There's really no other way around it, CM Punk is the best heel in WWE today, perhaps all pro wrestling. That match with Morrison solidified him as THE heel in WWE and the ending sequence was one of the best heel moments I've ever seen. The knees while Morrison was in the Tree of Woe, the evil look on his face when he hit the GTS and then the elbow shot after the 3 count... it was absolutely perfect.

I really enjoyed the Punk and Morrison match. I was initially very disappointed that Moreison went to SD and not RAW, but now it looks like the absolute right decision.

My only complaint about the episode was that I felt the setup for next week's main event was predictable. As soon as the handicap march was announced, I figured Matt Hardy would be involved somehow. I thought he would show up earlier in the match to save the day, though. I also anticipated the 3 on 3 match for next week and can't wait to see it. It should be a really good last half hour next week.

It's great seeing those young guys head line the brand...I love it.

As far back as I can think of, I have been posting how great Punk is. I'm glad to see he is finally getting his true run on time. I knew he could handle it. Great job Punk!

"I was initially very disappointed that Moreison went to SD and not RAW, but now it looks like the absolute right decision."

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Yes. It was a win-win move for Morrison, himself, and for the fans. Morrison gets to perform on a show where the glass ceiling isn't nearly as thick, and the fans get to watch him do what he does.

Punk's mannerisms, more so than his promo, were brilliantly heel-ish. Notice how he still clapped his hands as he makes his entrance, but did so in a very sarcastic manner...

Did Jeff get the same tan Matt did?

I thought Khali didn't understand English - how does Kane make Singh say stuff mean anything to Khali?

JR talking about the "9 points" of Muay Thai sounded like something out of Matt Striker's notebook.

SD this week outshined RAW again, all the matches were good but give props the finlay he made ziggle look like a contener and finlay has chance to make mike knoxx into a champion, I hope the finlay/knoxx feud is exciting and interesting. Finlay still the best at selling an injury and SS needs a good hardcore match.......

The ending of Smackdown was the best show ending I've seen in a long long time.

I'm not fully convinced that Matt will be a face again, but it would seem retarded if they kept him as a heel.

Punk vs. Morrison looked like a particularly stiff match.

Mike Knox sounded a little bit like Mankind.

Here's another reason why Raw sucks these days: MICHAEL COLE.

Great blog as normal Kevin -- Other than Triple H's search for Shawn Michaels (which I thought was great), I again found Smackdown better than RAW this week. I'm confused about Matt's motives re: Jeff, but I am looking forward to next week's announced match of Jeff/Matt/Morrison versus CM Punk and the Hart Dynasty. John Morrison has gotten better and better every week and I see that gold on him by the end of the year.

Seriously? Punk's a better heel than Jericho?

Live event after live event no one gets more heat that Jericho.

The man wrestles dead paper (JTG et al) and it's a 4-5 star match. Punk as heel works a lot better than babyface Punk, but that doesn't suddenly make him better than the best.

That was good enough to be a go-home show. In fact, I was actually kind of disappointed that it wasnt. The intrigue that Matt Hardy brings to the table would've been enough for me to pay the $50 for SummerSlam. Now he'll fight alongside Jeff next week, leaving less intrigue. Oh well. BUT WHAT AN END TO A SHOW.

I usually measure how good of a hell or face someone is by seeing how well they can put over a face or how much heat they can get a hell. For Jeff Hardy, being associated with him has finally landed Morrison squarely in the hearts of the fans, and has slowly but surely completed CM Punk's vicious heel turn. What a performer Jeff really is.

Smackdown is far and away such a better show than the Monday night debacles that im seriously considering not even watching Raw.

Kev, can you give your two cents on how Raw and Smackdown can be this different? I realize that the creative teams may be different, but i feel a sense of direction with Smackdown. On Raw, I never know where they are gonna go with what they do.

RESPONSE FROM KE: It's basically a difference in philosophy. Raw is more like a wrestling variety show, while Smackdown is more of a wrestling show.

Bottom Line................... WWE should have let Morrision run up about 5 in a row against Punk to give us a main event in October or November.

he Kane-Runjin Singh show-long kidnapping angle was OK.

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Don't believe it, I'm from England and they must have cut that segment from our viewing, its shown at ten o'clock at night!!!

At least we get most of our PPV's free though!!!

was it just me or was the segments with kane and ranjin singh a rip off of the joker torturing a fake batman in the dark knight film?

Sorry Kev got to disagree with you saying that Punk is the best heel in WWE right now. Y2J is still the best for me with Orton second and Punk third. Finlay for his age is still a great wrestler and his match with Dolph Ziggler was great. A cracking show once again. The 2 best wrestling shows on tv for me at the moment are Smackdown and TNA.

That new CM Punk t-shirt can't be found on Amazon, sadly, only WWE's online store. What a great shirt.

How about Punk vs. the Undertaker at Wrestlemania?

I love Smackdown. It is the best wrestling show right now and features guys that have been wrestling for so many years now, but its still so new.

