1-2-12 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the January 2, 2012 episode of Raw

The show starts with John Cena coming to the ring and wishes everyone a Happy New Year and he gets a “You suck” chant and a lot of boos from the fans. He says that he will make some changes to himself in 2012. He mentions a few resolutions and the top one will be at WrestleMania when he beats The Rock at WrestleMania. He says what will not change about is that he will remain who he is. He then mentions that he was emotional last week and that it wasn’t at any of the fans. Then he says that the fans have earned the right to do whatever they want. He says that he was disappointed in Kane and mentions how Kane is upset with how Cena does things and says that he won’t do what Kane wants. He says that there is no better feeling than being in the ring in front of all the fans and that he will continue to enjoy every reaction he gets. Then he thanks the fans but before he can say more Kane’s music hits and he show up on the tron. He tells Cena that he can hold off the inevitable all he wants but he will witness the true power of hate tonight. This was a decent promo. I thought most of it was better than Cena’s usual promos. The Kane bit was ok too.

World Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes. Bryan gets the pin. This was a good back and forth match. After wards he stands on the announce table and holds up the Title and poses on the barrier.

They show R-Truth returning and attacking The Miz from last week.

Johnny Ace is backstage texting AGAIN and Miz comes in and Miz asks what he thinks about what R-Truth did last week. Ace says Truth was out of line. Miz asks of he will take any action and then Ace shows the clip from 2 months ago when Miz turned on Truth. Ace says that he will make sure that Truth doesn’t attack him tonight when he faces Sheamus. Miz is in shock and says that he is a sitting duck. Ace says that that is better than being a lame duck and Miz says tat wasn’t funny (it wasn’t). Then Miz walks out and says that he is not a sitting duck. R-Truth then shows up and does and he quacks. This was a decent segment. Miz was good with his promo as usual and Johnny Ace wasn’t as boring as usual. Truth showing up at the end was kind of funny too.

They show clips from the 1988 Royal Rumble match that Hacksaw Jim Duggan won. That was good stuff.

Wade Barrett comes out and says that he doesn’t care about the new or old year. Then he mentions that 2012 is off to a good start because there is no Randy Orton. Then he talks about throwing Orton down the stairs on Smackdown. Then he mentions that he is looking to win the Royal Rumble and go to WrestleMania. Before he can say more, Santino Marella comes out and gets the mic and mentions that he was in the Rumble longer than Barrett last year. Then he does more of his comedy bit. Time for their match.

Santino Marella vs. Wade Barrett. Barrett gets the pin. This was a squash.

The Miz is backstage with The Bellas who are arguing AGAIN and Miz asks if they saw R-Truth. They say they haven’t but they saw Little Jimmy. Miz walks off, looks around and after Miz was off camera Truth shows up again. This was ok.

Sheamus vs. The Miz. Miz attacks Sheamus and ties him in the ropes before the match starts. Then Sheamus gets free and fights back and Miz jumps over the barrier and bails. Then R-Truth speaks and we see him in the crowd. He said he was watching his match and that he saw Little Jimmy. Then he says that Little Jimmy doesn’t like him and that needs to get got. Miz goes back over the barrier and Sheamus gives him a Brogue Kick. Truth then heads to ringside and hits Miz with a water bottle. Then Truth goes back into the crowd and says that this week’s weekly beat down was brought to us by Little Jimmy and that Miz got got. Then he asks a fan who he calls Little Jimmy how he feels about it and the fan says, “Happy New Year Miz” and “What.” This was good stuff. Truth’s promo was really good. They’ve been doing a good job with this so far. Sheamus was good here too but I’m not sure what they’re gonna do with him next.

Josh Matthews interviews Dolph Ziggler and asks if he can beat Punk. Dolph says that he beat Punk last week and says that he has all the talent and charisma. Then he says he doesn’t have the WWE Title but he will later tonight.

