Coverage and thoughts on the January 23, 2012 episode of Raw
The show starts with CM Punk coming to the ring and he sits in the ring and talks about his title match with Dolph Ziggler at the Royal Rumble and says that all 3 matches he beat Punk was because of this Sunday’s guest referee Johnny Ace. Then he says that Ace was a failure as a wrestler, an executive and a person. Then he said that he was shocked that Johnny Ace told the truth for once. They show the clip from the end of last week’s show. Punk then says that it will be hard for Ace to referee a match with broken arms. Then he calls Johnny Ace out and wants him to say what he said last week to Punk’s face. Punk then says that he will find Ace in the back. Then Cena comes out and says he’s tired of hearing Punk talk. Then he says that Johnny Ace will give Zack Ryder a rematch for the U.S. Title and give Cena a match with Kane. Then he says that Ace will resign as GM. Punk was about to say more but then Johnny Ace comes out and tells Punk and Cena that sometimes people say things they wish they hadn’t, but he stands by what he said last week and will not be intimidated by either of them. Punk says he can’t hear him and tells him to get in the ring. Ace doesn’t and then he apologizes to Cena for screwing up with Ryder last week. Then he says that Ryder is cleared to compete and he will face Kane in a falls count anywhere match tonight and that if Cena get involved in the match Ryder will never get another U.S. Title match. Then he says that Punk & Cena will be in a tag match next. Then Vickie Guerrero comes out and introduces Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger. Dolph tells Punk that he should be worried about him and not Johnny Ace because he will beat him at the Rumble. Then Swagger says that Cena is dead meet for attacking him last week. This was a good opening segment. Punk’s promo was great as usual. Cena’s was better then his usual promos and Johnny Ace wasn’t as bad as usual either.
WWE Champion CM Punk & John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler & U.S.
Then Punk gets the mic and says that at some point he plans on beating the hell out of him. Then he says that he wants Ace to be something he hasn’t been. He says that for one night he wants him to be a WWE super star and challenges Ace to a match for tonight. Ace accepts. This was good I thought. Punk cut a good promo as usual but I know that they will do something to not have the match.
They show Chris Jericho walking backstage.
They have the Highlight Real set up in the ring and the lights go out and Chris Jericho comes out. He runs up the ramp and goes to the back and brings out a t-shirt gun and gets the fans all psyched but he put it down and grabs a camera and films the fans. Then he points to the JeriTron and they show a video package of his WWF/E run. Then he finally speaks and says that at the Royal Rumble it will be the end of the world as we know it. Then his music plays and the lights go out and his jacket lights up again. This was the same Jericho
They show a Royal Rumble video package. This was well done.
They show Zack & Eve backstage and Mick Foley comes in and tells him that he’s fought Kane many times and he is just a man and Ryder can do this. Eve says that she says Zack doesn’t have to do this and shouldn’t be competing. Ryder says his back hurts but he has to do this. Then Cena comes in and Ryder tells him that he can handle this.
Zack Ryder vs. Kane in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Kane choke slams Ryder through the stage. Then he goes after Eve but Cena comes out on the stage and Kane walks out through the crowd. Eve walks up the ramp and she, Cena and a medic check on Ryder. Eve cries and asks if Zack is ok. Cena & Eve watch as the medics get Ryder on a stretcher. This was ok for what it was. Kane dominated the whole match. I thought this choke slam was a more believable visual than 2 weeks ago. Back from commercial and the referees, medics and Cena get Ryder on the stretcher and wheeled into the ambulance. Cena tells Zack to hang in there and that he will handle this. Then Eve says that this is all Cena’s fault and that he’s done enough. Eve gets in that ambulance with Zack as they ride off. Then Josh Mathews comes in says Cena must being feeling awful about this. Cena knocks the mic out of his hand and has this enraged look on his face. It looks like Cena will be looking to get revenge on Kane at the Rumble. I thought they did a decent job here. Cena is letting the hate flow through him.
Sheamus vs. Jinder Mahal. Sheamus gets the pin. This was ok. Sheamus dominated the whole match. Wade Barrett was on commentary. After wards Sheamus asks Barrett to get in the ring. He hints it but gets off the apron. Then Sheamus gets the mic and says that he will win the Royal Rumble.
Josh Mathews interviews The Miz about his match with R-Truth. Miz says every person who has teamed with him has seen their career go south after turning on him. Then he says that he will win the rumble and headline WrestleMania for the second year in a row. He rants some more and then R-Truth comes in doing some goofy gimmick and says that Miz is the number one jackass. Then they scream at each other and then Johnny Ace and David Otunga come in and Ace says he’s trying to prepare for his match later and they’re distracting him. Then he says that he loser of the Truth-Miz match will be number 1 in the Royal Rumble match. I thought this was a mixed bag. Miz was good as usual on the mic. The R-Truth bit is hit and miss. Also I don’t know why they’re having this match on raw rather than a PPV.
William Regal comes out to do commentary and they show the bit with him and Brodus Clay from Smackdown.
Brodus Clay comes out doing his Flash Funk gimmick. This is idiotic! Heath Slater is this week’s victim.
Brodus Clay vs. Heath Slater. Brodus gets the pin. This was a squash. Regal is the greatest commentator today. I’m not sure why they had him come out only for this. His commentary on NXT is tremendous!
They show clips from the 2007 Royal Rumble that Undertaker won.
R-Truth vs. The Miz. Truth gets the pin. This was a good match. Miz will be number 1 in the Royal Rumble.
Jerry Lawler says that Zack Ryder has a broken back from the choke slam and they recap that segment.
Johnny Ace is in his office with a ninja robe and doing some ninja stuff and Otunga shows him a sheet of paper and Ace a puzzled look on his face.
They show CM Punk backstage as he heads to the ring for his match with Johnny Ace next.
CM Punk comes out for the match. Johnny Ace & David Otunga come out and Ace says that he has some bad news. He says that he got a fax from the board of directors. Otunga reads it and it says that the board is becoming concerned with how he is being Raw GM and they have decided that his status as GM will be under review. He will receive an evaluation next week on Raw and will be conducted by Triple H. Punk then says that what that means is that there is nothing to stop him from beating the crap out of him. Ace says that this is a wake up call and apologizes to Punk and the fans. Then he says that Mick Foley will be in the Rumble and says that he will call the title match right down the middle and only said that he would screw punk because he got upset. Punk says that he hopes Triple H fires him next week. Ace says that won’t happen and says that he has been there for 10 years. Then he says that the match won’t happen but he found a replacement in David Otunga. Then Otunga attacks Punk but Punk locks him in the Anaconda Vice and Otunga taps. Then Punk stares down Johnny Ace and Otunga tries to sneak up on him but Punk kicks him. Johnny Ace offers his hand. Punk shakes it and then gives Ace the GTS . Then Dolph Ziggler comes out and goes after Punk. Dolph stands over Punk to end the show. I knew they weren’t going to have the match. This segment was a mixed bag also. Johnny Ace’s promo was dull and so was Otunga reading the note. Punk was good as usual and I liked that they had him give Johnny Ace the GTS . Dolph Ziggler coming out at the end was good too.
I thought this was a mixed bag show overall. Punk was good with his promos as usual. Johnny Ace was not as good as last week but not as bad as usual either. The Ryder-Cena-Kane segment was decent. I prefer seeing Cena this way then having him cut those idiotic promos. The rest of the show wasn’t memorable. Also why were Cena& Punk teaming when they feuded over the WWE Title over the summer? On the whole I thought this was a middle of the road show.
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