THANK_YOU.Y2J

The show starts with John Cena, coming out to the ring to address the comments of Kane the previous week. To my dismay, he seems relatively unfazed about this, and tells the crowd that he’s not upset that they boo him because it’s their right to do so. Now, I’m a bit torn on how I am with John completely bouncing back from the concentrated “Cena Sucks” chant in Chicago. On the one hand, one of the reasons I’m a Cena fan to begin with is because he is all about free speech, and will let you think what you want about him. On the other hand, for this particular storyline, I was hoping for some serious Cena introspection and development, and no selling Kane’s words not only nixes that, but kind of renders the entire Kane promo neutral. Kane, being Kane, doesn’t take very kindly to this, but rather than actually appear in the ring, his voice sounds over the speakers, telling Cena that he will be seeing hate in action sometime in the evening. I love that they’ve given Kane back his supernatural edge. It makes him so much more intimidating, especially when handling Super Cena. Not to mention ending the segment with having the ring posts explode, apparently via will power, is pretty bad ass.

Our first match of the night is also a good set-up: Cody Rhodes vs. Daniel Bryan. While some might think it demeaning that the World Heavyweight Champion has to open the show, I think it’s the perfect place to put a Bryan/Cody match. They both work speedily, put a lot of action into the ring, get the crowd hopping, and garner further interest in the show. A good opener is very important, and frankly, that’s what Bryan and Rhodes are very good at. True to form, the match is very exciting and fast paced, with Bryan winning with a roll up pin. Interesting to note is that Bryan did not win with the LaBell Lock (I know I spell that wrong every time. Sue me), thus Cody did not have to tap out, and thus still looks good. A push for Cody Rhodes is a push for awesomeness.

Speaking of Awesome, the Miz is backstage complaining to John Laurinaitis about the actions of R-Truth, who is still stalking the Awesome One. Laurinaitis is, of course, slightly sympathetic to the heel, but then tries to remind the Miz of what he did to Truth prior, and if he can make any connections at all as to why this is happening. Miz thinks about it, and then does a wonderful dead pan head shake. It’s a good comedic moment, as well as putting over Miz’s inflated ego. Discouraged that the GM doesn’t appear inclined to aid him, Miz storms out of the office, and after he leaves the shot, R-Truth appears, glancing knowingly at the camera and smiling. Again, I’m glad that Truth hasn’t gone sane just because he’s in a position to be a face again, because his insanity is so much more fun, as we shall see.

Wade Barrett then comes out to the ring to remind us of what he did to Randy Orton last Friday. I am glad that Barrett isn’t going to be buried for the injury, or have his push stymied. Sadly, the second worst thing that can happen to a guy comes in the form of fighting Santino Marella. It’s every bit of a squash match as you might expect, but the thing with Santino is, as I’ve said, the whole point of having him in a squash match is pointless. Beating him is worth nothing, and what’s worse, Santino purposely hams up his futile efforts, which insults both the competitor and the viewer. Barrett wins, thankfully.

Next match up is scheduled to be Miz vs. Sheamus. Or, at least, it would be, but Miz is obviously afraid to be out in the open and attacks Sheamus outside the ring before the match starts. I really love the Miz’s body language leading into this: he keeps looking over his shoulder and just comes off as worried, so his jumping the gun doesn’t seem random. Unfortunately for Miz, he doesn’t get very far, as Sheamus begins to fight back with a vengeance. Even if it is in a match that didn’t happen, I’m glad Sheamus at least got to fight someone important at last. Miz tries to run away into the crowd, when suddenly R-Truth’s voice sounds over the loud speakers. It seems that he’s been hiding in the crowd, sitting with none other than his invisible friend, Little Jimmy. And Little Jimmy is telling him to go beat the crap out of the Miz. I’m so glad that Truth is still crazy. The two fight for a bit, with Miz once again being decimated. It just hasn’t been the best night for him, but every devious heel needs to take his lumps.

The next match is CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Championship, and I find myself surprised that we’ve had so many matches and so few back stage segments. A move in the right direction, Raw. There’s almost no need for me to tell you how good this match was. For God’s sake, it’s CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler. That alone spells fun, speed, action, interest, moves, emotion, and everything you look for in a good match. It’s also good to see that the booking staff are seeing Ziggler as the real deal now, rather than just hovering at the upper mid card level. Once again, shenanigans occur, as Ziggler rips off the turnbuckle guard, but Punk gets to him before he can do anything nefarious. However, John Laurinaitis comes to ringside to admonish the ref and have him put the cover back on. While this is happening, Punk has Ziggler in the Anaconda Vise, and Dolph taps out, but of course, the ref doesn’t see it. What I love about these Laurinaitis run ins is that they’re remarkably clever in how they’re done, in that it’s not even illegal what he’s doing: he’s just getting the ref to enforce the rules, but at the moments least convenient to Punk. The underhanded behaviour doled out with a smile really helps put over Punk’s fight against the proverbial Man, as it’s not just Punk vs. Evil, but Punk vs. a cleverly thought out system of authority. Punk handles this badly, but is pushed outside of the ring, where he is eventually counted out. Ziggler wins, but of course, the title can’t change hands on a DQ. This doesn’t stop Dolph from running off with the title like he just won. Again, props to Ziggler’s growing personality and ability at portraying emotion. His post-match actions are both hilarious and heel worthy. As for the future, these two will have a title match at the Royal Rumble, and to ensure no further shenanigans occur, Mr. Lauraniatis himself will be the referee. I can’t wait for tomfoolery.

