Wow, we kick off quickly here.

Match 1:  Triple Threat match for the #1 contendership

Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho vs. Edge

Edge and Jericho start off teaming up against Orton, but it’s all equal to begin with, trading momentum.  Edge and Jericho get on top briefly, but Orton pulls out a double DDT and then methodically goes after Edge while Jericho rolls to the outside.  A very slow start suddenly livens up as Orton coils for the RKO on Edge, but gets pushed away into a Codebreaker, with Edge breaking up the pin attempt.  Meanwhile, I’m left to wonder why this is the first match on the bill.

Jericho takes a rope-hanging DDT from Orton and Edge tries and fails to sneak the pin.  A little while later, after a few minor impact moves from everyone and a few pin attempts, Orton hits his backbreaker on Edge and goes for a second rope-hanging DDT but Jericho reverses into the Walls of Jericho.  He survives long enough for Edge to hit the Edgecution on Jericho for 2, and sets up the Spear, but Jericho counters beautifully into the Walls.  He reaches the ropes, Orton slithers into the ring and goes for the RKO, which is reversed into the Edge O’Matic.  Going for another spear, Jericho makes the interception and a series of pin attempts ensues.  Orton misses another RKO on Jericho, who misses a Lionsault.  The next RKO hits on Jericho, then another one on the incoming Edge, and Randy Orton picks up the win to become the #1 contender for Summerslam.

6/10 – It was decent, but I got tired of King telling me it was a great match when it was alright at best.  The crowd just didn’t seem to be ready for it.

After the match, Edge calls Jericho back out and tells him it has to end tonight, after all the 11 years of torment they’ve put each other through.  They both claim that Nexus would do whatever they said, and so out they come.  Barrett tells them that although they’re both veterans, they’re both highly respected.  He then tells Edge that they wouldn’t just take years off his career, they’d end it, cue the beatdown, with Jericho apparently directing traffic, and Sheffield delivers a massive spear.  Jericho locks in the Walls, but realises that the Nexus aren’t done.  Barrett tells him they’d like to shut up the guy claiming to be behind Nexus’ success, so Jericho throws the first punch, cue another beatdown.  This time it’s Otunga’s finisher, and a lot of punches from Barrett, who tells Jericho that he taught him nothing as his NXT pro.  As they leave the ring, there’s no music, which is a good touch.  It leaves that impact just lingering.... face or heel, nobody’s safe.  Very good segment.

As they get to the back, Matthews decides to ask Barrett whether individually any of them would be able to compete with the World’s Strongest Man, as Barrett has to later.  Barrett tells us that they’re all as good individually as they are collectively.  It’s not true, but it’s a nice sentiment.  Sheamus tells Barrett he has a proposal for him, who invites him into the Nexus locker room... Sheamus decides against it.  Possibly wise.

Quick backstage interview with Cena next, who tells us that he can’t beat the Nexus.  He offers to meet Nexus in the ring, and that if Nexus are saying ‘You’re either Nexus or you’re against us’, then ‘if you can’t beat ‘em...’

He leaves that sentence hanging.  Yep, I’m 100% certain that he’s definitely going to join Nexus.  That’s exactly what’s going to happen, he’s not playing us at all.

Match 2: Eve Torres vs. Maryse (w/ Ted Dibiase)

Ted’s looking very sharp.  Of course, Maryse actually climbed the ladder at Money in the Bank before Morrison decided to be chivalrous.  Ted joins Cole and King on commentary, and tells us that Maryse isn’t a gold digger.  Oh, wait, it’s over... Maryse’s foot was on the rope but Eve picks up the pin.  DiBiase gets into the ring and shouts at the ref, but Morrison, who was apparently wandering around topless backstage, decides to come out and hits a running knee and hits a grazing Starship Pain on DiBiase.  King tells us it was hit perfectly... it really, really wasn’t.  If anything, his forehead might have scraped him and his arm went across him.  He really needs to put his opponents a bit further back if he wants that move to actually work.

Oh, yeah, Eve’s the number one contender again, because she’s the only face diva Raw likes at the moment.  That match doesn’t get a rating because it lasted like 20 seconds.

Sheamus is out, title in hand, and tells us that he’s made a truce with the Nexus.  That’s all the interesting stuff.... until The Miz comes out.  Now The Miz controls the fate of the WWE Championship, because he can cash in his briefcase whenever he wants.  He could cash it in whenever he wants, or he could wait until Wrestlemania.  Sheamus can consider him his celebrity stalker, then quotes Sting... every move you make, every step you take, I’ll be watching you.  Because he’s The Miz, and he’s...........  “Nothing!  You’re nothing!” – nice interruption from Sheamus.

Bingle!  It’s the celebrity GM, who tells Miz to hang around at ringside, because Sheamus will be facing Evan Bourne.

