January 23 , 2012 Monday Night RAW results The January 23 , 2012 Edition of RAW is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE ' s RAW brand , which took place on January 23 , 2012 at US Airways Center in Phoenix , Arizona . Summary . One week after unloading a verbal tirade on Mr . Laurinaitis , The Voice of the Voiceless opened WWE Raw SuperShow by calling out the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations , and demanding he admit that he will screw Punk at Royal Rumble . To the surprise of the WWE Universe , John Cena made his way to the ring as Mr . Laurinaitis did not . Cena took the opportunity to demand a match with Kane on Raw and to grant Zack Ryder a U . S . Title rematch . The Interim Raw General Manager finally appeared and announced that Zack Ryder would face Kane in a Falls Count Anywhere Match tonight . He also declared that if Cena interfered , Long Island Iced - Z would never have another U . S . Title opportunity . Mr . Laurinaitis then announced that CM Punk and John Cena would battle Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler next ! In an impromptu tag team match , John Cena and CM Punk immediately showed great teamwork in an effort to take out their frustrations with Mr . Laurinaitis . With momentum not in their favor , Ziggler and Swagger tried to regroup and re - strategize . With a combination of pure athleticism and show - boating , The All - American American and No . 1 contender to the WWE Title built a fair amount of momentum against Cena . But the fighting spirit deep within the Cenation leader overpowered Swagger with an Attitude Adjustment paving the way for the WWE Champion to get inside the squared circle . However , as The Voice of the Voiceless ascended the ropes to elbow drop Ziggler , Mr . Laurinaitis distracted Punk , allowing The Show - Off to capture the victory . In response , CM Punk challenged the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations to a match tonight and Mr . Laurinaitis accepted ! After weeks of bizarre behavior since returning to WWE , Chris Jericho seemed poised to address all the questions of the WWE Universe with the return of Jericho ’ s “ Highlight Reel . ” With the Jeri - Tron 5000 back to full power , Jericho played a video highlighting his storied career . He then grabbed a microphone and said , “ This Sunday at the Royal Rumble , it ’ s going to be the end of the world as you know it . ” The first - ever Undisputed Champion then exited the arena . The former United States Champion proved for a second week in a row that he is a true fighter . After losing the U . S . Title in part to injuries suffered at the hands of Kane one week prior , Long Island Iced - Z stood up against The Big Red Monster in a Falls Count Anywhere Match . Still injured , Ryder tried to go after Kane early - on , but Kane quickly overpowered his opponent and targeted his injured ribs . As Eve begged Kane to show mercy , it seemed to only enrage The Big Red Monster further . However , even as he took tortuous punishment , Ryder continued to kick out of Kane ’ s pinfall attempts . As they battled through the crowd , the two ring warriors made their way to the entrance area . After relentless punishment that left the WWE Universe cringing with every strike , Kane chokeslammed Ryder through the stage . Jinder Mahal failed to capture a victory over The Celtic Warrior on WWE Raw SuperShow . With Wade Barrett joining the commentary team , he watched as Sheamus built a great deal of momentum and pummeled Mahal . While the Punjabi Superstar did mount a brief offense , he was stopped in his tracks by a powerful Brogue Kick . Following the contest , The Great White made sure to reaffirm his commitment to win the Royal Rumble Match . The Funkasaurus continued to show that he had all the right moves and picked up a victory against Heath Slater on WWE Raw SuperShow . The Superstar hailing from Planet Funk made quick work of The One Man Southern Rock Band and immediately got back to getting his groove on . William Regal watched from the announce table , criticizing Clay ’ s every move . On SmackDown , Regal was unceremoniously decimated by The Funkasaurus after busting some moves of his own . Earlier in the evening , the former tag team partners engaged in a heated argument during a backstage interview . As a result , Interim Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis informed the two Superstars that the loser of the match would be the first entrant in the Royal Rumble Match . When the opening bell rang , the two bitter rivals each did their best to gain an early advantage in the contest . Momentum swings were fairly even at first , but it was R - Truth who ultimately bested The Awesome One . As a result , The Miz will certainly have the odds stacked against him in the Royal Rumble Match . Moments before Interim Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis battled WWE Champion CM Punk , he received word from WWE ' s Board of Directors that his job performance would be evaluated . The Board of Directors is bringing Mr . Laurinaitis ' decision - making into question , especially his declaration that he would screw CM Punk at Royal Rumble . Furthermore , the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations ' job performance would be evaluated personally by WWE ' s COO , Triple H . David Otunga and Mr . Laurinaitis read the letter to CM Punk inside the squared circle . Mr . Laurinaitis apologized to Punk , announcing he would fairly call the WWE Title Match at Royal Rumble and that Mick Foley was officially an entrant in the Royal Rumble Match . However , the Interim Raw General Manager also informed the WWE Champion that their match would not take place and Punk would battle David Otunga . This prompted Otunga to attack The Voice of the Voiceless . Otunga ' s attack was short - lived and CM Punk was soon left alone in the ring with Mr . Laurinaitis . The Executive Vice President of Talent Relations extended his hand in peace , but was reciprocated with a resounding GTS from the WWE Champion . This bold move by The Second City Savior was quickly upstaged when Dolph Ziggler snuck into the ring and took down his Royal Rumble opponent with the Zig Zag .