Despite the many Band-Aids and backtracking explanations that held together this week’s fragile RAW, the WWE finally did something it hasn’t done for weeks.
It advanced a storyline.
Much did transpire on RAW, but it didn’t really feel like it. This seems to be the ongoing theme in the writers’ room at WWE HQ. The show started and ended on high points.
The show opened with that infamous car crash, signifying Mick Foley’s entrance. After a heartfelt speech, he announced his intentions to participate in the Royal Rumble, much to the dismay of Dolph Ziggler, the number one contender for the WWE championship.
Ziggler, and of course the shrill Vickie Gurrerro, tried to embarrass Foley. But the tri-polar hardcore legend is also a hardcore goof, making him immune to Ziggler’s barbs. Ziggler asked if Foley if he really wanted to steal a spot from a “superstar†who had worked all year; With a toothless grin, Foley nodded and dead-panned “yes.†Each of Ziggler’s degrading questions met a similar response. Finally, CM Punk entered the fray, after last week’s pipe-bomb-free RAW.
After saying it would be pretty damn cool to face Foley at Wrestlemania 28, he went on to berate Ziggler, Vickie and of course, John Laurinaitis.
Reminding us that he was The Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and the Interim General Manager of Raw, Laurinaitis denied Foley’s request. While Punk had the pipe-bomb in his grasp, he would save the detonation for the main event.
As Laurinaitis shoveled a medical report on Zack Ryder into his jacket pocket, he amended the main event to a six man tag, which featured CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and….Chris Jericho. They would face Dolph Ziggler, Mark Henry and David Otunga.
I had almost expected Jericho to turn on Punk when he finally caught the tag later that night, but of course he managed to find a way to leave without saying or doing anything.
After the tag, he teased the crowd for about four seconds and tagged himself on his way up the entrance ramp in an adrenaline-fueled exit. At this point, I had to laugh. Predictably, the Bryan and Mark Henry confrontation spilled backstage, leaving Punk alone. In comes Mick Foley for the save.
Convincing the ref that John Laurinaitis green-lit his participation in the match, Foley, after some rusty ring work, put down David Otunga with a double-arm DDT and mouthful of crotch sock. Laurinaitis’s raspy voice interrupted the celebration.
He denied giving permission to Foley to participate in the match and overturned the decision. This culminated with a pivotal moment for the Punk-Laurinaitis storyline.
Punk proceeded to psychologically break down Laurinaitis in a tirade that had shades of his now infamous shoot against John Cena before Money in the Bank. It was deeply personal and at times, seemed to “break the fourth wall.†If the rumor mills are true, that this is all building toward some type of Austin Hits McMahon moment, it came just to the precipice Monday. Punk aggressively stole the mic, tussled Johnny’s tie and eventually cocked back, forcing Laurinaitis to flinch. It was one of those organic, gut-wrenching moments of humiliation. Then Punk strode off, leaving a twitching and steaming Laurinaitis alone with Foley.
Foley further probed Laurinaitis, forcing him to admit that he intended to screw Punk at this Sunday’s Royal Rumble. In classic Laurinaitis fashion, he botched lines and seemed robotic even during this attempt at genuine human rage, but it was refreshing to see the feud arrive at an avenue the fans have been aching to travel down. Conveniently enough this took place right before the Royal Rumble, as did most of the sorting out that the WWE did this Monday. For the rest of the show, it seemed that the WWE was trying to amend the narrative before the Royal Rumble in the wake of backstage politics.
Leave a Reply