This Week In WWE TV – November 5-11, 2012

This week: Tally ho, toodle pip and so on, it’s off to Birmingham, England this week. “Just up the road” or “just down the road” from every other English city in WWE geography terms. And if you forgot what happened last week, then good news! You’re one step ahead of the rest of us. Plus, Brad Maddox speaks, a heroes welcome for Wade (and, not so expected, for 3MB) and more of the Cena AJ scandal.

RAW

– After a recap of what happened last week to set up Team Punk versus Team Foley (remember that, folks), they showed Miz and Heyman meeting earlier. Miz was annoyed Punk ran away at the end of last week. Miz said he didn’t need them and quit the team.

– R-Truth, Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara d. Antonio Cesaro and The Primetime Players (Truth pinned Cesaro) in 7:46. They showed Touts from Cesaro and Truth. It somewhat amuses me when people complain about feuds being done via Tout, because they usually show the Touts on TV anyway. And even when they don’t, they’re still telling you what happened. Ignore the word Tout (not easy, I grant you) and it’s still two guys cutting promos. Anyway, the match. PTP and Cesaro struggled early, before Cesaro intercepted a 619. Truth fought back for his team and a Sin Cara headscissors, followed by a 619, followed by the Little Jimmy gave Truth the win over Cesaro.

– Vickie came out to discuss AJ and Cena. She recapped the evidence so far before Cena interrupted. Cena joked that Vickie running a clean show would be like him learning a new move, not going to happen. He brought up Vickie’s relationships with Edge and Dolph. Vickie showed footage of AJ entering Cena’s hotel room and Cena putting a do not disturb sign up. The British crowd were determined to have fun with this. Cena called the footage bogus. Vickie called out AJ. She appeared on the big screen and said if she came out, she’d give Vickie the beating of her life. Ziggler appeared and made a crack at Cena’s expense, so Cena went after him.

– Heyman asked Wade, who got a big cheer, to join the team. Wade said he didn’t trust him, but decided he’d join. But Heyman owed him and he wanted it in writing.

– Cody Rhodes d. Daniel Bryan in 1:57. Huge reaction for Bryan. Only a short match, Bryan hit a dive on Sandow after he’d attacked Kane. Cody then caught Bryan with a kick and won with Cross Rhodes. Cody then claimed Sandow could beat Kane just as easily, which lead to

– Kane d. Damien Sandow in 3:55. Kane dominated before Cody tried a distraction. Bryan attacked Cody and both got thrown out by the official. Which made little difference, as Kane continued to dominate and won with the Chokeslam.

– Cole brought out Brad Maddox. He’s a handsome man. Maddox explained he wasn’t working with Punk and Heyman. He said all he’d ever wanted to do was be a WWE superstar and for years he’d had the door shut in his face. He said he once paid $2000 for a tryout and he finally got a developmental contract. Brad lamented not getting a chance because he wasn’t a monster, or didn’t have a mohawk, or couldn’t do a bunch of flips. Crowd chanted “you can’t wrestle” which actually made sense. Way to go Birmingham. Brad said his dream never died and he made a vow to do whatever it took to make it to WWE, even becoming a referee. Brad said Punk was just as surprised as everyone else. Brad claimed he was famous now and he wanted a contract. He actually challenged Ryback to a match.

– Vince interrupted as Maddox went to leave, to a big reaction. He made the match and said if Brad could beat Ryback, he’d get a million dollar contract. Vince then brought out Vickie. He didn’t buy that Punk wasn’t involved with Maddox and asked why Punk wasn’t defending his title at Survivor Series. So, he booked, or rather coaxed Vickie to book, Punk versus Ryback versus Cena. Switcheroo! Vince and Vickie’s interaction was funny, but what a weird turn of events.

– Sheamus d. The Miz in 11:38. Big Show did commentary. Sheamus got distracted and was sent into the table and post by Miz. That lead to Miz taking charge. Sheamus eventually fought back and both had chances to win. Miz avoided the Brogue Kick, but was hit with White Noise and a second Brogue Kick for the pin. Solid match.

– Vickie informed Dolph that Team Punk was now Team Ziggler. Punk confronted them and Vickie made Punk and Ziggler versus Ryback and Cena tonight.

– A video aired for “Fandangoo”, which by Smackdown they’d changed to Fandango, which is Johnny Curtis’s new character.

