RAW - 1/23/12

SEGMENT #1

The show starts off with CM Punk cutting a promo. He addresses the end of last week's show where Interim RAW General Manager and Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, John Laurinaitis, admitted his intentions to, "screw over," Punk at the Royal Rumble. Punk asks Laurinaitis to come down to the ring and admit the truth to him face-to-face. John Cena comes to the ring. Cena tells Punk he is in the ring for business and would also like John Laurinaitis to grant Zack Ryder a rematch for the United States Championship and resign from his duties as RAW GM. Laurinaitis appears at the top of the ramp and lets Punk and Cena know that he is not intimidated by either of them and is standing by his words from last week. He says the Zack Ryder is scheduled for a falls count anywhere match against Kane and if Cena interferes, Ryder will lose his opportunity at a rematch for the US title. Laurinaitis then continues to make an impromptu tag team match with Punk and Cena versus Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler, Swagger, and Vickie Guerrero appear. Swagger and Ziggler have a few choice words before heading to the ring.

Jack Swagger & Dolph Ziggler w/ Vickie Guerrero vs. CM Punk & John Cena


Back and forth match with an adequate number of spots. The finale came as CM Punk climbed the top rope, only to be told to get down by Laurinaitis. As Punk comes down to the mat, he gets into a war of words with Laurinaitis and shoves him off of the apron. Dolph Ziggler rolls Punk up from behind, successfully getting the three-count by grabbing Punk's tights.

Winners: Jack Swagger & Dolph Ziggler w/ Vickie Guerrero.

After the match, Punk grabs a microphone and informs John Laurinaitis, who's now retreated to atop the ramp, that nothing has changed between them and Punk still plans to, "beat the hell," out of him. Punk challenges Laurinaitis to a one-on-one match later in the show. After some hesitation, Laurinaitis accepts.

My grade: A-

I liked CM Punk to start the show and the general direction of his promo. I could have done without John Cena interrupting him. Seeing as Punk and Cena hadn't really been involved with one another since October, the segment felt highly awkward. I did like Laurinaitis' part of the promo. I especially enjoyed that he owned up to his actions the week before and did not back down. The tag match was also a nice surprise. It's not often that a match with that much quality is a curtain jerker for RAW. The dirty finish was appropriate and understandable. The post-match promo also delivered by creating anticipation throughout the rest of the show. Overall, this was a very good start.


SEGMENT #2

The second part of the show is Chris Jericho hosting his famous Highlight Reel. Jericho makes his entrance and continues to act similarly to how he has the past several weeks. He smiles, he panders, and he riles the crowd up. He then exists the ring and tells them to "hold on." He returns with a T-shirt cannon and points at the crowd, although never actually firing it. Like previous weeks, he grabs the camera from a cameraman and points it at the crowd as they go crazy to be on T.V. He returns the camera and tells the crowd to hush. He then points to the, "Jeritron," as a clip begins to play. The video is a career highlight of sorts, beginning with Jericho's debut in WWE and running up to his return earlier in the month. Once the video ends, he brings the microphone up and speaks for the first time since his return.

"This Sunday at the Royal Rumble, it will be the end of the world as you know it."

The lights go out and his music hits. All the crowd can see is the blue lights from his jacket flashing in the darkness as he walks away...

Grade: A

Personally, I've been a fan of Jericho's antics since his return on January 2nd. Those who haven't been likely found this segment to be underwhelming. The beginning with his continued pandering was irrelevant. What I cared about was his video and one spoken sentence. If you take those two things in context with his entire return in January, you can see that they were very powerful. To not speak at all for three weeks and then say, "it will be the end of the world as you know it," reaffirms that Jericho's return is meant to be taken very seriously. That message was sent though the numerous ominous vignettes that aired on RAW and on YouTube before January 2nd, however, the casual fan may have moved on from them since Jericho's actual arrival. Even those who had grown tired of Jericho over the past three weeks certainly have regained their interest now.


SEGMENT #3

Zack Ryder and Eve are shown backstage having a conversation about Zack's upcoming match with Kane. Mick Foley walks up and warns Ryder of Kane, citing his own personal crossings with the Big Red Machine. Despite being medically cleared, Eve continues to plead with Zack to forfeit the match. John Cena enters and reassures Ryder that despite Laurinaitis' warning earlier, that he would have his back. Zack asks Cena to stop, saying that he wanted to make sure he would get his United States Championship rematch and then proceeds out to the ring.

Kane vs. Zack Ryder; Falls Count Anywhere 


This was a pretty sloppy match, overall. That's to be expected when you have Kane in a no-disqualification match. The two fought in the ring, at ring side, in the crowd and, finally, on top of the ramp. The match finally ended when Kane chokeslammed Ryder through the very top of the stage. At this point, the referee and Eve ran to check on Ryder. Kane ends up scaring Eve off and slowly chasing her back to the ring before John Cena appears, causing Kane to exit through the crowd.

