WWE Raw Storyline Tracker
By Robin Scannell, PWTorch Specialist

January 9, 2012 episode

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

John Laurinaitis said that if Punk were to win his match against Jack Swagger on Raw, then Swagger and Vickie Guerrero would be banned from ringside during the Punk-Ziggler WWE Title match at the Royal Rumble.

Punk defeated Swagger by pinning him after an elbow drop from the top rope. However, the referee mistakenly counted to three, as Swagger had kicked out at two.

Reax: Jack Swagger went from losing quickly against Punk in a Gauntlet match a few weeks ago to only losing in 12 minutes after a referee mistake.

***

(2) John Cena vs. Kane

Raw opened with Kane cutting a promo about embracing hate and fans hating but not embracing it. Cena came out and ran straight to the ring, where the two of them brawled. The brawl spilled backstage to a loading dock. Kane beat down Cena and by the time Cena got back up, Kane had disappeared.

Later, backstage, Zack Ryder was thanking Cena for his help, and, just as he was mentioning a title match he had coming up next week, Cena cut him off and said something about Ryder’s number of followers on Twitter and that that was the most important thing. Later, still backstage, Zack Ryder was speaking on the phone, worrying about Kane. Eve then showed up, and Ryder asked her out. Eve agreed, but only after her match with Beth Phoenix. After Ryder and Phoenix walked away, Kane was shown peering from behind a door.

Later, Eve went to the ring for her match when Kane’s music played. Ryder then came out and took Eve to the back. They tried to leave the building, but Ryder saw there was a flat tire, and then began to replace the tire.

During the Cena-Ziggler main event, the Titantron showed Kane appearing where Ryder was and attacking him. He think chokeslammed him from the loading dock to the ground below. Cena left the ring to head to where Kane was. Ziggler was outside the ring as the referee’s count continued, and no result was given for the finish of the match. Kane then managed to attack and smother Cena. Both Ryder and Cena were down as the show went off the air.

Reax: Cena came to the ring after Zack Ryder began to change the tire, so surely he must have known that there was a good chance Kane was going to appear. It just seemed odd to even start the match, when such a possibility existed.

***

(3) R-Truth vs. The Miz

Backstage, The Miz complained to John Laurinaitis about R-Truth attacking him. Laurinaitis had little sympathy for The Miz and told him to find his own security.

Miz was shown talking to Mason Ryan, although he didn’t seem to be able to convince him. Later, Miz spoke to Primo and Epico (with Rosa), but didn’t seem to be able to convince them to help him either.

Backstage, Ricardo Rodriguez asked the Bella Twins why they wanted to speak with him about Alberto Del Rio, when Miz interrupted and told Ricardo to call out R-Truth. Ricardo reluctantly insulted Truth. Truth then came out and did some comedy, including asking Ricardo to sing. Upon asking again, Ricardo hit Truth mic out of his hand. Truth responded with his finisher and then Miz came out and attacked Truth. Truth got the upper hand, so Miz ran into the crowd.

***

(4) Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show

Daniel Bryan defeated Kofi Kingston in a short match where the announcers treated him like he was a babyface, with Lawler praising Bryan and Cole criticizing Bryan.

Big Show then came out and Bryan said that he didn’t like the end to their match and that he’ll give show another title match whenever he wanted. Show then announced a no disqualification, no count-out match for Smackdown. They then shook hands.

Reax: If Bryan is a heel, then the announcers need to swap roles. Lawler can’t be praising Bryan if we’re not supposed to like him. The same goes for Booker T on Smackdown.

***

(5) “The Funkasaurus” Brodus Clay’s debut

Brodus Clay was billed from Planet Funk as “The Funkasaurus” Brodus Clay. He came out in red and was sporting a fedora while dancing with two dancers. Clay defeated Curt Hawkins in a short squash match. During the match, Clay spoke a lot, saying some potential catchphrases like “Should I get him?” “Suplex, baby,” and “My bad.” After the match, there was some more dancing.

Reax: I think this gimmick will catch on and I can see his catchphrases on t-shirts already. Who seriously wouldn’t want a “My bad” “Funkasaurus” Brodus Clay t-shirt?

I understand possible criticisms that this role isn't suited to Brodus as he can be more than this, though, I do think he did really well at playing the character. Also, I think it’s a good change to be able to see a character in WWE.

***

(6) Chris Jericho Week 2

Chris Jericho was introduced in the second hour of Raw. He came out with his light-up jacket and played to the crowd. He was going to speak when he began to get emotional. Eventually, he left the ring, too upset to speak.

Reax: This performance continued where last week left off. I’ve become captivated by his return and I’m really wondering what will happen next.

Other Stories

- Sheamus and Santino Marella defeated Wade Barrett and Jinder Mahal in a tag team match.

- Both Edge and the Four Horsemen (Arn Anderson, Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, and Barry Windham) were announced as entrants into the 2012 Hall of Fame.

Current Feuds Active this Week (# weeks)

Raw

John Cena vs. Kane (5)
C.M. Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler (3)
R-Truth vs. The Miz (3)

Smackdown

Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show (5)
Sheamus vs. Jinder Mahal (4) / Wade Barrett (2)

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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