My WWE Raw, April 23rd 2012 Recap

John Laurinaitis started off Raw by ordering John Cena to leave the ring, who'd been led to believe that his contract signing with Lesnar was going to take place there and then. Big Johnny was then interrupted by Hall of Famer Edge, who received a huge ovation for his surprise return. 'The Rated R Superstar' (boy it feels good to type that again) tried to light a fire under Cena, to get back the Cena of old that he'd rivalled with years ago. He claimed that he needed to reach down if he had any chance against the 'War Machine' Brock Lesnar.

He went on to state that Cena wasn't just fighting for himself, but for everyone that carried the load when Lesnar had left the company like himself, Undertaker and Shawn Michaels.  

Chris Jericho defeated Kofi Kingston in a entertaining back and fourth contest. Both wrestlers pulled out most of their signature moves and had some nicely executed near falls. Jericho forced Kofi to tap to the more old-school Walls Of Jericho.

For me you can add Kingston to the list of up and coming talents that deserve more attention and a higher spot in the company, along with the likes of Ziggler and Rhodes. He showed he's capable of really getting a crowd going with a top talent during his feud with Orton a few years ago.

After the bout Jericho claimed that his victory was proof that he will win this Sunday at Extreme Rules against CM Punk. He also once again brought up Punk's family and called him "a failure as a champion and as a human being."

Backstage CM Punk revealed that Chris Jericho had sent him a gift in the form of a liquor basket, and then handed it off to Josh Matthews. Nice little touch there having Y2J send him that.

Lord Tensai defeated R-Truth in a squash match that once again, like most of Tensai's matches so far, played before a mostly indifferent crowd. I thought he might have received more reaction after beating Cena last week but I guess not. Maybe he just needs to vary his move set a bit more to keep the crowds interest, we all know he's more than capable of that.

Kane came to the ring and called Orton nothing more than a "scared little boy" after taking out both him and his father on SmackDown. Orton appeared on the big screen and decided to repay the favour from Kane and wheeled his father Paul Bearer into a giant freezer unit of some sort. But 'The Big Red Monster' simply laughed and claimed that he has no heart, and no intention of saving his dad. As he was leaving 'The Viper' then began attacking Kane, eventually chasing him off with a led pipe. It was a better segment than most for this rivalry and I'm expecting a fair match between the two on Sunday.

Big Show and The Great Khali defeated Cody Rhodes and Alberto Del Rio in an average tag team contest. It seems as thought Show and Khali are being built as a new tag team to challenge for the titles, while they're not a particularly great team in the ring (putting it kindly) at least they'll bring some much needed interest and television time back to the division.

As Josh Matthews attempted to interview Brock Lesnar, asking him if he'd still remain the face of the WWE if he looses to Cena, Lesnar grabbed him by the throat and threw him to the ground. It's nice having a bad ass back in the company. 

Before Nikki Bella versus Beth Phoenix could commence, Eve announced that it was now a lumberjill match. 

Nikki Bella defeated Beth Phoenix (c) to win the Divas Championship in a forgettable and mediocre match. When someone like Nikki Bella is defeating the talented Phoenix you know it's a sign that the division really has become surplus to the company, not that you needed any more evidence. 

Chris Jericho, after accusing CM Punk of being drunk earlier in the show, had permission from Laurinaitis to help monitor a public sobriety test on the WWE Champion. Punk, quite amusingly, came out acting as though he was under the influence and called the whole test "ridiculous," even accidentally calling the company WWF.

After failing to recite the alphabet backwards and walk a straight line Teddy Long was forced to hand the WWE title over to Jericho, but of course Punk then revealed that he was in fact sober and recited then alphabet backwards and walked the straight line before cracking Jericho with the mic and attacking him, with the number one contender eventually fleeing. It was yet another entertaining segment involving Jericho and Punk, with the champ finally getting one over on his nemesis. Their street fight should steal the show on Sunday in Chicago.

Mark Henry defeated Sheamus with a very quick pin from special guest referee Daniel Bryan. As per the stipulation from Laurinaitis, Sheamus will be fired if he touches a referee, so of course there was plenty of taunting from Bryan during the short match. Afterwards 'The Great White' began exacting his revenge on his opponent on Sunday but was distracted by Henry and ended up getting kicked in the head and having a Yes Lock applied by Bryan.  

Santino Marella and Zach Ryder defeated Epico and Primo in a decent enough tag team match. It's good to see the Tag Team Champions back on TV where they belong.

Backstage Kane found Paul Bearer, but after wheeling him out he informed his father that he was saving himself instead and put him back into the storage.

Brodus Clay and Hornswaggle won via disqualification against Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger in a comedy match up after Vickie Guerrero entered the ring and slapped Clay. After then realising her mistake and trying to make amends with 'The Funkasaurus' Vickie was met with Hornswaggle biting her backside and chasing her off. 

During the night we were shown highlights of Lesnar's memorable career in WWE, and every single one had him beating a member of TNA's current roster in Hardy, Angle and Hogan. Coincidence, eh?

As Lesnar and Laurinaitis prepared for the contract signing, there was no sign of Cena after his music hit.  So instead Lesnar gave Johnny a list of new demands that he had going into the match on Sunday. Stating that he was no longer the same "naive farm boy" that he was in WWE eight years ago he claimed to have realised that the company "needs Brock Lesnar." Can't argue there, WWE have failed to create enough new big stars for the company over the last few years, which is strange considering that they plan out everything that happens.

Lesnar went on to demand that any ideas that Laurinaitis has for himself or the show in general in the future he has to run by him first. He listed off various other demands, including being immune to being fined and using Vince McMahon's private jet, all of which Laurinaitis agreed to. Cena finally joined them, sporting his old school chain around his neck, and was accused of being scared by 'The War Machine'. So in response Cena signed the contract and threw it at his rival. Lesnar and Cena just shared a glare as they parted ways.

The segment had its entertaining moments, although Lesnar still doesn't look completely comfortable on the mic just yet. But saying that I am still very much enjoying the refreshing change Lesnar has brought with him to Raw, with a character much like Punk's who you can believe in. Unfortunately it was never going to live up to the brilliant CM Punk and Vince McMahon contract signing from last year, what with the far less charismatic Laurinaitis in McMahon's place. Extreme Rules should be a largely entertaining show I reckon.