it was another great raw with great build up to money in the bank but it now seems obvious that del rio is ganna win.
cena and punk really did play off each other like you said but vince was not so smooth like them but his expression were good

Wow, that's one heck of a Photoshop job, Kevin. Well done!

Way to manufacture 'More news and views' to get that pic of you and the Bellas out there! ;-)

Ps. Well done.

McIntyre shaken up was one thing, but what about Miz's arm? That ladder really cracked his forearm.

This is why I love this wrestling blog, fairness and objectivity abound, unlike most of the drivel I see in other blogs that can't seem to get a thought in without saying Cena or P.G. era sucks. Glad to hear Drew McIntyre is ok though.Nice photo with the Bella twins!

Bellas are so hot. Yummy.

Kevin, Are those cardboard cutouts, alah Zack Ryder's dad and Melina??

U need to get yourself a tan man

RESPONSE FROM KE: I don't tan, I burn, so I don't spend a lot of time in the sun. But it has it's advantages: My skin looks a lot healthier than Hulk Hogan's.

I'd wager most people who thought the final segment came off weak for its lack of realism were expecting LESS, not more! Seriously, CM Punk wants his face on everything AND transportation through a private jet? Count me out, I don't buy it!

Yes, the "shock" value was gone because everyone was expecting this RAW to be unique. But the "realism" could have been kept a million other ways. In fact, I think WWE went with one of the most unrealistic angles by having Vince confront the issue with Punk directly.

Was there any mention of the stipulation that if John Cena doesn't beat CM Punk that he's fired? That stipulation is completely unnecessary, but if they're going to have it, then play it up! Convince me that it has value. Convince me that WWE could lose not one, but two of its top guys on Sunday. Dolph Ziggler in particular should have noted that he wants CM Punk to win the WWE Championship and leave, so then the WWE United States championship would be the only singles title on RAW, and he would be top dog.

Instead, WWE showed us the man who fought tooth-and-nail every week to keep Stone Cold in check 10 years ago cave into the ludicrious demands of a borderline midcarder.

I don't think Big Mac so much slipped off as got carried by Show from what I watched. When Henry hit there was no control for him or Show that I could see. I caught a ref in the background just before the camera cut to a different angle giving the "X" armcross sign for Drew. He tweeted tonight, saying a 15 foot fall to concrete was not enough to kill a scot. Too much to hope for that they'd turn that fall in to an angle, I suppose.

LOL at Andrewv!

The worked shoot works when it's done on occasion and this was a great follow up to the one done two weeks ago.
It would be great if Punk wins the strap, takes it to ROH, which sparks a "friendly" rivalry between the two companies. That will make the smarks happy with WWE and give ROH the boost it deserves. Kinda like with WWE backing ECW.

You should trim your hair and maybe dye it black. Maybe grow some facial hair. Better get your wife's permission first though. :p

What Kevin doesn't want you to know is that the Bella Twins wear their "The Schmuck Stops Here" T-shirts to bed every night and dream about the big guy while K.E. Punk whines about all the attention he's not getting. The rematch isn't going to be pretty.

This is a bit of a long rant but it has to be said...The Cena hate just isn't logical. Yes, he's an above average ring worker with good to great mic skills and a very stale gimmick but consider most major "Buzzworthy" angles from the last few years: Batista's turn and promos, Bret Hart's Return, The Nexus Invasion, Turning Randy Orton into a face, The Rock's Return and now Punk's 'shoot' every one of them centered around or found a way to involve Cena. He's the ultimate catalyst for a memorable angle in the WWE because for better or worse, he IS the WWE. Can anyone honestly say these events would have played out better if he wasn't involved in them? I shudder to think of what would happen to pro-wrestling if something happened to him.

Wow... That picture makes me hella jealous. Look at those two! Unreal. To quote a great philosopher, "DAMN!!"

