MONEY HUNGRY?

Backstage: Josh Mathews brought in Randy Orton for a promo. Mathews brought up Sheamus’s words earlier tonight vowing to take out Orton ala Triple H. Orton said Sheamus needs to do his homework because he’s also taken Hunter out and he put him on a six-week vacation via a Punt to the skull. Orton invited Sheamus to come down to the ring tonight to watch his match against Miz. Orton said the good news for Sheamus is Miz won’t be in any position to cash in his MITB contract. The bad news is he’ll be primed to take the title from Sheamus at Summerslam. Another effective, to-the-point promo from Orton.

In-ring: The Miz walked out to the ring for the main event. Miz said Randy Orton made a big mistake last week when he ruined his MITB cash-in opportunity. Miz said Orton will pay for what he did. He said Orton’s best-case scenario is that he beats Sheamus for the WWE Title, but what happens next? Miz said his moment comes next. “Can the voices in your head hear me, Orton?” Miz shouted. He said it’s inevitable he will be WWE champion, so get used to it. Miz held up the MITB briefcase. “Because I’m The Miz…and I’m awesome!” he shouted, getting in his full catch phrase this time. Cole, as expected, talked up Miz. Randy Orton then came out with an icy glare for Miz.

RANDY ORTON vs. U.S. champion THE MIZ — non-title match
Miz and Orton locked up early on, then Orton exploded out of the corner with a clothesline. Lawler talked about Miz being the “best thing in Cleveland” now that LeBron James has left. “That’s sad!” Cole said. That was odd, as WWE promotes their stars as huge deals, so why would it be sad?, and Cole typically talks up Miz like he’s the best thing to ever happen in WWE history. Weird comment from Cole, even if he was trying to knock Cleveland in the process. Orton continued to beat down Miz, including a slow set-up for a slingshot into the bottom rope. Orton eventually knocked Miz to the floor and Sheamus walked out on-stage. Cut to break with business about to pick up.

Before returning to the match, they plugged the NBC special on Saturday. Back in the arena, Orton was still in control of the match pounding away on Miz. Miz finally got in some offense with a boot to the face that bought him some time. Miz then landed elbows to the shoulders before settling into a chinlock while trying to gouge Orton’s eyes. Segue to a zoomed-in shot of Sheamus’s eyes as he stood on-stage continuing to watch intently.

Cole reset the show (making sure not to identify what city they were located in for a taped show) as Miz continued to work on Orton. Cole noted developments tonight with Edge and Jericho off Team Cena going into Summerslam. Miz then charged Orton with a hard clothesline in the corner. He maintained his pose for a moment to let the audience feel the move. Miz then slowly picked up Orton, who came back with right hand blows that rocked Miz before landing fired-up clotheslines. Miz attempted a left arm lariat, but Orton ducked and nailed a powerslam off the ropes. Miz reached the apron to slow down Orton, though, only to find himself in position for the spike DDT. Miz countered, though, by dumping Orton over the top rope to the floor. Cole excitedly called it a “great counter.”

On the floor, Miz landed some offense, then rolled Orton back into the ring. Miz nailed his combination Reality Check and scored a close nearfall. At this point, the crowd was a mixture of fans exhausted in the fourth hour of a TV taping and fans standing to see the finish. Miz tried to follow up on his nearfall, but Orton suddenly hit the RKO to a strong reaction. Orton then made the cover for the win.

Post-match: Immediately after the finish, Sheamus started to charge the ring, but Orton scared him off posing as a threat. Cole quickly wrapped things up as they abruptly signed off with Orton posed in the ring like a snake glaring at Sheamus.

WINNER: Orton in 13:00.