January 24 , 2011 Monday Night RAW results The January 24 , 2011 Edition of RAW is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE ' s RAW brand , which took place on January 24 , 2011 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit , Michigan . Summary . Although we don ’ t know the identity of Raw ’ s anonymous General Manager , we do know this much ; The GM can hold a grudge . When World Heavyweight Champion Edge visited Raw for a match with WWE Champion The Miz , the GM – who had previously clashed with The Rated - R Superstar – ordered him to participate in an Over - the - Top Rope Challenge featuring Jack Swagger , Drew McIntyre and Tyson Kidd , all vying for the No . 40 spot in Sunday ’ s Royal Rumble . Despite still nursing injuries he ’ d received at the hands of the new group The Corre , the World Heavyweight Champion managed to overcome the threesome to emerge victorious . Wade Barrett isn ’ t going away – no matter how much we wish he would . The former leader of The Nexus confronted the man who replaced him , CM Punk , who had gleefully introduced his group ’ s newest member , Mason Ryan . This time , though , Barrett brought reinforcements – his new group , The Corre , including Ezekiel Jackson , Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel . Before the situation became too incendiary , Raw ’ s GM intervened to arrange a match pitting Barrett against Punk with one significant stipulation : The loser of the bout will see himself and his entire group exiled from the Royal Rumble Match . And the contest ’ s special guest referee ? None other than John Cena ! Last week , The World ’ s Strongest Man put on clinic by outlasting 10 Superstars in an Over - the - Top Rope Challenge . This week , however , Alberto Del Rio & King Sheamus rained on the thunder and lightning duo of Henry & John Morrison . In fact , the moneyed Mexican surprised just about everyone when he managed to lock a cross armbreaker on The World ’ s Strongest Man and forced him to tap out . The good news for Natalya ? The Divas Champion successfully defended her title against Melina in a fevered battle . The bad news ? Lay - Cool continues to haunt her . After the bout , WWE ’ s Mean Girls , Layla & Michelle McCool , informed Natalya that they were invoking their championship rematch clause and will clash with her this Sunday at Royal Rumble in a 2 - on - 1 Handicap Match . When two champions collide , sparks are bound to fly . And WWE Champion The Miz and World Heavyweight Champion Edge did not disappoint . As the two squared off , Edge ’ s SmackDown nemesis , Dolph Ziggler and girlfriend Vickie Guerrero watched from ringside . Just when it appeared The Rated - R Superstar was aiming for the jugular , Ziggler grabbed his leg and hit Edge with a Zig Zag . The interference caused Edge to win by disqualification . Amid the chaos , Randy Orton slithered to the ring to avenge the vicious beatdown Miz and his assistant Alex Riley doled out last week . The Viper not only attacked Miz , causing the WWE Champion to win by disqualification , he went on a rampage against anyone he could coil his hands around until " The Awesome One " nailed him with a briefcase before slinking away up the entrance ramp . As love triangles go , the one involving The Bellas and United States Champion Daniel Bryan is a doozy . In a Six - Person Tag Team Match , Nikki couldn ’ t keep her head in the ring , focusing instead on sister Brie and the object of their mutual affection , Bryan . So distracted was she by the interaction between Brie and Bryan that she allowed Maryse to capitalize , bringing victory to her teammates , Ted DiBiase & Alicia Fox . After the bout , Brie and Nikki made a shocking discovery . As the two barged into Bryan ’ s dressing room , they were greeted by the U . S . Champion kissing fellow Diva Gail Kim . The claws quickly came out , and Kim and The Bellas eventually had to be pulled apart . For all their boasting , The New Nexus actually bring the goods . Members Husky Harris & Michael McGillicutty challenged WWE Tag Team Champions Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov in a non - title match . The CM Punk disciples proved they can handle their own when they overcame the international men of misery as their fellow Nexi looked on . Trouble began brewing even before the bell rang . When CM Punk and Wade Barrett prepared to scuffle , they were backed up by those respective groups , The New Nexus and The Corre . Special guest referee John Cena , however , wasn ’ t taking any chances and decisively banned both factions from ringside . Once the action kicked off , each Superstar fought as if their lives depended upon it . So intense was the skirmish , in fact , that the two appeared to disregard Cena ’ s instructions . As a result , the special guest referee had no choice but to disqualify each man , effectively banning both of their groups from the Royal Rumble . Raw ’ s anonymous General Manager begged to differ . Instead , the GM reinstated both groups and demanded that Cena apologize to Punk and Barrett , or it would be he who would be banned from Rumble competition . Reluctantly , 2010 ’ s WWE Superstar of the Year offered a contrite apology . He was then surrounded by members of both groups , who appeared eager to punish Cena . Before they could , however , Big Show and several members of the Raw roster emerged , resulting in one of the biggest , most brutal melees ever on Monday night – mere days before the biggest Rumble in history .