By Jason Powell

Dot Net readers are listening to a 91-minute audio review of WWE Raw that Chris Shore and I recorded late last night. Join us on the ad-free version of the website by signing up for membership at Prowrestling.net/amember/signup.php.

WWE Raw Hits

Chris Jericho's return: For those who feel like this was a complete failure, be honest in answering whether you plan to see where it goes next week. The over the top David Lee Roth as a gameshow host routine gave the fans the big return that most were hoping for, and the way he dragged it out without saying anything left them angry and wanting more, which is clearly what Jericho was going for. I realize that this is an age of instant gratification, but Jericho is a great storyteller and I have total confidence that this will make total sense and seem like a necessary first step in his reintroduction.

C.M. Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler: The match was hard to watch prior to the commercial break, especially the spot with Punk coming up short on the top rope clothesline and falling face first onto the second rope. Fortunately, the action was much better after the break and the finishing sequence with the two of them and John Laurinaitis was executed nicely. The addition of Laurinaitis as special referee for their Royal Rumble match covers for the fact that the average fan doesn't view Ziggler as a threat to the championship. At some point, though, WWE has to get around to addressing that issue by pushing Ziggler in a way the viewers will take seriously when he's working against a main event babyface.

WWE Raw Misses

Overall show: I didn't have ridiculous expectations of Undertaker, Michelle McCool, Brock Lesnar, Sable, and Batista all returning last night. Nor did I expect WWE to debut a bunch of new talent to coincide with the new year. After all, WWE's new year starts after WrestleMania. That said, I did have my hopes up for a better show than this. I enjoyed the hell out of the Jericho segment and Punk vs. Ziggler, but there were way too many misses this week to rate this show as a Hit.

John Cena and Kane angle: I can live with the hocus pocus material we saw from the Kane character last night. More than anything, it left me fearful that WWE is only going to go further down that path with Kane and turn off a lot of viewers in the process. The Kane campiness was bad enough when WWE went too far with it when he was the World Champion on Smackdown, but now it involves the supposed top babyface who is already getting way more boos than cheers.

John Cena promo: He's going to wear less underwear? WWE should hire The Rock to serve as the editor for the promos that John Cena and Brian Gewirtz come up with. Gewritz has been responsible for some great Rock promos over the years, and he also writes the majority of Cena's material. So why are Rock's promos generally cool, whereas Cena tells us about wearing less underwear and cracks poopy jokes? I also hated the placement of the Cena promo. He was essentially saying the same thing he always says about respecting the fans regardless of whether they cheer or boo him. Call me crazy, but the first show of a new year should not be a repeat of something we've been hearing for years.

Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes: There was nothing wrong with the actual match. Rather, the Miss is due to the presentation of Daniel Bryan. If the idea is to make him look like a huge underdog and have him upset Big Show, then so be it. The goal should be to make him strong by the time his title reign is over so he's not just shoved back into the mid- and undercard mix (see Jack Swagger). Let's be honest, if Daniel Bryan had an obscure independent career, no online fans would be justifying the idea of him as the champion. In other words, if you only saw his WWE work and/or had not heard so much buzz about Bryan coming in, chances are you would not accept him in this role because WWE presents him as such a complete tool. That's exactly how the casual fans have been conditioned to view him with a big assist in that regard to Michael Cole's endless counterproductive insults.

Zack Ryder and Eve: What was it about the negative charisma that Eve showed during his stints with Cryme Tyme and R-Truth that made creative think that she should be involved with Ryder? What's worse is that Ryder is portrayed as a doofus who Eve treats like a dorky friend. Ryder's rise has been a lot of fun and he deserves so much credit for making it happen, but I am concerned that the dorky Ryder character we see on television will have a short shelf life without some serious tweaking.

Wade Barrett vs. Santino Marella: A minor miss. Barrett's character is responsible for Randy Orton's injury and they followed up with that by having him squash a comedy guy in a completely forgettable match. Worse yet, he's still using the awful Barrett Barrage slogan. It's not catching on and my "reach for the remote control" reflex kicks in whenever I hear him say it.

Sheamus vs. The Miz: Sheamus pounding the chest of Miz with repeated forearms was a cool moment that was ruined by Miz standing up seconds later and rubbing his chest as if he had a minor bug bite. Factor in some bad comedy from R-Truth and I somehow care less about the Miz vs. Truth feud than I did last week. Will Sheamus ever have a real program again? How long can the guy go without a real feud and maintain his popularity?

The Bella Twins vs. Kelly Kelly and Eve: Can we please go a month without seeing yet another match between these teams? Here's hoping WWE officials remember that Miss Elizabeth, Sunny, Sable, Trish Stratus, and Lita got over and, in some cases, drew ratings and house show revenue. Today's Divas just trade wins and the title belt and only Kelly strikes me as being truly over with the fans.

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