Zack Ryder is backstage with Eve and Jack Swagger comes in and calls Ryder an imposter of a U.S. Champion. They go back and forth and Johnny Ace comes in and says that they will be in a 6 man tag team elimination match, John Cena, Big Show & Zack Ryder vs. Mark Henry, Kane & Jack Swagger. This was lame. Johnny Ace was back to being Mr. Boring again here. Also why do they have Kane & Mark Henry on the same team when Henry took Kane out a few months ago? I hate when WWE wants us to forget stuff!!

WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler for the Title. Johnny Ace comes out and shows the referee that one of the turnbuckles is exposed. While this is happening Punk gets Dolph in the Anaconda Vice and Dolph taps out but the referee doesn’t see it. Punk kicks Dolph into Ace. Then Dolph throws Punk to the outside and Ace yanks down the top rope and Punk is counted out. Winner but not WWE Champion Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler celebrates with Vickie and then hops the rail and poses with the Title. This was a good match right up till the finish. I knew there wasn’t going to be a clean finish here but they could have done something besides Johnny Ace coming out and distracting the referee again! I’m hoping they have Punk vs. Dolph for the Title at the Rumble.

They show clips from the 1995 Royal Rumble match that Shawn Michaels won.

Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres vs. The Bella Twins. The Bellas do the switch bit and Brie pins Eve for the win. This was dull.

Johnny Ace & David Otunga are backstage and CM Punk comes in and chews out Ace for screwing him over. Ace says that Dolph beat Punk twice and will challenge Punk for the Title at the Royal Rumble. Ace was about to say who the special referee would be but Punk says that if Ace screws him out of the Title at the Rumble then he will want to sue him and that he will be in jail for animal cruelty because he will he will be Ace like a B**ch. This was a really intense promo from Punk.

They show the final video for tonight’s return and the boy says that the end of the world as we know it is here. Then they go back to the arena and they have a rumbling sound and the cameras shake. Then the lights and tron go out and the fans chant Y2J. They show Jericho doing his entrance pose, then pyro goes off and Chris Jericho’s music hits. Chris Jericho is back!! He got a great crowd reaction and he played to the fans. He stands in the ring for a bit, then he goes around and slaps the fans’ hands. Then he gets back in the ring and the fans still chant Y2J! Then they chant welcome back. Man he is major over! Jericho continues to get the fans to cheer him and they were really behind him! This guy is really good. He soaked in all the cheers and Y2J chants from the fans! Then he takes a production camera and films the fans for a bit and then he slaps more fans’ hands as he walks up the ramp and the crowd is still cheering for him big time! He continues to soak in the cheers on the stage and then he walks to the back. Jericho got a major pop and the fans kept cheering for him and chanting his name. I liked seeing Jericho back and thought that he played off the crowed well, but I’m not sure why he didn’t say anything.

John Cena, Big Show & U.S. Champion Zack Ryder vs. Kane, Mark Henry & Jack Swagger in a 6 Man Tag Team Elimination Match. Kane’s music plays but he doesn’t come out. David Otunga does (why) and he tells the referee & Justin Roberts something and then Roberts announces that Kane will not be in the match so it will be 3 vs. 2.  Maybe Kane remembered that Mark Henry took him out? * Big Show & Mark Henry brawl on the outside, Show hits Henry in the back with a chair and they both get counted out. * Cena pins Swagger. Winners-Cena & Ryder. This was ok but nothing amazing. After the match Kane’s pyro and music hit and Cena goes to the ramp but Kane comes out from under the ring and he boots Ryder. Then he places his hand over Cena’s face and smothers him. Then he goes after Ryder and tries to pull him under the ring but Cena makes the save. Kane’s pyro goes off from under the ring and Cena & Ryder look on in shock. That ends the show.

I thought that this episode was ok overall. Not great but not horrific either. The Punk-Dolph Title match was good, but I wasn’t crazy about the finish. Punk’s promo on Johnny Ace was good as usual. I liked the R-Truth-Miz action and Sheamus was good here too, but I’m not sure what’s next for him. Daniel Bryan & Cody Rhodes had a good match too. The main event was ok and then end with Kane coming out from under the ring was ok too. I’m not sure why Cena & Ryder were so shocked at what Kane did since he, like Undertaker does these kinds of attacks. On the whole I thought this was a decent show.