I think that you're assuming unnecessarily that Punk's face turn has fully taken hold with smart fans. It's funny, I've never been a huge fan of Cena's character (though I have much respect for his work ethic), but for whatever reason he is really doing it for me in this angle where CM Punk is not. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that I feel like I'm being pushed too hard to identify with Punk's anti-corporatist/rebel status, while being given little impetus to do so. It's hard for me to logically want to cheer for both CM Punk and Triple H (ie the corporate structure that Punk is defying), and frankly I like Triple H better. (Not to mention, I find CM Punk to be incredibly annoying.) Thus, I will be looking forward to Cena retaining the title, as will (apparently) a majority of the fans who attended RAW last night.

Otunga and McGillicutty came out to new music this week. Does that mean that the Nexus has been swept under the rug? The Anonymous Raw General Manager appears to have been given the Old Yeller treatment as well. Bummer if that never got a payoff.

So who really is the top heel in the company not just Raw or Smackdown? I don't really see one and WWE is turning your most effectice heel's face. HHH and Cena should be heel or risk the chance of WWE becoming more soft. Sad to say but Michael Cole was it's most effectice heel

I hope that WWE keeps Punk as a "tweener" and not the usual over the top babyface. Obviously the "E" has no desire to turn his main advesary Cena into a heel no matter how good of television it would make. With the soon to be debuting, ROH Kings of Wrestling, hopefully they align themselves with Punk, so they wont be an afterthought in a forgotten tag team division, and the stable can continue to be the fight against the "status Quo"..It definately wasnt one of the hotter crowds and id wait to form an opinion after a few more weeks..The Miz is gonna be a major star and i think eventually this era's peoples champ (never thought id say that 2yrs ago). John Morrison is in desperate need of something to make you care..heel turn, underdog win, anything! Hopefully A-Ry can make the most of his opportunity to get over in a feud without a already written storyline with The Miz. I wish Ziggler wouldnt act as if he memorized a written promo and let it fly!
Lastly I wish Cole would shut up. I get that they want a heel announcer but the best part of JR calling a match is the storytelling. Cole takes away from that by constantly talking all over him. JR is good at getting young stars over and right now that is very much needed.

We have been waiting too long for a DIVA's Tag Team tournament and champion to be crowned. Too many battle royals and Lumber Jill matches. Start teaming them! Hopefully the Bella's wouldn't be the first champs. What a "Sister's of Destruction" team they could have in Natalya & Phoenix!

If a crowd is as weak as last night's was, how much weight does the WWE put into crowd reaction as a reason to push someone more or not? Obviously it can matter, but last night's crowd was horrid. I just hope Creative wouldn't take into account last night's crowd when deciding who wins between Punk and Cena at Summerslam.

Punk mentioned Batista, Foley and Jericho, and none of that got much of a pop. If Foley's name is even mentioned and doesn't get loud cheers, then something is wrong. It seems like most of that crowd was too young of a wrestling audience (and by that I mean both little kids and adults who haven't watched for long) to appreciate the veterans and a guy like Punk.

I hope CM Punk brings up steroids and bullying Chris Candido. When Cena shoots it sounds sad maybe cause he actually like them. I have never been to WWE.com I bet a huge percentage are pro Cena kids. I am starting to feel like Alberto won't recover Cena will most likely win and hold it till Mania.

Do you think things would have been different if Cena did get "fired" for a couple weeks and Punk was allowed to work with a heel to establish himself with the general audience? You have a face Cena, a "I took this job for them" (talk about wanting to vomit in a toilet) face HHH and a guy Punk who has been a reviled heel for years and a babyface about 4 hours of TV and Youtube.

I'm sure Vince is already gloating that Punk isn't as hot as he said he would be if he was given the ball to run with. The often burned Orioles fan in me is getting a familiar feeling with this Punk angle. It started with promise, but there are subtle signs of all the problems that plague the product that start to peek through. Punk was dead on that things are the same all over again already. This is more like when Matt Hardy angled for his return only to continue to be buried (which I'm sure wasn't the sales pitch he received while signing his contract) as opposed to when The Outsiders invaded WCW.

Do you know if Punk is actually signed long term again or could he be on a short extension so they could go with his surprising win at MITB? If he's signed on for longterm, he's got to be having some serious buyer's remorse at this point.

On a side note, R-Truth and Miz are making lemonade out of lemons. "C...O....N....Spiracy." Hilarious.

Ziggler is wearing on me as Mr. Perfect 2011. Getting some edge is good for him.

Ryder's reaction was impressive. If only he could get some new theme music. That crap reminds me of Rico's old music and we see how it worked out for him.

With expectations tempered, it will be really curious to see if ratings go up as this thing is dropped or if they slide even further because they blew it.

When HHH told Cena, "It's not Hunter, I'm your boss" and Cena made that stupid boo-boo face just cements the fact that his character fits today's youth - when someone doesn't go along with you or you don't get what you want, you pout. I really hope they don't turn him heel because he'll suck worse than he already does. .........

I find it hilarious that WWE has labeled Punk as the voice of the voiceless. Wasn't it Sin Cara who was being pushed as the "face of the faceless," representing those who couldn't represent themselves?

I understand that this is a tried and true gimmick in wrestling, but between all these (fans? other wrestlers?) who are walking around without faces and voices, Sin Cara really needs to be repackaged as Punk's silent, loyal sidekick.

I love Ryder's YouTube show and everything he does, but he is very uncoordinated. He mentioned on Colt Cabana's podcast that he didn't play sports in high school. Just the way he moves is very stiff. I can see why.

