PWTorch Specialist Roundtable Question 1/24: On Monday's Raw, which did WWE do a better job of - selling the Royal Rumble PPV or hyping next week's Raw (Laurinaitis possibly being "fired" and Triple H's return)?

Mike Cupach, PWTorch contributor

I think a case could be made for both, but, for me, it was all about the Rumble. WWE has created a lot of intrigue surrounding the C.M. Punk-Dolph Ziggler match to the point that I don’t know what is going to happen and I can’t wait to see what does happen! I thought last night's show did a great job of showing John Laurinaitis almost getting to his breaking point and left viewers wondering if his hatred of Punk is greater than his desire to keep his job. Also, there is Ziggler (don’t forget about him) getting the better of Punk the last few weeks. Ziggler standing over a beaten C.M. Punk was the last thing viewers saw when Raw went off the air. I think there has been better hype for this PPV match than any other recently.

Then, there is John Cena-Kane, which has received a lot of air time the last month or so. While the feud initially started for a non-existent reason and appeared out of thin air, Creative have turned it around and made this match about Cena wanting to get revenge for his li’l buddy, Zack Ryder. If I ignore Cena’s acting (and I have for the last five years by not seeing any of his movies), I think last night's Raw did the best job so far in making people believe that Cena wants to get his hands on Kane.

Finally, the Rumble is the Rumble and it will sell itself. Any other kind of hype they put behind it is just gravy for me. While there was generic “I want to win” sentiment from the usual suspects in the mid-card, Chris Jericho picked a perfect time to start talking and his one line is making fans wonder what he has in store for the Rumble. I’m also wondering what was meant by WWE saying that "for the first time," all WWE Superstars are eligible for the Rumble match. I wonder if this is a way to get Legends in the match or to get a guy like Rock or Undertaker into it. Either way, I’m anxious to see what happens and to see what kind of surprises WWE has in store for the match. (Follow Cupach on Twitter (@MJCupach) this weekend for live, in-person tweets from the Rumble in St. Louis.)

Justin James, PWTorch contributor

I think Raw managed to effectively sell the Rumble, itself, very well. Punk–Ziggler received lots of attention during the show-opening tag match, and the closing segment was mostly about their match at the Rumble. Even the announcement regarding next week fed into that, because you want to see if Laurinaitis really does call the match down the middle.

In addition, Raw has been constantly pushing the World Heavyweight Championship match (as well as Smackdown), which has been paying dividends. The Sheamus–Mahal match was a good vehicle for Wade Barrett to talk about the Rumble; who doesn’t want to see those two face off? The R-Truth–Miz match put stress on the importance of the entry order, which is a major feature of the Rumble. The Highlight Reel not only continued Jericho's development, but promised a major star for the Rumble, which is very important.

While it’s been said that people who have other matches at the PPV can still be in the Rumble, WWE has not stressed this at all. And, as of right now, Jericho is the only real player announced for the Rumble match itself. That said, the “job evaluation” for Laurinaitis was an interesting development in that story and has me looking forward to next week out of curiosity, even though I suspect that it will be poor TV. It further makes me want to see the Rumble to see if Triple H gets involved in the WWE Championship match (Read James's weekly WWE NXT and Superstars reports.)

Shawn Valentino, PWTorch specialist

I think WWE did a decent job selling the Rumble. I am so detached from the Laurinaitis storyline that I just fast forwarded through it on my DVR. Is it just me or does C.M. Punk's character just come off as contrived and catering to wrestling nerds? I cannot even believe I am saying this, but I think he may be less cool than John Cena.

I liked the fact that they showed the usual video package hyping previous Rumbles and their importance. Additionally, the fact that Jericho is in the Rumble adds plenty of intrigue. He is my choice for the winner. Finally, I do not think any discussion of this Raw is complete without talking about that ridiculous look on Cena's face after the beat down of Ryder. I thought that was utterly embarrassing and atrocious acting even by wrestling standards. (Read Valentino's regular Magic, Memories, and Mania column.)

Brian Leahy, PWTorch specialist

I don’t think the sell for the Rumble and the hype for next week’s Raw were entirely mutually exclusive on Monday’s Raw. Indeed, I think that any reference to Laurinaitis’s job security at this late point adds to the intrigue of his actions at the Royal Rumble, itself, and the threat of repercussions will only heighten interest in how the WWE Title match between Punk and Ziggler plays out. Add to that that Tripe H isn’t a proven ratings mover anymore (not that anybody is), and what you have last night is a thinly-veiled attempt by WWE to make Triple H appear like a ratings draw, when the post-Rumble Raw will likely pull in marginally higher numbers anyways.

I think the hype for the Royal Rumble has been decent, and, for a change, it promises to be a show of note for more than just the Rumble itself. Punk-Ziggler has received more focus than most of the cobbled-together PPV main events from the past few months, and Cena-Kane is the most promising (at least in terms of character development) feud that Cena has been involved in since the summer. It’s helped that they’ve had room to breathe since the last PPV, and the Royal Rumble has a feeling a grandness that’s been lacking from recent offerings.

WWE didn’t have any jaw-dropping moments on Raw, but they did plant seeds in the minds of fans as to what they could be missing on Sunday. The 2012 Royal Rumble PPV is all about “What if?,” and there are enough scenarios that could play out to tickle the interest of viewers, even the most cynical fans, at this point.

Jumping back to the Triple H reference in closing. The “hype” for next Monday has the potential to be a move of unabashed genius. No one else has made any change to the ratings for the last few months, so by strapping his name to the post-Rumble Raw at the very last second, Hunter can on the surface still look like the biggest draw in WWE. That being said, they could have just as easily said “Brian Leahy will appear at next week’s Raw” and reaped the same, probable ratings bump. (Read Leahy's regular independent DVD reviews...and perhaps look for him on Raw!)

Check Back for Part 2 of the Roundtable on Wednesday!

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

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