Raw Reax - 1/21/13

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw.
I like the idea of a Heyman-Vickie alliance after last week. They played their parts well. The Rock is kind of too silly to take seriously at times. I get that that's his shtick, but I personally prefer something more serious than fat jokes and the like.

Orton vs. Cesaro was nice. Kind of disappointed that Orton beat the up-and-comer, but Cesaro got some good time and he's come a long way from his early matches.

The Shield is always good.

Did we really need to have Show destroy Ryder? Could he not have just cut a promo or something? If anything, have Ryder be cutting a promo and Show interrupt or something. I don't like Ryder getting his ass handed to him when he's built up so much with the audience.

The post-match was good for setting up Sunday.

Interesting segment with Heyman and Maddox.

Very interesting that they didn't have Ryback win Beat The Clock. Fine squash but it didn't accomplish much.

I liked Ryback's post-match promo. Short and effective. There's room for characters like that just as there's room for characters who cut promos like Punk and Sandow.

Though I personally think the insults are kind of silly, The Rock really oozes cool in his segments.

I love the contrast between Rock and Punk. Punk is absolutely solid on the mic. He echoes the sentiments I have about Rock being an entertainer who gets in the ring and Punk trying to be a pro wrestler.

Ziggler didn't really look like a future World Champion there. I like The Miz, but if Ziggler can hold his own with Cena, I think he shouldn't have as much of a problem with him.

Pretty weird segment with Team Hell No. It felt like they were kind of killing time there. How did that sell Sunday's PPV?

Nothing special about Kaitlyn vs. Alicia. They have three hours and that's all they give them? After the Rumble, I hope they build a challenger for Kaitlyn.

Good Punk/Heyman segment. I can't wait for Heyman to rip into Rock.

That's the kind of promo I wanted from Rock. Badass segment. Cool that The Shield got some screen-time. There's definitely injustice with a part-time guy who doesn't work house shows headlining a PPV, depending on your perspective.

Sheamus vs. Barrett was pretty good. I liked that Ziggler got to win the challenge. It'd be pretty big for him to win the Rumble, but I know it's not going to happen. Gotta keep Cena strong....

Maybe Ziggler will have a long showing at least. He's talented enough to go a long way.

I think I would have been ok with a Shield run-in at the Rumble, but I see why they'd ban them. I don't think Punk or Rock need outside interference to tell a great story.

Del Rio owning Tensai I'm ok with. Del Rio should be one of THE guys in WWE. I hope he doesn't have a BS reign.

Fine post-match. I think it will take time to build Del Rio as a face.

Bob Backlund! Awesome.

I liked the main event segment outside of Cena's promo. Instead of talking about getting back on the horse after a lackluster (kayfabe) 2012 and punching his ticket to the big leagues, he gets silly. I miss the Cena who fought Kane.

More wrestling coming up.