– Backstage Sheamus met with Regal. They agreed to go for a pint later.

– Layla and Kaitlyn d. Eve Torres and Aksana (Kaitlyn pinned Eve) in 5:00. Eve kicked the rope to prevent a Layla springboard move. She eventually managed to tag Kaitlyn, who pinned Eve with a reverse DDT.

– Del Rio complained to Ricardo that he should be team captain, not Ziggler. Del Rio bumped into Rosa and they exchanged a look.

– Kofi Kingston d. Alberto Del Rio in 7:47. A distraction from Ricardo allowed Del Rio to take control. Del Rio posted his shoulder and Kofi fought back. Trouble In Paradise was ducked, but Kofi countered the cross armbreaker into an SOS. A missed crossbody gave Del Rio another chance. But Orton’s music played and Kofi rolled Alberto up. Orton snuck in and gave Alberto an RKO after the match.

– Zack Ryder and Santino Marella d. Primo and Epico (Santino pinned Epico) in 5:03. After Zack was worked over, Santino made his wacky comeback. Zack hit the Ruff Ryder on Primo and Santino gave Epico the Cobra.

– Wade Barrett d. Brodus Clay in 3:01. Barrett was, of course, very popular. He gave Brodus a bossman slam. Crowd started an England soccer chant. And Barrett finally won with The Souvenir

– Heath Slater d. Jey Uso in 3:54. No Drew, for sad reasons. Some of the crowd actually chanted for 3MB. British crowds clearly have taste. Slater won after blocking the superfly splash and hitting an implant DDT, which is the Smash Hit.

– Ryback and John Cena d. CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler (Ryback pinned Punk) in 10:14. Before the match Punk complained people were trying to taint his victory over Ryback and claimed he was being screwed at Survivor Series, but would overcome it. Punk and Ziggler isolated Cena. Cena caught Punk with an AA but couldn’t make a tag. Ryback eventually came in and ran through both opponents, before pinning Punk with Shell Shocked. After the match, Cena and Ryback had a bit of a face off.

SUPER SMACKDOWN

– Cole brought out Sheamus. They showed footage of Big Show attacking Sheamus and Regal in a pub from the night before. Sheamus told Cole to leave and called out Big Show. Show appeared on the screen and said he did Sheamus a favour by not destroying him and stopping him from making it to Survivor Series. Wade came out instead, saying Sheamus should concentrate on facing him on Main Event. Sheamus challenged Wade to a fight instead and Wade teased it before leaving.

– Booker told Wade it’d be Regal and Sheamus against him and Big Show tonight. Wade thanked him.

– WWE Intercontinental Championship: Kofi Kingston (c) d. The Miz in 7:29 to retain the title. Miz struggled early, Kofi using the barricade for a flying clothesline. Miz attacked Kofi’s knee and grounded him for a while. Kofi made a comeback and Miz avoided Trouble In Paraide, but Kofi avoided the Skull Crushing Finale. They fought over a superplex and Kofi won out, hitting a crossbody for the pin. A dejected Miz offered a handshake and Kofi dropkicked him to add insult to injury.

– The Primetime Players d. Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara (Titus pinned Rey) in 3:17. The PTP shut down Sin Cara from the start. Rey ran wild and set up the 619, avoiding a trip from Young. Sin Cara hit a dive, but Titus caught Rey with the sky high for the win. Striker tried to interview them, but they decided to interview each other instead. They made Striker do the million dollar dance with them. Titus gave him a 20 yard penalty, 10 for no rhythm and 10 for his terrible moustache. JBL wanted a penalty for the sweater too.

– Booker and Teddy discussed things going on on Raw. Booker told him not to be a suck up, but revealed he was joking.

– Big Show and Wade Barrett d. Sheamus and William Regal (Show pinned Regal) in 9:42. Things started with a brawl before the bell, with Regal and Sheamus clearing the ring. Show refused to start with Sheamus. After Wade took some punishment Regal was cut off. Sheamus ran wild on Big Show, but Show cut him down with a spear. Regal brought himself back in and hit the knee trembler. But Show shrugged it off and landed the KO punch.

– Striker interviewed Del Rio. He claimed Orton attacked him from behind last week and on Monday. Tonight, he would beat him face to face. Rosa appeared and wished him good luck.

