WWE RAW Reaction: CM Punk 'trolls' Chris Jericho, Wrestlemania hype picks up

Daniel Bryan continues to be corrupted by the 10lbs of gold  that is the World Heavyweight Championship, as he once again used his petite girlfriend AJ to fend off the gigantic Big Show. The match itself was creative in that it made the much smaller Bryan competitve with Show’s 450lb frame. The finish saw Big Show almost crush into a freightened AJ at ringside, and Bryan usher off his lady as he was counted out. Big Show did not seem happy with the shallow victory, but Byran chided him anyway saying that Show hurt AJ last month on Smackdown, on purpose. It was another example of how well Bryan is adapting to being a cowardly and conniving ‘heel’ who will do anything to retain the World title.

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Chris Jericho spoke at length for the first time since his controversial return on January 2nd, and claimed he ‘trolled’ the WWE Universe. In a very self-absorbed diatribe Jericho riddled off all the different things that  modern day superstars like the Miz, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, and Dolph Ziggler had stolen from him. The most declarative statement that the former World Champion said was that current WWE Champion CM Punk had stolen his legacy as “best in the world”. Punk hit the ring, ready to drop another verbal pipe-bomb, before we knew it Punk played ‘fire with fire’. Punk said nothing, held his WWE Championship up high, and walked out of the ring. Punk trolled Jericho. In a war that will likely end at Wrestlemania, Punk has struck back with Jericho’s own mind-manipulation.

Triple H and The Undertaker teased a rematch from last year’s Wrestlemania for this year’s Mania show with a trade of perspectives illustrated through finely crafted highlight videos that played from their opposing views. Triple H’s clarification that he feels he does’nt want to see the Undertaker tarnish his legacy in a rematch, was a swerve a lot of fans did not see coming. The Undertaker not having the hand in the exchange right now, is odd. He usually accepts the challenges for his legendary Wrestlemania undefeated streak. The role reversal was the first thing that critics of this match were decrying last week when Undertaker returned at the end of the RAW to challenge Triple H for Wrestlemania 28. Yet this week the angle was increased with an emphasis on the Undertaker’s crazed vengeance to preserve his Wrestlemania legacy not as a mortal man who was stretchered out of the Georgia Dome but as the man who ruled the biggest show of the year. The King of Kings will soon cave in to the demands of the Deadman, and we sill Triple H vs. Undertaker III be made official in the coming weeks on RAW.

The Great Khali is not a good wrestler. This is not a news flash to any WWE fan yet the 7 foot Punjabi monster is still a force to be reckoned with. The way Khali interjected himself into last night’s tag team match between Orton/Khali against Cody Rhodes/Wade Barrett was a grabbing twist to an otherwise disposable transitional TV match.  The brief wrestling action from Khali also hid his inherit weaknesses, yet allowing to still come off as a destroyer. With all four of these Smackdown wrestlers competing in the Elimination Chamber, it showed that their no allies when it comes to winning the World title and Wrestlemania main event. Khali’s mid-air chop to Rhode’s skull was one of the memorable in-ring highlights of this week’s RAW.

The  Eight Diva Tag Match which saw Tamina hit a body splash on Brie Bella to win the match for her team. The work in the match by WWE Diva Champion Beth Pheonix showed she is in a class above the other ladies, especially her clever way of tagging out of the action with a chest slap to one of the Bellas. It was not the worst all-time Diva match by any means, but with an undersold story by commentators Michael Cole, was seen by the TV audience: Taminia glared at Beth Pheonix. At Elimination Chamber, Pheonix will get the challenger she has been looking for in the former of Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka’s daughter, Tamina.

WWE created tune-in TV with the Six Pack Challenge to be the last man to enter the RAW Elimination Chamber Match as RAW’s main event. R-Truth took a harsh bump when he leapt over the top rope to attack the Miz, only to the arena floor with a sickening thud. All of the competitors worked their roles, but this match had two stars written to stand out: WWE Champion CM Punk and his new nemesis, Chris Jericho. The mid-match staredown between the two rivals had the OKC fans cheering for Punk. The interruption by Ziggler, Miz and Kingston broke up the sample of what we most likely see conclude at Wrestlemania. Jericho stealing Punk’s pinfall on Ziggler, allowed him to win the match and be the last man enter the Elimination Chamber on February 19th.  Jericho is in the best position now to capture Punk’s title heading into ‘Mania.

WWE overall did a tremendous job at creating the groundswell for Wrestlemania on RAW. The show never seemed to have any slack, almost every segment rolled perfectly. This week’s RAW also felt lean and mean with very little filler, every minute of the broadcast felt engaging with stories being advanced. If WWE can keep up this momentum, they will have fans on the edge of their seats for The Elimination Chamber Pay Per View which usuaully benefits from WWE stepping up their game heading into the all important Wrestlemania.