By Jason Powell

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Hershey, Pa.

[Q1] The opening video aired. Michael Cole introduced the show and noted that both Jerry Lawler and Booker T were with him. Booker said something about something being off the hook...

Justin Roberts introduced C.M. Punk as the new WWE Champion. Punk received a strong reaction that was followed up by chants of his name once he arrived in the ring. Punk recalled a teacher asking him and his classmates what they wanted to be when they grew up. Punk recalled saying that he wanted to be a professional wrestler.

"Notice I didn't say sports entertainer," Punk said. "I said professional wrestler." Punk said he started at the very, very bottom and worked his way to WWE. He said he wanted the fans to know how special it was to win the WWE Championship at Madison Square Garden.

Punk said the most satisfying thing about it is that he did it as himself. He never tried to be anything else. Punk said he is the new face of WWE and held up the WWE Championship. He took a seat in the ring and then asked where in the hell the WWE ice cream bars are. Punk said he would like to change John Laurinaitis's interim general manager title to former general manager.

Laurinaitis walked onto the stage and said that he and Punk don't have to have an adversarial relationship. He said they both want what's best for the WWE Universe. The fans chanted "You suck" at Laurinaitis. Punk said he couldn't hear anything Laurinaitis was saying because the fans were chanting that he sucks.

Punk said Vince McMahon is a money grubbing bastard, but he said Vince will say that to a person's face, whereas Laurinaitis is worse because he middle management. Punk compared Laurinaitis to Bill Lumbergh from Office Space. Nice. Laurinaitis said Punk has it wrong, he's actually upper management.

Laurinaitis said he can be just as creative and dynamic as Punk even if he doesn't have the tattoos and piercings. Laurinaitis's example was that he didn't want to wait until the next pay-per-view to give Alberto Del Rio his rematch, so the match will take place next week. Punk mocked him and questioned why they don't have that match tonight.

Laurinaitis announced that Punk will instead face Dolph Ziggler in a champion vs. champion match tonight instead. Punk said it's not creative, it's stupid. Punk said Laurinaitis doesn't listen to the WWE Universe. He said the fans don't want to see Punk vs. Ziggler. He held up the mic as a small "We Want Ryder" chant broke out.

Punk said the fans want to see Ziggler vs. Ryder. Laurinaitis said Ryder will be busy facing Alberto Del Rio tonight. He said Ryder can't beat Ziggler and neither can Punk. Punk accepted the matches as he left the ring and approached Laurinaitis on the stage. He said someone is going to beat some sense in Laurinaitis one of these days...

Cole talked briefly about the Madison Square Garden crowd's interest in Zack Ryder. He set up a video clip of The Rock praising Ryder during his post-show promo...

Zack Ryder made his way to the ring as Cole questioned how the Ryder craze was catching on...

Powell's POV: Punk did a great job of establishing the Laurinaitis persona by essentially labeling him a middle management suck ass. The Office Space reference was spot on, and he left a lot of viewers anxious to see Laurinaitis get his ass kicked. It was nice to see them advertise Punk vs. Del Rio in advance, but the way they set up the two matches for tonight's show made them feel like letdowns. Sure, I wish it was a title match, but I'm looking forward to Punk vs. Ziggler.

[Q2] [C] 1. Alberto Del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) beat Zack Ryder in 2:25. Ryder had the audacity to interrupt Ricardo's interruption. Well, I never! Ryder had solid support, but the chants at the start of the match were nowhere near as loud as they were in his native New York. In the end, Del Rio beat Ryder with the cross arm breaker...

Powell's POV: Ryder got some offense, only to tap out to the cross arm breaker. I have no idea why they felt the need to have Ryder lose after the reception he received last night. It seems counter productive. I also have no idea why they feel the need to have Booker T on commentary again tonight.

Cole hyped that John Cena would have his response to The Rock's actions at Survivor Series later in the show... A shot aired of Sheamus walking backstage... [C]

Ring introductions for the next match took place...

[Q3] 2. Sheamus pinned Jack Swagger (w/Vickie Guerrero) in 4:30. Swagger got in some offense while Vickie yelled a lot. Swagger applied the ankle lock. Sheamus eventually kicked him off and then blasted him with the Brogue Kick to set up the pin...

Booker T hyped the Punk vs. Ziggler match for later in the show... A shot aired of Kevin Nash walking backstage. Cole said Nash has something to get off his chest and he'd be up next... [C]

Powell's POV: Routine stuff with Sheamus going over on Swagger. Sheamus continues to build moment, while Swagger is a glorified enhancement talent these days.

