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

WWE aired the final Raw of the year, and I thought it was a solid two hours. It was now amazing. It was not bad. It was just a nice show to close 2011 with.

Lots of stories were introduced. A few of them progressed nicely into the new year, and one was just confusing. My grade for the show would be a B-. With that being said, let's get to the top moments!

15. Big Match Coming?

Thank you WWE!

I believe there is money to be made in seeing Johnny Ace vs. CM Punk. Right when the main event's stipulations were made, I knew Punk was not winning. There was no way Ace vs. Punk would be wasted last night.

It may be on an episode of Raw. It may even be at the Royal Rumble. Either way, I think there is a lot of interest in seeing Johnny Ace take on CM Punk. Build it up, WWE...

14. Brodus Clay Returning

Johnny Ace mentioned this backstage, and I really hope this is the real deal. I have been hard on WWE for not delivering what they promote, and I hope they come through on Monday.

By the way, did the Bella Twin (Brie or Nikki) use her "kiss anybody before Christmas" stipulation yet that she won a few weeks ago? Was the kiss on the cheek to Johnny Ace last week her choice? Was that ever concluded, or did I miss something?

Back on topic, I did like how David Otunga made a comment about "not wanting to be his opponent." Could it be Otunga himself? Will John Morrison return for one night only to lose in 30 seconds? Either way, I am a fan of Clay, so I am looking forward to seeing him again.

13. Booker T Beats Cody Rhodes

Booker T is a great talent. He is sure to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame one day. Sadly, WWE felt the need to just throw one of his matches on Raw with no advertisement.

That was upsetting. Luckily, the match was great! I am just going to assume WWE was wanting to keep viewers into the second hour with a huge match going on. Just a guess...

Cody Rhodes and Booker both did a wonderful job last night. I did not mind Cody losing because it was not on PPV, and it will likely be forgotten about by next week. It was just a fun match for the veteran, and you never know when his last match will be.

12. Ryder/Eve vs. Tyson/Natalya

Zack Ryder was pretty good on Raw. He showed a little comedy in his interactions with Eve Torres, but he kept it serious during the match. He has improved a ton the last few months.

Those two defeated Tyson Kidd and Natalya, but it was a nice match. The right team won, and I do wonder where Beth Phoenix was. I hope she is healthy and fine after last week...

11. Big Show's Match

The Big Show needs to be a destroyer. I have no desire to watch him in "comedy" matches. Having one arm tied behind his back was not needed.

His match with Otunga was fine, but it just went too long. Above all else, there was no point to any of it. This entire segment could have been passed over this week. Just my opinion!

10. The End Begins

WWE aired the final promo for next week's huge episode of Raw. I have a few things to say about it.

1. I really thought this promo should have ended the show. Have the "WWE logo" flash, and then air this one final time to really set the anticipation in.

2. I won't even get into all the "clues" this week. I have stated many times they mean nothing, and I stand by it. The school? The shopping cart? The background? None of it adds up, so why bother connecting the dots when there are none to connect?

3. I seem to remember a girl coming out of a limo on the February 14th, 2011 edition of Raw right before we were to find out who the guest host of WrestleMania was. Well, it was The Rock. The girl in high heels? Never mentioned again.

4. With all that being said, I still stand by original prediction of Chris Jericho returning. If not, Undertaker is always an option, as are the McMahons or Batista. I say Jericho, and I do not need to examine promo videos over and over to come to that conclusion...

9. Wade vs. Orton Advertisement

WWE did a nice job giving Smackdown some attention for Friday night.

They advertised Wade Barrett vs. Randy Orton for this week in a Falls Count Anywhere match. That would seem to be the "closer" in that feud, but you never know.

I am looking forward to their match, as it will be an amazing way to close out the Blue Brand for 2011!

8. Alberto Del Rio

Tough break for Del Rio! It seemed as if something went wrong during last week's main event. Sadly, it looks like Alberto will be on the shelf for awhile.

