WWE Raw Results: Top 15 Moments from Last Night's Show

WWE Raw was excellent last night. Coming off a good Royal Rumble show, WWE needed to kick things into high gear Monday night. They did just that.

Once again, WWE delivered a top-notch show just when they had to. If I had to give Raw a grade, I would fall in the A- range. Very well done. Here are my top 15 moments.

15. Beth Phoenix Dominates Again!

Beth Phoenix pinned Eve in 30 seconds.

You could call it a match. I call it a crushing defeat. Eve Torres never had a chance, and Beth is still the Divas Champion. Maybe it was time constraints? Maybe it was not?

I don't care. Phoenix is lining up for a showdown with Kharma at Wrestlemania 28, and I have had no doubt for months now. That is the "money" match, and I see it happening on April 1, 2012.

Nice move keeping Kharma off Raw as well. There was no reason for her to appear just yet. Allow Beth to win for another week or two. Then, re-introduce Kharma and begin building up the major match!

Quick shout out to my "it" girl Alicia Fox, who looked great backstage last night. Be sure to check out her match on Superstars this week.

14. Mike Tyson Announcement

As I wrote about here, I love this move!

Mike Tyson going into the WWE Hall of Fame is excellent news. For all the purists out there, it is just the "celebrity wing." For everybody else, it is sure to be a fun addition to Mania weekend in Miami!

Fun video. My guess is Stone Cold inducts him, so he can get involved with WWE again as well. He tends to always find a reason to return to the festivities.

13. Exciting Crowd

I must give a big props to the live audience last night. They were great and added to the show in a positive light.

No "Sexual Chocolate" chants. No "ice cream bars" chants. Nothing ridiculous.

Just a loud crowd reacting to a wonderful show.

12. Miz vs. Kofi

I really liked this match. It was not anything special, but it served its purpose. Miz is still looking for an opponent at the grandest stage next month, and Kofi needs to establish himself moving forward. Evan Bourne won't be around for a long, long, long time.

Thus, Kofi had to win here. Miz can lose and be fine. R-Truth was on commentary and also was entertaining. He seemed to fit in well with the commentators and made his mark on the show.

11. Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler

1. I really loved Wade Barrett watching this match from the "luxury suite." It made him feel like a heel, as he is "above everybody else." Great promo work as well.

2. Randy Orton looked excellent. He was my WWE Superstar of 2011, and I can only wish he has an even better year ahead. His Road to Wrestlemania is sure to get interesting very soon.

3. This match all but shuts the door on Ziggler moving up to the main event scene for awhile. Maybe a few months? Maybe longer? It was a nice run, but he just is not going to be a major priority at Mania. Just the cold reality right now, folks...

Either way, Ziggler and Orton had an outstanding match. Randy (rightfully) won and is ready for a top spot moving towards the Elimination Chamber PPV next month.

Finally, Vickie Guerrero looked great out there.

10. Smackdown Hype

I have mentioned this before, but it needs to be repeated.

A little hype can go a long way in WWE.

Raw hyped up Randy Orton taking on Wade Barrett this Friday night. They showed a very cool video and talked about the match for a few minutes. It was nothing huge, but I liked it.

The same with the Elimination Chamber main event from Smackdown. The announcers made sure to point out that we would find out the competitors involved on Friday. Just a small touch!

Keep it up, WWE.

9. Local Commercial

WWE aired multiple commercials hyping up John Cena vs. Kane for the Elimination Chamber PPV. Local advertisements have been wrong in the past, but I feel this one is going to be right.

The commercial did not mention anything about it being a "gimmick" match. No stipulations were teased, except that it would be their "final battle."

You have to believe WWE will end this feud next month. I find it highly unlikely these two will have another normal, singles match. Whatever it is, I will be there live to see it!

Once again, if anybody has a cool sign/poster idea, just let me know.

8. Opening Segment

I liked Johnny Ace starting the show. It made you want to see him fired even more by the end of the night. His promos have never been the best, but he gets the job done.

