The ratings are in for last night's (Feb. 6, 2012) episode of WWE Monday Night Raw and it should come as no surprise that they're down from where they were last week. That was to be expected, of course, considering the first Raw post-Royal Rumble always does well, but this week's show was bad enough that viewers once again decided to tune out from the first hour to the second.

PWTorch.com brings the numbers:

WWE Raw on Monday, February 6 came back to earth with a 3.25 rating, down nine percent from a 3.55 rating last week the night after the Royal Rumble PPV. Outside of last week's Raw, it was still the highest-rated Raw since the November 14 episode (12 weeks).

Raw averaged 4.62 million viewers, down 12 percent compared to last week's Raw, which was up 13 percent from the Rumble lead-in.

Raw's first hour opened with a respectable average of 4.80 million viewers - the most since Nov. 14 besides last week's show - but Raw tumbled to an average of 4.44 million viewers in the second hour. The second hour was down 14 percent and nearly 700,000 viewers compared to last week's second hour.

The numbers aren't bad, necessarily, but the product is. Or at least last night it was. Triple H opened with a twenty minute promo explaining his issues with Undertaker before we go the first of what felt like 18 different video packages and about two minutes of actual wrestling before a commercial break.

And that's how the show seemed to play out the rest of the way.

It was just a bad show, plain and simple. "The Game" rambled far too long, Chris Jericho and CM Punk's segment was far too short, The Miz had one of the worst nights of his career, R-Truth got hurt, Eve broke her nose, the main event was nothing more than a modified clusterf*ck and the final image we were left with was Kane being a complete creep with Eve while she was wearing a towel (but in full makeup).

It was bad. So very, very bad. For complete results and the running live blog click here and for reactions to the show click here.

WWE Monday Night Raw last night (Feb. 6, 2012) emanated from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and featured the leading pro wrestling company in the world taking a gigantic dump on live television.

If you want full results from Raw last night, click here for the running live blog. Time to get to reactions from the show:

• This was one of those shows that I just can't see a good defense for. There were more video packages and promos than there was actual wrestling and the only wrestling we did see was either terrible or full of botches like Miz failing miserably at everything he does and R-Truth nearly getting a concussion because of it. Seriously, if you can give me a redeeming quality for Miz, I want to hear it. What does he bring to the table at this point? He's a half-assed worker with limited ability, he's an oaf athletically and his work on the mic is always going to be overshadowed by his ridiculously stupid face. Send this walking liability back to the Real World.
  
• The WWE Production crew deserves all the praise in the world for the work they do. The Undertaker promo that played after Triple H's opening segment turning down the match at WrestleMania was masterfully done. I have no clue why they felt the need to play it again later in the night but it was super well done and because of the collective talent of all involved in this storyline, I can feel myself getting sucked into it, despite the fact that I don't really want to. Triple H's promo turning the match down was well done and Shawn Michaels will be inserting himself next week. This feud is going to kick into high gear and before we know it, we'll all stop complaining about not ever wanting to see Triple H vs. Undertaker part three.
  
• Chris Jericho and CM Punk showed that the greatness we expected when we got word they would enter into a program was completely warranted and they're delivering in spades already. Jericho's explanation for the end of the world as we know would have worked much better had he won the Royal Rumble but it's still fine for the purposes of this feud. What I really liked, though, was Punk walking down to the ring after Jericho called him out for stealing all his schtick and Punk responding to it by stealing Jericho's silence schtick. No words, just holding up the belt and walking off. And really, it was great because Punk didn't need to speak. He's the best in the world because he has the WWE championship. Jericho wants to come back and say he's the best in the world, fine, he just has to win the title. Until then, it's Punk. Simple storytelling between two talented performers that came across great on TV and made us intrigued for a future match. Perfect pro wrestling.
  
• Brodus Clay wasn't on my TV last night and this is simply unforgivable. We were made to sit through a replay of an Undertaker promo and a replay of a John Cena promo that first aired at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view then the next night on Raw and now this week on Raw. We get it. He's always here, always showing up to work. Except he never made an appearance on this show. Way to look over the important details, guys. The one time he was on TV was from a supposed pre-tape from last week that was supposed to air but didn't. That's the kind of night this was. The Funkasaurus could have saved so much of it.
  
