1. I will be the first to admit Randy Orton has really been on top of his game lately. If Raw’s Money in the Bank Match is going to be the ‘main event star that just needs a push’ match then I am fine with Orton winning this one. Any feud Orton has, except John Cena, will be new, fresh and exciting. CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, any member of The Shield or even Bray Wyatt would make for some exciting television once Orton cashes in his briefcase. If the WWE doesn’t plan to have Orton or Damien Sandow cash in any time soon I would love to see these two continue to work together. Their match was a great way to kick off Smackdown.
2. Before CM Punk took his much-needed and deserved sabbatical rumors were flying that Punk was just ‘going through the motions’. Now that Punk is back full-time again and is on the fast track to collide with Brock Lesnar and his former best friend, Paul Heyman, at SummerSlam Punk is back on top of his game. Punk and Heyman’s ability to go back and forth with each other is selling the main event to arguably the WWE’s number two pay per view while only seeing Punk and Lesnar in the same arena maybe twice before their match; bravo.
3. Once SummerSlam is over I am very curious to see what they do with CM Punk and Brock Lesnar. I doubt they would continue their feud into the next month. Has enough time passed to see Punk get back into the WWE Title picture? Will the WWE go ahead with previous plans and light the fuse between Lesnar and The Rock? If so, what does Brock do at the Royal Rumble? Sit out the show? Enter the Rumble and be a team player by putting over a young talent to end the most anticipated match each year?
4. I am not a fan of the WWE doing The Usos and Mark Henry against The Shield at SummerSlam. It feels like a bit of a let down for what was the hottest thing in pro wrestling. The WWE has booked The Shield backwards and they must come up with something for the three members of The Shield. Yes, The Usos have earned their spot in the tag team division and there is no doubt Mark Henry deserves a match at SummerSlam so why not give us a Tag Team Titles Match and a United States Title Match?
5. Every time Titus O’Neil gets TV time I am impressed. From his now trademark bark to his annoying over the top whistle blowing there is serious money in Titus being a player in the WWE. He moves pretty well in the ring for a guy his height and is the single thing carrying any weight for the Prime Time Players these days.
6. I’ll admit I was very excited to see Rob Van Dam come back to the WWE but since his return he has done a very good job filling out the mid card of each night. Once his contract is up the likes of Alberto Del Rio, Curtis Axel and Fandango will probably all have benefited from RVD coming back to the WWE. If you read the spoilers you know Christian will be taking on Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Title at SummerSlam; unless the WWE has a better idea for RVD this was a swing and a miss. Del Rio could have really used a big win for a household name in professional wrestling but maybe a great feud between Christian and Del Rio will emerge.
7. For the first time in almost three months I was let down by Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee. Maybe I just expect too much but their back and forth banter on Smackdown was a huge letdown. It reeked of someone else wrote thisfor them but I just wasn’t sold. Kaitlyn coming down and hitting the spear on AJ just about tells us we are in store for a mix tag team match at SummerSlam; huge let down for Ziggler.
8. Maybe it’s just me but if the Wyatt Family, minus their leader Bray, is going to have their debut match on WWE TV maybe, just maybe it should have been advertised. The Wyatt Family is the newest pet project for the WWE and for this debut match should have really happened on Raw with at least a week’s notice, even if they are squashing Tons of Funk.
9. Yes I spoiled next week Smackdown’s biggest news but the news of the night has to be the WWE focusing on their mid card talent. Not only did Christian and Jack Swagger headline Smackdown but we got a great continuation of the feud between former best friends Cody Rhodes and Mr. Money in the Bank Damien Sandow. I really hope they continue to have Sandow and Rhodes feud; these two were a great tag team and will make even better adversaries. There is money in a long-term Rhodes and Sandow feud.
10. I am anxious to see what happens over the next few weeks on WWE TV: the Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel is still without an opponent, who will Randy Orton face and other questions will be answered soon on both Raw and Smackdown. Until next week guys, leave a comment, tell a friend, listen to the latest HTCWrestling PulseCast on HTCWrestling.com or on iTunes, follow me on Twitter @CamDougharty and let’s talk rasslin!