Him and Ricardo had a great segment on Raw last night, but their health comes first. I already fear how banged up Ricardo is from WWE TLC, and now Del Rio is hurt? Not good.

They will come back stronger than ever in 2012, but I never wish harm on anybody. Get well, guys!

7. Opening Segment

WWE had a very nice start last night. Johnny Ace taunting Punk was fun, but the Chicago crowd was clearly behind their hometown man.

I was very worried about Punk competing in two matches, but that never happened. It was just the single Gauntlet match for the WWE Champion. Very nice tension between the two, even if Punk still feels the need to throw out lines only a small percentage of the audience understands.

6. Miz vs. Cena

We have seen these two wrestle enough. However, it was nice to see them mention their great rivalry from 2011. This was like the "finale" of their year's battles.

The match did not last very long, but I didn't care. It was all about setting up the rest of the night anyways.

5. R-Truth Returns

Speaking of...

The match between John Cena and Miz did not last very long, but that was not the real story. After the match, R-Truth returned to attack Miz and get some payback from last month. It sure seems as if Truth is back to being a face.

While I think his "Little Jimmy" gimmick could work for the fans, Chicago did not react very well to it. I am not sure why, but the live audience was not feeling Truth's return. It will be interesting to hear the crowd reactions next week with Miz and Truth.

4. Daniel Bryan Is World Champ?

I am just asking because he was on for about 15 seconds last night. That does not seem like the correct amount of attention the World Champion should be shown.

If that was the case, just keep him off WWE TV until Smackdown. He literally stumbled down the ramp, slipped on the ropes, held up his belt and walked backwards up the ramp! That was it.

Again, why even bother? Just keep him on Smackdown next time. There was no need for that segment at all. I have mentioned it many times in the past, but his "booking" has been horrible the past few months.

3. Kane and Cena Segment

Well, Kane lasted two weeks. Two weeks was all it took for him to be brought back to his usual "spot" on the card. His big, epic, amazing return others had hoped for is no longer.

Yes, I am referring to Kane speaking. It was not a big deal at first, but his promo sealed it for me. He is no longer "mysterious." His "monster" character is already done.

As I mentioned last month, him returning with a mask would be waste, and it already is. No need for it. Just make some cash on the merchandise and get a "nostalgia" response.

Now that the "honeymoon" of his return is over, he is at his normal status on the card. Not a permanent main event player and not a mid-card performer. Right in the middle to serve any role.

With all of that being said, I really enjoyed the promo. John Cena is being kept busy for a few weeks, and Kane is a great talent no matter what story he is involved with.

I am sure many will jump all over the "Cena turning heel" bandwagon for the 567,846th time in the past few years, but I am not. Never have, never will. I will let this story play out and see where it goes...

2. CM Punk and the Gauntlet

CM Punk beat Jack Swagger before moving on to Dolph Ziggler. These two had a great back-and-forth match. The result was Ziggler getting a cheap victory thanks to Johnny Ace.

With that, he earned a WWE Championship match next week on Raw against CM Punk. I do not want to alarm anybody, but I would not be shocked to see the title change next week.

I am picking Punk to retain, but I have been covering Raw's ratings for the past six months, and they do not speak well of Punk. Last week had the lowest overrun of the year, and it would not shock me to see Punk (or Bryan) lose their belt as soon as possible as a "panic" move.

Numbers do not lie.

1. Take Mark Henry off WWE TV!

Why was he advertised for the main event match with Punk?

Why did he get involved with Show and Bryan?

Why was he also put against Big Show on Smackdown, only to do nothing?

The man can barely move and certainly is not capable of any real physical activity. Why is he on WWE TV still?

Let the man heal. Take him off the road so he can rest up. His body getting back to 100 percent is much more important than yelling "Excuse me!" backstage. It is much more important than knocking down Big Show on Raw. It is much more important than anything else.

He is not ready to wrestle, yet he's still announced as competing and being used every show. I wish it would stop before any more damage is done. Safety comes first!

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