Match 3: Evan Bourne vs. Sheamus (non-title)

During the break (which cut out the start of the match) Bourne hit his cannonball into the corner, but Sheamus turns him inside-out with a clothesline.  They keep cutting to The Miz, who’s stroking his briefcase like a Bond villain with a cat.  Sheamus dominates for quite a while, but Bourne hits a massive kick to the face and a spinning heel kick, and reverses the Irish Curse into a pin attempt (very sweet).  Another kick to the face and Bourne goes up top.  Sheamus rolls out of the ring but gets hit with a splash, and at some point Bourne’s head hit the camera.  Something involving the referee happens as Bourne’s getting back into the ring and Sheamus hits the Brogue Kick for the win.

5/10 – Decent again, but it’s more about what happens afterwards

The Miz cracks Sheamus in the head with the briefcase, and slams it across his back, then hits the Skull Crushing Finale onto the briefcase and Miz cashes in!

But wait!  It’s R-Truth, who stops it from happening.  Miz grabs the briefcase again and runs away.  Backstage, Miz tells Josh that R-Truth just cost him the Championship, but he will take his rightful place as WWE Champion, because he’s the Miz, and he’s AWESOME!

There’s a Summerslam rewind, showing the highlights of Stone Cold vs. The Undertaker.  Great match.

Sheamus shouts at the Bellas and Gail Kim backstage because they’re laughing as he walks past with ice on his head.  Randy Orton says it’s too bad what happened to him, but as Champion he’s got a bullseye on him, and he’s going to hit whoever is Champion at Summerslam with an RKO.

Match 4: Santino and Kozlov vs. William Regal and Zack Ryder

Regal and Ryder don’t even get their own music... I thought Ryder was getting a little bit of a push.  Kozlov looked pretty good, catches Ryder’s Roughryder leg drop and hits the Iron Curtain, tagging in Santino who hits a headbutt drop for the win.

2/10 – No idea why Santino and Kozlov are together, and Ryder and Regal must be feeling a bit hard done by to be jobbing here

Match 5:  Wade Barrett vs. Mark Henry – Nexus banned from ringside

Barrett throws a lot of punches early on, Henry just no-sells him.  Barrett gets some momentum with a headbutt and kicks to the knee, but Henry stops him in his tracks with a powerslam.  Henry drags him towards the corner and looks like he’s about to hit a second rope splash, but Nexus appears on the ramp causing the distraction.  Barrett hits a big boot, and manages to hit his finisher... doesn’t look great but it’s still impressive.

3/10 – Well done to him for getting the finisher on a 420 man... but such a short match isn’t a great effort

Nexus gets in the ring and we see Cena heading towards the ring looking serious.  Just noticed Darren Young’s hair’s down... he looks a bit less ridiculous now.  Tarver tells Cena that they’re willing to listen to what he has to say, and that maybe they’ll end things with him if he apologises to Tarver and Young, and admits that Nexus runs the show.  Barrett offers him the chance to join the Nexus.  This section’s going very slowly for something they’ve been building to for the whole show...

Cena looks sad and says he can’t do it.  Barrett gives him the options – leave with his tail between his legs and prove he’s a coward, or he can take the most vicious beating the Nexus has ever administered.  Cena drops out of the ring, heads up the ramp, turns and says ‘whether I do it myself, or whether I have help, I’m taking you all out.’

Shocker.  He’s been quietly forming a team to take down the Nexus at Summerslam.  I did NOT see this coming.

First out is Edge!  He gets a pretty good reception, and is followed by Morrison and R-Truth (who doesn’t really get much of a reception, and isn’t he about to start a feud with Miz?)... then Khali.  Oh dear...  it just gets worse by the second!

Jericho!  Ok, it’s just picked up again.  I’ve really missed Y2J, and I’d actually quite like to see him with some of his old persona.  I thought after all the ‘parasitic tapeworm’ speeches he’d be done, but something like this could bring him back.  And the final member...

Bret Hart.  Ok, no offence Bret, you’re a Hall of Famer and rightly so... but what the bejeezus are you doing here?  Alright, so Nexus took you out, but are you seriously going to be in a match at Summerslam?  Khali’s bad enough, but Bret Hart simply can’t move any more!

They rush the ring, Nexus scamper.  The segment had some potential, but when they had the ‘one more to go’ effect... I really, really hoped for someone explosive that you wouldn’t expect – Big Show, Kane, even Sheamus.  Bret Hart was such an anticlimax, and he deserves to be so much more than that.

Show rating:  7/10 – The matches weren’t fantastic, but it was all about the segments and the build-up.  I’m looking forward to seeing how Jericho and Edge perform as part of this anti-Nexus group, but have no idea why Hart or Khali, or even R-Truth are there.  Miz and Sheamus is another one to look forward to, he did get a bit of a pop when he looked like he was going to cash in.

That’s all for now folks, I’ve been The General, consider yourself debriefed.