Footage aired of Kevin Nash attacking Triple H with the sledgehammer last month...

Kevin Nash walked onto the stage wearing his Big Fonzie Cool leather jacket. He yelled about taking out Triple H with the sledgehammer. He said he and Hunter should have taken on Rock and Cena at Survivor Series, but Triple H is gone. Nash said he is the real survivor of the group... Another tease for Cena was shown... [C]

Powell's POV: Nothing particularly memorable about that one. It felt like a recap promo. Then again, there's only so much the guy can say about an angle that took place last month. They are doing a nice job of building up intrigue for Cena's promo.

[Q4] Cody Rhodes delivered a promo in the ring prior to his match...

3. Cody Rhodes defeated Santino Marella in 0:55. Santino went for an early takedown. Clearly, he just wanted to touch Cody's new knee pads. Can you blame him? Cody finished him off quickly with Cross Rhodes.

After the match, Cody went to ringside and jawed at Booker about things he's been saying about him on commentary. Cody threw a glass of water at Booker. Cody smiled as he walked away. Booker was wet and unhappy (insert your own that's what she said joke here)...

Powell's POV: Cody referred to himself in the third person and did the maniacal laugh at the end of his promo. It was a step back from last night. He still hasn't found his niche as a character just yet. If I paid attention to Booker's commentary, then I might know what Cody was talking about before he threw the water at Booker.

Backstage, Josh Mathews interviewed Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero. Dolph boasted that he was the only man to win two matches. Mathews noted that Dolph was the first man eliminated from his team, but Vickie said his team still won. Dolph boasted that he's the new face of WWE... [C]

Booker spoke about Cody disrespecting him as ring introductions for the next match took place...

Powell's POV: I just put up the video for the "It Begins" video that was teased on Raw earlier. Check it out on the main page.

[Q5] 4. C.M. Punk defeated Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) in a champion vs. champion match in 16:30. Dolph's music got another overhaul. Ziggler got the bulk of the offense before the commercial break. He gloated and the announcers labeled him a showoff. [C]

After the break, Ziggler was in control of the offense, and Cole said he'd been taking it to Punk while they were away. Punk came back, but Ziggler caught him with a fantastic dropkick for a good near fall. Punk came back with a top rope elbow drop for another good near fall.

[Q6] Ziggler went for his finisher, but Punk avoided it and came right back with the GTS for the clean pin...

The announcers hyped the Cena segment for later in the show... [C]

Powell's POV: Ziggler took another step toward breaking out of the mid-card. This guy is going to be a major player for WWE, and watching his progression is a blast. An entertaining match with a couple of good near falls. I definitely hope to see more from those two. A good win for Punk, and Ziggler gained something in defeat. By the way, Dot Net Member Thomas Keil wrote to say that Booker is on commentary because Jerry Lawler lost his voice. My personal thanks to Thomas for listening to the broadcast team so that I don't have to.

The announcers hyped the WWE 12 video game...

Big Show walked onto the stage for a promo. He said fans who missed Survivor Series missed an epic night. He said he proved that he was better and stronger than Mark Henry, and he proved that giants can fly. Show said Henry took the easy way out by kicking him in the groin.

Show said Henry may have left as World Hvt. Champion, but he was carted out. Show held up his fist and said he has something waiting for Henry. He told Henry to be sure to bring the World Hvt. Championship with him...

Backstage, Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox were playing WWE 12 when Beth Phoenix and Natalya showed up and mocked them for being criers. "Um, anyways..." Kelly said. My thoughts exactly... Another plug aired for the Cena segment... [C]

[Q7] Cole made fun of Jim Ross tweeting...

5. Wade Barrett beat Kofi Kingston in 11:40. Barrett did the popup box promo about his barrage as he made his entrance. Barrett dominated and was about to hit Wasteland when Randy Orton's music stopped him in his tracks. Barrett put Kofi down and went to ringside only to back away once Orton arrived. [C]

After the break, Orton took a seat next to the broadcast table and watched the match. Kofi got some offense in and scored a near fall off a cross body block. He went for a springboard, only to have Barrett kick the ropes. Barrett hit Wasteland while looking at Orton and got the pin.