• Sheamus taking offense from David Otunga was utterly hilarious, especially considering how much Otunga was clearly into it. A pencil pushing lawyer beating down a guy headed to WrestleMania to contest for one of the two major titles in an impromptu match designed for Otunga to get squashed. The agent for this thing should be slapped, Sheamus should be reprimanded for being dumb enough to sell for a nobody like Otunga and WWE should be ashamed for ever booking this crap in the first place. This is what they've come up with for the freaking Royal Rumble winner? This is why the Elimination Chamber is such a stupid idea. Sorry, Sheamus, not taking you seriously when David Otunga is stomping a mudhole in your ass in the corner, even if you got up and Brogue Kicked him seven seconds later.
  
• Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes were both pinned in matches that featured guys like Wade Barrett and The Miz. Someone told someone else within the company that Ziggler and Rhodes should be pinned to end matches other than Barrett and Miz. You wonder why fans just quit giving a shit. That Intercontinental title might as well not even exist, white leather classic look or not.
  
• How is it a good idea to continue a storyline that features a big red guy wearing a mask and talking about hate threatening a crying woman after she just got out of the shower? The image of Kane breathing into Eve's ear over her shoulder while she sits and cries is something no one should ever have to look at.
  

That's all I've got for this week. I'm not sure how it's possible to go from such a great show last week to such an utterly terrible show this week but they pulled it off. I'll give it a D because of the Triple H-Undertaker stuff early and the Jericho-Punk stuff later but nothing else was worth much of anything.

That's enough from me, though. Time for you Cagesiders to sound off with all your thoughts in the comments section below. Did you hate it as much as me?

The ratings are in for last night's (Jan. 30) episode of WWE Monday Night Raw and -- surprise -- they're up big thanks to it being the Royal Rumble fallout show.

PWTorch brings the word:

WWE Raw on Monday, January 30 the night after the Royal Rumble PPV scored a 3.55 rating, up 12 percent compared to a 3.18 rating last week leading to the Rumble. It was the highest Raw rating since the night after WrestleMania 27 on April 4 last year, which scored a 3.82 rating.

Raw averaged 5.22 million viewers, up 13 percent compared to last week's Rumble lead-in show. It was the first time Raw cracked five million viewers since October 10 and the most overall viewers since May 23, 2011 for the first Raw after Randy Savage's death. Beyond May 23, it was the most viewers since Edge's retirement announcement on the April 11, 2011 Raw.

Again, this isn't a big shocker considering the fact that the Raw immediately following the Rumble pay-per-view does well every year, for obvious reasons. That's likely why they built to Triple H returning to potentially fire John Laurinaitis only to have Undertaker make his big return as well.

Trips is advertised for next week's show but Undertaker is not, so it's possible 'Taker's appearance was just to maximize exposure for him on a show they knew would do good numbers.

That's also probably why they booked the show the way they did. Ultimately, this was one of the best episodes of Raw in a long time, with Randy Orton having an amazing match with Dolph Ziggler while CM Punk and Daniel Bryan tore the house down before Chris Jericho set up a feud with Punk.

All things considered, this is a win all around.

For complete results from Raw and the running live blog click here.

WWE Monday Night Raw last night (Jan. 30, 2012) emanated from Kansas City, Missouri, and featured Chris Jericho attacking CM Punk, Undertaker making his long awaited return with a terrible wig, and plenty of great wrestling.

If you want full results from Raw last night, click here for the running live blog. Time to get to reactions from the show:

• Since taking over Cageside Seats, I've done my best to make this a relationship between I, the writer, and you, the reader. It's always a fun and interesting time to interact with you crazy Cagesiders but it was especially nice to see that you guys can already peg how I'll feel about particular events and shows. Reading someone say, "Geno's gone through three pairs of pants by now," has to be a career highlight for me (and you were close, it was four). Thanks to all you awesome folks for helping make this such a great place to hang out to talk pro wrestling.
  
• Now onto the show, which was one of the best Raw shows I've ever watched. It had a strong opening angle, plenty of great wrestling and an intriguing show close with a major return and some comedy relief in between. If every Raw was something close to this, it would be one of the best shows on television.
  
