Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes: *
Wade Barrett vs. Santino Marella: 1/4*
Sheamus vs. The Miz: N/A
CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE Title): **1/4
Nikki Bella & Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres: DUD
John Cena, Big Show, & Zack Ryder vs. Mark Henry,
___________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
And the first RAW of 2012 is underway in Memphis! It it was anything close to last year's (starting off with Miz/Morrison in an amazing free TV match), then I'm all for it.
Gee, Cena's been in WWE for 10 years? Time flies. Pretty interested to see how this story with Kane materializes.
Hey, Daniel Bryan opens the wrestling portion of the show! Nothing's changed in 2012 so far...Cole's still putting DB down. Not a very long match here, unfortunately. A relatively "fluke" finish (probably what Cole would say) and the crowd wasn't really into it much.
Miz says he will not be a sitting duck for R-Truth. Wow, that was random. R-Truth popping out and quacking like a duck. Maybe he also realized the Ducks won the Rose Bowl tonight against Wisconsin.
Wade Barrett is proud of "injuring" Orton and putting him out for a while (Orton's just out to heal a nagging back injury and still could be back for the Rumble). Ha, Santino is gonna be jobber fodder for Wade tonight. Santino said his resolution was to lose 20 pounds and get down to 213. Yup, five laps around the ring will help with that. Barrett's Bossman slam is now the Winds of Change side slam. Love how that "Winds of Change" dealie came from a kickass promo he did on NXT.
Miz tries to make quick work of Sheamus, but not to be. This really wasn't a match. Truth was in the crowd and got involved. Vintage water bottle smack! Miz has a shoulder bruise from last week, so maybe this was done to make sure he didn't make it worse.
The middle of the show featured the WWE title match. Rarely defended on RAW, eh? Well, not as much as PPVs, yes. Main event intros for this one. Big "CM Punk" chants for this one. Ziggler's win over Punk mentioned at the start, so is that a sign Punk retains? Basic amateur wrestling starts it off, which favors Ziggler.What's the deal with Cole and him using the word "dominating" almost all the time? New verbage, please! The match delivered for storyline purposes...not real great. A few near falls, a variety of moves and counters.Oh, of course, Laurinaitis comes out again, this time to deal with a turnbuckle pad. Thus, ref doesn't see Ziggler tap to the Anaconda Vice. Laurinaitis "low bridges" Punk over the top and the champ's counted out. Ziggler celebrates with the title even though he didn't win it. Why King never mentioned that over Cole right then and there is beyond me (King mentioned it later as the Bellas came out).
Divas get their time in a tag match. This time, KK is the one getting beat down. Eve's offense is quite basic except for the moonsault. Twin magic from the Bellas and a win via a botched rollup. Yawn.
Punk's pissed at Laurinaitis. Oh wait, they let "bitch" on the air! That's not PG! The whole IWC goes bonkers!
We have the final video of that whole "1/2/12" dealie. I must say, these have all been very well done. So who is it? There are a few "Y2J" signs out. Oh, we got a blackout! A lot of "Y2J" chants start up. A familiar outline on what appears to be a jacket.... Woohoo Chris Jericho!
Huge pop for Jericho. Basically, he's the enthusiastic face again, and he slaps fives with ringside fans to extend the return. YSJ trending on Twitter! More playing to the crowd. Jericho's really got everyone in the palm of his hands. Jericho plays to the crowd the entire time and doesn't cut a promo. Hmm. Interesting. Woulda wanted him to say something, though.
Six-man elimination tag ends the show. Funny that Justin Roberts doesn't do the enthusiastic, elongated "John Cena" introduction now. Wait, no Kane coming out? Otunga comes out instead. No Kane, so it's a handicap match. Cena with a dropkick! Still doesn't stop the mixed chants. Show and Henry doesn't last long, since I think Mark's still got the bad groin. Both are eliminated, even though Show used a chair on Mark. Officially a double countout from Cole. Huh? Ending was basic with Cena hitting his usual comeback moves and an AA for Swagger.
Kane music and lights! Kane comes through the ring! Woohoo! He takes out Ryder and Cena. Kane tries to pull Zack back in that "abyss"-like hole in the ring. Cena saves Zack. Explosion from the hole! I liked the ending here. I can see something similar down the line that could lead to Cena's heel turn. Unlikely, but possible.
In the meantime, welcome back, Chris Jericho. Looking forward to this latest return.
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