The Bella Twins fight the team of Eve and Kelly Kelly. I’m still sad that Eve is eternally partnered with Kelly. The Bellas use that ol’ Twin Magic and pull of a win. Not sure what this amounts to in the long run (especially with Beth MIA) but we shall see.

And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for: the return of the Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah, Y2J himself, Chris Jericho. Last we saw Jericho was in mid 2010, after he was written out of the show via Orton Punt O’ Death. For the last few weeks, there have been promos running on Raw regarding the 2012 scares and foreboding the end of the world as we know it. It was either going to be Undertaker or Jericho, and the latter came through. However, it seems to be classic Jericho, as he enters not in his no-fun Freddy suit, but in his classic sparkly, impractical vests. Also, upon making his triumphant return, Y2J is only to happy to embrace the crowd, and naturally, we’re all very happy to see him. But then, in vintage Jericho heel style, he knows exactly how to piss people off and entertain us while doing it. Jericho embraces the cheers, then picks up the mic as if to say something, and then drops it, opting to try and rally more cheers from the crowd. This goes on for about six minutes, until the crowd catches wise what he’s up to (IE, getting them to cheer like a bunch of sheep), and Jericho leaves without saying a word, but still smiling. I’m very excited about the return of classic heel Jericho. As much as I loved the smug, serious Jericho, his over-the-top rock and roller persona is so fun to watch, just because you don’t know what he’s going to do next. Not to mention, as we’ve just seen, he always finds new ways to be the perfect heel. I mean, who else can pull of a triumphant return, and then turn heel in under eight minutes? That’s fantastic. Great to have you back, Y2J.

And now, our main event: Team Good Guy, consisting of John Cena, Big Show, and Zack Ryder vs. Team Heel, with Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, and Kane. I failed to mention earlier of a run-in between Ryder and Swagger, in which the All American American took issue with Ryder being the United States Champion. The fact that Swagger is stepping up to be a title contender again is a good sign, especially with Dolph Ziggler apparently moving up to main event status. Promotions for the young crowd all around. Things get interesting right from the get-go, as Kane no shows, and Team Heel is down one member. Not often that the bad guys are the ones fighting the odds, but I suppose any team with Mark Henry is more than capable. The match is of a decent sort, with Swagger doing most of the work for Team Heel, and Cena and Ryder taking turns getting in. The inclusion of Show and Henry is kept short, with both men getting themselves kicked out of the match after Henry attempts to attack Show with a chair, and Show replying in kind. Mostly, this is part of the effort to keep Mark Henry in the main event light in spite of being injured, which I actively support. Swagger and Ryder fight for a bit, with Swagger nearly getting the Ankle Lock in, but Cena gets the hot tag, lays waste, and picks up the win. The match wasn’t a bad one, and I’m actually pleased that they kept the face-in-peril moments relatively short.

Post-match is where things get interesting. Kane’s music starts to play, and Cena is staring intently at the entrance ramp, when Kane actually enters through the mat underneath the ring. Man, I am loving tonight’s nostalgia value. First classic Jericho, and now classic Kane. Kane once again does his suffocating hand clasp over Cena’s mouth, which I’m starting to wonder if it’s supposed to be a mandible claw, and then turns his attention to Cena’s good buddy, Zack Ryder. Kane attempts to drag Ryder back under the ring, and the imagery of Kane dragging the innocent Ryder to Hell is fantastic. This is what wrestling has been missing for the while: over the top drama that’s simultaneously fun and interesting. Cena manages to save Ryder, but a fireball bursts from the hole in the ring where Kane exited into, ending the show. Come on, that’s just awesome. Kane is always better when he has super powers, and hopefully unlike the last time he got them (when he, you know, killed the Undertaker, which I’m still waiting to be addressed), he won’t inexplicably lose them.

This was an all around fun show, and is exactly what I’ve been wanting from the WWE in a long time. The stories are good, the characters are good, there’s a lot of matches, and the backstage moments they have are entertaining and fun. I hope beyond hope that Raw can keep this course for a good, long time.