BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR

KELLER'S WWE RAW BLOG
FEBRUARY 6, 2012
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA
LIVE ON USA NETWORK

-I'm not sure what to think of Triple H's nonchalance about the WWE Board reviewing John Laurinaitis's plea to stay on as Raw G.M. WWE sold viewers on the idea that he had the power to fire him last week, and this week Triple H is indicating it's not in his hands. And then he ends with "whatever." Well, no, not "whatever." Last week's show - the day after the Royal Rumble - led not with news of Sheamus winning the Rumble, not with news of the World and WWE Champs retaining their titles. It led with the fact that Triple H would decide Laurinaitis's fate. So this was a copout by WWE.

-As Triple H was about to step out of the ring, his music stopped, he then he froze. For a second there, I thought we just discovered that like vampires who can't enter a house without an invite, wrestlers can't leave the ring unless their music is playing.

-I know Undertaker is magical and all, but how did he know Triple H was going to turn him down? He had that video all ready to go and said at the end, "This isn't over yet." I suppose you could say it was a generic promotional video he put together in anticipation of Triple H accepting his offer, but the tone of it certainly gave the impression it was an attempt to twist Triple H's arm.

-Triple H definitely came across heelish by pitying Undertaker like he did. He also comes across as someone trying to avoid losing again. They are cleverly sidestepping the fact that Taker won and it should be Triple H who has "something to gain" from a rematch by focusing instead on Taker being stretchered out of the ring last year.

-Not sure what showed more light, Big Show's kick to Daniel Bryan to knock him off the ring apron that missed by about eight inches or A.J.'s acting at ringside afterward.

-Daniel Bryan is a hoot in this role. It might not have the longevity a more serious, credible portrayal would have given his skills, but there's no doubt he's very good at what he's doing and really embracing it. Bringing A.J. to ringside and assuring her safety, then acting appalled at Big Show after she inadvertently got in the way and almost crushed was the epitome of being a hypocritical jerk. Well, that, and accepting a real award from PETA for being a great public representative of the vegan diet, and then using that acclaim to give being vegan a bad name by being so preachy about it (and not even insisting on defining it correctly on TV in the process). But the whole thing is funny, and I think fans are paying to see him get beat up. The fact that he said he was willing to get counted out against Show rather than put A.J. at further risk was hilarious, as fans obviously see it as just a copout to avoid getting further pummeled by Show.

-Technicality: When Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler noted that in 13 Elimination Chamber matches, the champ has lost his title 7 times, they concluded the odds were stacked against the champion. In a way, yes, since the champ loses the title more than half the time. But when you consider they - by WWE's typical math - have a "one in six chance" of walking out with the title, that's a 16.7 percent chance. But in actuality, they retain their title over 46 percent of the title. So there's something about the Chamber match that actually helps champions overcome the apparent odds. Technically speaking, that is.

-Technicality: When Cole hyped Jericho's promo, he said he would "break his silence," but he preceded that by saying he had only spoken one sentence since returning to WWE. If he spoke already - one sentence or 1,000 sentences - he's not really "breaking his silence." Technically speaking, that is.

-Jericho's promo was great. I loved how he started making a case where fans could nod along and go "he's got a point" and then he started stretching it. I laughed out loud when he said Dolph Ziggler copied him by coming to the ring with Vickie Guerrero when he came to the ring back at WrestleMania 18 with Stephanie McMahon. His other complaints? Miz stole his gimmick of talking slowly and scowling while wearing a suit. Kofi Kingston stole his gimmick of doing cool moves. R-Truth stole his gimmick of saying "What's Up" because used to say "Shut the hell up!" The final complaint, the most preposterous, was the Vickie-Steph thing before he got to Punk stealing his phrase "Best in the World."

-Quotebook - Jericho: "I trolled all of you."

-Good comeback by Punk by giving Jericho a piece of his own medicine by not saying a word. That was clever to approach things that way. It was far and away the least sarcastic, least mean-spirited promo of Punk's career.

-Hopefully, by the way, this clears up with anyone still confused coming into tonight that Jericho is a heel.

-Nice to hear Michael Cole plug the first-ever one-on-one match between Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan as the Smackdown main event. If they pushed Smackdown harder on Raw, they could get those ratings above 2.5, I believe. It's like John Cena has friends in production who don't want to expose that a show without him - and also without several other big Raw names - can approach Raw's ratings on a weaker network.

