple Threat Steel Cage Match? Which Superstar will emerge as the new #1 Contender for the WWE Title?

The Divas would be in action on RAW as Divas Champions Natalya would team with Eve Torres & Brie Bella to take on the team of the #1 Contender for the Divas Title Melina, Maryse, & Alicia Fox in a 6-Diva Tag Match! In the end, it was Eve Torres hitting a swinging neckbreaker on Melina en route to picking up the win for her team!

The WWE Tag Team Champions were in action on RAW as Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov, with former Usos manager Tamina in their corner, would face Jimmy & Jey Uso in a non-title match! In the end, it was Santino Marella going for the Cobra Strike, but one of the Usos would counter and hit a Samoan Drop on Santino en route to picking up the win! After the match, one of the Usos would have some choice words for the former Usos manager, Tamina, but Vladimir Kozlov would come into the ring and would deliver a headbutt to the Uso, which would allow Santino and Tamina to team up and hit the double Cobra Strike on an Uso!

One week after shocking the world by orchestrating a Nexus assault on John Cena before symbolically joining The Nexus, “The Straightedge Savior” CM Punk would make an appearance on RAW to explain his attack last week and what his role is in The Nexus! CM Punk states that he spent all day walking around the backstage area looking for John Cena, but he “can’t see John Cena” and that is because Cena is not in the arena and it is because of him! Punk then states that he is a man of his “word” and he is also a three-time World Heavyweight Champion, which makes him a “leader of men”, which is why The Nexus “begged” him to be their new leader! Punk then continues to mock Cena by saying that “hustle, loyalty, and respect” are the words he “lives by”, as well as The Nexus! Punk then tells John Cena to “stay at home” because it is a “fight that Cena can not win” before proclaiming that is “taking over” The Nexus and he is “taking over” RAW before CM Punk is interrupted by Wade Barrett! Barrett states that he was the one who “destroyed” John Cena in a match they had last week at a WWE Live Event before saying that he is the leader of The Nexus, not CM Punk and Punk responds by saying that The Nexus “needs new management”, prompting Barrett to call Punk a “hypocritical, manipulative, waste of skin”! Barrett then states that, under his leadership, The Nexus “changed the face” of RAW before saying that Punk is not a “leader”, he is a “liar” as Punk “lies” about being “straightedge” and he “lies” to all the fans, who Barrett calls “John Cena flag-waving morons”! Punk offers the idea to bring out The Nexus and have them decide who is telling the “truth” and who is a “liar” and, on Barrett’s order, The Nexus comes out and marches to the ring! Nexus member David Otunga states that both CM Punk and Wade Barrett make “good points”, but Otunga is interrupted by the anonymous RAW General Manager as the GM chimes in with an email that announces the three participants in the Triple Threat Steel Cage Match to determine the new #1 Contender for the WWE Title between “The Viper” Randy Orton, the 2010 King of the Ring Sheamus, and either CM Punk or Wade Barrett! CM Punk responds by giving Barrett the spot in the main event, citing that he does not want to fight Barrett because he is a “talker” before stating that, if Barrett wins, he will allow Barrett to resume his role as leader of The Nexus, but if Barrett loses, then Barrett is out of The Nexus and Punk takes over as leader! Barrett then confidently shakes Punk’s hand and agrees to the stipulation! Can Wade Barrett overcome both Randy Orton and Sheamus in a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match to become the new #1 Contender for the WWE Title or will Orton or Sheamus win, forcing Barrett out of The Nexus in favor of CM Punk becoming the new leader of the group?

Four nights before he faces Rey Mysterio in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match on SmackDown, “The Essence of Excellence” Alberto Del Rio makes a special appearance on RAW as Del Rio states that his “destiny” is to become the World Heavyweight Champion and his “destiny” is to “destroy” every single person on SmackDown before stating that his name will be “emblazoned” in the “heart and the mind” of the fans before proclaiming that his “destiny” is to win the Royal Rumble Match and main event WrestleMania! Del Rio then tells the fans that they have “no destiny” before he is interrupted by R-Truth who tells Del Rio that Del Rio’s only “destiny” is to go back where he “came from” before saying that he is just the man to “send” him there before slapping Alberto Del Rio across the face!

After his confident statements in regards to winning the Royal Rumble Match in four weeks, SmackDown’s “Essence of Excellence” Alberto Del Rio would go one-on-one with RAW’s R-Truth! In the end, it was Alberto Del Rio locking in the Cross Armbreaker on R-Truth, leaving Truth no choice but to tap out, earning Del Rio the victory! Will Alberto Del Rio continue his success heading into SmackDown this Friday Night when he faces Rey Mysterio in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match?

