This Week In WWE TV – October 28-November 3, 2013

This week: Those who’ve ‘Cena Nuff’ should look away now, because John is back and doing what he does best- overcoming odds, never giving up, adjusting attitudes and, oh yeah, having actually really good matches. Whisper that last part though. Plus, Big Show gets “no really this time” banned from WWE for continually showing up while he’s fired from WWE (good luck enforcing that), Bryan makes his trainer tap, Kane unmasks and the eater of worlds targets the best in the world.

RAW

– Cena came out to open the show, celebrating his World Title win. He thanked JBL for doubting him and giving him motivation and announced he was back full time. Sandow interrupted as Cena went to leave and said he could fool everyone except him, because it was humanly impossible for his tricep to have healed. Sandow claimed Cena was afraid he’d cash in. He teased cashing in, then teased he wouldn’t, before attacking Cena’s arm with the briefcase. He hit the arm with a chair against the steps and officially cashed in with Cena hurt. However, World Championship: John Cena (c) d. Damien Sandow in 9:40 to retain the title. Unlike most cash ins, this was an actual competitive match. Sandow worked on the arm early. Cena fought back, but was hampered by the arm throughout. Cena hit an AA but Sandow rolled outside. He tried the STF with one arm but couldn’t get it. Both got near falls by the end, Cena escaping a crossface and Sandow hitting the full nelson slam for a two count. The crowd chanted ‘this is awesome’, which beats the ‘you can’t wrestle’ chants they tried to give Cena at the start. Maybe they just forgot that he can. In the end Cena avoided a piledriver and hit an AA to retain.

– The Sheild did a promo backstage on Big E, which ended with a small tease of dissention when Ambrose pointed out he was the only champion left in The Shield. WWE United States Championship: Big E Langston d. Dean Ambrose (c) by DQ in 1:40 when Rollins and Reigns attacked Big E, but The Usos made the save, leading to Brad making a six man. The Shield d. Big E Langston and The Usos (Reigns pinned Jey) in 5:29 in the six man. Jey made a big comeback and Big E took out Ambrose. Rollins got his knees up to block Jey’s superfly splash. And after The Usos hit a double superkick on Rollins, Reigns hit them both with a double spear for the win.

– Shawn came out to explain his actions at Hell In A Cell. He called out Bryan and tried to explain himself, as the crowd chanted ‘you sold out’. Shawn said he called the match down the middle until Bryan gave HHH the running knee, because HHH’s friendship superseded everything else. He asked Bryan to accept his apology and shake his hand, but Bryan wouldn’t. Shawn told Bryan his final lesson was you don’t trust anybody and told him to accept the apology, a little more forcefully. Bryan still wouldn’t and Shawn got mad. He said he didn’t know if Bryan was an A+ player or a B+ player, but he was Shawn Michaels and he was an A+ player so demanded Bryan shake his hand. Bryan teased shaking his hand, then put Shawn in the YES Lock and made him tap. Referees ran out to pull Bryan off. The crowd were still into Bryan, it should be noted. After the break, The Wyatt Family then attacked Bryan backstage.

– Two On Three Handicap Match: Los Matadores d. 3MB (Fernando pinned Drew) in 3:41. Heath came to the ring with a big net, to catch El Torito. Heath tried and failed to catch El Torito, who sprayed a fire extinguisher at him and gored Slater. Los Matadores then pinned Drew with the double reverse samoan drop thing. After the match they caught Slater in the net and El Torito hit a double springboard shoulder block.

– AJ and Tamina Snuka d. The Bellas (AJ submitted Nikki) in 3:31 when Tamina hit a samoan drop and allowed AJ to get the win with the Black Widow. Then Kane d. The Miz in 1:14 with a chokeslam in essentially a squash. After the match, Kane called out Stephanie and said she was on a power trip, but it was what’s best for business and the monster was her’s. Kane then walked up the ramp and handed Stephanie his mask.