• I talked about the angle setup with Triple H and Undertaker a bit already but I'd like to say here that I'm no different than many of you who have expressed your displeasure with yet another WrestleMania match between the two. This will mark the third tango and second in as many years. That's too many. Shawn Michaels could pull it off because he's Shawn Michaels and had a chemistry with 'Taker that was unmatched but Trips doesn't have that. Plus, it scares the hell out of me that Triple H is just egotistical and crazy enough to try to go over on Undertaker and end the streak. If that were to happen, he would surpass Hulk Hogan as the worst man in pro wrestling history as far as politics and ego are concerned.
  
• I am, however, going to do my best to avoid incessantly complaining about the match getting booked and instead try to focus on the interesting aspects of the program, which include the story they're getting ready to tell. If executed properly, it can be as compelling as any other story within WWE right now, so this is one of those rare times I'll accept the concept of "wait and see."
• Seriously, though, that ridiculous wig.
• John Laurinaitis lives to see another day ... I think. They didn't really make that clear and that's part of why last night was so great. It's nice to have a little cliffhanger and it's not even the focus of the closing angle, not ultimately after 'Taker returned, at least. When you think about it, it's amazing how much Laurinaitis has grown as both a character and a performer. Back in Aug. 2011, I was complaining about him being on my TV. Now? I was actively rooting for him to stay.
  
• Part of the reason the opening angle was so strong was they set up a match between two of the best wrestlers in the world today, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, while getting them both in one place at one time so Sheamus, the Royal Rumble winner, could come out and state that he might be going after either one of them for their title at WrestleMania 28. The ensuing match between Punk and Bryan was probably one of the best Raw matches we'll see all year and completely blew away every match on the card at the Rumble pay-per-view this past Sunday night. Another cool wrinkle is that while Punk is really putting over the "Best in the World" character, Bryan is becoming the character the heel straight edge character Punk portrayed but Bryan is now using the fact that he's a vegan and doesn't eat meat. Adding that to what he was already doing and we're talking about one of the best in the entire company.

Thoughts on the rest of the show after the jump.

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On tonight's (Jan. 30, 2012) episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, Undertaker made his long awaited return to the company to interrupt Triple H, who was just about to fire John Laurinaitis.

And he did so wearing a god-awful wig. In fact, he may have borrowed it from his demon step-brother Kane.

Nonetheless, there he was, taking 30 minutes to walk to the ring. For what, we did not know. Laurinaitis bailed to the back and got himself out of the picture, seemingly saving his job for this week.

Triple H stayed put, staring down the man he went toe-to-toe with at WrestleMania 27. Once Undertaker got in the ring, they did the same set up as last year. 'Taker looked at the WrestleMania 28 banner, looked back to "The Game" and made his throat slashing motion, signifying, presumably, that he wants a rematch at this year's big show.

Considering the fact that he won the match last year (and actually beat Triple H at WrestleMania 17, as well), this doesn't seem to make much sense. It got even more confusing when Triple H responded to Undertaker by patting him on the shoulder and slowly shaking his head, as though he was consoling him.

What could this mean?

Here's my best guess: Undertaker wants to have a match against Triple H at WrestleMania again this year because this last year, he was carried out on a stretcher and because of that, it felt more like a loss. Or something along those lines. This would fit with the story Trips has already been telling in the sense that if you remember back at the Slammy Awards in December of last year, Triple H literally said he ended the streak at 'Mania 27 because he walked out on his own power while Undertaker went out on a stretcher.

That would also explain why Triple H patted him on his shoulder as if to decline 'Taker's offer. "I already beat you last year and sent you out on a stretcher, I don't need to do it again."

There's the angle, folks, at least as it looks to me. What about you?

For complete results and the running live blog from Raw tonight click here.

It would seem the usual January ratings bounce back has finally arrived. That's because the numbers are in for last night's (Jan. 23, 2012) episode of Monday Night Raw and the numbers are up from the past few weeks.

PWTorch.com has the data:

WWE Raw on Monday, January 23 scored a 3.18 rating for the final Royal Rumble PPV hype, up six percent from a 3.01 rating last week.

Raw averaged 4.62 million viewers, up eight percent from an average of 4.29 million viewers last week. Raw did follow the concerning pattern of second hour viewership declining, though, for the 13th week out of the last 14 weeks. Raw averaged 4.67 million first hour viewers, then declined to an average of 4.57 million second hour viewers.