[Q8] After the match, Barrett got a mic and said, "Hey, Randy, just in case you missed that, the winner of this match, Wade Barrett." Orton did a head fake, only to have Barrett take a step back. Orton's music played and he headed up the ramp. He stopped at the top and looked back at Barrett...

The announcers teased Cena's response to The Rock hitting him with the Rock Bottom at Survivor Series... A shot aired of John Cena walking backstage... [C]

Powell's POV: The good news is that they are giving Barrett a push. The bad news is that we have to keep hearing about the Barrett Barrage. Ugh. Anyway, Barrett looked like a chump when he flinched at Orton's head fake. Take that out and I like the segment, as Barrett got the win and they held off on physicality. Meanwhile, Kofi continues to lose because his tag partner is suspended. It's almost over, Kofi.

A video for Smackdown asked what's next for Big Show, Mark Henry, and the World Hvt. Championship...

Powell's POV: They ask that same question at least twice a month. By the way, I apparently missed the tease for Kane's return, complete with a mask. Thanks to several readers and tweeters for pointing that out.

John Cena's music played and he headed to the ring to a lot of boos. Cena said the world finally knows who Zack Ryder is. He told the fans to follow him on Twitter and listed his address. He said Punk is WWE Champion. He said the question is whether John Cena and The Rock can coexist as a team.

Cena said the answer is yes because they beat Awesome Truth. He said it was truly magical. He said Rock received a reaction like he's never heard. Cena said it was business as usual for him. He said the WWE Universe has always been honestly vocal with how they feel about him. The crowd booed.

"And I love it," Cena said. He said it's that type of honesty that makes it truly unique. Cena recalled Rock calling for him to join him in the ring after the match. Cena said he knows Dwayne and didn't think he was inviting him to enjoy a bowl of Fruity Pebbles. The fans chanted Fruity Pebbles. "That's why I love you guys," Cena said. "You're chanting a breakfast cereal on Monday Night Raw."

Cena recalled taking the Rock Bottom. He paused as a "Boots to Asses" chant broke out, and one fan yelled Rocky sucks. Cena said Rock proved that he has never lost it, which means WrestleMania will be exactly what it needs to be. "The two biggest..." Cena said before being interrupted by Awesome Truth's music.

The Miz questioned whether Cena and Rock have the two biggest egos. Miz said Cena's ego won't let him admit to how badly The Rock showed him up at Survivor Series. Miz said Cena always says you can't see me. He said no one wanted to see Cena last night. Nice.

[Overrun] Truth took his turn on the mic and said CeNation is about to turn into See You Later Nation. Cena got serious and told him to shut up. Cena said that if they test him again, he'll knock the makeup off Miz's face and punch the veneers down his throat. He threatened to knock the braids out of Truth's hair and melt the gold from his teeth down and sell it to Mr. T.

Cena said nobody cares about The Miz and R-Truth. He tried to turn them against each other by saying Miz is riding Truth's coattails, and Truth thinks Miz is a pompous loudmouth from a crappy reality show. Cena said they shouldn't boo him, they should be booing themselves. Cena left the ring, leaving Miz and Truth alone and staring suspiciously at one another.

They talked to each other with the mic's at their side. Miz said Cena was just trying to play games with them. Miz said he's a former WWE Champion and a WrestleMania main eventer. He told Truth that the fans are out there for him. Truth said Miz is about to cross the line and warned him not to do something he'd regret.

Miz pushed Truth, who responded by knocking him on his butt with a punch. Miz begged off and told Truth to calm down. Miz said they need to get Cena. Truth headed out and Miz followed. When they got to the top of the ramp, Miz dropped Truth with the Skull Crushing Finale. Miz glared down at Truth and then headed backstage...

Powell's POV: The Cena segment was a letdown. I don't even know what I was expecting, but it was obvious that they didn't have a great followup when he was interrupted by the heels right when it seemed like his promo might get interesting. So R-Truth is a face again? I think it will click better than it did the first time around because he has really come into his own as a comedic performer.

Overall, this was a basic show that gave viewers a breather after Survivor Series. There weren't many major angles, and there was no hype for next month's TLC. I'm fine with that approach (especially considering it's a holiday weekend coming up) even though it didn't make for a hot two hours of television, though we did get some quality in-ring action, especially from Punk vs. Ziggler. Whatever happened to Jonah Hill and Brodus Clay?

I'll have more to say in audio either later tonight or on Tuesday morning. Join us on the ad-free version of the website by signing up for membership now via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

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