It was revealed just prior to the main event that the anonymous General Manager of RAW has made the announcement that John Cena may return to action on RAW next week! Will John Cena return to RAW next week? What kind of condition will John Cena be in?

Then it was time for the main event as “The Viper” Randy Orton, the 2010 King of the Ring King Sheamus, and the current Nexus leader Wade Barrett would face off in a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match with the winner becoming the new #1 Contender for the WWE Title with a title shot at the Royal Rumble in four weeks, with the added stipulation that, if Wade Barrett wins the match, he will resume his role as leader of The Nexus, but if Barrett loses, he will be kicked out of The Nexus in favor of CM Punk becoming the new leader of The Nexus! During the match, Wade Barrett would look like he was moments from being named the new #1 Contender as Barrett would scale the wall of the cage, but CM Punk would come out and quickly climb the outside of the cage and would, shockingly offer his hand to help Barrett over the top of the cage, but once Barrett got close enough, Punk would rip the Nexus armband off of Barrett before knocking Barrett off the cage and back inside the ring! After hitting the Brogue Kick on Wade Barrett, King Sheamus would call for the cage door to be opened, but as Sheamus started to make his way to walk out of the cage, Randy Orton would come out of nowhere and deliver the RKO to Sheamus before walking out of the cage to become the new #1 Contender for the WWE Title! The match is now set for the Royal Rumble as The Miz will defend the WWE Title against the man that he cashed in the Money-in-the-Bank contract against to win the gold in Randy Orton! Can The Miz retain the WWE Title against a determined Randy Orton or will Orton regain the WWE Title in four weeks’ time at the Royal Rumble?

The 90th edition of WWE Superstars (the first WWE Superstars of 2011) came to you from the U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, AZ and from the Tucson Convention Center in Tucson, AZ. The first WWE Superstars of 2011 would see United States Champion Daniel Bryan teaming with “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry to face the team of the self-proclaimed “Crowned Prince of the WWE” Tyson Kidd and “The Fortune Son” Ted DiBiase!

First WWE Superstars of 2011 (January 6, 2011)

Good Week For: Tyson Kidd (pinned United States Champion Daniel Bryan in the main event)

Bad Week For: Daniel Bryan (was pinned by Tyson Kidd in the main event)

Detailed Results Follow…

The first WWE Superstars of 2011 kicks off with SmackDown action as “The Brooklyn Baller” JTG would go one-on-one with “The X Factor” Tyler Reks! In the end, it was Tyler Reks hitting the Burning Hammer on JTG en route to picking up the win!

“The Masterpiece” would be in action on WWE Superstars as Chris Masters would go one-on-one with “The Party Starter” Curt Hawkins! In the end, it was Chris Masters locking in the Masterlock, forcing Curt Hawkins into submission to pick up the win!

WWE Superstars would see RAW Superstars in action as the high-flying Yoshi Tatsu would go one-on-one with “The Long Island Iced Z” Zack Ryder! In the end, it was Yoshi Tatsu hitting a roundhouse kick on Zack Ryder en route to picking up the win!

Then it was time for the first WWE Superstars main event of 2011 as United States Champion Daniel Bryan, with The Bella Twins in his corner, would team with “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry to face the team of “The Crowned Prince” Tyson Kidd & “The Fortunate Son” Ted DiBiase, with Maryse in his corner! In the end, it was Tyson Kidd hitting a Fisherman’s neckbreaker on Daniel Bryan en route to pinning the United States Champion to pick up a big win for his team! Is Tyson Kidd well on his way to become the United States Champion?

The 594th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown (the first SmackDown of 2011) came to you from the Tucson Convention Center in Tucson, AZ. The first SmackDown of the year would ring 2011 in a blockbuster fashion with two huge main event as, after losing the World Heavyweight Title in a Fatal 4-Way TLC Match at WWE TLC, “The Big Red Monster” Kane would get his rematch for the gold as Kane would challenge new champion Edge for the World Heavyweight Title in a Last Man Standing Match! The other huge main event would see the culmination of an intense rivalry that goes back almost five months as “The Ultimate Underdog” Rey Mysterio would go one-on-one with “The Mexican Elitist” Alberto Del Rio in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match!

