One night after a shocking and unforgettable SummerSlam, the 899th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW returns to the location of “The Biggest Event of the Summer”, the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. On what promises to be a wild night on RAW, three of the stars of the upcoming film, “Going The Distance”, will serve as the Guest Hosts of RAW as Justin Long, Charlie Day, & Jason Sudeikis will appear on the show! Also, one night before two more NXT Rookies are eliminated on NXT, the number five ranked Rookie would make a special appearance on RAW after winning last week’s Power of the Punch Challenge as The Miz’s Rookie, Alex Riley, will appear on the show!
>>Match Results<<
- Nexus Trial Match: The Nexus Banned: Wade Barrett def. Chris Jericho by pin following the Barrett Wasteland to remain a part of The Nexus.
- Nexus Trial Match: The Nexus Banned: Michael Tarver (with The Miz & Alex Riley) def. Daniel Bryan by roll-up to remain a part of The Nexus.
- Nexus Trial Match: The Nexus Banned: Justin Gabriel (with Sheamus) def. Randy Orton (replacing Bret Hart) by Count-Out to remain a part of The Nexus.
- Nexus Trial Match: The Nexus Banned: David Otunga & Skip Sheffield def. R-Truth & John Morrison by Skip Sheffield pinning John Morrison following the clothesline to remain a part of The Nexus.
- 6-Diva Tag: Alicia Fox, Maryse, & Jillian def. Melina, Eve Torres, & Gail Kim by Jillian pinning Eve Torres after pulling Eve Torres off of the top turnbuckle.
- Nexus Trial Match: The Nexus Banned: Heath Slater def. Edge by Count-Out to remain a part of The Nexus.
- Final Nexus Trial Match: The Nexus Banned: John Cena def. Darren Young by submission to the C-STF to force Darren Young out of The Nexus.
>>Detailed Results<<
One night after losing to Team WWE at SummerSlam, the show kicks off with The Nexus and Nexus leader Wade Barrett states that what doesn’t kill them makes them stronger and that Team WWE “narrowly escaped” with a victory, but they defeated six of the best that RAW had to offer! Barrett then proclaims that rumors of their demise have been “greatly exaggerated” because they are still ready to “dominate” the WWE! Barrett continues that everyone was worried what would happen if The Nexus won at SummerSlam, but no one paid attention to what would happen if they lost! Barrett then states that, since they did lose, there will be “consequences”; consequences that are “severe” for the WWE roster and there will be more “suffering” and more “pain and misery” for anyone who gets in their way! Wade Barrett is then interrupted by the leader of Team WWE at SummerSlam, John Cena, who reminds that Barrett tapped out at SummerSlam and losing the match for The Nexus before stating that Barrett is really thinking that The Nexus is the real “expendables”! Cena then reminds The Nexus that their former teammate, Daniel Bryan, eliminated half of the group last night! Cena continues that it has been revealed that The Nexus are “human” and they can be “beat”! Cena then states that they are going to look at The Nexus as “individuals” for the first time ever before focusing on David Otunga by saying that Otunga is “nothing more than a below average male escort who clings to someone’s arm on the red carpet” and calls Michael Tarver an “MMA bank robber who works late nights as a male stripper”! Cena then calls Heath Slater “the chick from Wendy’s” before focusing on Darren Young by stating that Cena’s mother had a “lusty affair” with Buckwheat! Cena then states that Justin Gabriel has an “alternative way of thinking” and says that he can “read” Skip Sheffield’s thoughts and Skip’s head is filled with the Meow Mix jingle! Cena then proclaims that the “fear” that The Nexus has instilled in the locker room is “gone” and SummerSlam will forever be known as the place where The Nexus was “history”! Darren Young then interrupts Cena and Cena responds by telling Young that his name should be changed to the “weakest link”! The anonymous General Manager of RAW then chimes with an email that announces that there will be a series of matches where members of The Nexus will be going one-on-one with a member of Team WWE with any outside interference by The Nexus will be met with “swift and appropriate consequences”! Wade Barrett responds by calling the matches an “opportunity for redemption” for The Nexus, as well as a chance to “examine” The Nexus and find if there is a “weakest link” that needs to be weeded out! Wade Barrett then makes the announcement to his Nexus teammates that, if any of them lose their match against a member of Team WWE, then they will be exiled from The Nexus! Barrett then proclaims that, by the end of the night, The Nexus will be “stronger than ever”! David Otunga then grabs the microphone and tells Wade Barrett that the same applies to him and any one of them will be “more than happy” to take over if he does get kicked out of the group! The anonymous RAW General Manager then chimes with an email that announces that The Nexus will get to decide, amongst themselves, which member of Team WWE they will face with the exception of Nexus leader Wade Barrett, who will go one-on-one with his former mentor, Chris Jericho, in the opening match of the night! With The Nexus banned from interfering in the match and with Wade Barrett’s status in The Nexus on the line, can Barrett defeat his former mentor, Chris Jericho, or will Jericho win and force Barrett out as The Nexus’ leader?
