WWE Raw Storyline Tracker
By Robin Scannell, PWTorch Specialist

Episode - January 9, 2012

(1) C.M. Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler

C.M. Punk's title match against Dolph Ziggler was hyped throughout the night. Backstage, Ziggler had an interview. Ziggler insulted Tennessee and said he has everything except for the WWE Title.

In the Punk vs. Ziggler title match, a turnbuckle pad came off at one point. John Laurinaitis came to ringside and distracted the referee by pointing out the exposed turnbuckle. This distraction meant the referee did not see Ziggler tap out.

Punk then moved, making Ziggler run into Laurinaitis, who was on the apron. This led to Laurinaitis pulling the top rope down, which caused Punk to fly over it, giving Ziggler the count-out win.

Reax: Confusingly, the ring announcer didn’t state that Punk was still the champion, despite retaining the title.

Backstage, Punk went to see Laurinaitis. Laurinaitis announced Punk against Ziggler for the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble with him as the special referee. Punk said that he’ll be beat Laurinaitis “like a bitch” if he screws him out of the title.

***

(2) John Cena vs. Kane

John Cena came out at the start of Raw and said that a new year is about resolutions and he said that he’d beat Rock at WrestleMania. He said he will not change and his convictions will remain true. Cena said he was disappointed with Kane for not settling his issues in the ring. Kane’s music hit and his voice said that Cena will embrace the hate.

Backstage, Swagger interrupted Zack Ryder and Eve and said that he would take his title and his girlfriend. Laurinaitis then announced Ryder, Big Show, and Cena against Swagger, Mark Henry, and Kane in a six-man elimination tag match.

Before the match started, it was announced that Kane would not be in the match (the information came from David Otunga), so the match was conducted as a handicap match, with the babyfaces outnumbering the heels. Big Show and Henry were disqualified for using a chair and Cena eliminated Swagger to win the match.

Reax: Earlier in the night, Miz was frustrated at having to wrestle, due to R-Truth, but as Kane showed, a wrestler does need to show up for his match. Miz simply should have not wrestled then.

After the match, Kane’s pyro set off. Cena went to meet Kane, but Kane climbed through the ring, attacking Ryder. Kane then turned to Cena and choked him. Kane began to drag Ryder into the hole in the ring, but Cena managed to save Ryder by pulling him from Kane’s grasp. Pyro then shot out of the hole in the ring.

***

(3) Chris Jericho’s Return

A video aired with the girl from the 1-2-12 vignettes saying, "You have brought this upon yourself.” The boy then said, "A familiar force will arrive to claim what is his. She holds the mystery of my rebirth. For when I beckon her, I will return to claim what is mine. She has spoken. It is time. The end of the world as you know it is here. Now."

Reax: From this video, I understood it as the girl was only a part of the vignettes and now she has spoken and her role has now played out. However, in transcribing the video, it seems that the girl could easily have a bigger role.

During the reveal, the arena shook like there was an earthquake. Then, the lights went out, and Chris Jericho appeared in a flashing jacket. Jericho soaked up the reaction and then began touching hands with fans. He took a mic and stood in the ring and just shouted, playing to the crowd. Eventually, he dropped the mic. After a few minutes, he left.

Reax: I was a little underwhelmed by the segment at first, but I appreciate the purpose and am very interested in the follow-up. I’m sure the initial frustration that many fans felt has turned into intrigue as Raw approaches.

***

(4) R-Truth vs. The Miz

Backstage, The Miz wanted John Laurinaitis to do something about R-Truth’s sneak attack on him last week. Laurinaitis reminded Miz why Truth was attacking him, then said that Miz would face Sheamus in a match. Miz became angry since he was worried that he would be a sitting duck for Truth. As Miz walked away, Truth appeared and quacked to the camera.

Later, Miz quieted the arguing Bella Twins to ask if they’d seen Truth, which they hadn’t. Miz walked out of the shot, then Truth was shown shushing to the camera.

During Miz's match against Sheamus, Miz ran from the match into the crowd. Truth then appeared in the crowd on the mic and said that Miz needs to "get got." As Miz went back to ringside, Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick. Truth then delivered a water bottle shot to Miz’s head.

***

(5) Royal Rumble Build

A flashback from the first Royal Rumble, in 1988, aired, hyping the PPV. Later, another flashback aired, this time from Rumble in 1995, where Shawn Michaels was in first and won the match.

***

(6) Wade Barrett vs. Randy Orton

Wade Barrett came to the ring as a clip of Barrett and Orton’s Falls Count Anywhere match from the previous Smackdown aired. It was stated that Randy Orton suffered a herniated disk, so he is having time off. No expected return date was announced. Barrett then cut a promo saying that he’s looking to the future as he plans to win the Royal Rumble.

Santino came out and asked Batrett who, between them, lasted longer in last year’s Rumble. Barrett squashed Santino in a short match, getting the pinfall after hitting his Winds of Change spinning side slam.

Reax: Having multiple moves that a wrestler can finish a match with creates more believable nearfalls. Recently, Barrett has won with Winds of Change and Cody Rhodes has won with the Alabama Slam. This is why I’m in favor of squash matches. They allow wrestlers to showcase moves that the announcers can later try to sell as maybe the final move in a match. I would have Dolph Ziggler in these types of matches, too, showing him winning with his sleeper and superkick. I would also be in favor of Daniel Bryan being in squash matches where he can get over the large number of submissions that he has at his disposal. However, they don’t seem to be going in that direction with Bryan, as they instead had him luck into a win over Cody Rhodes on Raw.

***

Other Stories

- Daniel Bryan defeated Cody Rhodes in a short match via roll-up.

- The Bella Twins defeated Eve & Kelly Kelly via Twin Magic.

Current Feuds Active this Week (# weeks)

Raw

John Cena vs. Kane (4)
C.M. Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler (2)
R-Truth vs. The Miz (2)

Smackdown

Big Show vs. Mark Henry (14)
Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett (9)

Feel free to email any comments to scannell.torch@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter @robinocracy for my thoughts on the pay-per-view and non-wrestling related things.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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