My only complaint is that JR and Grisham act as if Punk and Morrison have only wrestled 3 matches. I know they always say, "Punk, you haven't beaten Morrison on Smackdown yet." But couldn't Punk just come back and say, "Yeah, but I beat him for the ECW title not too long ago!" Those guys wrestled at the beginning of Summerslam 2-3 years ago and the thought that they could headline summerslam now is great. They work so well together.

To the people who commented in relation to CM Punk and Jericho, Kevin used the word "currently". You'd have to blind if you can't see that Punk is "currently" the top heel in the WWE as opposed to Jericho who's been losing a number of matches in recent weeks. If we're talking about the overall picture, Jericho is the man. No doubt! If we're talking about the here and now, Punk is what's happening as proven by his impressive match with Morrison.

Terrible audience. Anyone else find the fans particularly offensive on SD? Where exactly was the WWE last Tuesday night anyway? Canada again? Damn!
Canada always has some kind of unorthodox feedback and in this case it wasn't entertaining eiher. Why were they booing everything when it was a quality SD? Even though they got on their feet for the mid to end of the Punk/Morrison match, there was a "boring" chant at the very beginning. Rude as hell!

Shad Gaspaard looked pumped up and ready to throw down. Unfortunately, the booing audience completely took away from the moment. That's how much a bad audience can cost you. Speaking of Shad, why aren't you celebrating? No "Word Up" Segement this week, thank god.

Matt Hardy gave me goosebumps. I was just on Edge wondering what he was going to do. He still looks a bit shady though. He could still pull a Kane/Royal Rumble 98' but I doubt it since Hardy is leaving a strong possibility and having Matt continue where Jeff left off makes it intriguing. LMFAO! His reason for helping Hardy better be damn good after attempted murder.

2nd wrestler you've just got me into Kev; first was Mark Henry(although what in the hell are they doing with him over their on RAW?) and now Mike Knox after that character description. I like Knox in the ring too because he has speed and agility uncharacteristic to larger athletes. That irony has always made me take notice of larger athletes. Cross body on diminutive Ray Mysterio is a site I'll never forget.

I admire CM Punk's gimmick. Did you see the way he was yelling at the stretcher people last week to go the other way? LOL! I just wonder what it's going to be like when the WWE returns back to my hometown of Milwaukee, WI. I'm the only one I know who's never drank nor smoked in my life so I'm assuming all the fans will be boozed up, acting like drunken idiots, and raising their beers while Punk is preaching to us. That will be hilarious.

To the poster who wrote; Taker vs. CM Punk. That would put a smile on my face. They actually had a very short, entertaining encounter during the Royal Rumble.

Anyways, great blog Kevin. I look forward for your RAW blog tomorrow morning. ;)

Let me see if I've got this right: last week, SD cuts away from any violence involving chairs, but this week not only shows everything they hid last week, but new violence with chairs and, oh yeah, a fairly intense torture sequence culminating in someone being beaten with a lead pipe? Am I missing something here?

Before anyone gets the idea that "unorthodox feedback" is the norm in Canada, I shall make it known that only nine days ago, I attended a Smackdown / ECW house show here in Regina, Canada where the crowd was solidly behind the babyfaces and against the heels. The only departures from this were Dolph Ziggler who, surprisingly, got some cheers mixed with the boos, and CM Punk who got a strong face reaction until Jericho, working as a babyface, played to the crowd's patriotism, cutting a promo about how Canadians liked their beer (remember that it was Punk to whom he was speaking), and giving the Canadian crowd permission to call him Y2J. The crowd then ditched Punk for Jericho. Coincidentally, I have now read a debate about which of the two is a better heel.

Hi all the way from Australia, great blog week after week. We only get Afterburn on free to air TV. So once its aired i read your blog to get others thoughts on the weekly goings on. Ive been watching some of the older Hardy Boyz vs Edge n Christain and Dudley`s tag team matches and part of me would love to see the Hardy Boyz rise again. It probaly wont happen but i can live in hope. Im stoked about the three vs three match ive always been a huge Morrison and Hardys fan so im looking foward to it. To throw my thoughts into the heel debate, i still love to hate Jericho. Im intrigued by Knox, im hoping for a mad deranged professor angle.

Continue the great work

Hawk

@Tonetare:

Holding the title doesn't make the heel. The heat that the wrestler generates marks the heel.

By your logic Austin was the top heel in the Two Man Power Trip. Just because he had the title. But HHH consistently garnered more heat and was more 'hated' (before the quad roll) than Austin.

Punk hasn't had two seperate occasions where fans have attempted to confront him phyiscally.

As for the jobbing aspect, your title fixtures are all mostly established stars. This was Punk's second Money In the Bank and second title. Hardy is now a three time champ AND a vetern. RAW's title picture is a joke. I mean, I hart Orton. I really do. But there isn't anyone new up for the title. At least until Ted Jr face turns to promote the movie, maybe they could put him over. But right now Jericho is doing the job that the Champ is supposed to do like HHH did during his first few runs.

Besides, Punk's wrestling in 3-4 star matches.

Jericho's 5 star almost everytime, win or lose.