The 22^nd November 2010 episode of Monday Night Raw starts with Wade Barrett making his way to the ring accompanied by the rest of The Nexus, minus John Cena who is no longer a member of The Nexus due to the conclusion of Survivor Series (click here for our Survivor Series report).

Barrett tries to talk but is drowned out many times by the crowd booing and chanting “you suck” and “Cena”, with him countering the Cena chant by saying that it’s hard luck as he fired him. Trying again, he says that on Sunday John Cena looked him in the eye and told him that he knew exactly what he was doing, which means that he was willing to sacrifice his entire career for what he felt was the right thing, and that it also means that Barrett went into the match without a fighting chance as Cena had already decided that he wasn’t going to become champion and was therefore biased from the beginning.

Barrett complains about Cena shoving him into a waiting RKO and says that it was unjust, unfair, and unprofessional, and as such in the name of justice he would like another opportunity to take on Randy Orton, but this time with a neutral referee so that he can prove that he is able to defeat Randy Orton to become the new WWE Champion.

The lights flash and the sound plays as Michael Cole informs us that he has received an email from the Anonymous Raw General Manager, which says that there is no question that there is some validity to what Barrett suggests, and that there is no doubt that Orton would like to prove his individual superiority, therefore the championship will be defended later on in the show when Barrett faces Orton for the WWE Championship.

Barrett thanks the General Manager, saying that he is appreciative of it and in anticipation of such an announcement has decided to allow John Cena to appear there, and though he enjoyed firing him the night before, he felt that he owed it to Cena to allow him to say his final words to the WWE Universe, which he says he will enjoy listening to, almost as much as he is going to enjoy becoming the new WWE Champion.

After The Nexus have left, Michael Cole stands up with a microphone and asks us all to welcome the newest member of the Raw Broadcast Team – CM Punk. Punk’s music hits and he makes his way to ringside and joins both Cole and Jerry “The King” Lawler at the announce table for what Punk says is the foreseeable future.

To kick off the qualifying matches for next week’s King Of The Ring tournament, Sheamus takes on R-Truth (accompanied by Eve and sporting his “What’s Up?” theme) in a match which sees Sheamus hit the High-Cross for the 3-count.

LayCool are seen trying to enter the arena but are stopped by the security guard who informs them that the entrance they are trying to use is for Raw Superstars only, although they try to protest that they should still be allowed in despite losing at Survivor Series, their names aren’t down on the list.

Natalya makes herself known and asks if there is a problem, to which the security asks her if she knows who they are. LayCool don’t get the response they are hoping for as she claims that she has no idea who they are, leaving LayCool to yell about how jealous Natalya is as they are forced to leave.

Elsewhere backstage, Santino Marella is talking with Vladimir Kozlov about how disappointed he is that they lost as they were so close that he could almost taste it. He says that he is depressed before he is drawn to Tamina’s music playing and singing that she is there for him, which draws him over and ends in a kiss between them.

Josh Mathews interviews Randy Orton about whether he can retain the title later on, just like he did at Survivor Series. Orton says that anybody who saw the match knows that Cena called the match right down the middle, and though they were never the best of friends, he still respected the hell out of him – as for later on, he guarantees that Barrett will not leave with the WWE Championship.

Time for another qualifying match, this time between Ezekiel Jackson and The Miz. As The Miz is introduced however, Alex Riley comes out alone and holding a microphone, he says that ten minutes before, The Miz came down with an anxiety attack and due to this, he has been authorised to take his place and qualify for him. Unsurprisingly, the match ends with Jackson hitting The Book of Ezekiel for the win.

Next up, John Cena makes his way to the ring and says that Randy Orton is still the WWE Champion, which means that he himself is fired – something which he thought was probable, but he didn’t realise that it would actually happen.

He talks about how before he got his job in the WWE his job was cleaning toilets and living in his car, and that there is a lot about him and others that people don’t know as people just see them on TV.

Cena says that the WWE Universe has no idea how much he respects the company, not just the company today, but every single person who has allowed him to be there, such as Steve Austin, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and The Undertaker.

He says that when he got his chance in the WWE, championships were one thing but his goal at the end of the day was for guys like that to look him in the eye and say “kid, you’re alright”. He says that it may look like he got a bad deal out of this, but it’s pretty wonderful as he’s been able to “dance” in the ring with Hall Of Famers, travel the world, meet millions of people, and quite frankly live out a fantasy – so he’s not going to let The Nexus ruin what has been the greatest nine years of his life.