Kevin,
I too noticed the crowd reactions during RAW. With this angle being relatively new, I personally I think it's better for the crowd to have mixed reactions with CM Punk. After-all, he was working as a heel only about a month ago. If I remember correctly, it wasn't until he started feuding with Mr. McMahon did Stone Cold completely garner a positive fan reaction.

There was something about Punk's opening speech and voice that sounded like "hey, I just memorized this script and am reciting it.." - everything that Punk was against.

I think the combination of Punk coming back too soon, his storyline now OBVIOUSLY being a 'work', and his trying too hard to get a face reaction, made fans think - 'well, if he's trying so hard to get a face reaction, I might as well just cheer on supercena.'

I think it's so cool and trendy to like CM PUNK, that it's suddenly 'uncool'.

I haven't seen CM Punk as an anti-establishment babyface, despite how many times you write about it in these entries. WWE announcers reference his MITB cheers as from "his hometown crowd in Chicago" as if WWE is keeping him heel.

Also, don't forget to mention the seed that HHH planted last night hints that there was a reason for CM Punk's return that he isn't telling the fans, which indicates his actions are more selfish than his words indicate.

HHH's smug no-selling of Punk's comments shows, even as an authority figure, he's still only interested in himself. If Vince had smirked and brushed Stone Cold off like this, do you think there would have even been a Stone Cold era?

I think pulling Vince out and replacing him with HHH is going to kill the angle.

Kevin, I'm a big fan. I never miss a posting. Thank you and please keep up the great work!

I wasn't exactly overwhelmed. I liked Punk referencing again the real problems within WWE that have put them in such a long-term creative funk---but you're right---he almost seemed worried about the crowd.
My question would be, is this indicative of a half-hearted desire for change on the part of fans in general, or of the questionable handling of the storyline,---as Axl Rotten put it---the "shotgunning" of the whole thing? I get the feeling personally that Punk lost some excitement by returning right off the bat, and that more was leeched off by giving HHH such a strong role---and by Cena's unchanging role as well. Quick questions as they pertain to that and to what Punk said and has embodied so far...

1.) Why would John Laurinaitis choose making Punk's belt legitimate? Doesn't this hinder Punk's guerilla revolutionary status--as he had harsh things to say about Laurinaitis? Why pick on Cena all of a sudden? Was getting bashed in the face worse than the other guy calling him a douche-bag and leaving with the belt? Wasn't that the point of all of this not long ago? Why leech Punk's sympathy back to Cena? Or more specifically--why should Cena be the hero for "allowing" Punk to leave with the title--when Punk is the one that has generated everything? All of Punk's work goes to Cena?
2.) More broadly, why is Cena all of a sudden a rebel too? Wasn't the whole story referencing that Cena and others have been artificially propped up to some extent while other, fresher talent have languished or been fired outright? Keeping Cena face seems to take a lot of steam out of this. Booking and writing---The casual fans don't really think--they cheer who booking and writing tell them to. It's kind of ridiculous to claim that they WANT Cena to be champ. They could be convinced to want Punk as champ as well--again isn't this what Punk was referencing to begin with?

3.) In the context of #2---why exactly is Cena's belt treated as legitimate at all? It was a belt introduced by Vince, (now supposedly gone), and it was won from Mysterio after Mysterio had already fought a match against Miz in an unfair contest that was never really talked about as unfair--I thought that Punk would at least reference it on RAW. It's okay for Cena to beat up a 175 lb. underdog when Rey already had fought a match, and then to win the "fake" title that was introduced by McMahon in the first place, and to STILL be a face? So, yeah...why? Booking and writing--refer to above...

4.) Jim Ross didn't comment much or offer the stunning accoutrements he usually brings to matches, being timed out by Cole. The Divas had a messy brawl. Cena was once again a face and a star. HHH is in charge, but hasn't really seemed to do anything but refuse to diminish his own status by letting Punk really get over on him. So what has changed? Is this like TNA's "Wrestling Matters"?

Yeah, I don't know...a lot of folks here, including Mr. Eck, have decided to give this time. I will as well. I have to say though, keeping fully in mind not to be reactionary---that this doesn't seem to be going well. Even Punk seemed a bit uncomfortable and didn't seem to me to show his usual dynamism and fire. I feel like HHH and Cena are unbending as far as their characters go, and that there needs to be some bending to accomodate Punk and to take advantage of the excitement he initially generated. This should really be about Punk. He proved he can do it--why not let him finish? Cena should be involved as a HEEL, obviously, but why do we need HHH as a strong authority figure, instead of one the fans can hate for screwing Punk? Otherwise, this status quo talk isn't going anywhere. I'm sort of feeling like we're being treated like we're stupid and impressed by superficial fancies again, where a week or two ago, I felt that the field was a lot more open. Sorry about length, but I think some issues need some more thought than just two lines.

I think HHH carried Nash's bags too. No wonder he's so huge, that must have been quite a workout.

The only concern I have is that if they keep mentioning Mrs. Levesque so much, maybe she starts to make appearances. That would be a waste.

I was at the MITB PPV, and I could swear that during the "Let's go Cena"..."Cena Sucks" chants, they were piping in fake vocals of people saying "Let's go Cena". It sounded really electronic and fake and it was coming out of nowhere because everyone was hot for Punk. My point is that I wouldn't trust the fact that on tv you heard more cheers for Cena. I'd love to get the point-of-view from someone in the audience. Also you have to remember that the Cena fans are little kids with high pitched voices, where the Punk fans are older dudes. If the crowd was 50/50, it would sound way more in favor of Punk.

I thought the Summerslam match was a little too predictable. I was hoping for at least some kind of twist to keep me off guard, but I guess there is still time for that.