First SmackDown of 2011 (January 7, 2011)

Good Week For: Dolph Ziggler (despite losing the Intercontinental Title, would become the new #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title)

Bad Week For: Rey Mysterio (was cost a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match against Alberto Del Rio by Del Rio’s personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez)

Detailed Results Follow…

The first SmackDown of 2011 kicks off in a major way as the World Heavyweight Title would be up for grabs as “The Big Red Monster” Kane would challenge new champion Edge for the gold in a Last Man Standing Match, where the only way to win is to beat your opponent to the point that they are unable to make it to their feet by the referee’s count of ten! The hard-hitting match would go all over the arena as the two Superstars would fight through the crowd and would brawl throughout the backstage area and, at one point in the match, Kane would symbolically load Edge into a wheelchair and would attempt to send Edge down a flight of stairs in the chair, but Edge would narrowly escape before going back on the offensive as the match continues! Edge and Kane would then fight their way back to the ring and, in the ring, both Superstars would knock each other down and, with both men down, the commentators would reveal that if both men were counted down by the referee, then the match would be restarted, but both Superstars would make it to their feet as the match would roll on! Shortly after this, the match would spill to the outside where Edge would hit the Edgecution on Kane on the steel steps, but Kane would narrowly beat the ten count and would fight back against Edge, ultimately delivering the chokeslam to Edge through the announce table, but Edge would very narrowly beat the ten count by using commentator Matt Striker to get to his feet! A frustrated Kane would then throw a pair of steel chairs in the ring and would climb the top rope with one chair, but Edge would throw the other chair into the face of Kane, allowing Edge to take advantage and deliver a chair shot to the leg of Kane before laying Kane out with the Spear! Not convinced that the Spear would keep Kane down for a ten count, Edge would grab a second steel chair and would deliver his signature con-chair-to to the knee of Kane and it looked like Kane would get back to his feet, but at the count of nine, Kane would try to put weight on the injured knee and the knee would fail Kane, preventing Kane from technically being able to stand on both feet as the referee reaches the ten count, meaning that Edge is the Last Man Standing and is still the World Heavyweight Champion! After successfully retaining the World Heavyweight Title in a grueling match against Kane, who will be the next SmackDown Superstar to step up and challenge Edge for the gold?

After witnessing and intense and hard-fought World Heavyweight Title match, another title would be up for grabs on SmackDown as Dolph Ziggler, with Vickie Guerrero in his corner, would defend the Intercontinental Title against Kofi Kingston! In the end, it was Kofi Kingston proving that he was not just a lifelong “contender” like Dolph Ziggler said several weeks ago by hitting a cross body on Dolph Ziggler en route to pinning Dolph to win his third Intercontinental Title! The new champion’s celebration would be very short-lived as Dolph Ziggler would attack Kofi from behind and hit the Zig Zag on Kofi before Dolph’s girlfriend, SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero, reveals that SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long is not in the arena, so she is in charge of SmackDown before announcing that Dolph will get his rematch for the Intercontinental Title immediately! Despite the pre-match attack and being further ravaged in the match, Kofi Kingston would come out of nowhere and hit the Trouble In Paradise on Dolph en route to defeating Dolph a second straight time to make his immediate title defense a successful one! Kofi Kingston has finally regained the Intercontinental Title from Dolph Ziggler and has defeated Dolph Ziggler in an immediate rematch to boot, so what challenges await the new champion?

Moments after losing the Intercontinental Title and the immediate rematch to Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler is backstage with girlfriend Vickie Guerrero as Dolph tells Vickie that ordering that immediate rematch was a “bonehead” decision, which Vickie responds to by calling Dolph a “two-time loser” before Dolph tells Vickie that, if that is the case, then she needs to find a “new boyfriend” before walking off, prompting Vickie to throw a tantrum! Has Dolph Ziggler & Vickie Guerrero’s relationship truly come to an end?

Backstage, Drew McIntyre confronts Kelly Kelly prior to Kelly’s match as McIntyre wishes Kelly “good luck” in her match before stating that the WWE is his “entire life” before revealing that he will have the chance to become the new #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title when he faces former tag team partner “Dashing” Cody Rhodes and “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show in a Triple Threat Match, but he is not expecting Kelly Kelly to “trust” him just yet, but he wants her to “support” him like he does for her!