– The Primetime Players did the WWE Shop mechandise shill and a WWE.com interview with David Otunga explaining that Big Show’s lawsuit was credible aired, before CM Punk came out. He said Paul Heyman was history after he caned him and hit a GTS on top of Hell In A Cell. Punk said his focus was shifting to Ryback and without Heyman, he was a knuckle dragging neanderthal who stood no chance against him and promised to beat him tonight. Street Fight: CM Punk d. Ryback by submission in 4:28. Street Fight won the fan vote with 59%, over Falls Count Anywhere and Tables. Punk used a kendo stick and they teased putting each other through the table. Punk eventually hit the big elbow through the table, then used the anaconda vice to make Ryback tap. Afterwards, The Wyatt Family came out and Punk tried to fight them off, but got beaten down. Punk managed to hit Bray with a headbutt, but Harper gave him a spinning clothesline before Bray hit the Sister Abigail.

– In a non title match, The Real Americans d. Cody Rhodes and Goldust (Swagger submitted Goldust) in 8:47. Crowd were into Goldust. The Real Americans cut off Cody after an even start. Goldust then made a big comeback and escaped the ankle lock, but Cesaro broke up a pin and in the melee, Swagger hit a chop block and won with the ankle lock.

– Del Rio cut a promo on the stage claiming Cena stole his title at Hell In A Cell, but he’d make him pay in their rematch and he’d target his injured arm until he broke it. In her first Raw match, Natalya d. Summer Rae by submission in 5:17, with Summer dominating most of the match before stopping to celebrate with Fandango. Hornswoggle pulled him off the apron and got thrown down by Fandango, so Khali gave him the big chop. Natalya then caught a distracted Summer in the sharpshooter.

– Randy Orton’s championship celebration closed the show, with the roster watching from the stage and The Shield standing guard. HHH said he picked Orton out as the future in 2003 and mentored him in Evolution. He pointed Orton had done heinous things to him and his family, but he’d matured into an A+ player. Orton, HHH and Stephanie shared a group hug. Stephanie told the roster that Orton was their champion and Orton told them he was better than all of them and their superior. Big Show stormed out and got jumped by The Shield, but Goldust, Cody and The Usos fought off The Shield. Big Show chased off HHH and Orton. As he yelled at HHH, Orton snuck in and hit Big Show with the belt. Show knocked Orton out as he tried a second shot though. HHH teased getting in the ring with him, but backed down and Stephanie held him back.

MAIN EVENT

– Ryback d. Kofi Kingston in 12:04. They at least brought up Ryback injuring Kofi earlier this year. Kofi was competitive at the start and Ryback avoided a Trouble In Paradise early on, before Kofi hit a dive. Ryback cut Kofi off and then, it happened. Ryback hit a Jackhammer. I don’t know if that’s something to read into, or if Ryback was just trolling some d-bags in the crowd, but either way I approve. Kofi countered the Meathook and fought back late on but Ryback countered Trouble In Paradise. Kofi got two counts with a top rope crossbody and a springboard dropkick. But Ryback recovered to hit the Meathook and Shell Shocked for the pin. This was better than you’d probably expect.

– In the other matches Santino Marella d. Heath Slater in 4:31, which had plenty of Santino comedy, after Jinder tried to interfere and took the Cobra, then Slater suffered the Cobra as well. Fandango d. Great Khali in 3:32 thanks to a distraction from Summer, allowing him to clip Khali’s knee, hit a DDT and win with the flying legdrop.  And Los Matadores d. Los Locals (Fernando pinned Los Local #2) in 5:11. The ‘other’ Los Local was again Tyson Kidd. El Torito got involved in the match and gave Los Locals the run around, before giving Los Local #1 a flying hurricanrana to the outside. Apparently this wasn’t grounds for a DQ and Los Matadores pinned the ‘other’ Los Local with their double team slam.

NXT

– NXT started as all shows should, with Enzo and Big Cass talking. Byron Saxton was back on commentary, with Regal and Renee, as Alexander Rusev and Sylvester LeFort d. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady (Rusev submitted Cassady) in 1:33. Technically this was LeFort’s first NXT match, not that he ever tagged in. Instead Rusev single handedly destroyed Enzo and Cass, then destroyed LeFort for getting in the ring, before making Cassady tap with the camel clutch. Rusev then left with an unnamed woman. Hopefully this means Rusev is done with LeFort and in line for a bigger role on the show.

– With another new song, Aiden English d. Jason Jordan in 1:44. English used a sleeper and actually tried to sing Jordan a lullaby, before winning with the Take A Bow. He graciously gave an encore after the match and roses were thrown into the ring. Regal was moved to applause by this greatness. After this, in a WWE.com interview with Adrian Neville, he said his leg was his livelihood and by going after it, Graves had made things personal.