I like Zack Ryder, but he's going to get old real fast, just like Jersey Shore did by season 3. I think the Smackdown role is an effective way to please his fans without actually having him contend for anything.

The biggest problem I have with the Tag Titles, IC Title and US title is that nobody ever cuts a promo saying how much they want these belts. They just have the matches out of nowhere once a month. Why not have Alex Riley cut a promo saying how he's coming after the US title belt and how much it would mean to him? Wouldn't that make people a little more interested? I'm okay with the tag titles being on low to mid card guys, but make me interested by having them at least cut a few brief promos from the locker room about the belts.

How come when they are booking the Royal Rumble and MITB PPVs, creative is dying to crown Alberto Del Rio as the next big thing. But once he wins, it feels like they bury his character. I think he's very average and don't blame them for burying him. I can't really picture him as WWE champ, especially for more than 2 months.

I absolutely HATED this episode of RAW.

It totally reminded me of a TNA show.
The whole time I was watching it all I could see and hear were the different TNA guys. And the sad thing is , I think the TNA crew could have done a much better job with this show format considering they do it every other week.

The dead give away was the opening spot. WWE in the past would have had this spot end with a Pedigree or a GTS.
Instead it set the whole show on a very TNA like arc.

Triple H = Hulk Hogan
John Laurinaitis = Eric Bishoff
CM Punk = Matt Morgan or Robert Roode
John Cena = Ken Anderson
Divas = Knockouts
R-Truth = The Pope
The Miz = Aj Styles
John Morrison = Kazarian
Rey Mysterio = Amazing Red
Alberto Del Rio = Crimson
Evan Bourne = Brian Kendrick
Dolf Zigler = Robbie E.
Vickie Guerreo = Cookie.
Alex Riley = Douglas Williams.
Santino Marella = Eric Young
Zack Ryder = Orlando Jordan
David Otunga = Jeremy Buck
Michael Magilicuty = Max Buck.

That Championship match should be a triple-threat match with Rey Mysterio... Its realyy not fair that he went through that whole tournament to lose to Cena, when Cena was fresh and Rey was already fatigued...

I'm hoping they go for the Cena heel turn. It makes sense that the power of being the Champ and the go-to guy for the WWE would go to his head. He's really beginning to believe he deserves that title. HHH could be getting into his head and making him turn on everyone to do his bidding, for the sake of the Company. You could see it when Punk came out during Cena's exchange with HHH. Cena's usually the cool-headed one, just laughing n bouncing around, and this time he was tense and defensive.

I don't know about you, but I think WWE plays shenanigans with the sound of the crowd... I've been to Raw, Smackdown and SummerSlam, and the crowd has been a lot louder in real life than they are on TV; and they cut out a lot of trash-talk from the crowds in the broadcasts. If they're that good at manipulating the sound, then its reasonable to say they tone down the crowd's reaction to Punk and raise the volume on Cena....

HHH might have heard it all when it comes to being put on the spot about his marriage, but that doesn't mean it angers him any less...

The Divas need decent writers.... the matches could be better if there was an underlying story to drive their enthusiasm. What happened to Eve blowing up at all the Divas for no reason? Never a follow-up to that...

Gail Kim eliminated before
I'm glad they went with the Beth heel-turn, though... She needs to go back to being the dominating force she's supposed to be....

I said previously in another post that the only real way that CM Punk can get over completely as a face is for him to Walk the Walk along with talking it. Promos are one thing, but the bottom line is WWE fans want to see somebody get their ass kicked. Punk's Promos are great, but WWE has only let him wrestle in this country one time since the infamous "pipe bomb" promo and that was at MITB. Let the man wrestle and show in the ring why he's "The Best in the World" in addition to on the mic.

Another problem with Punk getting over as a face is that he has no "true" heel to fight at this time. And that's something that any good face needs to get over completely. As good as Punk is, he can't get over as a face all by himself. So far the potential heels for Punk, Triple H and John Cena have given no indication at all that a heel turn is imminent. Yet John Cena got booed like a heel when he came out and confronted Laurinaitis, and it's obvious to me that's why Laurinaitis was there, to draw heat away from Cena, but it didn't work. Cena tried his best to get the crowd behind him, and ended up looking awkward and foolish in the attempt. The boos will continue to get louder for Cena no matter how hard WWE tries to deny it. But until WWE decides who's in what role, the fans will continue to be confused as to who the face really is.

It seems with the poll, WWE is actually trying to guage who to throw their support behind, Cena or Punk? Or in reality which I believe was to justify keeping their support behind Cena. But with the results it seems the fans are not going to make the decision easy for them. Does WWE have the testicular fortitude to turn John Cena heel? It seems doubtful that they do. The fan base seems to be all over the place right now, and with WWE seeming to be unwilling or incapable to steer them in any one direction, the confusion will only continue.

If WWE wants to get CM Punk over as a face they really have done nothing to help him. It's possible the end game will occur at Summer Slam, but I agree with Kevin, It's doubtful they will give the go ahead on a Cena heel turn, and will continue to force the Cena babyface character down the fans throats even as the boos get louder.

I could see Triple H turning heel, by screwing CM Punk out of the title, and yet leaving Cena unscathed as the unwitting benefactor. But that would be stupid because Cena just thwarted a screw job in his favor at MITB. It also seems Triple H wants no part of turning heel either, with Laurinaitis being used to put Triple H over as a face. Triple H is one of the greatest heels of all time, yet it's been several years since he actually was a heel, and he may love hearing his name chanted too much to make the turn.