CM Punk coming out was expected. Daniel Bryan coming out was not. Seeing these two cut promos on each other was a nice change of pace on Raw.

Punk had one uncalled for, offensive joke, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt here. I hope he doesn't resort to that kind of tone again.

Sheamus eventually came out...

7. Sheamus Is a Star

Sheamus carried himself like a star. He always has.

He was given plenty of time to shine last night, and he made the most of it. I liked him teasing tension with both the WWE and World Champion. It was a small touch, but went a long way.

WWE was smart to focus on him without focusing on him too much. There is no reason to do too much now. We have one more PPV event coming up and over 60 days until the huge spectacular.

I expect Sheamus to choose his opponent the night after Elimination Chamber.

6. Brodus Clay Is Epic!

This week, Brodus Clay defeated Tyler Reks in a short match.

Let's see here. He beat Tyson Kidd, Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks (among others). What do those three names have in common? Yeah, it is no coincidence, folks.

What happens behind the scenes will always be more important that what happens in front of the camera. Always has. Always will.

Brodus looked exceptional again, as did Cameron and Naomi.

5. Raw Chamber Match?

CM Punk will defend his WWE Championship in an Elimination Chamber next month in Milwaukee.

His opponents?

I understand Chris Jericho. That is fine.

Miz and Truth should be nice wrestlers.

Dolph Ziggler is there, but is nowhere near the level he was at just two days ago.

I am also fine with Kofi Kingston. He will perform the "spots" and be eliminated early. No problem whatsoever with that.

It should be a very entertaining match in Wisconsin. I think most will agree only two men are realistic shots to win the match, though.

4. Cena Destroys Kane

This should have happened at the Rumble. I am sure both will have a great match next month, but I just want to fast forward to the logical ending already.

Cena pins Kane clean and focuses on The Rock. I think last night was the first step in eventually getting to that point.

WWE aired the very emotional Rocky promo from the Rumble, and Cena all but demolished Kane. That is exactly what needs to happen every week until the Elimination Chamber PPV event.

Great intensity from Cena!

3. Punk vs. Bryan

I don't care who the champions are. Giving away the "WWE Champion vs. World Champion" with an hour's worth of build was wrong on so many levels. That was a little disturbing to see.

With that being said, both men performed well. The match was never going to have a clean ending, so I was fine with Chris Jericho interfering. It teases a feud with Punk while also giving Bryan yet another fluke win to brag about.

I do have to point out how this was not given the main event slot. We all saw why later on in the evening, but I just had to mention that such a huge match was all but forgotten about an hour later...

2. Kiss My Ace Club?

Triple H returned last night and was all set to fire Johnny Ace. The crowd was ready for it. The fans at home were ready for it. I think even Big Johnny was ready for it.

The Game was going to make him do "anything" to keep his job, from apologizing to joining a certain club.

This was a very enjoyable segment. Sadly, we did not get a definite resolution here, but that can wait until week. There were far more important matters about to be addressed!

1. Undertaker Returns!

You talk about a moment...

You talk about a crowd reaction...

You talk about getting goosebumps...

You talk about reasons why you love this business...

The Undertaker has returned! What more has to be said? He is back, and the entire world is buzzing.

It just goes to show you, if WWE wants to keep something secret, they will. Look no further than Raw and the Royal Rumble with Kharma. Surprises may leak out on occasion, but WWE is still king for a reason.

Back to the ending of Raw! I mentioned this exact scenario happening as a possibility last week, but I really had no inkling it would really come true. Well, it certainly did!

Undertaker all but called out Triple H for Wrestle Mania 28. The roles were reversed last year, but the result is likely to be the same. The Deadman vs. The Game at the biggest stage of them all!

I loved the story told here. Taker knows what happened last year. Triple H knows it as well. One man is hesitant to do it all over again. The other man wants to do it all one more time!

Buckle up, folks...the Road to Wrestlemania is underway!

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