LIVE Raw thoughts - January 21, 2013

11:03 - Wow, let's hope the Rumble match is better than that series of promos.  Enjoyable show overall -- and I'm psyched for the Rumble -- but a rough ending.

Anyway, check back Sunday as I will be providing my LIVE thoughts for the Royal Rumble.  And also continue to check my blog daily as I continue to update my Top Ten Cases:  2012 Year-End Awards!

11:00 - The only two people who are worth listening to -- Daniel Bryan and Kane -- and they forget to turn their mics on?

10:58 - Oh great, the OTHER smiley babyface.

10:54 - Really?  This is the promo they're closing the show with?  They should've ended it with the Heyman/Rock promo, followed by the Shield attack....and then closed with Vince confronting Punk and Heyman backstage and making the stipulation.

10:45 - Bob Backlund is a well deserved member of the Hall of Fame.

10:39 - I still think it's an AWFUL idea to take Alberto Del Rio's car entrance away from him since his face turn.  Why does WWE insist on changing their characters when they turn face?  Also, the black scarf was bad enough when he was wearing black gear, but it looks especially dreadful with his Mexican gear.  The red scarf looked cool, but the white one would work too (and keeps with his class/pure character).

10:34 - Things I loved about that segment:  (a) Paul Heyman muttering "this isn't going to end well" upon seeing Vince McMahon; (b) Punk not letting up about being clever despite the fact that it could hurt his chances at proving that he's got nothing to do with the Shield; and (c) Paul Heyman making the great argument that the Shield has made numerous attacks against people who have no relation to Punk.

10:25 - I haven't a clue what John Cena could say that is so important or explosive that it warrants closing the show.  What can he say other than promising to win the Rumble?

10:21 - I like these Beat the Clock Challenges more than the ones we used to see a few years ago, where the matches were in the 2-4 minute range instead of the 10-15.

10:15 - I loved how Barrett followed Sheamus as he ran towards the rope and just clotheslined him out of the ring.  Brilliant.

10:11 - Only in WWE does a bleeding mouth always equal internal bleeding.

10:09 - I mean absolutely no disrespect to Martin Luther King and his contribution to our society is immense.  But I think it's a little much to say that we might not all be sitting here watching WWE Raw if it weren't for him.

9:56 - How much did Rock pay for that ticket?  You know, that ticket that allows him full backstage access and the playing of his theme as he enters the ringside area?

9:50 - Alicia Fox loses and The Rock isn't allowed in the building.  Not a great Martin Luther King day for WWE's black Superstars.  Also, if I were Punk, I wouldn't trust what Heyman is promising.  He couldn't even deliver on balloons last time.

9:47 - Gotta love Jerry Lawler referring to Kaitlyn winning the Divas Championship as the "little story" while pushing Eve quitting as the "big story."  Which Diva is still with the company?

9:40 - There's something very humorous about the sentence, "Everyone everywhere is going to hug!"

9:33 - While I've been telling Daniel Bryan to get a haircut for months now, I do gegt a kick out of his hair getting parted to the side right now.

9:25 - If Miz is going to use the Figure Four as a finisher, he might want to learn how to apply it.

9:17 - Love AJ's knee high red Converse.  Speaking of which, have you checked out her new graphic on the WWE Superstar page?  HOT!  Also, why haven't we seen an updated CM Punk photo?  In the past week or so they've updated half of the Superstars' graphics -- but not the WWE Champions?  Who looks completely different now that he's shaved his head?  Lame.

9:07 - Awesome promo by CM Punk, and the presence of Paul Heyman is exactly what makes this partnership work.  All he did was stand in the background and hold the microphone up so that Punk could hold the title in his hands throughout his speech.  If only the announcers and everybody responded to Punk this positively during the early days of his heel turn.

8:58 - I understand the desire to build anticipation for Rock's appearance and to make all of his appearances seem special, but at the same time I don't completely understand this mentality of actually getting Rock to come to an arena only to use him so sparingly.  That was one issue people had with the Rock/Cena feud....Rock was barely there.  Now he is here.  I'd plaster him all over the show.

8:54 - Evidently loitering isn't illegal there.

8:47 - Gotta love when they sacrifice guys fans WANT to root for (Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder) for people the company insists we root for (Big Show, Alberto Del Rio).

8:40 - I'm guessing Ryder doesn't last as long as Kofi.

8:30 - As scary as it sounds, Orton arguably needed that win more than Cesaro.  These two have fought a couple of times now, if I'm not mistaken, and each time Cesaro has avoided losing, so I was okay with him losing clean here.  Plus, Cesaro has been so incredibly protected -- even against top stars -- that it's okay for him to take a loss here.

8:17 - So which direction do you see this going in?  Will the winner of Beat the Clock go the obvious route and pick #30, or will they try to make history by picking #1?

8:06 - Loved Heyman referring to Vickie as a helpless widow.  But must we see the Rock concert AGAIN?  Then again, my 63 year old dad (who was watching NCIS) just passed by and said "The Rock is pretty funny."  So what do I know?

Also, did they officially end the narrated introduction videos?  Or did they just pass on it because of the MLK tribute?