January 16 , 2012 Monday Night RAW results The January 16 , 2012 Edition of RAW is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE ' s RAW brand , which took place on January 16 , 2012 at Honda Center in Anaheim , California . Summary . After Mick Foley kicked off Raw SuperShow by expressing his desire to be in the 2012 Royal Rumble Match – so that his two kids could see him compete – he was quickly criticized for such a lofty dream by former United States Champion Dolph Ziggler . Foley clarified that his goal was to be in the Royal Rumble Match to win it . After more harsh words for the WWE Legend , Ziggler told Foley to “ just go away . ” Next , Ziggler ’ s Royal Rumble opponent , WWE Champion CM Punk , came out to greet his fellow “ unconventional ” Superstar , pointing out that neither hide behind a woman . The WWE Champion also called Ziggler out for having the Interim Raw GM in his back pocket for their match at Royal Rumble . As tensions grew in the ring , Interim Raw GM Laurinaitis emerged and said although he considered Foley ’ s request to be in the Royal Rumble Match , his answer was “ no ” ! After the blunt answer , Vickie cackled in Foley ’ s face . In their first title defense since winning the WWE Tag Team Championships yesterday at a WWE Live Event in Oakland ’ s Oracle Center ( WATCH ) , Primo & Epico downed former champions Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne , when Epico blasted Bourne with a backstabber . After the match , Rosa helped the duo celebrate . The night ' s main event was changed by the GM to : Chris Jericho , WWE Champion CM Punk & World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan vs . Mark Henry , Dolph Ziggler & David Otunga . Even though he was injured at the hands of Kane on last week ’ s Raw SuperShow , United States Champion Zack Ryder was forced to defend his title against Jack Swagger . The match was made in the interest of “ fairness ’ ’ by the GM , who felt a ref made a bad call in Swagger ’ s match with Punk on last week ’ s Raw SuperShow . After punishing and humiliating his injured opponent with three gutwrench powerbombs , Swagger dethroned Ryder . The win was especially sweet for Swagger , who has been chasing championship glory since losing the World Heavyweight Championship in 2010 . After the match , Interim Raw GM John Laurinaitis apologized after revealing Ryder was not medically cleared to compete . With celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton acting as the special guest ring announcer , Hilton thwarted twin magic by causing a distraction , allowing Kelly Kelly to capture victory for her team . Afterward , The Bellas dropped Hilton to the canvas , who promptly hid behind Kelly Kelly & Fox to escape more twin wrath . After R - Truth revealed pictures from his trip to Disneyland , Wade Barrett quickly lost interest . Next , The Miz and Barrett attacked Truth , but Sheamus charged in to help fend them off . Before total chaos erupted , SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long emerged to announce the four would do battle in an Over the Top Rope Challenge . The first to be eliminated was Wade Barrett by all three competitors . Later , when Sheamus was poised to eliminate The Miz , Truth rushed in and flipped both Superstars over the rope to seize the win . After the bout , Sheamus dropped Miz to the arena floor with a brutal Brogue Kick . Right from the start , John Cena launched a brutal assault against the newly crowned United States Champion . After relentlessly pummeling Swagger , Cena was ready to deliver a particularly vicious blow with the steel ring steps … when The Big Red Monster Kane appeared on the arena screen to instantly command Cena ’ s attention . “ I think you ’ re getting it , ” Kane growled , referencing Cena appearing to embrace hate as their Royal Rumble Match looms . After dancing his way to the ring , Brodus Clay took on JTG . Relying on an aresenal of hard - hitting moves , " The Funkasaurus " made quick work of JTG . In a marquee main event featuring some of Raw ’ s biggest Superstars , the odds changed when a fired up Chris Jericho curiously tagged out and simply walked away from the match . The balance of power shifted again , when World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan and Mark Henry ’ s fight took them away from the ring . To even the odds , Mick Foley joined the fray … claiming Laurinaitis gave him permission . After a DDT , followed by Mr . Socko , Foley put away Otunga for the win … or so he thought . After the bell , John Laurinaitis came to the ring and announced he never gave Foley permission to be the match and reversed the decision . After the controversial call , Punk berated the GM for being uncharismatic and vanilla . But Laurinaitis , snapped and declared he would soon be the permanent GM and he will not be intimated by Punk . Things came to a head when Foley forced the GM to admit he ’ s going to screw Punk at Royal Rumble . " Damn right I will , " Laurinaitis declared , then smashed Foley in the head with the mic !