WWE Monday Night Raw 1/23/2012 - The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

While I was excited about the prospect of seeing CM Punk finally get to throw down with John Laurinaitis, getting his hands on the man who has tormented him over the past few months, I was a little worried when I first heard about the match. It just seemed far too soon for that feud to boil to a head, especially since Punk is only a few days away from a major match against Dolph Ziggler, who I hope, hope, hope won't get lost in the shuffle.

So, I was somewhat relieved when the match was called off...that is until I realized that it was already after 11pm and a new worthwhile main event didn't seem forthcoming. Instead of something to really capture fan's imaginations and interest going into the Royal Rumble, we instead got to watch CM Punk beat up Mr. Jennifer Hudson. The most interesting thing about that match up is that David Otunga went by "Punk" when he appeared on VH1's I Love New York. That's the MOST interesting thing.

Then, things went from bad to worse as Punk ended the show by hitting the Go-To-Sleep on Laurinaitis. Putting aside the fact that Punk should never do that move on men who are that much taller than him, this was a monumentally stupid thing for WWE to do. That should have been a huge moment that was built to and teased for weeks on end, so that when it finally hit, it was a cathartic moment for both Punk and the fans at home. Instead, it was a cheap pop spot tacked onto the end of a braindead segment. It was truly the worst of all possible worlds, as WWE promised us something, didn't give it to us, then gave us the pay-off of what was promised, but devoid of any of the build-up that would have given it context and made it meaningful. Terrible. The only thing that made sense in any of it was Ziggler running out to hit Punk at the end of the show.