That decline in viewership is especially damning this week considering WWE finally decided to pay off the CM Punk vs. John Laurinaitis physical confrontation tease by having Punk give Laurinaitis the GTS shortly before the show went off the air.

So it wasn't just rushed and short-sighted, it was ultimately not worth it for the short term ratings pop.

Raw last night was the go-home show to the Royal Rumble and featured Chris Jericho stating his intentions for this Sunday night's pay-per-view, Brodus Clay doing his thing with a different color look, Kane breaking Zack Ryder's back and John Cena making his angry face (which is the same as his constipated face).

For complete results and the running live blog for click here and for full reactions to the show click here.

Last night (Jan. 23) on Raw, Chris Jericho said his first words (into a microphone, at least) on WWE television since he made his big return on Jan. 2. So what did he say once he finally spoke after teasing it for so many weeks?

"This Sunday at the Royal Rumble, it's going to be the end of the world as you know it."

It was an interesting word choice if, for nothing else, it brought back to mind the promos that aired teasing his return for the six weeks leading up to Jan. 2. For the past few weeks, they haven't even acknowledged a connection between the current incarnation of Jericho's character and the creepy and mysterious videos. The general theme of the promos was that whoever was returning would bring about the end of the world as we know it and they were spurned on by a woman.

We have yet to receive any indication as to who the woman is as the push that makes Jericho move but we know he's not completely abandoning the concept introduced with the promos that brought forth his return.

The question, of course, is how will all this tie into the Rumble? And what exactly is the plan here?

Many of you opined in the Raw live blog thread that it now seems obvious Jericho will win the Royal Rumble match this Sunday night and I'm inclined to agree that that appears to be a logical conclusion. But how would that signify the "end of the world as we know it?"

Some have said Jericho could be planning on attacking CM Punk to cost him the WWE championship leading to Punk getting him eliminated from the Rumble match to set up their feud. That seems a lot less likely but still entirely possible.

Cagesiders, can you explain what Jericho has planned and where this storyline is going? Anyone got any good theories? Video of Jericho's appearance on Raw last night after the jump.

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It wasn't that long ago that Brodus Clay was just that guy John Laurinaitis was always saying was going to debut next week. And it was some great schtick, constantly teasing but never paying it off.

Then, just a few weeks ago, Clay debuted with a new character known as The Funkasaurus from Planet Funk. He came out dancing with two female sidekicks wearing an obnoxious red jumpsuit, squashed a jobber while spitting out a few catchphrases, and immediately got everything about the act over.

This was impressive on a number of levels, most notably the fact that WWE trolled us about as hard as they could and this man still managed to get a ridiculous character over through a mixture of talent, commitment, and good humor.

Clay was getting more and more of a reaction each week as he trotted himself out on both Raw and Smackdown to jiggle around and splash opponents with his finisher Michael Cole tells us is called the "Aww Funk It." Except last night he was calling it the "What The Funk."

Indeed, The Funkasaurus was getting over just fine with an act very few within the company could ever pull off. So what does WWE do just as he's gaining steam?

They change it up.

The first thing they did different last night was have an entirely new introduction for him. Two insufferable voices suddenly played over the loud speakers asking everyone to please welcome the Funkasaurus. It completely killed the good feeling you get when "Somebody Call My Momma" first starts playing.

Then, to make matters worse, Clay came out wearing a white jumpsuit instead of his usual red. Obviously, this shouldn't be a big deal but the red was quickly becoming a signature look for him. The dancers were still in red, doing their thing like usual, which made Clay look completely out of place in white. As if through karma, or the universe telling WWE to stop messing with a good thing, Brodus couldn't get his pants off for the final stomp spot in his dance routine.

And this is why we can't have nice things, folks. WWE won't let us. They give us what we didn't want and then when we quickly come around and decide we do want it, they change it up.

Nonetheless, here's the video of Clay doing his thing last night as your weekly dose of Brodus Clay as The Funkasaurus from Planet Funk who is funky. Also featuring William Regal on commentary, who did his best to make the botch pants spot memorable by expertly delivering the line, "He couldn't get out of his bloody trousers there!" Seriously, get this man on my TV more often.

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