Heading out of Summerslam, we get a feud shuffle at the top of the card, finding out who everyone’s facing on Raw. Most interestingly, and unsurprisingly, CM Punk will be feuding after a fashion with those in authority. Triple H claims he didn’t order Kevin Nash to attack Punk at Summerslam, but Nash claims it was H who told him to, and some heavy foreshadowing suggests it was at Stephanie’s behest. Shawn Michaels has also recently cancelled a tour, so it seems he might help reunite the click on Raw. Unsurprisingly, this seems an awful lot like it could be massively cool or ruin everything that’s been built.
On Raw, Punk confronted Nash as a full on face. He talked circles around Nash, who certainly seemed off his game and genuinely insulted, then went to go after Nash only to be stopped by security. This was, as I’ll be far from the first to note, shades of Steve Austin, and that kind of reaction will certainly help Punk retain all the popularity he’s gained. A really cool touch was Nash coming out without music. Either Diesel Blues or Wolfpac would have drawn a nostalgia pop, but the lack of music reminded that he’s the guy who cost Punk the night prior. Letting Nash be a heel is a very good move and helped Punk’s transition into a good guy.
This seems likely to lead to Punk taking on Nash and he absolutely should win that given that Nash isn’t a full time competitor, but neither is Nash really known for his willingness to job. Ideally, Punk beats Nash and then goes on to either Triple H or HBK, calling in backup as needed from Colt Cabana/The Kings of Wrestling or just being dominant and Austin-esque himself. This would seem like a lot of top guys to put him over, but since none are active wrestlers, there isn’t even any real risk involved, as the Cliq don’t need protecting. They are, however, so noted for selfishness that it seems more likely that this goes like every other time the Cliq has gotten together, and they just steamroll the up and comer, making him look like a fluke. If they go that terrible path, honestly, expect these columns to end, as it would be brutal to watch. Still, this was an excellent start on Raw, and Punk is transitioning so beautifully to a face, his momentum might be unstoppable without WWE doing something truly inane.
John Laurinaitis is a mess on screen. He’s looking to make a pact against Punk with Nash, but he’s got absolutely no screen presence. His seemingly legitimate smarminess might earn him some heat, but, really, he’s uncomfortable on the mic, and so forgettable that WWE constantly has him repeat who he is to remind fans.
Alberto Del Rio got to look great on his first night as champion. You’d have to be blind to not notice he’s the real beneficiary here. Del Rio seems likely to get a big push, and he started that by beating Rey Mysterio cleanly in his hometown. Now he gets to move his focus to John Cena. Cena really doesn’t need the belt, but WWE is also equally unlikely to have him keep losing cleanly, so, in order to show no bias, Triple H will likely put Punk into the Cena-Del Rio match at Night of Champions. Nash can then interfere again to cost Punk the match and move us to the next level of that feud, while giving Cena a shot at Del Rio solo by Hell in a Cell, where Del Rio can, having defended the belt successfully for two months, cheat to win.
Rey Mysterio lost in his best Raw match in ages and will now likely be demoted from this feud. You can tell because the Miz otherwise has absolutely nothing to do and no one to face. Since he’s still doing a ton of publicity for the ‘E, that won’t stand. Rey is a high profile opponent who still “robbed†him of the title in that tournament weeks ago. It’s a good thing that Rey is free, too, as Miz’s terrible Jared from Subway segment was the worst thing on Raw. Rey and Miz might get a slow burn since Night of Champions keeps them off the PPV in all likelihood.
The Alex Riley and Dolph Ziggler feud, in which Riley is trying to get gold and separate Ziggler from Vickie Guerrero, got a new twist. Jack Swagger, in yet another mediocre match, this time with Riley, got to win thanks to Vickie’s distraction, then Swagger entreated her to become his manager. That’d be fine and creates a lot of storyline potential save that Swagger looked poor in his match, blew up within 5-minutes, and was entirely out of breath when he tried talking to Vickie. He was over during the Michael Cole-Jerry Lawler feud, they let it sit, and, well, it sure doesn’t seem like Swagger really deserves a push now.
Alex Riley, however, is a different story. He reminds the esteemed Andy Mac of Sting early on, and I see the comparison. He’s lost a lot of his pop with the older fans, but his cheers now sound an awful lot like Cena’s, indicating success with the younger and female fans. Since Cena hits that demographic pretty much solo now, expect the A-Ry push to continue. He’s one great match on a big stage from being really over. Ziggler could totally give that to him, though the inclusion of Swagger is less than encouraging on that front.
We also got some minor development on the tag scene. Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne teamed to defeat Joe Hennig and David Otunga. Kofi and Bourne looked great together and this will obviously set up a tag title match, which the new duo will hopefully win, sending Otunga and Hennig back to developmental. Either way, at least they’re building the tag title match since it has to be on PPV since every title will be defended.
Finally, we had R-Truth and John Morrison battling falls count anywhere. The match wasn’t bad, but it showed the same problem Morrison almost always has: he struggles to make it seem like he really hates his opponent/is trying to beat on them. He gives a good trying to win, but a poor trying to get revenge. In the current climate, to climb the card, the latter is needed. Since Morrison still hasn’t figured that out, don’t expect him to make the leap anytime soon.
Overall, Raw was mostly mediocre. There were quite a few storylines kicked off and twists put into old feuds, but the show was and felt like a first act: there’s some exposition necessary to get us to the rising action. The success of that early work was limited with only Punk, as usual, seeming really must watch. Still, as long as he’s so consistently excellent, there’s no missing Raw and that’s a huge step up from the past decade or so. 7/10 rating and see you next week.