I'm glad Punk re-signed but at the same time I have a feeling that forces behind the scenes will in a suttle fashion work to scuttle the momentum Punk has built and try to guide him back to the mid-card. After all, WWE had no real plans in pushing Punk after MITB, that much is obvious. If they did plan on pushing Punk as a face then things wouldn't be so awkward right now. Let's face it, they were using Punk as the credible heel to put over the top faces before the pipe bomb was unleashed and nothing more. If MITB hadn't been in Chicago I seriously doubt Punk would have been in the main event at all, and he would have left the company as planned. But something happened that WWE didn't plan on or even conceive, and that's CM Punk seizing the moment and lighting a fire throughout the wrestling world. The collateral damage from the pipe bomb CM Punk unleashed is still being felt, and so far in the aftermath, WWE has no clear idea of how to deal with it, and I'm sure there are some within the company who don't want to deal with it.

Who's going to fire the first shot as a heel? If WWE lacks the guts to turn Triple H or Cena, then they'll probably try to re-turn Punk, but that won't work because fans like myself will refuse cooperate with it. There is no perfect solution here. Either way they go, they will alienate a portion of the fan base. If Cena wins, Im done with WWE for a while. If Cena turns heel, the kids won't have their hero. I'm calling for WWE to make a monumental change in direction. However, If they choose to play it safe, they need to understand they'll still lose.

I wonder if location plays a role into it. Maybe Cena appeals to the audience in "Heartland America" while CM Punk appeals to the crowds in the major cities and the coasts. For example, what would the reaction to Cena and Punk be if they were in Des Moines, Iowa or Knoxville, Tennessee. Would Cena get more cheers than Punk in those cities? Cena presents an image that "Heartland America" eats up while Punk probably appeals to the major cities and the coasts. I know I'm generalizing here, but it does make you think.

I still have no idea what will happen next, which is a good thing. I don't the WWE will go their typical route and have Cena beat Punk clean.

Now that Triple H is the COO, what will become of the RAW Anonymous GM Podium? At least Cole won't have to read off a piece of paper while it sat atop the laptop keyboard!

how does Cena have any claim to the title what so ever?

Kevin:
Are we ever going to find out who the mystery GM is, or has that been written out of the storyline?

This might have been the worst crowd this year.Although i saw more people wearing the new CM PUNK shirt than Cena's red crap.CM PUNK was definitely having a terrible time getting reaction from the crowd.

Week in and week out i can feel the fake cheers getting more evident.Cena is always accompanied with fake cheers.The crowd looks dead and there are roof blowing cheers out of nowhere.

If cena is going to win at summerslam and crowned as the undisputed champ.Then i guess that's it.We will go back to Super Cena-Era.

@loco

As i have mentioned before the nexus is using Justin Gabriels Theme since last week for some reason.

Hey kev, i think its apparent that cm punk has lost some of his momentnum. The reason why is because in a way he seems hippicritical to rant and rave about wwe and then after a weeks time come back to the same place he said he dispise. Its even worse if this been the whole plan in the angle. Im sorry but cm punk doesn t act like a real rebel. Rebels only care about themselves,why was he fighting zack ryders battle?I mean you never saw stonecold campaigning 4 someone to get tv time. I just think that cm punk will not be the next guy because that rebel image has been broken a bit.True rebels don t comeback after one week and they definely can be gone for sometime and still make the wwe and the fans take notice.Don t believe me?Ask matt hardy.

So far, this year has been outstanding, with the Rock coming back,Danial Bryan winning mitb and the whole CM Punk angle. I just hope that WWE doesn't lose it's balls and pull the rug from underneath Punk at Summerslam and allow Cena to beat him clean.

Did I miss something, or was Gail Kim's exit a pretty big botch? She had just hit Alicia Fox and then she just fell over and rolled out of the ring. Maybe the camera angle made me miss something but I played it in slow-mo and still didn't see anything, lol

Truth & Miz's sketch was the highlight for me. Punk did well - still waiting to see how this pans out before judging too early, but he does seem to be looking for the cheers a little too much at the minute. The crowd was a bit of a strange one though, so not reading too much into the reactions personally

The crowd last night was atrocious. It was evident during the first five minutes that they were going to make it a long night for the viewer at home. My first reaction was that they were mild-mannered Midwesterners. Is there anything more to it than that? Regardless, they were a huge disappointment. Forget the Voice of the Voiceless; these people were just voiceless.

I was enormously disappointed in the way they ended Raw last night , with the "music-off" with Cena and Punk raising their belts. It just seemed extremely cheesy to me, and not something that Punk, in his current character, should be willing or even apt to do.

Where Raw took place had as much to do with it as anything, Indianapolis is a pretty vanilla town. They were probably cheering for the referees more than wrestlers. A lot of these towns maybe used to be hotbeds, but the ratings & poll results suggest to me that CM Punk is still bringing a lot of those fans back. Many are still probably cautious because we've seen this before, someone gets a few weeks of hype, gets the better of Cena a couple times before ultimately falling victim to "Super Cena", the moves of doom & then things go back to same ole crap.

We've been waiting for a Divas Tag Team Tournament? Is WWE going to have the 4 divas with ring ability fight every week? Or worse will they find a new way to bury Gail Kim?

While the anti TNA comments run at least 5-1 when Kevin does a TNA blog I cannot see how that stuff last night was better than a TNA show. Yes, the crowd is larger and the show is live -- or at least taped on the same night but if not for Punk I wouldnt even be watching right now. As it is I have to ffwd the DVR thru most of it. The crazy Sting angle is waaaaaaaaay better than what is going on in WWE right now although CM Punk is definitely worth the watch. Oh and the other difference is that they make you pay for your seat at a WWE show.

McGillicutty and Otunga...can they get any more vanilla...

