in

WWE NXT Rookies Invade Monday’s RAW Main Event

The entire group of season one NXT rookies, consisting of winner Wade Barrett, runner-up David Otunga and Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, Darren Young, Skip Sheffield, Daniel Bryan and Michael Tarver, set the stages for a major storyline on RAW Monday night.

Wade Barrett, who was booked to earn a roster spot as WWE’s “next breakout star” by winning the competition, kicked things off by making his way down the ramp during the John Cena vs. CM Punk main-event. As a distracted Cena turned his attention to Barrett, the other season one rookies invaded the ringside area and wreaked havoc, taking out Cena, Punk, Luke Gallows, Matt Striker, Jerry Lawler, Justin Roberts and a number of other ringside personnel.

The group also destroyed the ringside area, tearing apart tables and the steel steps, breaking down some of the barricades and undoing much of the ring construct.

LAS VEGAS - AUGUST 24:  Wrestler John Cena appears in the ring during the WWE Monday Night Raw show at the Thomas & Mack Center August 24, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Suffering the most significant “beating” from the NXT cast, Cena was carried out on a stretcher as the show went off the air. The rookies did not cut any sort of promo addressing their actions, although Daniel Bryan could be heard yelling, “you’re not better than me” to the WWE Champion.

Although a follow-up will be required before the direction of WWE’s storyline is made clear, it certainly appears that WWE is aiming for a two-fold effect–to boost ratings for season two of NXT, which kicks off Tuesday, and to start the NXT rookies on WWE television with a hot angle. The former is particularly important, as if WWE is going to secure a new network for the show once its run ends on SyFy, the Tuesday hour needs to start showing some ratings promise.

Written by Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002.

Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj.

Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.

Comments

Leave a Reply
  1. WOW that ending was awesome, John Cena got his rear end handed to him, I give him his props for taking that ASS WHIPPIN’. I was amazed at the attacks on commentators. Did the one guy really deserve to the deshirted and choked, lol,, what a script.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Loading…

WWE’s Survivor Series Might Be Sticking Around

WWE Officials Happy With NXT Rookies, Cena Behind Evan Bourne Push