Raw Results 01/17/11

Raw Results from Little Rock, AR:

Tonight's WWE Raw opened with a video to pay tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. with sound clips from his "I Have a Dream" speech included. Michael Cole welcomed viewers to Little Rock just before John Cena's theme music hit to bring out the superstar to a cheering crowd. They showed highlights of the new Nexus attacking Cena in the ring 3 weeks ago.

Cena talked about the beating, and said this is his first time in a WWE ring in 2011. Cena says he has a list of New Year's Resolutions including take care of CM Punk tonight and go on to Wrestlemania to become the new WWE Champion. Cena called Punk to come out, but instead he got The Miz and Alex Riley, both dressed in suits. Miz questioned if Cena really thinks he'll win back the WWE title at Wrestlemania. Miz and Riley came to the ring with Miz still talking.

The Miz told Cena that this year's Rumble will have 40 men competing instead of the usual 30 and whoever wins gets to choose which title they fight for at Wrestlemania, either the WWE or World Championship. Miz told whoever wins the Rumble not to come after him, because they'll suffer the same fate as Randy Orton at their title match in two weeks; they'll lose. Cena said if it wasn't for Cole, Jerry Lawler would be champion, and if not for Alex Riley, Randy Orton would be the champ now.

Cena made jokes about Riley, Cole and Miz. Miz told Cena he can fight with the best brawlers in WWE history, and everyone knows it. Cena said Miz won't make it past the Rumble and go on to Wrestlemania as the champion. Cena asked Miz if his corny jokes had gotten under his skin, then told him to do something about it. Cena stared Miz down, but just then CM Punk and the Nexus arrived to the stage.

After Miz and Riley left the ring, Punk talked about the fact 40 guys are in the Rumble and Punk is in it with the three other Nexus members. Punk said each of the Nexus guys in the Rumble has the sole job of making sure Cena's chances of winning are 0%. Punk sent Otunga, Harris and McGillicutty to the ring to take down Cena. They started to try the beatdown, but Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov showed up to spoil the party, chasing them off to save Cena. Nexus regrouped with Punk, so he walked to the ring with them saying "see how you do with these odds."

An email from the Raw GM came through, asking what the odds are of CM Punk beating John Cena one-on-one tonight if Nexus is banned from ringside. The GM said if any Nexus member gets involved they will be officially out of the Royal Rumble match.

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Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov vs. The Usos
WWE Tag Team Championship Match

Tamina was on the apron with the tag champs as they were introduced. In the match, Kozlov hit a huge powerslam for a near fall, but Jey Uso arrived in to break things up. Kozlov tossed Jey out of the ring, then went to fight Jimmy. Jimmy kicked Kozlov into the corner and tried to jump at him, but Kozlov batted him down. Santino tagged in and then hit the Cobra for the win.

Winners: Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov win via pinfall over The Usos to retain the WWE tag titles.

Backstage, Otunga, Harris and McGillicutty were all arguing about what to do now that they're banned from ringside. CM Punk came in and they all shut up. Punk stared at McGillicutty for a while, then turned to Harris and Otunga and said "Faith" with a big smile. Punk stood there for a bit then walked off. Cole said he doesn't seem concerned about having to face Cena on his own.

John Morrison was walking backstage and came up to Daniel Bryan. The Bella Twins soon came up to Bryan and kissed him, then escorted him down the hall. Morrison stood there then took off his glasses and chuckled.

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They showed highlights of John Morrison's big win over Sheamus last week.

Daniel Bryan vs. John Morrison

After JMo got to the ring they showed a video highlight clip of Morrison's various daredevil ring antics. Daniel Bryan and the Bellas arrived to the ring next.

In the late stages of this one, Bryan and JMo traded pinfall reversals. Bryan tried for the Lebell Lock but Morrison kept him from locking it on, then turned it into a catapult to send Bryan to the corner. Morrison hit the mule kick from the ropes, then came from against the ropes to deliver the big knee to Bryan's head for the pinfall win.