After the show kicked off with a Last Man Standing Match for the World Heavyweight Title where Kane lost his rematch against champion Edge, it was time to determine a new #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title as “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show, “Dashing” Cody Rhodes, & “The Chosen One” Drew McIntyre would compete in a Triple Threat Match with the winner earning that right, but before the match can begin, acting General Manager for the night, Vickie Guerrero, comes out and makes the match a Fatal 4-Way Match with the former Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler being added to the bout! At one point during the match, the four competitors would battle on the outside where Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler, & “Dashing” Cody Rhodes would send Big Show through the ringside barricade as the match continues! Later on in the match, Big Show would dominate his opposition and would be ready to deliver a chokeslam to end the match, but RAW Superstar and former Nexus leader Wade Barrett would come out of nowhere and, with no disqualifications and no count-outs in the match, Barrett would assault Big Show, seemingly costing Big Show the match as “Dashing” Cody Rhodes would hit the Beautiful Disaster Kick on Big Show, but Show would kick out of the following pinfall attempt, so Dolph Ziggler would hit the Zig Zag on Big Show, but Show would kick out again, prompting Drew McIntyre to hit the Future Shock DDT on Big Show, on for Show to kick out yet again! Big Show would then send Drew McIntyre to the outside and, with Show too weak from all the abuse to do anything about it, Dolph would try and strike up a temporary partnership with “Dashing” Cody Rhodes with the goal being to take Big Show out of the match, but as soon as Rhodes turned his back, Dolph would hit the Zig Zag on Rhodes and would pin Rhodes to pick up the win and become the new #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title! When Dolph Ziggler gets his shot at Edge’s World Heavyweight Title, can Dolph win his first World Title?

The Divas were in action on SmackDown as one-half of the Slammy Award winning LayCool, Michelle McCool, would go one-on-one with Kelly Kelly! In the end, it was a distraction by Layla on the outside that would allow Michelle McCool to hook up and deliver the Faith Breaker on Kelly Kelly en route to picking up the win! After the match, both members of LayCool would deliver a double-team modified STO on Kelly Kelly before insulting the downed Diva, but Drew McIntyre would come out and scare LayCool off to protect Kelly Kelly!

After interfering in the #1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way Match for the World Heavyweight Title and attacking Big Show, it was announced that former Nexus leader Wade Barrett will go one-on-one with “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show on next week’s SmackDown! What will go down when these two go one-on-one for the first time ever next week?

Then it was time for the main event as, in a culmination of a five month rivalry, “The Ultimate Underdog” Rey Mysterio would go one-on-one with “The Mexican Elitist” Alberto Del Rio in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match where the first Superstar to score two falls in the match, either by pinfall, submission, disqualification, or count-out, would win the match! Early on in the match, Rey Mysterio would go for the 619 on Alberto Del Rio, but Del Rio would dodge the move and would lock in his cross armbreaker, leading to Rey tapping out quickly in an attempt to prevent substantial damage to his arm, but also putting Del Rio up one fall to zero! Later on in the match, Rey Mysterio would roll Alberto Del Rio up in a cradle roll-up to even the score at one fall for both Superstars! Later on in the match, both Superstars would be battling on the outside of the ring, but after Alberto Del Rio re-entered the ring, Del Rio’s personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez, would hold the foot of Mysterio long enough for the referee to reach his ten count, costing Rey the match via count-out! After the match, a frustrated Rey Mysterio would take his aggressions out on Del Rio’s personal ring announcer as Rey would attack Ricardo Rodriguez and hit the 619 on Ricardo and followed it up with a splash on the ring announcer! What is next for these two SmackDown Superstars en route to the Royal Rumble?

Superstars of the Week: WWE Champion The Miz & World Heavyweight Champion Edge

Alumni Profile of the Week

Ring Name: Rikishi

Real/Full Name: Solofa F. Fatu, Jr.

Born On: October 11, 1965 in San Francisco, CA

Age: 45

Billed From: The Isle of Samoa

Resides: Poinciana, FL

Trained By: The Wild Samoans (Afa & Sika)

WWE Run: 1992- 2004

Accomplishments

One Time Intercontinental Champion

Two Time WWE World Tag Team Champion (1x w/ Samu & 1x w/ Rico)

One Time WWE Tag Team Champion (w/ Scotty 2 Hotty)

Father of Jimmy & Jey Uso

Did You Know?

Early in his WWE career, Rikishi was known as Fatu, who was one-half of the tag team, The Headshrinkers, with Samu and would later become known as The Sultan, but after taking a couple year hiatus, Rikishi would debut in the WWE in 1999.

Next Week’s WWE Television Schedule

Monday, January 10: Monday Night RAW, LIVE, from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN

Tuesday, January 11: WWE NXT from the BJCC in Birmingham, AL

Thursday, January 13: WWE Superstars from Nashville, TN & Birmingham, AL

Friday, January 14: The BJCC in Birmingham, AL Hosts SmackDown

Contact

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: Facebook.com/TheCiSH