Every WWE fan disses TNA yet TNA only has ONE CHAMPION! I really like Punk, always have. The dual champion angle is stupid when, as you said, Punk won clean at MITB! I, too, wish that Cena would turn heel.

Can't wait for Thursday night where WRESTLING MATTERS!

I enjoyed reading Maurice's and DSmark's perspectives.

The WWE appears to be a cautious organization, with a high premium plaed on consistency, predictability and trust, the latter of which appears to be afforded to only a small number of performers who are slotted at the top of the card.

The way this new angle for Punk is playing out seems to demonstrate that not much has changed in the WWE -- with Cena and HHH (two of those trusted guys) now siphoning off much of Punk's new found momentum.

Cena and HHH both cannot be sympathetic figures in this piece for it to work, no matter how they may wish to twist it. Quite frankly, few are likely to care about Laurainatis as the main heel in the matter, as he is someone who has had no significant on air role with the company. Yet that is the scenerio we are expected to believe, apparently so Cena and HHH can continue to be good guys and Cena can still hold claim to the title.

The excitement of having a new, anti estabishment, populist champ, has now been at least partially deflated, and is in danger of being further deflated, if there is to be a repeat of standard company politics and bookings.

Triple H just needs to go away for good. He's boring, useless and overrated.

50 comments (including your SmackDown thoughts) and you don't have the nerve to respond to one of them. Never in my life.

I've been a Punk fan since he first arrived in WWE/ECW.

raw IS MUCH BETTER WITH pUNK ON IT THAN OFF IT. eVERYONE JUST NEEDS TO CHILL AN SEE WHERE THINGS GO. rEMEMBER EXPECTATIONS ARE HIGH AND WILL BE HARD TO MATCH.

i FIND hhh ENTERTAINING MOST OF THE TME BUT i WORRY WHETHER HE CAN DO THIS ROLE AND PROMOTE THE TALENT RATHER THAN BURY IT.

I was really feeling the C.M. Punk storyline, but now everything just feels muddled (regardless Punk is still one of my favorite parts of RAW right now). I am still holding out hope that things will get turned around, but I am not holding my breath. I swear that the crowd in Indianapolis was confused, very strange. On a brighter note, however, other than the final segment, I really enjoyed RAW this week. I felt like there was great momentum, really wasn’t bored during any aspects of the show, which is rare for me. Even the Diva’s match held my interest. Loved the Miz/Truth segment, the conspiracy continues…

I wish it was lawler and JR in the booth....Cole needs to stick to smackdown his presence really was distracting on the program

I dunno Kev, I feel that the crowd was a bit subdued, but also that they were mixed with both punk and cena, and not really that much louder for HHH. I just feel like a lot of fans like both guys and that, like others have said, for punk to get a real face reaction, he needs to be against a real heel.

that said, i still think punk has a good shot at staying at the top if wwe treats him right

CM Punk's character shouldn't even be doing that sort of showboating to the crowd that Cena does. The adult male fans on Punk's side aren't going to squeal like little kids or lovestruck females.

Doesn't Rey Mysterio geta rematch clause? becuase every champion when they have lost the belt gets one?

The music off between Cena & Punk was the most silliest thing i have ever seen in years.Cena is used to such silly stuff and lame jokes(which again he was full of).

This def would beat Santino's green cobra glove.

Totally agree with most of the comments so far.

3 weeks after MITB and the excitement I felt when i saw CM Punk walk off through the crowd has been well and truly killed by these past 3 RAW's.

Monday's show was truly awful. The crowds won't completely boo Cena yet because he's done nothing to make them boo him. (other than being a god awful wresltler who is forced down our throats everyweek as Super Cena) and I thought HHH didn't help CM Punks open segment one little bit. The fact that he practically shot down everything Punk said ruined the bit for me.

Punk came back far too quickly for this angle to work, and the dual champions match at Summerslam was more predictable than the results of a Melina Match at the moment. (by the way what HAS Melina done to be getting the treatment she is? 5 times women/Diva Champion relegated to Jobbing like Barry Horowitz!)

Not impressed at the so called New Direction.

The two title holders meeting in the main event at the next pay per view? Pure genius! How many man hours did it take for the creative team to come up with this forward thinking angle? Worst squander of a great story line since the invasion angle back in the day.

"Doesn't Rey Mysterio geta rematch clause? becuase every champion when they have lost the belt gets one?"

Only when it suits the storyline (or it's Cena, he even gets rematches when he loses a championship rematch). Plenty of Ex Champions never given a chance to regain the title

I wish it was lawler and JR in the booth....Cole needs to stick to smackdown his presence really was distracting on the program

"The verbal exchange between Punk and Triple H was compelling and both guys did a great job."

Really? Really? REALLY? Like when Triple H said "skiinny fat ass"?

I believe Cena would have to go full fledged heel to get Punk over as a face long term. I don't see that happening although that is the shake up they need on RAW.

cena is thr real champ

"I swear that the crowd in Indianapolis was confused,"

I think that is part of what is expected with the "two champs, one a hero, one an antihero" deal.

Little kids get their hero and skeptical hard to please adults get their (anti-)hero.

Pretty smart WWE!

Why have just one hero that you know not everyone will look up to? Have two. Brilliant!

If there is room for Superman and Batman in the world, there is room for Cena and CM Punk in WWE.

I love it!

Kevin, will you write about Miz earning the number 1 spot on the PWI 500?

RESPONSE FROM KE: Probably when I compile my own list -- The Ring Posts 25.

Re: Kevin (a reader's comment at 4:17)

I think location/geography has the exact role that you are attributing to it. The family-friendly Cena does a lot better in middle America, while the harder-core Punk does better in the bigger cities.