With his spot in The Nexus on the line, Nexus leader Wade Barrett would go one-on-one with NXT Season One mentor, Chris Jericho in a match where The Nexus is banned from interfering and if Barrett loses, he will be kicked out of The Nexus! In the end, it was Wade Barrett countering the Codebreaker into the Barrett Wasteland en route to defeating Chris Jericho in an impressive win to secure his status in The Nexus! Wade Barrett has secured his spot in The Nexus, but will the other six Nexus members succeed against their hand-picked Team WWE opponents?
The Guest Hosts of RAW then make an appearance as the stars of the upcoming film, “Going The Distance”, Justin Long, Charlie Day, & Jason Sudeikis appear to introduce the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions, The Hart Dynasty as Tyson Kidd, David Hart Smith, & Natalya come out and shake hands with the three actors before Long, Day, & Sudeikis exit the ring! With The Hart Dynasty in the ring, the anonymous General Manager of RAW chimes in with an email that announces that the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship will now be known as the WWE Tag Team Championship! To go along with the new championship new WWE Tag Team Title belts were brought out by none other that WWE Hall of Famer and former tag team champion Bret “The Hitman” Hart! Bret Hart then presents the new belts to The Hart Dynasty and celebrates with the team before Wade Barrett & The Nexus interrupts as Barrett reveals that Justin Gabriel will be the one to go one-on-one with Bret Hart in the next Nexus Trial Match! Will Bret Hart defeat Justin Gabriel and force Gabriel out of The Nexus or will Justin Gabriel upset the WWE Hall of Famer en route to remaining a part of The Nexus?
Then it was time for the next Nexus Trial Match as “The Akron Assassin” Michael Tarver would go one-on-one with “The American Dragon” Daniel Bryan with Michael Tarver’s spot in The Nexus on the line! Daniel Bryan was in complete control of Michael Tarver during the match when The Miz and his NXT Rookie Alex Riley come out and distract Bryan long enough for Tarver to catch Bryan with a roll-up en route to keeping his spot in The Nexus! After the match, Daniel Bryan dived out to take The Miz down before Alex Riley & Michael Tarver grabbed Daniel Bryan and held Bryan as The Miz speared Bryan into the ringside barricade before planting Bryan with the Skull Crushing Finale on the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase! How will Daniel Bryan respond to being cost in a match by The Miz two nights in a row?
Backstage, Darren Young announces to his Nexus teammates that he will go one-on-one with John Cena with his spot in The Nexus on the line! Can Darren Young make a huge upset by defeating John Cena or will Cena ensure that Young does not remain in The Nexus?
