Welcome back, everybody.

As you may already know, last Monday was my birthday (spoiler alert: I am too old to be watching wrestling) so we didn’t have time to set up an open discussion thread. It’s a shame, too, because the show turned out pretty great. We got a tense showdown between John Laurinaitis and CM Punk (and Mick Foley), Daniel Bryan: Indignant Vegan World Heavyweight Champion continued to happen, Rosa Mendes in a corset continued to happen and John Cena tried to lift steps that were bolted to the ground. You can read about all this and more in last Tuesday’s The Best And Worst Of WWE Raw 1/16.

But we’re back in the swing of things now, and as always I’ll be picking 10 (or so) of my favorite comments from this thread to be featured in tomorrow’s Best and Worst report. I also need your help with this week’s poll question.

“Do more Best and Worsts” is a big request I get, and I’d like you to come to my website more often than Mondays and Tuesdays, so hey. I’ve been wanting to do Best and Worst-style recaps of old shows for a while, and with 1) the Royal Rumble happening on Sunday and 2) Wrestlemania happening in a couple of months, I thought I could go back and do a retrospective B/W for a Royal Rumble or a Wrestlemania. I’ve picked a few at random that I own on DVD and think would be fun to go over, so pick your favorite and I’ll review whatever wins on… let’s say, Thursday.

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Pre-show notes:

- As some of you may know, yesterday was my birthday, and at some point I got caught up doing whatever the hell it is you do on birthdays and couldn’t get up a Raw Open Discussion thread. Don’t worry, we’re going to pick that back up next week and chances are I’ll pop one up for Smackdown this week to compensate. Also, happy birthday to me! For anyone wondering, I spent Sunday night watching Matthew Palmer get stabbed in the mouth with kabob skewers and thrown off a scaffold at ACW’s Guilty By Association 6 and spent Monday eating veggie burgers.

- Also for anyone wondering, I am now 85 years old.

- Comments are appreciated. Clicking “like” is appreciated, tweets and retweets are appreciated, showing and sharing this to and with the people you know are appreciated. Google + shares aren’t really appreciated, because stop trying to make fetch happen.

- Follow us on Twitter @withleather, follow me personally @MrBrandonStroud and like us on Facebook.

- Gifs contained within are, as always, courtesy of Jerusalem at Punchsport Pagoda.

- Additional reading: UGO’s Raw Report.

Click through to enjoy the Best And Worst Of WWE Raw for January 16, 2012.

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Pre-show notes:

- The With Spandex podcast experienced a few technical difficulties over the weekend, but we’re working through it. Expect that as soon as I grow a brain that isn’t 70 years old and figure out how computers work.

- As always, we’d appreciate it if you’d leave a comment on the report. You left almost 700 on the Open Discussion Thread last night, so I can’t bother you about it too much. If you don’t feel like commenting, click the “like” button up there or share us on Facebook or Google Plus or Pinterest or whatever the new thing is. Take a picture of the column and share it on Instagram, I don’t care.

- Follow us on Twitter @withleather, follow me personally @MrBrandonStroud and like us on Facebook.

- Gifs contained within are, as always, courtesy of Jerusalem at Punchsport Pagoda.

- Unrelated A.J. gif contributed by @ajB_real.

- Additional reading: UGO’s Raw Report.

- I apologize for the relative lateness of today’s column. I had to change a tire, and things got weird.

Anyway, please to enjoy the Best and Worst of WWE Raw: Halloween H20 Edition for January 9, 2012.

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Hey there, friends!

- As I’m sure you’re all aware by now, Brandon took the week off in order to celebrate his girlfriend Destiny’s birthday. I know some of you might not think it’s a valid reason to skip out on writing jokes about pro wrestling, but it’s something I totally understand. I know when I celebrate the birth of a DT, writing is almost a logistical impossibility. Y’know, on account of the violent, involuntary shaking and the formication paranoia. Keep a vigilant eye out for those silverfish, Brandon!

- Anyway, my name is Justin O’Connor. I’m not Brandon, but I’m a lot like him. Well, in the same way Mega Bloks are a lot like LEGO. I might not be what you wanted, but I’m “close enough,” and since your parents are inattentive monsters you’ll have to just suck it up and find some use for those awful brown and green pieces. Like, say, attempting to swallow them until you get the toys you asked for in the first place. Or until the school places you under precautionary care and you’re not allowed to open a carton of chocolate milk without adult supervision.

- What I’m getting at is if you guys squint really hard and skim through the pop culture references fast enough, you might be able to delude yourselves into not being able to tell the difference. If that doesn’t work, you’re probably best off treating this week’s column like a regular Brandon column; except you just found out he’s underwent severe head trauma and now everyone’s just being polite by telling him how great he’s doing “in spite of his condition,” between giving one another “holy sh*t” eyes. Trust me, it’ll be easier for everyone involved.

- I don’t have any personal stuff to plug, so you’re off the hook this week. Not really though. Leave a comment.

Now that the formalities are out of the way, let’s tell some jokes about pro graps!

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Pre-report notes include:

- I almost called this “The Worst And Worst Of WWE Raw”. Just a heads up.

- We’ve got a new social set-up on the UPROXX Network, so now is a better time to leave a comment than ever. We’re going to start giving away prizes to commenters, so get on that train early. And hey, if you disagree with my assessment of the show, let me know. I’m not “right”, I’m just a fan. At the same time, if you disagree with me, make sure you read the paragraphs that go along with the point you’re pissed about, because at least I’m trying to explain it.

- You are going to need a picture of A.J. so bad by the time you finish this report, so I’m just going to go ahead and put a picture of her (and Kaitlyn, and Derrick Bateman) from the pre-show “Solidarity Rally” in the header. You’ll thank me later.

- If you have a surgical mask of any kind, please place that over your nose and mouth before reading the next page.

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