Post-match, Morrison posed for the crowd then he and Bryan shook hands center ring. All of a sudden King Sheamus came out to the stage with a mic in hand. Sheamus claimed that he made Morrison as good as he is, but then said neither JMo or Bryan are in his league. Sheamus said he's going to concquer 39 other WWE stars to win the Royal Rumble, because it's a match designed for a king. Sheamus promised to eliminate Bryan and Morrison as well.

Winner: John Morrison wins via pinfall over Daniel Bryan.

Highlights were shown from last Monday's match involving Orton/Lawler versus Miz/Riley. Orton hit the RKO on Riley, then stared down Miz. After Lawler tagged in, Orton kept staring at Miz to prevent him from interfering. Lawler scored the winning pinfall on Riley.

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Raw returned with a report on the Mashable Awards 2010. Cole thanked the WWE Universe for standing up for WWE.

The Bella Twins were walking backstage talking about how great John Morrison looked tonight. The topic turned to who would be Daniel Bryan's first. Nikki and Brie ended up making a wager over who Bryan would fall prey to first, saying "may the best Bella win."

Justin Roberts introduced Smackdown GM Vickie Guerrero who came to the ring without a mic, then took one from Justin Roberts. Vickie Guerrero gave the introduction for Dolph Ziggler as the man who will beat Edge at the Royal Rumble PPV in two weeks.

Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler

Late in the match, Ziggler hit the Zig Zag to take down Orton for the pin. Orton managed to kick out at the last moment. Moments later, Ziggler jumped on Randy's back to lock a sleeper hold on. He brought him down to the mat, with Orton rolling towards the ropes. Orton finally managed to get to his feet and to the ropes to break it. For the finish, Ziggler went for yet another Zig Zag, but Orton was ready with the RKO to take him down from the air and got the winning pinfall.

Post-match, Miz and Riley hit the ring fast to give Orton a stompdown. They took Orton to the outside for more. Miz pulled the cover off the announcers table, but Lawler got up to intervene. Riley tried to attack, but Lawler punched him down. Miz grabbed Lawler and tossed him over the crowd barrier. Miz and Riley overwhelmed Orton, shoving him into the ringpost and throwing him through the barrier in front of the timekeeper's area. Miz grabbed a mic, crouched down near Orton and whispered his catch phrase.

Winner: Randy Orton wins via pinfall over Dolph Ziggler.

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They replayed what just happened with Miz and Riley attacking Orton after his win against Ziggler.

Backstage, CM Punk was on one knee giving a speech to the Nexus guys. Punk told them "Faith" and that one must be willing to sacrifice their all to bow before the temptations of the blood-thirsty. Punk talked about the qualities of loyalty which they must all possess.

Natalya vs. Maryse

Melina and Eve joined Michael Cole on commentary for the match. Melina wouldn't respond to any of Cole's comments or questions, but Eve talked about how Natalya helped her get to where she is. Late in the match, Natalya put Maryse into the Sharpshooter. Maryse tried to crawl towards the bottom rope, but Natalya pulled her back to center ring. Maryse tapped out.

Post-match, Maryse went ballistic. She got out of the ring and started to yell at Cole. Eve got up from her chair, went over and shoved Maryse then walked off. Maryse kept yelling at Cole, until finally Dibiase arrived to ringside. Maryse told him he's making her lose now. Dibiase got a mic and questioned whether Maryse or anyone else there thinks he can win the Royal Rumble. Dibiase issued an open challenge to anyone backstage that he'll toss them over the top rope right now.

Winner: Natalya wins due to submission over Maryse.

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Mark Henry vs. Ted Dibiase
Over-the-Top-Rope Challenge

After a commercial break, Mark Henry came to the ring to answer Dibiase's challenge. The ref rolled out of the ring for this open challenge fight from Dibiase. Dibiase tried to knock Henry off balance with a dropkick, but Henry got in a few power moves, then simply tossed Dibiase out of the ring.

