BREAK_DOWN_THE_WALLS … OF JERICHO! The wait came to an end tonight and the questions (or lack thereof) behind the SAVE_US.222 videos have been revealed. Chris Jericho has returned to the WWE. Was it worth the wait? You may be surprised …

Monday Night RAW kicked off like every RAW should - with “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. Michaels lost a fantastic match last night at Survivor Series against WWE Champion Randy Orton. I knew he’d lose considering that he has such a limited schedule and doesn’t wrestle house shows - it’s highly unlikely that they’ll put the title on a guy who can’t won’t wrestle a full schedule. Shawn invited Orton to the ring and Orton answered by appearing on the Titon-tron and turning him down. According to Orton, HBK will also not get a re-match because Orton will apparently receive a figurative and literal torch-passing from some sort of marathon runner.

Continue RAW Reflections after the jump - SAVE_US.222 revealed!

Hmmm - perhaps the runner will arrive at 9:45p.m. - the supposed time that the countdown clock runs out. Mr. Kennedy comes to the ring and picks a fight with Michaels. I really wanted to see Michaels get a title run, but it seems that with the impending return of Y2J, HBK is gonna take a back seat and run a program with a little less to gain. I like the physical implications of a Kennedy/HBK feud - could be some good matches. We saw a pretty good brawl tonight. Kennedy takes the sweet chin music with a little bit of chair on top.

Santino Marella continues his amazing streak of stealing the show. On paper, a Santino/Jerry “The King” Lawler match does not seem like it would be all that entertaining. But honestly, I really admire how fast The King can move at his age. The guy still knows how to put on a show. Throw in the moment when Santino donned The King’s crown and said that he “liked puppies” and that he would “whip him like a government dog” and that he likes “knocker-slobbers” and you have exhibit one, two and three of why Santino is one of the best things going on RAW. Rather peculiar, Orton comes down to the ring and RKOs The King after he wins. More hype for the torch passing -getting close to 9:45 p.m. though.

Kennedy promo. More HBK/Kennedy hype. Looks like they actually will have a program together. That has definite potential - two big personalities and great wrestlers.

Vince McMahon, Jonathon Coachmen and William Regal backstage discussing last night’s Hornswoggle/Great Khali match. Coach and Regal discuss their favorite parts. Cue the beginning of the end for Carlito Caribbean Cool. Carlito has been in the hotseat recently for his poor attitude and lack-luster match performances. Every week he is buried in some horrible match in an attempt to send him a message - apparently it has fallen on deaf ears. Last week, he was squashed by Snitsky in a dark match - this week, he is scheduled to face off against Hornswoggle. It’s just a matter of time before WWE.com is wishing Carlito “all the best in his future endeavors.”

9:45 has come and gone. I guess the countdown clock on the promos wasn’t all that important/accurate. Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga is our 9:45 action instead - eh, I could take it or leave it. Longest RAW match ever, though. A lot of action so it was definitely a crowd pleaser - no title at stake here, so it’s not as exciting as it could be. Snitsky interferes and attacks Hardy. Triple H makes the save. Why in the holy hell are they pushing Snitsky? I know that Vince McMahon loves this guy (for some unexplainable reason) but he is absolutely talent-less. You can simply not pass this body-acne ridden dude off as some kind of a monster. I’m not buying it, clearly the crowd doesn’t buy it and I imagine that anyone on the WWE writing team does either. Not since Nathan Jones or Luther Reigns has someone deserved a push (from a creative standpoint) less than Snitsky. I’m sure he works hard, but he’s just not there yet.

SAVE_US.222 promo! TONIGHT! I suppose they are trying to keep people watching. It wouldn’t surprise me if the whole countdown clock set to 9:45 p.m. was a ploy to get people to watch the first hour. Good work guys.

Hardcore Holly. Ugh. We are so over you. Let me guess, Cody Rhodes comes out next? Of course he does - and in such stylish yellow tights, too. One-on-one match? Hm, this is a surprise. Will Rhodes finally get put over Holly? He’s such a string bean. And Cody Rhodes finally wins over Holly! The crowd reaction is absolutely, positively … non-existent. Wow, sucks for Rhodes - he wins and nobody cares. Randy Orton cares and he comes down to the ring and RKOs Rhodes and Holly. At least there was something salvaged from this match. We get another torch-runner update. This whole torch thing is really odd and very unlike the “ruthless” Orton to subject himself to such a corny ritualistic ceremony. I can only pray that it pays off … with a countdown.