-Watching the John Cena video again (which the production crew did a fantastic job with), I was about to point out (and complain) that Cena merely said, "The match at WrestleMania. To me, it means everything," without referring to wanting to actually WIN! Then they go to a break and come back and Cole notes that Cena just Tweeted: "WrestleMania 28, I will not lose." That is great. I hope they focus on how winning is really important to both of them because that will help sell the match and make near falls in the match much more dramatic. Also, babyfaces rarely promise to win unless they're booked to win. I hope Rock vows to also win so that it's not an early giveaway that Cena is scheduled to win. That's the right finish, by the way, and one Rock should insist on.

-Cena saying he knows one thing for sure - as sure as the sun rising in the morning - that he will never leave WWE like Rock did still rubs me wrong. I guarantee he wouldn't be saying that if he felt he had a future earning $10 million per movie in Hollywood anytime soon. It's easy to say you won't leave the highest paying job you have any hope of ever having. Rock did the same thing Cena did - take the highest paying job he was in demand for. That's not noble. Noble would be Cena vowing to give every cent above, say, $200,000 a year to kids charities he believes in. Brag about that. Don't brag about not leaving the highest paying (seven figure) job you'll ever be offered in the foreseeable future.

-Good to see Great Khali giving it back to Randy Orton with a hard chop to the chest, a way to get back at Orton for an aggressive tag minutes earlier. People are groaning at Khali in the Chamber because last they saw him he was in those (truly awful) Kiss Cam skits with Ranjin Singh. He needs to show he's not just a smiling comedy buffoon, and the interaction between he and Orton helped. Having him pin Cody after a chop to the chest also helped rebuild Khali's stature. I'm most thankful that Singh isn't following him to the ring anymore.

-No surprise that WWE didn't choose to put on the screen Rock's Twitter comment to Cena about "yum rockets" in college and Cena accusing him of disliking homosexuals and secondary education. They chose to show a more innocuous Rock Tweet.

-Interesting that The Rock, in his "Tonight Show" interview, forgot to mention his opponent at WrestleMania. Another clue that Rock and Cena have gotten under each other's skin and, while they won't sell it overtly, will find subtle ways with plausible deniability to try to stick it to the other. Or, if they turn this into an issue that Cena points out, maybe it was planned out that way. We'll see. If Cena and WWE don't make an issue of it, I see it as a sign of legit resentment by Rock toward Cena.

-Shawn Michaels returning next week is a nice teaser. We'll see what kind of ratings power he has since it's a rare TV appearance and they were smart enough to advertise it a week ahead. He'll obviously have something to say about Triple H's decision to turn down Undertaker's challenge.

-I kinda missed Laurinaitis the first 90 minutes of the show. It was good to see him come back dripping with false sincerity.

-Quotebook - Undertaker: "I will not let that image of me be what is remembered for the ages. My victory over you means nothing. Give me what's mine - vengeance - and I will give you one more chance at immortality. This is not over."

-The Undertaker video was also stellar. The imagery of Undertaker sitting staring and obsessing at clips of Triple H leaving him lying in the ring last year and then being carried out was chillingly effective at giving Taker a real, tangible reason to want to get Triple H inside the ring again.

-I loved Laurinaitis's case for himself - that the Board of Directors wants someone running Raw who is honest, admits to mistakes and learns from them, and has integrity, not someone who is brute, hot-headed, and intimidating nor also someone perceived as cowardly in the face of a challenge.

-Did Justin Roberts mess up a little introducing the main event? He's usually so smooth.

-That crash landing by R-Truth did look rough. You could see Miz crawl over and check on him before they went to the break. Hard to tell, but it seemed like Miz was supposed to be in position to break his fall, and one of them or both of them were out of line.

-Jericho sitting in the ring like Punk sits with his legs crossed, while holding the WWE Title belt, was good imagery. Does that mean it's a given that Jericho or Punk leave the Chamber with the title? I think everyone figured that out already. But if Sheamus can win the Rumble, then I suppose we've been taught not to assume anything.

-The tower superplex spot was pretty impressive in the main event.

-Punk practically threw himself into the announce table. Jericho barely was touching him when it appeared a big gust of wind just lifted him into the air and flipped him onto the announce desk.

-Quotebook - Kane to Eve: "For the first time in my life I am afraid of me."

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