I agree that John Cena brings some good things to any feud that he is in, but his promos are too wooden. I think I rememeber Ric Flair saying that the problem with today's wrestlers is that they have their promos wriitten for them and they aren't connected to what they are saying. CM Punk reminds me of an older guy, like a Flair or a Jake Roberts because I believe what he is saying. When Cena gets in the ring, it jolts you out of the spell because it's so obvious he's reading lines from memory, waiting for cues, and please that sad puppy dog face when things aren't going his way, that is so annoying.

I just think his talent is over exposed and he is out of his depth, when peforming with a guy like Punk, that's why everyone complains.

Kev, I'm surprised you haven't posted a picture of you and HBK.

BTW, where is your picture with BLS?

For me personally, the segment was still pretty real. It was probably the hype and atmosphere regarding the last segment that I was pretty angry when John Cena interrupted Vince Mcmahon signing the contract for CM Punk. But once I calmed down after RAW, it was obvious it was all an angle now. Cena was actually great in the segment even though im not sure if he was necessary. Just my 2 cents

The problem with Cena on Monday, in the last segment at least, is that the life seemed to be sucked out of the promo once he got out there. Watch it again, and listen to the crowd; they just go dead. It's not until Punk jumps back in, and they start to interact, that the segment picks back up. That's got to be on Cena. He's not untalented on the mic, but he shows a baffling lack of understanding of what to say, and how to say it. His little floor mat tangent was terribly forced, out of place, and not funny. How does a guy who has been at his level for this long still make these kind of mistakes?

I agree with you, though, about the complaints about the last segment coming off differently then Punk's "shoot" being unfair. I don't think anyone at the WWE expected Punk's promo to go over quite like it did; I doubt the "live contract signing" with Vince was part of the plan. But they, hopefully, realize that they've got something special on their hands. I think the most interesting thing about Monday is something few have talked about: Punk basically turned face. In his previous promo, Punk was very careful about keeping his heel heat; on Monday, he was working the crowd fully. If they have realized that they've got a breakout anti-hero on their hands to rival the greatest of them all, Stone Cold Steve Austin, on their hands, we might be in for something special. That's a big if, though, and Sunday and Monday will tell the tale.

Kevin - "My skin looks a lot healthier than Hulk Hogan's."

Kevin, that's not saying much. Mae Young's skin looks a lot healthier than Hulk Hogan's.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Well, that's true.

Kevin and the Bellas!! jesus dude. You should have used the suspended work!! First thing I thought of was how you said we all wanna touch. good job!

continuing the commenters' helpful fashion advice, Eck, I'd say actually rather than shortening your hair, you should definitely grow it really long, dye it black, thin it significantly in the front, grow a soup-strainer moustache, and carry around a burlap sack. That there is a good look.

Gotta agree with Mr. Sarcasm on this one. They could have gone a lot of different ways to make this feel more "real." They obviously tapped into something with that shoot, but then we get a red carpet and table in the middle of the ring with Punk asking for jets? Really?

It seems to me that McIntyre did not slip and fall but rather Big Show and/or Henry screwed up badly by colliding whilst McIntyre was in the air. They are extremely lucky he wasn't seriously injured and need to work out why so called "veterans" messed up so badly. Is it me or do things regularly go wrong when Mark Henry is involved?

Have you the Rock's latest promo going in on Cena? What will they do with Cena, and can this Rock-Cena war stay interesting until WM? Or will they have to maybe turn Cena before then?

forget about all of this, theres some more news on rock!

Obviously Punk was the highlight of the segment.If Cena wasn't joking around it would have been better IMO. I thought his segments with the "Dwayne" were better than the ones with Punk. His performances were better in those exchanges because he has a personal connection to that situation. There was no joking around it was just what he really felt. Those exchanges with Dwayne was the best stuff I saw from him since his BOOYAH days with B2...joking. That stuff with the Dwayne was his best on mic stuff IMO. I am not blinded by hate like some I just think he wasn't that great in that segment with Punk. I loved the dynasty under dog analogy. Punk is best they have.