Randy Orton tribute video. Meh. Vince McMahon/Finlay promo. How long has Finlay been in wrestling? You’d think he’d have a better feeling for how a promo should flow. The promo came off very rickety and Finlay kept asking Vince, “Where were you born?” - when clearly Vince was trying to move on with the promo. Awkward.  Vince should have ended the promo by asking, “What is he doing here?” Ya know, because Finlay isn’t on RAW. Shut up.

Ric Flair returns next week?? Honestly, I didn’t think it would happen. Not anytime soon, at least.

John Secada is a moron. Did they just pick him off the street and tell him to “just improvise”?  It seems this has-been had absolutely no idea what he was doing on RAW. Hell, even the crowd in Miami booed him. Then they booed Jillian. When you get booed by the same crowd that boos Jillian, you know your career is over. Then again, he did duet with Lillian Garcia on her album. Maybe things will turn around for him. [crickets]

I’ve gotta give it to Jillian Hall - when you are comfortable enough to make that much of an ass of yourself, that is pretty awesome. She sucks at wrestling, but makes for a couple good moments. Mickie James I absolutely delicious. I was fairly neutral on my feelings for her at first, but there is something about her that is really hot. And how about her new finisher? The kiss of death followed by the roundhouse kick is force to be reckoned with. No one is going to miss a Mickie James match if there is a chance that she’ll enter into a lip-lock with Melina … or better yet, Kelly Kelly.

I think the writing is on the wall for Carlito. As predicted, Carlito lost what was a rather entertaining match to Hornswoggle. How they continue to make a little person vs. big person match an enjoyable affair is beyond me. I have to admit, I might have been wrong about the whole Horny thing. Granted, the paternity angle is still stupid as hell, but they’ve really made the most of this push they’ve given him. And kudos to Hornswoggle, he is probably a foul-mouthed womanizer outside of the ring, but on TV, he sure is lovable.

The torch-bearer is outside of the arena. Hold your breath.

What? Clothesline to the torch-bearer? Oh no … please don’t tell me that the WWE just blew its load by making the first re-appearance of Jericho - BACKSTAGE!? The crowd pops but suddenly the energy is gone. The camera cuts back to the arena where the lights go out and the SAVE_US.222 promo plays once again. It asks: DID_YOU_BREAK_THE_CODE? Uh, yeah. Me and every other fan of the WWE almost two months ago. You didn’t realize? Each letter of the SAVE_US.X29 is decoded to reveal SAVE_US.Y2J and a bunch of pyro goes off.

Then they do a countdown from ten to zero followed by more pyro. Cue Chris Jericho’s old music (possibly remixed a bit) and then finally The Ayatollah of Rock ‘N’ Rollah is standing before the capacity crowd - back turned and arms outstretched. By this time, the crowd’s pop is over, and honestly, I’m suppressing a twinge of disappointment. Ok, ok, this whole thing was really cool - a lot of hype and a lot of excitement. But the 2ND_COMING, as it were, needed to be similar to the first: countdown starts out of nowhere, lights go off, Jericho appears. They really blew it by showing him for the first time, albeit from behind, backstage.

The crowd wasn’t as pumped as it should have been, and honestly, I think it was so drawn out that they got tired of cheering eventually. The crowd popped loud twice before Jericho even appeared and by the time he was on the stage I think the momentum was just gone. The just blew it - disappointing, indeed. Granted, this also wasn’t much of a surprise for anyone, so that could have contributed too. Or maybe it was because Jericho isn’t nearly as built as he was. Or that he has short hair. Or that his promo was entirely too cheesy and lame - and not in heel Jericho style either - it was hacky. Either way, I guess you can’t make lightning strike twice - in the exact same way at least.

Chris Jericho is back to save the WWE - to save it from Randy Orton. It’s an exciting time to be a WWE fan. Edge returned last night. Ric Flair returns next week (meh). And Y2J is back - let’s see what he does with it. Until next time - stay tuned!