Monday Night Raw Warm Up for February 6th, 2012

The Undertaker returned after nearly a year to challenge Triple H for a rematch at the "Super Bowl of Sports Entertainment," WrestleMania XXVIII.

With the 2012 Royal Rumble in the rear view mirror, we’re well on the Road to WreslteMania XXVIII. Last week’s Raw in Kansas City, Missouri, gave some strong indications where things are headed as Chris Jericho performed a sneak attack on WWE Champion C.M. Punk and the Undertaker returned to challenge Triple H. No decision has been made on who this year’s Rumble winner Sheamus will choose to take on with his guaranteed title match yet, but we’re sure to get more on all these fronts tonight in Oklahoma City.

PTB: John Laurinaitis simply cannot talk. He just seems to get ahead of himself and leave out or throw in random words to complete his sentences (i.e. “the man who returns to Raw in over a month”). I have to admit though, I do like someone in the ring giving the line up for the night.

Brian: Watching Laurinaitus attempt to talk, it’s like watching someone have a stroke.  I look at him and I feel like he’s saying to himself, “It sounded so different in my head than it did coming out of my mouth.”

The best part of the night was that he called this month’s event ,”Elimination PPV,” and it began trending on Twitter moments later.

PTB: That’s harsh. Speaking of the Elimination Chamber, I was honestly surprised to see that John Cena won’t be featured in the Raw Chamber match this year. Instead they’re going with Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, the Miz, R-Truth, and Chris Jericho vying for C.M. Punk’s WWE Championship.

Instead giving us Punk against any of them last week, we got a champion versus champion match with Punk and Daniel Bryan. You got one of the best match ups possible with the current WWE roster and saw two great talents, Kansas City. I hope you appreciated it.

Brian: They certainly aren’t going to give them to the Philly crowd. They’ve been flat the last few times we’ve had a show in town.

PTB: Champion versus champion matches are a big deal, but I feel like we’ve seen a lot of them on Raw lately. Granted they haven’t featured the top two title holders. The vegan versus straight edge angle was a little awkward in its presentation and I’m kind of amazed that these lifestyles have been used by Punk and now by Bryan to get over as heels.

Brian: A champion vs champion match should not be something we see on a weekly or monthly basis.  It’s something that should be saved for a PPV event.  As I’ve said before, it seems like ratings are more important than pay-per-view buyrates.  They’re just going to throw anything at us to get us to watch week in and week out.

PTB: Well, we’re still watching so something is working.

I don’t understand why didn’t the Jericho attack on Punk happened on Raw rather than at the Rumble. Even if it came after a clean win for Punk over Ziggler it would have made more sense.

Brian: It definitely would have made more sense than having the ref and Laurinaitis making the 3 count at the same time. Here’s another view of it. Jericho’s attack means that we don’t have a clear cut winner between Punk and Bryan.  Neither guy loses face and I look forward to the both of them going at it again to see who’s better.

PTB: That’s a good point. I also couldn’t help but notice that the WWE and World Championships that Jericho unified to become the first Undisputed Champion were in the picture. I still think that’s going to be part of Jericho’s angle. I’m also guessing that the Punk / Laurinaitis feud may be at an end or at least not a focal point on Raw each week.

On the topic of things we’re seeing every week, Brodus Clay’s matches are certainly providing reminders of who is still working for WWE that we never see. Last week it was Tyler Reks.

Brian: I’m getting tired of the squash matches. I’d like to see someone actually have a 5 minute or more match with him.

PTB: Another thing we seem to get every week is a quick Divas match and last week is was Beth Phoenix against Eve, who was supposed to be a legitimate challenger for Beth’s championship.

Brian: I just don’t get why every women’s match ends in less than 3 minutes.

PTB: The aftermath on that match was the only Cena/Kane stuff this week and I was happy for the break. It looks like we’re heading into a rematch between those two at Elimination Chamber.

Brian: I think that’s the case too. It’s a little confusing though. Why wouldn’t you do something with the Rock to build up the WrestleMania match? Oh, wait! He’s not here. #wheresrocky

PTB: I hated seeing the video packages promoting Cena and the Rock at WrestleMania, but I think a lot of that stems from having paid to see them at the Rumble Rumble.

Brian: They’re also really long and drawn out.

PTB: The fans seemed to get behind Cena in his brutal assault on Kane. It’s been a while since we’ve heard that many voices cheering him on.

Brian: I like when Cena shows that kind of intensity. I think that’s what other fans enjoy as well.

PTB: Another video package that ran last week was for Celebrity Hall of Fame inductee, Mike Tyson. I honestly don’t mind that at all. Cold Stone is his man.

Brian: That’s the first thing that came to my mind.

PTB: Triple H getting interrupted was a fun way to keep the obvious decision of firing Laurinaitis from coming down. He’s not good, but I can stand to watch this play out a little more.

Brian: Agreed.

PTB: Again we saw a powerful confrontation between Triple H and Undertaker with no words being spoken. It seemed clear what Undertaker was out there for, but Triple H’s shoulder pat left me confused as to whether he’d accepted a WrestleMania rematch or if he wasn’t interested at all.

Brian: I really don’t want to see HHH vs Undertaker at WrestleMania part 3.  Last year’s match was awful.

PTB: I think we’re in agreement there. Overall it was a decent Raw on the road to WreslteMania XXVIII and hopefully things will continue on that path tonight.

One thing that might make the Road to WrestleMania a little smoother is a change in the way commentator Michael Cole operates WWE TV. It’s been mentioned here before (and countless other places), but Michael Cole’s constant burial of in-ring talent and self-promotion often make WWE television difficult to watch. So in the spirit of WWE embracing Twitter, Brian (@idiotsevrywhere) has started a “Twittition” to accomplish his goal of removing Michael Cole from WWE TV. Be sure to check it out and sign on if you agree.

Remove Michael Cole from WWE TV

“The job of a wrestling announcer is to put over the talent in the ring and enhance the product for the viewing audience. Traditionally, announcers are used to make the action in the ring more exciting and the talent more appealing. Focusing on the wrestlers’ strengths and building them up helps the talent garner a fan base and builds superstars. The company as a whole benefits and the product is more compelling to watch. Michael Cole’s constant burial of in-ring talent and self-promotion is making WWE television difficult to watch. He does almost nothing to enhance the mid-card talent on the roster and spends most of his time making others look bad in order to make himself look good. This type of behavior is not helping WWE create new superstars and is damaging the company. Please sign this petition if you feel that Michael Cole should be removed as a television personality from WWE TV.”

Read more about World Wrestling Entertainment on MyLatestDistraction.

Keep up with all of our weekly Monday Night Raw Warm Ups:
January 30th, 2012 edition / February 13th, 2012 edition