The most striking regional difference has been in the northeast/old ECW territory. That area seems to go for the hard(er) core characters, while Cena's boy next door personality gets the worst reaction in that area.

I am admittedly not John Cena's biggest fan, but I think he's been solid - if not spectacular - in his battles with C.M. Punk. However, it is hard for me to suspend belief where Cena is being a touted as having any legitimate claim to the title.

First of all, he didn't event take part in the tournament that crowned the replacement champion for Punk - a tournament that few fans likely took seriously in the first place. Then he just suddenly faced off against Mysterio in the same show, a development that doesn't really make much sense from a booking or character perspective. This may be kind of a weird theory, but maybe The Miz was legitimately injured at MITB and the WWE didn't want to put that much pressure on him [though that wouldn't explain why the Awesome One was competing in a tournament the day after MITB].

My guess is that the storyline is going to bend and break over the next two weeks, but I do agree that for this to work, it is time to do something drastic with Cena's character. Whether that means turning him heel remains to be seen, but I am not optimistic at this point.

it was a great raw and rey was just a transitional champion u cant have cena compete in the tournament if he was expected to win the whole thing they wanted to spice things up and the crowd in Indianapolis was a really good crowd at least they cheered and booed and if they turned cena heel it wont do good for cm punk because the kids and women wont cheer for punk and the men would cheer cena because he finally turned heel if triple h turn everyone will still like him

I have to disagree with most people claiming that Cena has to turn heel for Punk to really get over as a face. I think in order for Punk to win over the Cena fans (who will always prefer Cena) HHH has to turn heel. HHH is a brilliant heel - that combined with Punk's huge talent would be more than enough for Punk to hit Austin levels.

At the moment WWE has three top babyfaces in one angle, and Cena's superhero character, with HHH's vanilla character appeal to the WWE audience more than Punk's edgier character.

I hope WWE on Raw was planting the seeds for HHH to turn, otherwise Punk is doomed to third place.

Forgot to say Kev, really enjoyed hearing your opinions on Punk, and your history in WCW, on Between The Ropes. You and Fritz make a really good team, would love that to be a regular!

RESPONSE FROM KE: Thanks!

The Punk thing was a nice one time excitement producing event for smart fans and the whole Chicago thing just made it that much more special. I think Kevin is right on when he points out there's no way Punk and this story line have staying power with casual fans. If WWE is going to tie their boat to Cena, God I wish they'd find a way to make him a more compelling character rather than a straight Bret Hart/Hogan face. No one's going to buy a heel turn, but for the love of God give him some complexity already.

I don't think we necessarily need John Cena to turn heel..but CM Punk has to beat him clean at SummerSlam in my opinion. This will at least change the landscape at the top a little bit, and make the younger fans believe in CM Punk too, in turn making him a top star and the undisputed champion. It wont hurt John Cena at all either, he's a megastar, the WWE just need more megastars!

For those that haven't seen it on Twitter or anything, take another look at Gail's "elimination." HHH asked about what happens if nobody is around to hear a pipe bomb, but what happens if no one in the back is watching the Diva Battle Royal close enough to see Gail just roll out and take a hike up the ramp?

Forget the TNA comparisons, that's straight up WCW right there.

What a difference week makes. Rey was WWE Champion one week and in a Tag match the next in a place where the Tag Titles are all but given up on. He should be in the Summer Slam main event or at least be given a rematch at the next PPV.

I haven't been a huge Punk fan but he is growing on me. If he fully turns face I would love to see a Punk-Miz program. They are the best in ring and on the mic in the business right now.

In any other set of circumstances, a heel turn for Cena would be inevitable at this point.

First he congratulates Mysterio after his
win, when he obviously knew (even in kayfabe) that he would be facing him in a rematch later in the night.

Then Cena, who was so "admirable" at MITB when he didn't allow Vince to screw over Punk, faced Rey, despite the fact that he'd already been in a match that night.

Now, this week, he verbally assaults and physically threatens John Laurinaitis.

Logically, these actions should lead to a turn. In any other situation, it'd be certain. But this is, despite the supposedly new leadership (and make no mistake, it's purely cosmetic), still the PG era. There are still hundreds of red shirts in every crowd for every show. Money is still the bottom line. That's not to say that a heel turn is impossible. It's just really, really unlikely.

Overall, I was unmoved by this week's Raw. Maybe I'm jaded, but HHH just doesn't really do anything for me as an authority figure, especially one who is, as of this week, so determined to play by the rules. Part of the problem is that they are clearly trying to run this angle parallel to the Stone Cold v. Vince McMahon angle that worked so well for so many years. The problem is, as many have pointed out, is that there has never been a character like Cena. In order for any wrestler to be successful, there has to be at least the illusion of unpredictability. Cena lacks that utterly. He never loses cleanly. If you call Punk's victory at MITB a clean victory, which is hard considering his distraction by Vince and Laurinaitis, it marks his first clean loss in how many months? And just two weeks later, Super Cena is back with a fake championship. That the higher-ups felt the need to bring in another title speaks for itself. They depend on Cena because he brings in money like no other wrestler can do. And the horrible thing is, they're probably right that that money would all but dry up if their sacred cow were to leave center stage. They've cultivated a fandom for Cena that is largely children. Kids are capricious. If their hero lets them down, or becomes a bad guy, or just leaves the show for a few weeks to let someone else step up to bat, they will turn their backs on him.

