WWE Monday Night Raw, January 3: Hits, Misses and 'What the Hell?'

The first Monday Night Raw of the year had some questions that needed to be answered. What was going on with Nexus? Where was Wade Barrett? Would John Cena be on Raw? How would we build toward the Royal Rumble? All these questions were asked and answered. However, like everything on TV, there was definitely some hits, misses and "what the hell?" moments.

Hits

Morrison-Miz Title Match: This time last year, I would have never predicted that we would see this match right now. Although I didn't like that this was the first match of the night, it made sense considering the main event was a cage match.

This match did a good job getting the crowd into the show and there were some pretty good spots, including Morrison's Starship Pain onto the table. This match actually made the Miz look like a strong champ, which will make it all the better when he loses the title at Royal Rumble.

CM Punk Promo: Punk is easily one of the best talkers. He can go out there, stand in the middle of the ring, spit some BS and make you believe or hate everything he is saying. Face or heel, he can do them both. The Hustle, Loyalty, Respect line was said a little too much, but the crowd ate it up. Barrett interrupting made the situation a little awkward, but Punk handled himself like the veteran that he is and finished it strong by pretty much making us want to watch the main event cage match.

Misses

Six-Diva Tag Match: I have a feeling divas matches are going to be on the misses section a lot. The in-ring work is never really good unless it is a match between the best divas. The reason this is a miss goes a lot deeper than that though.

This match did nothing to further Melina and Natalya's feud. There were no funny Jerry Lawler or CM Punk comments about the divas. For all the guys out there that love to watch the divas, they don't dress like sluts anymore. There was absolutely no reason for anyone to watch this match.

Kozlov and Santino vs. The Usos: Another match that had no point. The tag team division is practically dead, so much so that they give the tag titles to a comedy act. The Usos still need a lot of ring work before they should even get time on Raw. This angle with Tamina is getting rather annoying, and based on the ending with her doing the cobra to one of the Usos (I can never tell them apart), this seems like an angle that isn't over yet.

"What the Hell?"

Michael Cole Tells John Cena News: What the hell was WWE thinking by telling us at the very beginning of the show that John Cena is not here tonight? Do they want viewers or not? One of their main demographics (unfortunately) is the kids. All the kids want to see John Cena. Why would you tell the kids watching Raw, "Hey, if you turned Raw on tonight to see John Cena, just change the channel now because he isn't here." Why would this be a good idea?

Alberto Del Rio on Raw: What the hell was the point of Alberto being on Raw? Everything he said could have been told before his match on Smackdown this Friday night. His match was with R Truth, and even though it was of decent quality, it was another match that meant nothing.

Alberto and Truth haven't feuded, and they probably never will. If WWE wants to unite the brands and have everyone appear on both shows, then just do it. Don't have us sit through superstars on opposing shows when we all know it doesn't mean anything until Bragging Rights in October.

Next week on Raw, we have something to look forward to. Cena should be back, so the Nexus storyline will be able to keep moving forward. Also, we should start getting an idea of who will be in the Royal Rumble.

A couple of things I was wondering about thst I am hoping readers can help me with:

Alex Riley had to be helped by medical staff only to be in a promo with the Miz 10 minutes later. Really? Really? Was that as dumb as it seemed to me?

Also, in my opinion, Sheamus needs a little more cage work at house shows. He was climbing slowly, and I know the point was for him to get caught, but Barrett and Orton didn't seem as slow to me. Was he really that slow?

Funny moment of the night goes to Michael Cole saying that if The Usos won their match, they would be in the tag title hunt. I laughed so hard when he mentioned that there was a hunt for titles that are rarely defended. If you are a tag team, you are in the hunt for the titles.

As always feel free to comment and THANKS for reading.