LIVE Raw thoughts - January 26, 2015

11:12 - An admittedly effective sit down interview and something a lesson to be learned for the next contract showing:  Not everything has to descend into a brawl in order to be memorable or intense.  "I don't respect you," "You will" was an awesome way to end things.  Far better than somebody going through a table.

10:57 - Nobody in WWE ever seems to get upset about anything, particularly babyfaces.  They're all so congenial.  Cena never seems to be heartbroken when he loses the title.  Reigns doesn't seem to mind that fans boo him.  And right now, Bryan is being nothing but gracious about not winning the Rumble.  He's borderline endorsing Reigns.

10:53 - I genuinely hope they do something special with Ambrose at WrestleMania.  The guy deserves SOMETHING significant.  It's unfortunate that he's been the afterthought in the Shield split.  None of them really deserve it, but I'm particularly sad to see it happen to him.  He's the one guy in the group who seemed to have the TOTAL package (could wrestle and had natural charisma) so he was the one who they didn't bother to protect.  And, as a result, he's the obvious third in line.  Which is unfair.

10:14 - There really does seem to be something.....malicious about the people Big Show and Kane collectively and literally dumped out of the ring.  Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, and Dean Ambrose.  Three sentimental favorites for the audience (with Wyatt being a bit of a stretch).  These eliminations happened in a nonchalant, anticlimactic manner.  Only to be overcome by Roman Reigns.  It was a message of SOME sort.  Likely not a positive one.

10:01 - I missed this last night but did JBL say that Lex Luger is the only Royal Rumble winner to never win a WWE Championship?  How about Jim Duggan?  Or Big John Studd?

9:25 - I think I'll watch some Arrested Development.

9:14 - Is it me, or did Bubba find all that weight that Bully lost in TNA?

8:58 - I commend WWE for trying to do something to get people to watch tonight, but I have to wonder if this was the best use of Brock's limited dates.  A studio show that's airing on a night when a portion of your night potentially doesn't have power?  I'm wondering if they already committed to this date (that is to say, this counts as a Brock appearance whether he appears or not).

Would they possibly have the guts to pull a Money in the Bank cash in stunt tonight?

8:49 - Moments after showing the match in its entirety, what's the purpose of showing these highlights?  And for using still photos, for that matter?

8:47 - WWE really pushing this Daniel Bryan/Kane thing on us, huh?  And what's somewhat ironic is that their feud doesn't even focus on the emotional impact of them once being tag team partners.

8:06 - Interesting decision to reshow the triple threat and Royal Rumble match in their entirety.

8:01 - So, like, are all of the Superstars and crew sleeping in WWE Headquarters (you'll always be Titan Tower to me) tonight?

7:52 - Not even sure what to expect for tonight, so this may die out really quickly.