With his spot in The Nexus on the line, Justin Gabriel would go one-on-one with WWE Hall of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart and, if Justin Gabriel loses, he will be kicked out of The Nexus, but before the match begins, the anonymous RAW General Manager interrupts with an email that announces that Justin Gabriel will not be facing Bret Hart! The anonymous GM continues that he/she does not “like” Bret Hart and has never liked the Hall of Famer and never wants to see him compete on RAW again and does not “care” what anyone in the audience or watching at home thinks before revealing the “last minute substitution” for Bret Hart is none other than the seething former #1 Contender for the WWE Title, “The Viper” Randy Orton! During the match, Randy Orton spots WWE Champion Sheamus heading for the ring and meets Sheamus on the outside where Orton battles Sheamus through the crowd, but as this is taking place, the referee reaches his ten count; meaning that Orton is counted out and Justin Gabriel wins, securing his spot as a member of The Nexus! After the match, Randy Orton realizes what just took place and re-enters the ring and plants Justin Gabriel with the RKO! However, Justin Gabriel would turn out to get off easy as Randy Orton would refocus his attention on WWE Champion Sheamus as Orton grabs a steel chair wails away at the back of Sheamus with a steel chair with several steel chair shots! Randy Orton would then begin to leave, but Orton would come back and plant Sheamus with the RKO on the arena floor! After snapping and assaulting WWE Champion Sheamus, what is next for Randy Orton, as well as Sheamus?
With their spots in The Nexus on the line, David Otunga & Skip Sheffield would face R-Truth & John Morrison in tag team action and if Otunga & Skip lose, they will be kicked out of The Nexus! In the end, it was Skip Sheffield blasting John Morrison with a vicious clothesline en route to pinning Morrison to secure his and David Otunga’s spots in The Nexus! Five Nexus members have kept their spots, but can Heath Slater & Darren Young do the same?
One night after winning the Divas Title only to be assaulted by the self-proclaimed “co-Women’s Champions” LayCool, new Divas Champion Melina would team with former Divas Champion Eve Torres and former Women’s Champion Gail Kim to face the team of three former Divas Champions in Alicia Fox, Maryse, & Jillian in 6-Diva Tag action! In the end, it was Jillian pulling Eve Torres off of the top rope en route to picking up the upset win for her team!
Moments before their one-on-one match, Nexus member Heath Slater confronts Edge and asks Edge to just not show up for the match and allow Heath to get the win by “forfeit”! Edge refuses by saying that he does not want the record books to show that he forfeited to some “Wendy-looking, ginger-haired, Edge wannabe”, which leads to Slater blasting Edge from behind! Has Heath Slater sealed his own fate by enraging Edge or will this attack work in the favor of Heath Slater?
Moments after blasting Edge from behind in the backstage area, Nexus member Heath Slater would go one-on-one with “The Rated-R Superstar” Edge and, if Heath Slater loses, he will be kicked out of The Nexus! The match would spill to the outside where Edge would set up for the Spear, but Heath Slater would roll into the ring to avoid the Spear as the referee reached his ten count, meaning that Heath Slater defeated Edge by count-out to remain a part of The Nexus! After the match, Edge retaliates by laying Heath Slater out with the Spear! Six out of seven Nexus members have survived their trials, but can Darren Young find a way to upset John Cena to remain a part of The Nexus?
Then it was time for the main event as the leader of Team WWE, John Cena, would go one-on-one with Nexus member Darren Young and, if Young loses, then he is kicked out of The Nexus with The Nexus watching from the stage! Despite a valiant effort by Darren Young, it was John Cena locking in his STF that forced Darren Young to tap out and forcing Darren Young out of The Nexus! After the match, The Nexus came to the ring and stood on the ring apron, seemingly ready to attack John Cena, but instead The Nexus allowed Cena to leave before the six Nexus members assaulted the exiled Darren Young; an assault that ended with Nexus leader Wade Barrett laying Darren Young out with the Barrett Wasteland! Now that The Nexus has weeded out their “weakest link” in Darren Young, what does the future hold for the six remaining members of The Nexus?