WWE Raw: Piper Tells It Like It Is, Punk Retains and More "It Begins" Mystery

Last night’s episode of Monday Night Raw opened with the legendary Rowdy Roddy Piper.

We were going to be treated to his equally as legendary segment Piper’s Pit. The rowdy one said it was all about the fan’s energy. It was their energy that made him do what he did.

If they loved him, he did good things, but if they hated him he did bad things.

He introduced his guest, John Cena, and he played a little word association with him and the fans. Steve Austin, Bret Hart and The Rock all got cheered. Cena on the other hand got a very mixed reaction.

Piper was stirring the pot as he told Cena that he was the face of the WWE but the boos were getting louder. If he didn’t suck it up and tell the fans what he really thought then he was going to lose at WrestleMania.

Cena brought up his shirt and said that he’ll never let it bother him. Piper then said that if Cena didn’t get it off his chest then he’d be in denial for the rest of his career.

Piper slapped Cena and Cena just walked away.

Roddy Piper was never afraid to tell it like it is during Piper’s Pit. He spoke a lot of truth here and was damn good when he did it.

The man has still got it on the mic.

John Cena was also very good here. His mic work was solid and he teased a heel turn a bit by making it seem like he was going to knock out Piper.

A lot of his history was made on Piper’s Pit over the years and I think it will be the catalyst to another history making moment.

The moment? John Cena’s heel turn.

John Morrison vs. The Miz: Falls Count Anywhere

The first match of the night almost didn’t happen. During Morrison’s entrance Miz attacked him with a pipe and just beat him with it.

At that point I said “goodbye” to Morrison and was expecting some mic work from Miz. Then Morrison got up and we got our match.

The finish saw Miz slam Morrison’s face in the WWE sign on the stage, then give him the Skull Crushing Finale on the stage.

Morrison was stretchered out to an ambulance that may be heading to Orlando.

This was an OK match. I was expecting much less seeing as this was Morrison’s final night. I figured Miz would squash him but at least Vince allowed him to fight back.

The use of the kendo stick was quite awesome. We don’t get to see it used much anymore.

This match’s sole purpose was to get rid of John Morrison and to advance the Miz’s new character.

Match Rating: 2/5

After the match, Miz got on the mic. He said that he took out R-Truth last week, then John Morrison this week. Next week? “We’ll see.”

I’m loving this new Miz. He’s looking more like a star now then when he was a part of Awesome Truth. Miz can only go up from here.

My only question is this: Who’s next?

The Bella Twins vs. Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox

Right when the match started, Beth Phoenix and Natalya jogged around the ring and left.

Really? That’s what the WWE Divas Champion is doing these days? She should have been wrestling!

Anyway, the finish of this match saw Alicia Fox hit a flipping leg drop on one of the Bellas for the win.

The match was short and pointless and WWE gave these women no time whatsoever to show any kind of skill.

Match Rating: 0/5

The match wasn’t a total lose, though.

During it we were given the latest hint in the “It Begins” hype.

It was another creepy looking video that introduced another kid, this one a girl. The Undertaker and Michelle McCool perhaps?

Doubtful.

The kid keeps saying that someone was coming to back to “claim what is his.” No one has taken anything from the Deadman.

Chris Jericho on the other hand has had his “Best in the World” title taken away. Right now, my money’s on the return of Y2J!

We go backstage to find out that Brodus Clay is once again not debuting this week. By the time he does, no one is going to care.

It’s been put off for so long that when he does show up, the impact won’t be as great.

Alberto Del Rio then walked in and assured John Laurinaitis victory against CM Punk.

That brought in Punk who said that you’d get 156,000 hits on Google if you search John Laurinaitis and spineless, 918,000 hits for Alberto Del Rio and boring, and Jennifer Hudson if you search for David Otunga.

Punk left and Otunga told Laurinaitis that Punk may get intentionally disqualified. So he made the stipulation of if CM Punk gets himself DQ’d, he would lose the title.

He then proceeded to text someone.

CM Punk gets better and better every week. Laurinaitis, Del Rio and Carlton Banks keep putting me to sleep, though.

I really want to know who Johnny Ace is texting! I got a feeling it’ll turn out like the anonymous Raw general manager storyline; it’ll disappear without us finding out who it was.

Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler

Our next match saw Dolph Ziggler continue to make his transition into the main event by taking on Randy Orton.