Kevin, a little off topic, but I was watching the MLB All-Star Game today when Curtis Granderson talked about his love of wrestling. He attended WrestleMania 23 and says that some of his favorite wrestlers are The Undertaker, Junkyard Dog, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Any thoughts on that?

Kevin, here's my two cents:
Penny #1: The whole 'Cena is a dynasty' scene reminded me of the Cactus Jack/Terry Funk feud where the Funker called Cactus and his family w--res and Cactus just stood there, until he called Eric Bischoff a dirty name to set off Cactus. Penny #2: My fantasy booking. Punk gives Cena the finger poke of doom, both walk off to ROH while Vince goes totally bonkers.

I was very happy about the things CM Punk was saying. I have been saying the same thing for months. With all the these competitors that have been released by Vince, they should never have been released. OK HBK and Edge retire ok, but in the past year Vince has released Gallows, Cerena, Paul and Katie lee Burchill, Mickie James, Kendrick and more. Batista, Matt and Jeff hardy, and MVP, did not like this business anymore working for Vince, he should have been doing whatever it took to keep them employed, but instead its all about Vince Mcmahon's ego and God complex, that he does not care about anyone but himself, and who cares about meeting the minor needs of these great competitors. In closing Vince will wake up one day and realize he has no more roster, and his ego has caused his company to go out of business. CM Punk was right when he said that the WWE stock will continue to fall, and I believe that his company plummit to its death before you know it.

Hey kevin you look like kerwin white! haha

RESPONSE FROM KE: White is right!

@Jules B

"I just think his talent is over exposed and he is out of his depth, when peforming with a guy like Punk, that's why everyone complains."

I'm not sure that's true. For smarter people like you, sure, but the general fan boos because they got the habit a few years back and can't kick it, even though he is now an excellent worker.

@mikeshaw101

Nice pic...Obviously, per my comments on Raw, I'm not in the camp complaining about the more blurred reality of the first "shoot" being drawn back into an actual wrestling storyline. This was a nice way to do it, and it had to be done.
As for Cena, I do NOT think that the man is untalented. He is better on the mic than most give him credit for, (although anyone is going to look relatively wooden next to Punk right now--he is on top of his game), and Cena DOES have charisma.
My complaint, and I think it reflects the feeling of some others, is that it is what Cena represents that we don't like. He is a McChampion, a Hulk Hogan clone, an obvious human marketing gimmick to sell collector cups to eight-year olds. In a world rapidly approaching discordia, where propaganda and lies rule the airwaves and our lives, he is a metaphor for all of it, from the Rah, Rah Amerika military salutes to his "say your prayers, eat your...er...hustle, loyalty, respect" gibberish, to the fact that as Punk slyly referenced, he plays an "underdog", "come-back" hero, while he is in fact a chosen champion of his corporate masters, ("hustle, loyalty, respect" my ass, and how long 'til the kids are old enough to realize that---what does it do to them?), and a part of the nepotistic inner circle of WWE politics, AND has been handed so many main events and championships that it is really quite boring to consider his presence at all at this point. Yes, he has charisma, he has talent, he belongs in a major league company. Yet...does he deserve the perennial top spot? It seems obvious that he does not...or at least it is obvious to a not insignificant number of people. WWE has played the "some love him some hate him" gimmick for so long now,trying to pretend it's okay, that I think the argument gets confused, (purposefully so by WWE) as if it is black and white, love or hate. I don't think it is. It is simply that I myself, and many other people, do NOT see him as THE main event player, and he really affects the quality of the whole show when he is constantly put forth that way for people who feel that there are and have been better workers who have NOT gotten opportunities just so McMahon can sell another cup and straw. Cena's current CHARACTER, and what it represents, is a large part of my not really watching much WWE anymore...until now, when Punk has referenced and addressed my frustration directly. If Punk is getting so much attention and applause and generating so much excitement for doing so, is it unreasonable to consider that it may be a REAL problem--that's it's not love or hate Cena--but that Cena,as he is now, is truly NOT a main eventer that all fans can embrace or at least universally tolerate? It's not that everyone should like every champion, but Cena, to many, is like a restaurant handing you a fork to eat a bowl of soup, and then insisting that there is something wrong with YOU if you find if difficult to eat their fare. After awhile, you stop coming to the restaurant, because you can't even get the food in your mouth anymore. That ain't "Ohh, some people HATE Cena"---that's, some people really don't like him pushed as a main eventer--How much? Well, we don't watch anymore, that's how much. Welcome to low ratings and slipping PPV rates.
The problem is that he is the actual sum total of every other problem that Punk referenced in his "shoots", and the reason we're all excited about the "shoots", is because it feels real and feels like things that should be said. The subsequent involvement of Cena in the way that he is---ex.---"I hate Vince McMahon too, but I get up and go to work, blah, blah, blah"---is troubling to the forward momentum of the storyline.
I think Cena could showcase his actual talents with the right material, but with his involvement seemingly not designed to address his very pivotal role in the frustration with WWE that Punk is playing on---it is a dull spot in an otherwise bright story-telling idea to include him in the way that he has been. That is my take on it, and I don't think I'm alone by a long shot. What if Cena was the definite heel here? That would seem to make more sense, and to be the catalyst that would thrust this angle into one of the greatest and most interesting done in years.
Ironic that the ring name is CM PUNK---you'll be old enough for this, Mr Eck, as will Boomerang and some others---what happened when bland, wishy-washy soft rock like Yes and Styx and other perpetrators of boring ten-minute drum solos, all financed by corporate masters to dominate the market back in the seventies, had played on too long? You remember--the Ramones, the Clash, the Pistols--Punk. (Kiss is sometimes included as part of the anti-disco and anti-corporate rock pantheon that came about then too, as I'm sure Mr. Eck is aware). John Cena is wrestling 2011's Electric Light Orchestra.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I respect John Cena, and like CM Punk said I even kinda like John Cena. I have no doubt that he works hard and lives and breathes WWE. But my problems with Cena are as follows:

1. The way WWE pushes Cena makes it nearly impossible for anyone over 12 and not a female to root for him. What's the point in rooting for a man who can't be beaten? By booking Cena to win all the time it only serves to make you want to see him lose. Cena's character would be much more compelling if he had weaknesses, and flaws. This way you humanize him and make more relatable to those who don't like him.

2. As I stated in an earlier post, It's obvious people want to boo Cena, and the boos come through loud and clear. But for some reason WWE chooses not to acknowledge this and pretends Cena is still the "Fighting Man of the People", even when the people have rejected him. If the WWE would just simply address this situation, then that in and of itself would be compelling and real. But they choose to ignore the boos like they don't even exist, which is an insult to people's intelligence and makes them dislike Cena even more. For this reason I consider Cena a heel. Like Kurt Angle early in his WWF run. He was an olympic hero, but people could not stand him, yet he still portrayed himself as a hero even though he got booed, which drives people nuts. Cena does the same thing, he just won't submit to being a heel like Angle did.

3. I think Cena might be the new version of Sting, in that he will refuse to turn heel because he believes he's a real hero. Some say you can't turn Cena heel because WWE would lose millions in merchandising revenue, but I beg to differ. I think a Cena heel turn would re-invigorate WWE merchandising revenue. When Hulk Hogan turned heel, WCW merchandise skyrocketed. you saw NWO t-shirts everywhere, in the mainstream, and including WWF events. Heck you still see NWO t-shirts from time to time. I'd wager Hogan's NWO merchandise sold more than his Hulkamania merchandise did during his WCW run. I can see it now, It's all laid out for the WWE. Turn Cena heel and build a faction around him called "The Dynasty". The exposure generated from it could probably re-ignite Cena's movie career as well and bring a flood of multi-media exposure to WWE. TV ratings would increase, PPV buy rates would go up. But, I doubt any of this will happen. WWE will continue to play it safe and not take risks, but the longer they do the more irrelevant Cena becomes.