William Regal, Yoshi Tatsu and Tyson Kidd all got in the ring to try to eliminate Henry. Zack Ryder, Primo, DH Smith, Darren Young and R-Truth all got involved as well. Regal got tossed out, then Primo and Tyso Kidd eliminated each other. Henry pressed Mark Henry overhead, but Sheamus rushed into the ring and clipped Henry. Sheamus then eliminated everyone else except Henry. Henry dumped Sheamus over the top rope, but Sheamus held on and climbed back into the ring. Sheamus tried to beat on Henry, but Henry got him in a Bear Hug and tossed him out of the ring.

Post-match, Alberto Del Rio drove out next to the crowd in a 2008 Bentley worth $200k. Del Rio talked about it being his destiny to win the Royal Rumble and go on to be at Wrestlemania competing for the championship.

Winner: Mark Henry wins the over-the-top-rope challenge against Ted Dibiase.

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Derrick Bateman of WWE NXT Season 4 had an infomercial for a World's Strongest Man musk. Mark Henry gave some warning indications about it. Cole and Lawler just stared at the camera after it was over with Cole saying Bateman can be seen tomorrow night on WWE.com.

They introduced a "by the numbers" video clip about Royal Rumble which has 24 different winners over the years. Since 1998, 656 superstars have tried to win the Rumble but lost. Shawn Michaels has the most eliminations over the years. 183,932 pounds is the astronomical mass of humanity to have competed in the Rumble. Two females have competed in the Rumble ever. Kane has competed in the most consecutive matches at 13. Rey Mysterio has the record for longest stay in the match, while Santino has the record for the shortest at just 1 second. Stone Cold Steve Austin has 3 Rumble wins, the most by any superstar. The #1 and #30 spots have produced the same number of winners. The video closed with the "Living in a Dream" theme song playing as various WWE Superstars were shown.

Cole talked about the title matches for the Rumble, then said next week it will be Champion versus Champion as Edge competes against The Miz on Raw, a week ahead of the Rumble.

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The Nexus members tried to follow Punk out to the ring, but Punk stopped them on stage then walked down the ramp backwards. The Nexus guys held their arms up to salute their leader, then went backstage. Cole and Lawler reviewed the initiations each of the Nexus guys endured by each other and CM Punk last week. Lawler said Slater and Gabriel had the brains to walk away last week.

John Cena vs. CM Punk

Late in the match, Punk sent Cena into the corner, then hit the running knee in his face. Punk followed with the bulldog on Cena to slam him face first to the mat. Punk signaled for GTS, but Cena grabbed Punk's knee and brought him down to the mat for the STF. Punk managed to crawl to the ropes to break the hold. Later in the match, Punk was able to avoid the AA by getting to the ropes and then the apron. He did a springboard clothesline off the top rope to take down Cena for another near fall.

Later in the match, Cena went for AA again, but Punk battled out, then planted Cena face first into the mat. Punk locked his submission hold on Cena, causing Cena's face to start going purple. Cena used his power though and crawled over to grab the ropes and break it. Things went to the outside of the ring, where Punk tried to jump over the ropes onto Cena. Cena caught him and slammed Punk into the ringpost.

All of a sudden, an unidentified man arrived to the ring and got on the apron. Cena got to his feet and stared at the guy, but CM Punk rushed Cena and kicked him down from behind. The man climbed over the top rope and eyed CM Punk. Punk stood up smirking, then walked over to the guy and extended his arms. The man ran against the ropes then kicked Punk down to the mat. The ref called for the DQ immediately. The man started huffing and puffing, then grabbed Cena and hit a huge one-arm slam.

Raw ended with the man getting down on one knee before Punk and the apron. Punk took off his Nexus armband and presented it to their newest member. All five men stood in the ring and raised their arms up in unison.

Winner: No contest due to a double disqualification when an unidentified superstar interfered.

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