Think back to the Attitude Era. The biggest stars had multiple disposition shifts, and it largely didn't matter. People loved Stone Cold whether he was a heel or face. That gave Creative an astronomical amount of flexibility with booking. And if the fans turned on one wrestler, there were a dozen other guys at the top of the card with them to grab the ball and run with it. In today's WWE, that's just not the case. Cena and Orton are more or less alone at the top, with six or seven guys desperately trying to claw their way up into the stratosphere, only to have their fingers crushed under the boot of a creative team and management who are unwilling to take a chance. Orton should be the top heel on SmackDown, with his unstable anger issues and tendency to brutally attack any opponent who pisses him off. Instead, Christian, a guy who clawed his way into the fans' hearts by being a great wrestler, is a whiny loser who continues to be destroyed by Orton, despite the outcome of the match.

Nobody can argue that CM Punk could pull in as much merchandise revenue as a Cena or an Orton. His character is too nuanced for entire swathes of the viewers to get behind. But that shouldn't mean that he's relegated to the second fiddle position. Yet, barring a complete shake up of the power structure, he seems destined to do so. And he's in depressingly good company. Sheamus, Miz, Christian, Mysterio and R-Truth are all guys who were either on top or on their way there, only to suffer that greatest of slights in today's WWE: people started liking them more than the poster boys. As soon as that happened, they were quickly and effectively punted back down the card. With the exception of Christian, who is champion despite being made to look embarrassingly weak at every turn, those guys were pretty much one-and-done. If Punk hadn't take the initiative and dropping his pipe bomb of a worked shoot on an unsuspecting and lethargic fan base, I dread to think where we'd be today, about a month later.

Imagine if WWE had shown courage. CM Punk, unsigned, but showing up to tweak the nose of the WWE management. Cena, fired, his void filled by Truth, Miz, Mysterio, Del Rio (even though he doesn't do anything for me), or Morrison, who finally have their long awaited chance to truly shine.

Instead, we got the standard operating procedure: if they aren't Cena, bury them. Poor Rey won his first WWE Championship only to lose it 90 minutes later, Cena wasn't even gone for one week, and Punk was forced to come back too early, shooting the single hottest angle in professional wrestling in nearly a decade right in the stomach, where it stands, as of right now, still alive but bleeding out. I dearly hope someone with a say has the guts to do what's right for the business, the industry, but above all, the fans. But like another commenter, I won't be holding my breath.

Someone needs to sit Cole down and tell him to shut up. I'm pretty sure they didn't bring JR back to have him repeated talked over and down to. I've long said that if Cole must be the heel commentator, he needs to tone it way, way down and learn the art of subtlety. He should watch tape of JR and Lawler from back in the attitude era to see how one can be a completely obvious heel, without being so completely obvious. If he has to stay around, make him a manager already. He just isn't working as a commentator.

Hate to say it, but aside from punk's refrigerator pic and the comic con drop in, the way this angle has played out has been stale since the mitb masterpiece. Feels like he came back too soon. This past week he didn't have the edge he needs to get it done. Hope the summerslam build up and event make up for it. I still have fIth. Have enjoyed Cena lately much more than in the past. Jury still out on hhh as coo. Also, the video with axl and Kevin was stellar. Let's see a Zach Ryder v. Rated Eck web promo battle!

hhh has always been boring. His roid body is stupid. His jokes are mildly funny sometimes. He must be a master of politics. He is perhaps the worst superstar of all time. His music fits him swell. I wonder if shane o mac sees through the bull. I mean . . . spitting water? He makes no sense. I'd say he couldn't even carry Michaels' bags, but, you know.
I like punk. It's been interesting seeing him buried alive. It's compelling. He is a stinky stanky awesome nugget of truth. What do you do with him?

The thing that has turned me off to WWE the last few years in the constant 'rushing' of all angles that never allows any time for an actual build.

It feels to me that WWE still holds onto that insane mentaility of Vince Russon and bought into 'Crash TV', where they beleive our attention spans are of a gnat.

The only way to break us of this 'perceived' notion is to recondition the audience by slowing things down.

This whole Punk/Cena thing is soo rushed again, that any spark I had a few weeks back is already lost, especially after Punk coming back within 2 weeks of his 'supposed' departure. If that didn't scream worked angle, I don't know what does anymore.

By having the two have yet another WWE belt unification match so quickly is a travesty, and I can't help but feel that Punk's recent 15 minutes is on minute 13 now, and by this time next month, he'll be back to upper-mid card status....and the championship will change hands another 10 times between now and WM.

No, WWE has managed to suck out any glimmer of excitement only a few weeks into on of the most creative things they've done in ages.

Boooooo!

Yeah, "skinny fat ass" was right up there with "I have half the brain that you do!" for botched promos. Other than that, to me it was a fairly compelling segment. I had the thought a couple of years ago that HHH should turn heel and incorporate the real-life backlash against him as someone with excessive influence backstage and a reputation for burying people. I suspect that may be where they are going with this. So when I read recently that the payoff for this whole angle could possibly be to "get Triple H over," it immediately disgusted me, but then I saw that it could fit into the heel turn I had earlier envisioned. they've been coming up with for PPV's.

I love reading Ring Posts, but the comments were the straw that broke this camel's back with regard to reading comments.

I like watching wrestling, and I enjoy seeing good matches, good stories, and how the story develops. All of these comments are so negative that even when I enjoy the show, I am subjected to incessant complaints.

The complaints follow a pretty predictable and inescapable formula:

If something is good, get mad that it either happened too soon, or that it will get messed up eventually.

If something is building up, get mad that it isn't happening faster.

If the story is obvious, get mad because you know what is coming.

If something is unclear, get mad that the bookers don't have an apparent plan.

If a star is getting pushed, get mad that they're burying the internet favorites.

If a new guy is getting pushed, they complain that there isn't enough star power.

If you haven't enjoyed the last two months, you might as well just loop your Wrestlemania XV DVD instead of watching Raw because not every show is going to be The Rock vs. Stone Cold.

