This was a great episode of RAW! Instead of having a PPV in 2-3 weeks (Rumble isn't till the 30th), they had time to build up programs.

I am thrilled that Punk has a legit group to lead. I think he adds a lot of credibility instead of the group being all rookies.

Kev, do you see Barrett going over to Smackdown since his "friend" is the president of the network? They are lacking heels over there, but I would like to see Wade join Cena. It would be an interesting pair to say the least plus instead of having Otunga buried by Orton or Cena, he can feud with Barrett.

I can see Morrison winning with the help of the King or perhaps this will set up a a fatal 4 way between Sheamus, Miz, Morrison and Orton at the Rumble since they all have issues.

DiBiase needs to go to Smackdown where at least he will have a chance to do something. He went from possible main event status to jobbing to the Master of the Cobra also the Kidd/Bryan feud had it's wind taken out with Henry destroying Kidd and his bodyguard.

best raw in a long time!!!

I can't find a single lie in the promo Punk said . He just tells the truth all the way everytime. That's why he is my favorite performer right now. Let's hope Punk finally gets spotlight he deserves

Wade Barret has to be coming back. I think that there are four options to his comeback (unless the WWE does their typical thing and disappoints):

1) Barrett goes to Smackdown. But they already have quite a few heels. Can't see a face turn for him yet.

2) Barret joins forces with John Cena to battle Nexus. This would most likely necessitate a face turn, but they could tease out an uneasy alliance between Cena and Barrett. This is the most unlikely.

3) Barrett moves on. Perhaps a feud with Daniel Bryan, but this would be a step back for the character. Maybe a feud with Orton after the Orton/Miz thing is done.

4) Something with Jericho's return. Since Foxxy is out on tour for another two weeks, I can't see them putting Barrett on the shelf for a such a long time. But a return of Jericho with Barrett could work.

It was reported earlier that Cena got hurt in a house show. A shame to lose him, but it would be a good spot to push nexus, maybe make hell for wade barrett. and when cena's back and healthy, have barrett team up with him that way. Just thinking out loud here.

I loved your article and i just want to comment and ask if your noticing that the Miz/Morrison match not taking place at the Rumble is part of a huge fresh new direction in the WWE. The fact that a match of such grandeur is taking place live on Raw and not a major pay per view is a sign of things to come. It's intresting to see if Orton or Sheamus will even play a part in the WWE title picture. Look out for major Micheal Cole/Alex Riley developments starting next week.

so more months and months or cena vs the nexus dont you thing they would do a different rivaly now the nextus vs someone else

all the rumbles will end at wrestle Mania when the undertaker will have his gold back ,cena my man will celebrate his gold back too.

i thought that wade barrett was the leader of the nexus not cm punk i was thinking when david otunga said nexus is under new management and after all that straight edge hero chicago cm punk came down to beat on john cena some more which i thought that it was coming for him cm punk pick up the nexus armband and put it on him and thinking back to otunga said nexus was under new management cm punk is the new leader but it will not be the same without wade barrett being the leader of nexus they have kick out a lot of people daniel bryan darren young michael tarver johh cena fired so it david otunga michael mcgillicutty husky harris justin gabriel heath slater skip sheffield injured wade barrett and new as it was played out cm punk what will it mean for wade barrett further with nexus because he is still a member i think because he did win nxt season 1 we will see what will happen next week on raw

This week's episode of RAW is a textbook case of the do's and don'ts of cutting a heel promo.

That CM Punk could generate more heat sitting on a chair than The Miz could standing up yelling and foaming at the mouth speaks volumes. It is also worth noting that Punk was part of the "main event" while The Miz was relegated to the mid-card portion of the show. Perhaps the WWE isn't entirely sold on The Miz as WWE champion much less its top heel.

The Sheamus-Randy Orton match was of pay-per-view quality and one of the very best of 2010.

The GM's "Happy New Year" message seemed like an intentional distraction by Cole (or whoever the GM is if it isn't Cole) for the Miz to attack Lawler.

I want to root for Morrison, but his awkward acting ability makes it tough. And why was he wearing sunglasses during his locker-room segment with Miz and Riley? Was it because he needed to stare at cue cards?

Hey Kev i called CM Punk to the Nexus in the last post you had i said he was defending the group the past few weeks and would the new face of Nexus .Also i hear that HHH is coming back and could be revealed as the Raw GM plus Brock Lesnar wants to apart of WrestleMania .

Michael Cole has to be the Anonymous GM. He just stopped reading the "GM's" announcement when Miz beat down Lawler.

Yeah, Nexus is going to be awesome now. =D

Actually, I can see Miz-Morrison-Orton and Lawler in a 4 way at the Rumble. It seems odd that Miz is involved with 2 feuds but hasn't really interacted with them on RAW in weeks.