Result: No contest

Ryder is put on a stretcher and carried to the back where there is an ambulance waiting for him. As he is loaded in, Cena tells Ryder to, "hang in there." Eve tells John that he's done enough and that's she's going with Zack. As the ambulance tails off, Josh Matthews approaches Cena to ask him how he feels after what just happened. After a long pause, Cena slaps the microphone out of Matthews' hand and turns to face the camera with an enraged look on his face.

Grade: B

This entire segment had a lot of ups and downs. It did not start strongly at all. I wasn't very entertained by the pre-match backstage part. The match itself was okay. Again, it wasn't exactly technically proficient, but you don't expect a falls count anywhere match to be anyway. Given the fact it was falls count anywhere, all I wanted to see is some good brawling outside of the ring (especially in the crowd) and this match delivered. The finish was both good and bad. The no contest doesn't bother me in the least. What does bother me is how injured Ryder is sold as. Although it is not said until later in the show, Ryder is announced to have suffered a broken back. That is a very serious injury in real life. One that took Shawn Michaels years to recover from. If you're going to give a wrestler a kayfabe injury, this seems like an odd route to go.

It also makes you wonder whether or not Ryder is being written off, for just how long, and why. If he isn't legitimately injured (which I fully believe) and hasn't been suspended (possible, but that hasn't been announced), it seems very odd to write him off with something as serious as a broken back. Perhaps he'll still appear on air but will be packaged as unable to compete. The best example I can give: Like The Miz on WWE '12 in "Road to Wrestlemania" when he was the GM on SmackDown. I even made a joke on Twitter about Ryder being a kayfabe paraplegic. Who knows? But right now, my instinct is to question the reasoning behind selling Ryder as seriously injured.

The final thing to look at in this segment is Cena's reaction - particularly him looking really pissed off at the end. As we all know, Kane has been goading Cena for a month to, "embrace the hate." He also vowed that Cena would do so by the time they met at the Royal Rumble. With this latest altercation and how John Cena was last shown, it makes you wonder if he truly has been pushed too far and just how it will affect him on Sunday and beyond. There's no way to really know right now, so I'll just say that it has my interest. This fact is also the biggest redeeming quality about the entire segment.


SEGMENT #4


Jinder Mahal vs. Sheamus


If you follow me on Twitter, you know I'm not a big Sheamus fan as of late. Not because I dislike the man or because of his feud with Christian. I simply don't enjoy how he's been booked over the last several months. Needless to say, seeing him in yet another pointless match with "Jobber" Mahal (on RAW, no less) didn't exactly make me excited.

The good thing: We were joined at commentary by none other than Wade Barrett.

The match itself was as dull as dirt. Typical Sheamus squash match. Several right hands and a Brogue Kick later, Sheamus wrapped up the easy victory.

Winner: Sheamus

Barrett leaves ringside with his large trench coat in hand and proceeds back up the ramp. Sheamus grabs a mic and runs some smack talk. I didn't really listen closely, but do recall him telling Wade to take a good look. Just as Sheamus was alone in the ring at the moment, he proclaimed that's how it would be at the end of Sunday when he wins the 2012 Royal Rumble.

Grade: C

Another boring Sheamus match. The only thing I really enjoyed about this segment was getting to hear Barrett on commentary, and even that didn't last long due to Sheamus quickly finishing off Mahal. I will say that I'm curious as to whether or not Sheamus and Barrett will have a program together past this Sunday. I'd like to see the two of them get into a serious feud and maybe even have a match at Wrestlemania. Something about an Irishman and an Englishman feud just has a nice ring to it. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see Barrett's feud with Randy Orton resume starting this Friday and Sheamus possibly re-engage a returning Christian in the near future.


SEGMENT #5

Miz is having a backstage interview with Josh Matthews (who's microphone evidently did not break when Cena slapped it to the ground). Matthews asks how Miz feels now that he and his former parter, R-Truth, are finally going to have a one-on-one match. Miz goes on a rant about how all his former partners (John Morrison, The Big Show, Alex Riley) have all gone on to be either fired, hurt, or just had career problems in general. He continues to talk about how profound he is before R-Truth finally interrupts. They have a loud argument back and forth until John Laurinaitis intervenes saying that he's had enough of their loud bickering. Laurinaitis announces that the loser of their match will be the first entrant into Sunday's Royal Rumble.

Brodus Clay vs. Heath Slater

Before Truth and Miz have their match, we're given another Funkasaurus segment. Also of note: William Regal was on commentary for this one after his dance segment with Clay during last Friday's SmackDown. That's two English guest commentators in a row for those of you counting at home. Regal mainly insulted Brodus and detested his appearance. It was a good listen, however short it may have been.