– Striker then interviewed Orton, who didn’t care what Alberto had to say. He promised things would get sick and twisted and he enjoyed showing how sick and twisted he could get.

– Falls Count Anywhere: Randy Orton d. Alberto Del Rio in 14:28. Ricardo introduced a chair for Alberto almost immediately. They soon fought into the crowd and went around the arena. Orton beat up Ricardo and left him in a phone booth on the stage. Things ultimately made their way back to the ring where Del Rio countered the RKO with a back cracker. Orton was knocked off the apron through a table for two. Alberto taunted Orton, saying he was the Apex Predator and put the cross armbreaker on. Orton used the microphone to escape. Alberto then tried a draping DDT on the steps. But Orton escaped and gave Del Rio an RKO on the steps to score the pin.

MAIN EVENT

– Sheamus d. Wade Barrett in 16:12. Big Show joined Miz and Cole on commentary and Sheamus tried to attack him before the match. Show almost ended up attacking Cole a few minutes later. Match started evenly enough until Sheamus tweaked his shoulder and Wade targetted it. Duelling chants started up. Barrett hit a flying elbow off the barricade. Sheamus fought back and they exchanged advantage at the end. Both scored a couple of close falls, before Sheamus blocked another flying elbow. Sheamus hit White Noise and Big Show left, not wanting to watch anymore. And as he left, Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick for the victory. Show mock applauded his win and held up the belt from the stage.

– Striker tried to interview Big Show. He refused to answer any questions and KOed Striker when he pressed for an answer.

– R-Truth d. Heath Slater by DQ in 7:03. Truth survived a trip from Jinder and even further distraction to aid Slater, but eventually outright interference from Jinder caused the DQ. Slater gave Truth the Smash Hit afterwards.

NXT

– Kassius Ohno d. Trent Baretta in 6:10. Rematch from a couple of weeks ago. Ohno did his best to control things but Trent built some momentum. Trent hit a big missile dropkick and went for his knee, but Ohno escaped. And he baited Trent into a rolling elbow to avenge his loss. Afterwards, Ohno tried another elbow but Trent ran him off.

– Corey Graves did a short promo, talking about his tattoos telling a story.

– Big E Langston d. Memo Montenegro in 0:58. Crowd chanted five for Big E. He destroyed Montenegro and got the easy win. But that wasn’t enough and he gave Memo his falling slam again, before making his own five count. Vickie appeared on the screen and said she’d offered $5000 to any person who could injure him. Chad Baxter ran out to try and collect. He promptly got destroyed and five counted.

– An unnamed Luke Harper d. Jason Jordan in 2:19. Harper is the former Brodie Lee. Bray Wyatt acted as Harper’s manager, essentially. He brought Harper out with no introduction and the announcers had no idea who he was. They never named him, so I only assume he’s still Luke Harper. Of course, he was in Bray’s early video packages as one of the people listening to Bray’s speeches. Harper won with the black hole slam.

– Byron was supposed to interview Roman Reigns, but was dismissed. Reigns basically put himself over. He’s got the look and he’s got the talk, could be a star soon.

– #1 Contendership, Fatal Four Way Elimination: Jinder Mahal d. Bo Dallas, Justin Gabriel and Drew McIntyre in 8:25. Of course Drew and Jinder weren’t in 3MB mode here yet. Gabriel hit a dive onto everyone early. Drew and Jinder, coincidentally, double teamed Bo, before Jinder cheapshot Drew. First out was Drew, after a spear by Bo. He caught Gabriel in mid air with a spear seconds later to eliminate him. Rollins watched on as Jinder and Bo were left. Jinder sent Bo into the steps and softened him up. Bo fought back, but missed a spear and Jinder submitted him with the camel clutch. Rollins tried to make the save and got jumped, but managed to chase Jinder off.

SUPERSTARS

– Jimmy Uso d. Jinder Mahal in 7:08. More 3MB chants here. Jinder controlled things for the majority. There was actually, I kid you not, a brief “Let’s Go Jinder” chant. Very brief, but even so, never thought I’d see the day. Jimmy got back into it late on and won with the superfly splash.

– Justin Gabriel d. Tensai in 6:52. Lots of Albert chants early. Tensai dominated for a long time, but Tensai missed a splash in the corner and Gabriel simply rolled him up. Maybe Tensai can be the new Beth Phoenix now.