4. CM Punk vs. John Cena. Cena is Superman and Punk is Batman. Batman will always be a more interesting character than Superman. The Super Cena character stunts the growth of other "wrestlers" in the company because others can't ascend to being recognized as legitimate champions because they can't beat Cena. WWE is forced to have to bring back The Rock and roll out The Undertaker again at Wrestlemania because they've failed miserably at creating compelling new Superstars, and Cena's domination of the spotlight is one of the reasons why. If Cena had risen to prominence in the Attitude era, he would have been a heel. As popular as Cena is, in comparison to The Rock and Stone Cold he's not nearly as popular as they were, and even in retirement they are still more popular than Cena. WWE needs to admit this to themselves, and make changes now while Cena's still in his prime.

In closing, it's as I said I respect John Cena, I even like who he is. If I were 10 years old, I'd probably be wearing his Fruity Pebbles t-shirts too. But we've seen this act before, and it's been played better by the likes of The Rock and Hogan. It's time to move away from this and instead of ignoring half it's fan base, WWE needs to acknowledge people's dislike of John Cena and act accordingly. The longer they try to maintain this illusion of John Cena "Fighting Man of the People", they'll continue to hold themselves back, and their fans along with them. Maybe when you're as rich as Vince McMahon has become, you no longer need to take chances. But unless they start thinking outside the box, WWE will never be as popular as it once was.

Im a huge Cena fan, but I too wish he would be a little edgier.

Love your pic with the Bellas Kev! Some guys have all the luck!!!

@ Maurice B
Whatever I felt in retrospect I might have missed you have definitely covered. I think that answers Mr. Eck's queston completely.
To recap my own feelings, his character is the fork we're asked to eat our soup with, until we stop coming to the table anymore----and if Punk represents the new direction, a la the era of music that his name references, then John Cena is ABBA, and Vince McMahon is a coked-out disco producer, out of touch down at Studio 54.
To add one thing that myself and Maurice B. may have forgotten for the benefit of Mr Eck's curiosity---The Miz, R-Truth, now CM Punk---all have played off of the dissatisfaction a lot of people have with Cena, as heels---and then have had the fans get behind them, as heels--(R-Truth didn't have as much time or as dynamic a shot on the microphone--but "little Jimmies" was becoming quickly enjoyable)----so...why is this? What other "champion" has there ever been who consistently loses his or her momentum to the heel, until the heel is viewed as an anti-hero, just by the mere fact that the alleged babyface "champ" is the opponent? I'm not talking some people not liking the champ---I'm talking heels becoming fan faves and almost-faces themselves just by being his opponent. Isn't that really what CM Punk is referencing? Why has there been such a huge reaction to Punk's "shoot" if Cena is so generally popular and McMahon's recent business models are so successful? The clear answer is neither of those things are true---McMahon has simply been trying to brainwash people into thinking they're true---which is why his best success with both has been with vulnerable nine year olds or pure marks who would buy a bag full of dog crap if their corporate masters told them to, in wrestling or otherwise.
It's time not to insult Cena the worker---he is talented and has his place---but it IS time to admit that he has not been and is not now the worker who best deserves to be the main event face of the company. The only argument there EVER has been for that is to fill McMahon's pockets with the money of little Jimmies. As Maurice pointed out---there are even better ways of doing that than have been done. And actually, Punk pointed that out too---the millionaire that should have been a billionaire. It's at the point, and Punk is proving it in terms of attention, mainstream reaction and otherwise, that a fan of wrestling, and of wrestling moving forward in the 21st century, cannot support John Cena or the Hulk Hogan model as the symbol of our sport.

"I wonder if some fans are just so anti-Cena that they have their minds made up about his performances as soon as his entrance music starts playing."

Now you know how I feel every time I read something you write on TNA.

RESPONSE FROM KE: You should read more carefully then.

Kevin looks exactly like kerwin white.See for yourself

http://www.g-pop.net/Kerwin%20White.jpg