Last Monday episode of Raw was huge let down Punks return was ok but more of the same matches were boring Beth Phoenix was kind of of a surprise she made the heel turn thought it would be Eve i have heard on some blogs that John Laurinaitis may have Raw GM computer before HHH took over and it was good see the Miz and R. truth get back on track .

Its kind of funny, that you all still think this is all scripted?

You dont see the difference between Theater (as they always do)..
And when its real, from the heart?

I mean seriously... this is pretty sick. That all of the fans think this is all made up, when everything he says, is all truth.

I like John Cena and CM Punk more after this "angle"... just cause they been started talking the truth!

So i dont know, if you all are the smart fans, who i am then? lol

What's wrong with New Zealand?

RESPONSE FROM KE: Nothing.

@ Andrew: Dude! You just basically laid out the requirements for becoming a member of the IWC!! LOL;}

Jayson O. makes a great point. I concur wholeheartedly.

"The thing that has turned me off to WWE the last few years in the constant 'rushing' of all angles that never allows any time for an actual build."

Report: The Undertaker set to return in October at Vengeance PPV stay tuned .

I didn't watch raw, but tna was phenomenal this week.

I think the crowd on Monday sucked. And Punk working for cheap pops kind of turned me off. But all and all, I am still compelled by this angle. (Love the Living Color Theme)

I don't think they are really turning him full babyface. I think he is being turned into a kind of hybrid. Think back to the original shoot promo. One of the last things he said in that promo was something like "And you people who are now cheering for me tonight are just as big a part of the reason I'm splitting." Now he hasn't been killing the fans like that since but I still think he is going to keep some of his disdain for the audience and never become a full face or a full heel for that matter.

I also believe Punk will keep the belt at SS. I know nothing they have done in years past would lead me to believe that but I think they have to know that taking the belt off Punk AND putting it back on Super Cena that fast would kill Punks momentum and they have too much invested in him right now. The only way I see Cena winning the title is with a Cena heel turn and I still don't see that happening.

Look, this week wasn't the best week for Punk and WWE. But I think a lot of that had to do with the horrible crowd. And I agree wholeheartedly with two comments made above:

1. Punk plays much better on the coasts/metropolitan areas than in the "heart of Cena" country.

2. He needs to get back to wrestling. While I love his mike skills, he can't claim to be the best in the world when he hasn't wrestled since MITB. I realize he only officially returned on Monday. But they should have had him wrestle. He should be calling people out and demanding to wrestle them. If not Cena, call out Del Rio. Call out Truth. Call out some of the 1b level guys and show the world how good he really is.

johncena is going to win that match in summer siam so there

Well, although I've been watching WWE religiously, I haven't been keeping up on the online goings-on as far as the WWE goes over the summer months, but I just had to comment because of the shocking new developments in the WWE as of late: that being, the latest in what looks like the WWE's new biggest star in CM Punk, and the return of unstoppable monster, Kevin Nash (Big Daddy Cool Diesel), which is huge.

Well, first is first, I thought Kevin Nash and CM Punk put on a stellar verbal war for the audience, so much so in fact I haven't even finished watching RAW. I've only just finished watching it and am getting online to rave about how much I loved it. It's been a long time since I've seen a verbal war between two WWE superstars done so well. I've actually known CM Punk to be quite eloquent, vivid, and creative in his mic skills and persona he gives off but I didn't realize Kevin Nash could go toe to toe with him. That's probably because I never watched WCW and only watched WWF, last seeing Kevin Nash as Diesel like 17 years ago. I must say since CM Punk's restructuring of his gimmick to become this mega outspoken, impudent, and ballsy rebel that the fans can't get enough of, no one has been able to even compare to him in the trash talking department, that is, up until last Monday's RAW. Kevin Nash, to my surprise, more than held his own, quickly and harshly retorting to all of CM Punk's impudent commentary. The two were fantastic together. You know it's a good verbal war when the fans are going "oooooh!" I hope Kevin Nash returns as an active wrestler for good and we can see more of this type of promos.

I only have 2 complaints about the verbal war and neither of those complaints relate to Kevin Nash nor CM Punk. My first complaint is (A.) While I thoroughly enjoy the fans getting behind CM Punk as the new bold and brassy hero unafraid to say what no one else would dare say, I was infuriated by the obnoxious "what" replies at Kevin Nash's every word. This completely took away from the promo. I'm almost tempted to e-mail the WWE and try to have them ban the fans from saying that. It's completely disruptive to the wrestlers in trying to give a promo. It's not really any expression of disproval like booing either. It's just a pesky, infuriating behavior typical of a 3rd grader. (B.) After Kevin Nash's stellar comebacks for CM Punk, it was all ruined by Jim Ross on commentary, stating "Kevin Nash just sounded like a big whiner!" That's why I think Jim Ross is overrated. You can't completely diminish a stellar promo like that, especially as a commentator who's supposed to be hyping the promo. Kevin, I know I'm sometimes hard on J.R. but please re-watch that whole segment and then listen to Jim Ross and try to tell me 'his response didn't irk the hell out of me because it completely took away from the moment'.

Last but not least, words cannot even express how impressed I am with John Morrison over the last few months. His acrobatic skills in the ring are not only off the charts, but unprecedented. And that's saying something considering the high flying skills of people who came before him like Jeff Hardy and Shelton Benjamin. Having seen John Morrison these last couple of months, I don't think any other superstar in history can compare. The way he is able to twirl and spin and maneuver his body while in flight is borderline supernatural. I don't give a damn how horrible John Morrison is on commentary anymore. F anyone else who holds that against him now. He deserves to be pushed and become a main eventer.