The finish saw Wade Barrett distract Orton long enough for Ziggler to hit the Zigzag for the win.

This was a great match that saw some nice back-and-forth action. Ziggler looked great inside the ring with Orton.

Sometime next year Ziggler will be holding the WWE Championship.

Right now I have a lot of respect for Randy Orton. Why you ask? Well, it’s because he’s been putting people over.

Orton is one of the biggest stars in WWE and he can’t go any higher.

In recent months he’s put over Cody Rhodes, Mark Henry, Wade Barrett and now Dolph Ziggler. Orton is doing what a true veteran should be doing, and that’s putting over others so they can have a chance to shine.

Now if only John Cena would start to do that.

Match Rating: 4/5

Back in the ring we get the displeasure of hearing Michael Cole talk even more then he has to. He was there to interview Daniel Bryan.

Cole was pissed because he thought Bryan was handed a World Championship match and that he cashed in on in injured opponent. If he was the general manager he would have stripped Bryan of the briefcase, not given it back to him.

Bryan grabbed the mic and said he earned his shot by winning the fatal-four way. He may be a hypocrite for not cashing in at WrestleMania like the said he would, but he saw an opportunity and he took it.

That brought out the World’s Slowest Champion who complained about what Bryan did and about Teddy Long for putting him in a steel cage match because he’s half way injured.

How can you be half way injured?

Bryan walked up the ramp, kicked him in the ankle, and left.

Daniel Bryan is finally being given a voice and that’s great. It seems like WWE is letting him be the American Dragon.

Mark Henry just bores me on the mic. If it wasn’t for Bryan, I would have gotten up to go to the bathroom.

Their match tonight on the live SmackDown should be a good one, though.

I don’t see Bryan winning, but I do see him with a World Championship sometime next year.

Jack Swagger vs. Zack Ryder

Zack Ryder won this decent match with the Rough Rider.

The match wasn’t anything special, but it did its job which was to get Ryder over more as he approaches a potential United States Championship match.

Ryder is really over with the fans and WWE would be stupid not to give him the title.

For Dolph Ziggler to officially enter the main event he must lose the title first, and right now, who better then Ryder to lose it to?

As for Jack Swagger, it’s hard to believe he’s a former ECW World and World Heavyweight Champion.

He’s been Sheamus’ and Zack Ryder’s punching bag over the past few weeks. I hope he’s able to turn things around soon.

A feud between him and Ryder over the US Title could have the potential to be great.

Match Rating: 3/5

We got a new Kane promo next. We saw breaking glass, fire and an axe.

Kane had a black towel over his head, but the mask reappeared again. This time, though, we got the text “Kane: Resurrected.”

What will that mean upon Kane’s return?

Mick Foley headed out next in a Santa suit. He gave us a Christmas rhyme substituting Christmas for SmackDown related events.

He promoted tonight’s live show and left.

It was great to see the hardcore legend, but I hoped he’d do a little more than that.

Backstage, CM Punk told John Laurinaitis to kiss his ass. Short and to the point. I like that.

CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio: WWE Championship

The main event of the evening was CM Punk defending his WWE Championship against Alberto Del Rio.

The finish saw Punk drop Del Rio’s head on an exposed turnbuckle that Del Rio exposed. Del Rio was out of the count and Punk retained.

Ricardo Rodriguez tried to argue with the referee and he got a GTS for his troubles.

I thought this was a solid match with good back-and-forth action. CM Punk put on a good showing and is truly the best in the world right now.

Alberto Del Rio, despite being beyond boring on the mic, is really starting to impress me in the ring.

Del Rio is quite skilled but I got a feeling he’ll be shoved in the mid-card come 2012.

I liked the nod to the late, great Eddie Guerrero here. Del Rio smacked a chair on the mat and threw it to Punk. Punk threw it back and laid down. A classic Guerrero move.

I expect to see these two go at it one more time at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs. I personally hope it’s an actual TLC match!

Match Rating: 4/5

Much like last week, I felt that this week's episode of Monday Night Raw was a solid show.

While we had a few matches that weren't too great, we had two great matches and some very good in-ring segments.

The opening segment with Piper's Pit really set the bar high for the night and WWE, while going below it a few times, always stayed at that level and even went beyond it at times.

I can't wait until next week as WWE hopefully keeps this streak of good shows alive!

Show Rating: 4/5