OPENING SEGMENT
John Laurinaitis came out and greeted the fans. He talked a little about his upcoming job review and announced the RAW Elimination Chamber match (more on that later). He also announced the matches for the night, including CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan. Punk interrupted and had the whole "Na na na, hey hey goodbye" stuff going. Punk runs some cheap smack talk until Daniel Bryan interrupts. Bryan talks about his successful WHC defense and how he's a role-model for being a vegan. Punk tries to joke about that, and Bryan tells him he'll shove Punk's "pipe bomb" down his throat if he keeps it up. Out of nowhere, we're greeted by the Royal Rumble winner, Sheamus. Sheamus talks about how both Punk and Bryan still have to defend their titles at the Elimination Chamber, but that as the Rumble winner, he will be challenging for one of the titles. Sheamus also takes a shot at Johnny Ace, saying he hopes Triple H fires him.
This segment was okay. I saw it got a lot of mixed reactions on Twitter. I liked the back and forth with Bryan and Punk. I wasn't keen on Sheamus' interruption. I get the dynamic of interjecting Sheamus while both world champions were in the ring due to his Rumble win, I just don't think Sheamus was given his just attention considering he shockingly won the Rumble just 24 hours earlier. I felt he should've gotten more spotlight on RAW instead of this brief appearance. Perhaps SmackDown will make up for that.
RANDY ORTON VS. DOLPH ZIGGLER (w/ Vickie Guerrero)
King and Cole made sure to sell the fact that this was Orton's first match on RAW in several weeks (as if that's an unbearable amount of time). The fun dynamic of this match was that Wade Barrett was a spectator from a skybox at the top of the arena. Josh Matthews was with him and occasionally the commentary would stop so that Matthews could ask Barrett a question. It was like special guest commentary and a backstage interview wrapped into one. The match was good. It was a lot like other matches Ziggler and Orton have had over previous months. Orton went over clean by hitting an RKO after his signature taunting motion, rather than an "RKO out of nowhere."
I enjoyed the match. Not crazy about Orton being back so suddenly, but he and Ziggler typically put on good shows. I really enjoyed the Barrett skybox commentary. This also set up some excitement for the continuance of Orton and Barrett's rivalry on SmackDown.
BRODUS CLAY VS. TYLER REKS
Yes, Tyler Reks was on RAW. Brodus Clay's feud with the Jobber Mafia continues. Same Funkasaurus match as they've all been. Clay hit the "Funk It"/"What the Funk" for the win. They really need to decide on a name for that thing.
I was fine with the quick squash. Moving on...
DANIEL BRYAN VS. CM PUNK
Incredible match. I can't really put it into words how fun this was to watch. If you by chance missed it, do yourself a favor and search YouTube, wait for WWE Ram A.M. on Saturday, or watch the spanish Telemundo broadcast if you have to. The only thing that was wrong is that there was no clean finish (which is understandable with two world champs). I think the fans are perfectly fine with that. The man who interfered was none other than Chris Jericho! Jericho grabs Bryan from outside the ring and slams him into the outside barrier, causing a disqualification (Bryan victory). Afterwards, Jericho slides into the ring and hits Punk with the Code Breaker. Bryan regains his composure and does his signature "YES! YES! YES!" celebration after he is announced the winner. Jericho retreats to the top of the ramp and looks back at Punk. Punk eventually recovers and has a look on his face that gives the appearance that he doesn't know what just hit him... And that's it. Cole and King sort of no-sell this by saying their unsure of what Jericho could be doing and how he's been hard to follow since his return. The segment ends abruptly and King and Cole start talking about Mike Tyson being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
This was a good segment, overall. The match was incredible, regardless of the DQ finish. Jericho interrupting and attacking Punk blew Twitter up. Unfortunately, that's where things ended. A lot of people are jumping to conclusions as to what it means, but it's hard to say. WWE clearly designed this to leave us with even more questions than answers yet again. I wish the announcing would've sold Jericho's actions a bit harder though. That was a big deal. I get being confused as to Y2J's motives, but to not even have a commercial after that and instantly segue into something as trivial as Mike Tyson's announcement simply felt awkward.
KOFI KINGSTON VS. THE MIZ
Before the match, R-Truth came out to do guest commentary. Kingston entered and then the Miz, who brought a mic with him. He talked about how he lasted for over 45 minutes in the Royal Rumble and how Kingston's handstand save was menial compared to what he did. The match that followed was average. Truth was underwhelming on commentary. I was excited to see him out there, but he felt like a completely different character at the table. Although, I will say a few of his shots at Michael Cole were amusing. To my own surprise, Kofi won cleanly via the Trouble in Paradise.