Cena says that one thing that people may not know is that life moves pretty fast in the WWE, when he started the WWE was a big part of his life, but then it became his life, by his own choice he wanted to give every single thing he had to the WWE Universe every time he stepped through the ropes.

He says that takes sacrifice, that his family has been very patient with him, letting him step back and let him be himself. He talks about his brother having a baby girl which he missed attending, and his mother’s birthday being in a couple of days, and after apologising to his family for missing it, says that when he leaves the arena he will be going back to West Newbury and seeing them all, giving his mother the best birthday present in ten years as he will be there which can’t be bought with all the money in the world.

Cena comments that the crowd is being nice but he looks like an idiot, before deciding if he’s going to look like an idiot then he’ll be an idiot. He says that one thing that he loves about the WWE Universe is that they are always honest, and if he’s going to leave he wants to do something and do it right – he wants all the women and children to chant “Let’s go Cena” and every male over the age of 18 to say “Cena sucks” in duelling chants.

After this has gone on for a short while, Cena thanks everyone for doing so and says that it’s the passion that keeps the Superstars coming back, no matter what the chant is. Before he leaves, he wants to say something to Wade Barrett – he gives him the advice to stop short-cuts and taking the easy way out as the fans will give him everything if he gives everything in return, that success in the business is consistent with giving it everything day-in-day-out and as he’s already fired he’ll say it anyway – Karma is a bitch.

Cena quips that Billy Kidman is probably ready to strangle himself as he is already way over the time that they told him, and he could go into thank-you’s but it could take all night, so he’ll just save it for one very important one – to the WWE Universe.

Cena exits the ring and walks up the ramp to “Cena” chants, and turning around he salutes the crowd one more time before leaving. Backstage he walks through the halls, passing applauding Superstars and Divas before he stops with Orton and gives him a hug, continuing on out of the arena as Barrett walks into view behind his back and mockingly does Cena’s “you can’t see me” taunt.

Now, to continue the qualifying matches, Ted DiBiase (accompanied by Maryse) is pitted against Daniel Bryan, with Brie Bella running down to accompany Bryan once he has got reached the bottom of the ramp and staying around to cheer him on. Bryan gets the victory after forcing DiBiase to tap out once again, with Brie entering the ring afterwards to see that Bryan is okay, followed shortly after by her twin Nikki after she has made her way down the ramp.

Next, Natalya goes against Alicia Fox in a match which sees Alicia being forced to tap out when Natalya puts her in the Sharpshooter.

Another qualifying match has John Morrison taking on Tyson Kidd in a match that sees Morrison hit Starship Pain for the 3-count.

Time for the WWE Championship match between Randy Orton and Wade Barrett, but as Orton makes his way to the ring, he is jumped from behind an attacked by The Nexus, resulting in what appears to be an injured knee before they are forced to back off by the referees, but not without Husky Harris breaking free and getting in another shot.

Now, the WWE Championship match does take place and we are informed that The Nexus are banned from ringside. This time, Barrett makes his way out first and Orton is the second to make his entrance but it does take a while for him to appear, though despite his apparent injury he is still going to go through with it.

The match looks due to end in Barrett’s favour after he hits The Wastelands on Randy Orton, but John Cena shows up to pull the referee out of the ring, afterwards he attacks Barrett and hits him with an Attitude Adjustment before being chased out of the arena by the rest of The Nexus.

As Barrett gets back up, he walks into an RKO from Orton, which leads Orton to get the victory and retain the WWE Championship. He starts to celebrate but as he seems to rest standing against the ropes, The Miz’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring with the Money In The Bank briefcase, accompanied by Alex Riley.

We are informed that The Miz is cashing in his Money In The Bank contract and therefore the match is for the WWE Championship. Orton seems to be able to fight The Miz off until he targets his knee, but though he starts to get the upper hand once more, The Miz counters the RKO attempt into the Skull-Crushing Finale to get the 3-count and become the new WWE Champion.

After a video is shown recapping the events before the title match between Orton and Barrett, as well as the highlights of the match which just took place, The Miz and Riley celebrate on the stage with the title, with a disbelieving and injured Orton shown on the floor at ringside as Raw goes off the air.