Much like Clay's first few matches, this one ended very quickly. That said, I do believe Slater was the first opponent to get any sort of offense in on Clay (a measly drop kick). Brodus used his finishing maneuver, the "Funk It" (cross body) to get the win.

Winner: Brodus Clay

The Miz vs. R-Truth

This match ended up being rather short and uneventful. That was disappointing seeing as these two have been feuding for weeks and this felt more like a pay-per-view match. Truth landed the "What's Up" out of nowhere to get a surprise win. The Miz will be your first entrant in the Royal Rumble on Sunday, greatly reducing his odds of winning the January Classic.

Winner: R-Truth

Grade: B-

Given the backstage segment and both matches, this part of the show wasn't terrible. I didn't mind the back and forth bantering by Miz and Truth before the match. I really like the added stipulation of the loser drawing no. 1 in the rumble. It reminded me of the good old days where much more was made on the television shows about who got which number in the Rumble, whereas today it's completely random and not even brought up until the night of the event.

As for the Clay-Slater match: I'm on the side of the line doesn't mind Brodus Clay at all. I've enjoyed "The Funkasaurus" since his debut, quite honestly. I know a lot of people think it's ridiculous and just punishment to Clay for when he spoiled an angle on Twitter before his debut. All I know is this: It's a lot more fun and creative than just making another monster heel, so I'm for it. I also HATE Heath Slater (again, you know that if you're a follower). Despite not liking it when he's on my screen, I did enjoy seeing him job to Brodus "The Funkasaurus" Clay.

The Truth-Miz match was as I said, underwhelming. Obviously, there's no room on a Royal Rumble card to have a match on Sunday so they were kind enough to put it on RAW. Since this is not even a singles match we would've seen on cable television otherwise, I don't want to complain too much. I just hope this isn't the end for these two. It can't be, right?


SEGMENT #6


John Laurinaitis is shown warming up for his match against CM Punk in his office in what looks like either a futuristic Santa Claus costume or a red velvet Snuggie©. My favorite part about this was the Johnny Ace skateboard added subtly to the background. Tip of the hat to whichever writer made sure to include that! David Otunga enters and hands Laurinaitis what seems to be a very important fax.

CM Punk heads to the ring, expecting to face Laurinaitis. After a brief delay, Laurinaitis and Otunga make their way to the ring. Laurinaitis tells Punk there is news that must be shared. Otunga reads the fax, stating that the WWE Board of Directors has found John Laurinaitis' recent actions to be questionable and that he can't compete with CM Punk. It also says that Laurinaitis will be given a job evaluation next week on RAW by none other than Chief Operating Officer, Triple H.

Laurinaitis tries to explain further, but Punk interrupts him. Punk basically says that everyone knows what it means. If he tries to screw him on Sunday, not only will Punk, "kick his ass," but Laurinaitis will also be fired. John tries to apologize and acts as though he was always going to call the match straight down the middle. Punk compares him to a spoiled little girl on Christmas. He then says that he hopes Triple H will tell him straight to his face that, "You're fired!" in a Vince McMahon fashion.

John responds by saying that although their match won't take place, he has found a suitable replacement. Otunga then takes a cheap-shot at Punk and proceeds to beat him down. Punk eventually turns the tables in the brawl and locks Otunga into the Anaconda Vise, knocking him out. Punk gets up to face Laurinaitis who offers to shake his hand. Punk does so, but then pulls John in and gives him his finishing maneuver, the "Go To Sleep." Punk then celebrates and pounds his chest as his music hits. Out of nowhere, Dolph Ziggler emerges from behind and nails Punk with the, "Zig Zag." Ziggler then stands over Punk and stares him down as the show ends.

Grade: A

I loved the end of the show. As fun as a match between Punk and Johnny Ace would've been, I never actually thought it was going to happen. Having the announcement about Laurinaitis' job now being on the line was exciting, especially to know Triple H would be confronting him next week. It's not that I dislike Laurinaitis as a heel GM, I'm just glad to see the feud between he and CM Punk is really coming to a head. The fight between Punk and Otunga was also amusing, especially with Punk using the Anaconda Vise. Seeing Punk deliver the GTS on Johnny Ace was probably the highlight of the night, if not year thus far. Finally, I thought having Ziggler get the last laugh was a good idea. I'm sure there are a lot of Ziggler supporters out there that may not respect how he's been pushed to the back burner in this whole ordeal. It may not have been much, but him at least getting the Zig Zag at the end gives the aura of him being a legit threat to the WWE Championship. Again, it wasn't perfect, but it was better than him being completely ignored.


AVERAGE SHOW GRADE: B+


That grade itself is a little misleading. The unimportant parts of the show were not given good grades, however, the key parts did very well. On a curve, I give the show an A. Strong beginning, the best Jericho segment we've seen thus far, and a very strong end. Other than a boring match or two, this was a good RAW.