As I said the match was average and the special guest commentary was for the most part underwhelming. I was fine with the result, however. Kingston is one of the six competitors to be in RAW's Elimination Chamber, so going over cleanly on the Miz gave some credibility going forward as a singles competitor.
DIVAS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: BETH PHOENIX (c) VS. EVE TORRES
The match was a non-factor. Beth won in probably less than a minute via the Glam Slam.
What was important was Kane confronting Eve after the match. He appeared on the tron and talked about how it was John Cena's fault that Zack Ryder was being assaulted. He said that until Cena learned to embrace the hate, Kane would continue to make Ryder suffer. Then he said he was going to use Eve to send a message. Kane's pyro went off at the ramp, but he instead appeared a few seconds later on the ring apron behind Eve. She screamed in fright until Cena came to the rescue and a brawl ensued. Eventually, Cena got the upper-hand by taking Kane out with the steel steps. The process repeated a few times and Cena yelled he'd keep hitting him as long as he got up. Cena then grabbed a microphone and yelled that they're going to have a party, or some such. Eventually, he got around to tearing apart the announcers' table and set up Kane for the Attitude Adjustment. Kane fought out of it and hightailed it out of there through the crowd.
This segment was a little annoying. First of all, this was the last match of the night and it was a divas match squash. Second, Cena was insufferable. I didn't mind Cena returning the favor and getting the best of Kane on this occasion, it was just done so poorly. Him grabbing a mic and saying "we're going to have a party," or whatever, was one of the stupidest things I've ever seen. Ladies and gentlemen, that was Exhibit A as to why people don't like John Cena. Then you have Kane run away? What would've been so bad about Cena delivering the AA? I get the idea was to show that Cena still has a vicious side (aka SUPERCENA). I thought he could've finished the job though - just as Kane has Choke Slammed Cena on occasion. Kane still could've shortly recovered after Cena walked away and looked respectable. I just don't get it.
FINAL SEGMENT
Laurinaitis comes to the ring and says that he's not nervous about his performance review. John sort of talks about how well RAW is doing in ratings and how he believes himself to be a great GM - giving himself all sorts of favorable grades. Triple H finally interrupts. Hunter talks about he's been watching closely and is surprised that Johnny Ace didn't turn out better. He said that John, just like himself and Vince McMahon, has let personal feelings cloud his judgement when it came to running the show. He then hints that, just like himself and Vince, it's time for Laurinaitis to be replaced.
John pleads for him to not do it and says he'll do anything to keep his job. Triple H teases a little bit and tells Laurinaitis to apologize to the fans. Laurinaitis does so and is greeted with heavy heat. Hunter says it obviously wasn't good enough. He jokes about possibly putting John into a gauntlet match (just as John did CM Punk) and giving the entire locker room a shot at him. He then says John may have to show his loyalty and alludes to something Vince used to do; making people join a certain club (the VKM Kiss My Ass Club).
Laurinaitis puts on some chap stick, gets on his knees and puckers up before Triple H starts laughing in the disbelief that John was actually going to do it. Triple H cuts to the point and says now that personal feelings are no longer in the way, the board of directors have informed him that he is free to take the reigns over on RAW whenever he feels like it. Just as a Triple H is about to wish John Laurinaitis well in his future endeavors....
BONG
Triple H's expression grows dead serious as the Undertaker makes his signature entrance to the ring. Taker confronts Hunter in the ring. He looks up at the Wrestlemania sign and then does his famous throat slash. Triple H stares at him, pats him on the shoulder and leaves. No words were spoken. That is the end of the show.
"OH SHIT!" was my exact reaction when that oh-so-familiar bell tolled. First off, the majority of the back and forth Ace and Triple H was good. I enjoyed it. It was funny and I think the audience agreed. It's now apparent that because of the Undertaker's interruption, John Laurinaitis is still technically the interim GM on RAW.
As for the stare down... You tell me. What do you make of it? I'm on the side of saying that Triple H declined the challenge by the Deadman, based on those actions. It's highly interesting. I know these two are legendary mega-stars in WWE and would put on a great match for a second year in a row, but I can't say I'm too disappointed if it's not going to happen. I'd like to see someone new challenge Taker. I feel like the match quality will be excellent regardless of the challenger because WWE always goes all out for Taker's 'Mania matches anyway. That said, I seriously doubt the exchange between Taker and Triple H is over. They'll probably meet again next week. It'll be interesting to see if Taker plans to somehow get him to agree. I wouldn't mind seeing a different match, but even after last night, I still wouldn't be surprised to see the same match still happen.
(Rest... In...) Peace,
Daniel
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