– Paige d. Summer Rae in 6:10 in a non title match. Paige started aggressively, forcing Sasha to try and help out, which led to her being sent to the back. Summer gained control with a legsweep on the apron, but Paige fought back to win with the Paige Turner. Afterwards, Sasha attacked Paige and Emma made the save, but accidentally clotheslined Paige which caused a staredown between the two.

– Backstage Breeze told Parker he’d do him a favour and send him back to the streets where he belonged. In a video, Luke Harper called Ohno his new play thing and he’d leave him for the buzzards. In the main event, CJ Parker d. Tyler Breeze in 7:49. Breeze brought scissors and CJ’s dreadlocks to the ring with him. The crowd again cheered Breeze over Parker. Parker avoided the Beauty Shot spin kick and won with a palm strike, which is apparently called the Third Eye. After the match CJ tried to cut Breeze’s hair but he, thankfully, got away.

SUPERSTARS

– Naomi d. Aksana in 5:02 with the Rear View and in a face versus face match, Kofi Kingston d. Santino Marella in 6:56, which was pretty fun. The crowd were into Santino and he held his own here. Santino avoided Trouble In Paradise and hit the Cobra, but Kofi fell outside and had time to recover and kick out. Kofi then blocked a second Cobra with Trouble In Paradise to the arm, before rolling Santino up for the pin which was a clever finish. They shook hands afterwards.

SMACKDOWN

– Another Shield promo started the show. Ambrose said they were sick of The Usos sticking their nose in their business and again, Ambrose got some funny looks from Reigns and Rollins for emphasising he was a champion and speaking for them. The Usos d. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins (Jimmy pinned Ambrose) in 6:46. Big E came out to even the odds when Reigns teased getting involved. In the end, Jey took out Rollins and Reigns with a dive and Jimmy caught Ambrose with a roll up for the surprise pin. Afterwards, Ambrose attacked Jimmy and Big E saved. Reigns then rescued Ambrose from a Big Ending and found himself in a stand off with Big E and The Usos. And Reigns was willing to fight them all, but Rollins and Ambrose held Reigns back. The plot thickens.

– Cena cut a promo, basically saying as World Champion he’d be on Smackdown a lot, before being interrupted by The Real Americans. Zeb thanked Cena for beating Del Rio and invited Cena to join The Real Americans. Cena declined and made fun of them. Sandow then came out. He claimed Cena had been handed everything and told him he was a false champion. Sandow said his sole purpose in life was now to end the Cena era in WWE. Cody and Goldust ran out to back up Cena and Vickie made a six man for later.

– After a cryptic promo from Bray before they came out, The Wyatt Family d. The Primetime Players (Harper pinned Titus) in 3:48. Harper pinned Titus with the spinning clothesline and Bray gave Young the Sister Abigail. Miz then hosted MizTV. His guest was supposed to be Shawn, but Shawn wasn’t there. Miz claimed Orton wouldn’t be champion without Shawn, so Orton came out. Orton told Miz he wasn’t relevant anymore. Orton said Big Show was banned from WWE for life (which has worked so well so far). Orton then gave Miz an RKO before he could even respond and posed with the title.

– The Bellas and Natalya d. AJ, Tamina Snuka and Alicia Fox (Natalya submitted AJ) in 3:32. Brie took a nasty looking clothesline from Tamina. Natalya made a comeback and beat AJ with the sharpshooter while The Bellas took out Tamina. They then showed HHH getting mad at Cole during their sitdown interview for quoting Otunga’s opinion on Big Show’s lawsuit and banning Big Show for life.

– John Cena, Cody Rhodes and Goldust d. Damien Sandow, Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro (Cena pinned Swagger) in 16:55. Cena’s arm was worked on briefly, before Goldust was cut off for a large chunk of the match by the Real American team. Cena got a tag but the referee didn’t see it. Eventually Cody got a legal tag and made a comeback on Sandow. Cody hit Cross Rhodes, but Cesaro had made a blind tag and gave Cody the giant swing. Cena hit a big spear to Swagger outside and Goldust took out Sandow. That left Cesaro nobody to tag, but Cody had Cena, who ran wild. Cesaro countered the AA, but Cena avoided the big swing. Cesaro hit a pop up uppercut and the match broke down, with Swagger tagging in and getting Cena in the ankle lock. Cena escaped and hit the AA though to score the win.