In Ring Segment:
John Cena starts off Raw wishing everyone a happy 2012. He talks about changes in 2012, such as his father never being seen on WWE TV again. He also talks about Kane and wanting Cena to hate. Cena talks about the fans hard earned money like usual and says they have the right to boo or cheer him. He says he will stay loyal to himself this year. Kane is heard over the speakers and says Cena will experience the power of hate tonight as the pyro explodes in the ring.
What I Liked:
It was definitely appropriate for this segment to start off Raw, as it gave us something "else" to look forward to tonight. Kane not being seen was a stroke of genius, because you do not want him seen more than once a night to over saturate him to the crowd and to the viewers at home. He needs to be a mysterious, hidden, and demonic character who strikes at the appropriate time.
What I Disliked:
Cena has given us this speech time and time again, and he needs to come up with something new. I cannot stand the same words being spoken every week. His scripts need to slowly transition into himself and not the crowd. Give us a little bit of a selfish Cena to potentially transition into a heel turn, if that is the way they want to go.
Grade: B+
Daniel Bryan def. Cody Rhodes:
What I Liked:
The pairing was interesting, with two great athletes in the ring. Cody's Beautiful Disaster hits perfectly on Bryan's jaw. I really love the intensity of Bryan in the ring, as I feel he is being underestimated with how aggressive he can actually be. This aggression will somewhat make up for his lack of size. It was a fluid match, but had some minor flaws in it from a booking standpoint.
What I Disliked:
This was a perfect time for Booker or Show to come out and further enhance their respected feuds to a live audience. I wish there was some sort of interference and not a clean win for Bryan. I assume the roll up makes it feel like a cheap victory, but Rhodes and Bryan need to continually win against inferior opponents to give some credibility to their championship reigns. Also, this was a bad time for this match to take place. I do not like how they throw away a real significant pairing in the first match on Raw after an important segment to kick it off.
Grade: B+