I like how the Miz was able to use the words "Wrestling/Wrestler". i though those were taboo for the WWE. I really don't like that they try to hide under the Superstars tag.

Also, i"m guessing Melina won't be around too much. her expressions when she turned heel looked to me that she doesn't want to play that character.

Has the "anonymous" raw gm thing run its course, or just lost a lot of steam? We seem to be seeing less and less of it, which, in the long run is fine with me, but kind of kills a storyline that someone put a lot of thought into.

Just for fun, may I book please?

Between now and WrestleMania, McGullicutty and Harris under Punk's leadership win the WWE Tag Titles.

Miz holds the WWE belt by cheating in every way possible generating a ton of heat and is cornered into a cage match with Randy Orton at Wrestlemania.

At Wrestlmania, Otunga wins the US Championship. Miz beats Orton to retain and is assulted by Nexus immediately after the match with CM Punk gleefully proclaiming he will be the next WWE champion.

Punk wins the title at Extreme Rules giving the Nexus all of the WWE RAW belts.

After successful defenses holding off Cena, Orton, Sheamus, Wade Barrett is finally in line for a title match but Punk refuses.

Cena wanting revenge on Punk and Nexus forms an alliance with Barrett. Cena wins the US title at Fatal 4-way, Barrett and Cena cost Nexus the tag titles at Money In The Bank and Barrett then wins the Money In The Bank contract forcing Punk to a showdown at Summerslam where he wins the WWE title with John Cena by his side.

Money, kids. Money.

Have to disagree about the direction Cena/Punk has taken. I was really looking forward to this feud... and they killed it. Punk's the new leader of Nexus? Great. We just spent six months watching Cena feud with the leader of Nexus. What more is there to do? And if you wanted to have Punk leading the group, why break up the SES? They made a huge mistake in not bringing Punk and the SES to Raw in the draft, when they were red hot, and the show could have really used the infusion of new blood they would have provided (rather then Jericho and Edge, whom as much as I love don't really bring anything fresh at this point). But they kept them on Smackdown and buried them against the Big Show. Anyway, I was really pulling for Punk to bring Batista out to attack Cena... sigh.

On Monday, Punk once again proved he's the best talker in the business. As great as Cena can be on the mike, his whole act is incredibly stale and has been for a long time. It was embarassing listening to him reel out the same lame jokes and silly catchphrases once again. I know that the Cena character is aimed more at kids than adults but I hope to see a more serious side of Cena as this feud progresses.

Several times during the show Cole was calling Orton vs Sheamus as the feud of the year... every time he said this I just scratched my head. I know they faced off a few times on ppv but can that program really be called a feud, much less "feud of the year"?

i think it made morrison look really dumb when he chose a falls count anywhere. with alex riley always at ringside and interfering, morrison should have chosen a cage match or hell in a cell match.

I'm curious...why didn't Justin Gabriel raise his hand right away?

I liked the show very much. It was nice to see Gail Kim fly around the ring! Melina as heel is the best fit for her. Tamina has a beautiful smile and is a good counterpoint to Santino. CM Punk is a great heel and even better as a leader of heels. The Orton King Sheamus match was the best of the night. Cannot wait for the return of Triple H! Morrison a great wrestler but horrible on the mike! Thank God no sign of Laycool!

Pete, I wondered that too. Justin Gabriel is definitely intriguing. With his odd hesitation before every 450 and general brooding demeanor, he has done a good job keeping me interested in him as an individual, whereas everyone else currently in Nexus (besides Barrett & Otunga) are just interchangeable torsos in t-shirts.

@ Ioco - Totally agree with you. I can't even think of a great WWE feud this year, apart from Michaels vs Undertaker. For me, the feud of the year is El Generico vs Kevin Steen. Tell that to Michael Cole and see the look of confusion on his face.

@ Pete - He was paralyzed by the awesomeness that is Punk ;-)

Did anyone else notice the subtle voice-over kinda chanting "Boring" at the end of Punk's promo with the trainers? It could have been a fan, but it was awfully well-timed.

I tend to agree with Mr. Raining. The Cena/Punk feud has the unusual dynamic of a hero who is genuinely disliked in certain circles and an inordinately popular villain. The Nexus business creates clutter and I fear will make this less compelling -- though I have to admit that I haven't seen pantomime as good as Punk's closing act since I watched a Red Skelton retrospective. And kudos to WWE for putting a sock in their announcers (...I mean, their broadcast journalists) at that point.

I know why cm punk took the nexus armband off wade barret.Cm punk didn't want wade barret to be the leader of the nexus he wanted him to be the leader.Plus he wanted wade barret to be out of nexus.