Timber

And they've shot there load in 2 weeks. Fucking pathetic writing.


like the new entrance music though.

stingermck

Awesome

Drav3n

I hope this isn't Punk's new music...

Shamus McAnally

Way to keep him "gone" for a while. That's the E for you. Even if this ends up being great, still had to put Punk back right away.

I think that music/lyrics are perfect for Punk, whether it sticks or not.

Timber

Looks like Nexus is dead with Punk's new color scheme.

Cory02

Great ending. Loved it. But....way too fucking soon. I would have loved for the "random" Punk sightings to continue for at least a few more weeks. And it doesn't make sense for Punk to be so hated his name isn't allowed to be spoken on WWE TV but he somehow gets backstage and gets to change into his ring gear.

DthRdrX

A few pages back boredsilly called me out for thinking the worst about Raw after Punk's win, so I'll go on record and give major props to the WWE the last two weeks. We've had two Raws in a row full of nothing but great wrestling matches! Even the diva match tonight was entertaining and a little less 'PG'. They even came out of this with Punk probably getting over more than anyone else in the company and a certifiable main eventer.

DthRdrX

Give it a week and we'll be able to get that Punk shirt off the WWEshop site ....

cerial442

They couldn't keep Punk gone for too long, it would drag out too much. Plus with that ovation he got, they need to capitalize on him.

GuessWho

Yep--his entire titantron video was based on its imagery. I'm re-buying it

EdTheRipper

Having seen the ROH Summer of Punk, I damn near shot out of my seat when Cult of Personality started. I'm ecstatic to have Punk back on tv already. While I thought the Comic Con and AAW things were cool, I really didn't want to sit through a summer of crappy YouTube footage. You've got to strike while the iron is hot and right now, that iron is smoldering.

Cory02

When I saw Punk come out in that shirt I thought: a) you def did the right thing to eBay yours when you did and b) I'm buying one when they put them online.

EdTheRipper

Yeah, I can't wait for them to officially release that Punk shirt.

TheKing

OK, if you're going to bring back Punk, why would you wait until the match was over? I know some people dislike non-finishes, but if there was ever a time to have a non-finish on a match, this was it!

Taking the belt off Mysterio not only makes him look weak, it also makes Miz look weaker, and it does nothing for John Cena. The only positive in the whole matter was that it made the new title completely irrelevant and worthless. If that was the goal, then congrats to the writers.

Now while I'm not glad Punk showed up, I was surprised he did so soon. Steph must have had his number.

I am interested in seeing where this goes now. Is he "re-signed" or did he show up as a "free agent?" Does his return wipe the Mysterio and Cena wins out of the record books? I mean, the champ has 30 days to defend his belt, right?

I'm convinced that Punk can make this all work, but everything just got trickier...

edytwinky

They had to bring him back even if it was too soon. They need him for ratings.

Looking forward to see where this goes.

Me007gold

I am shocked at how "cheap" Cena's belt looked compared to the Real WWE Title belt

EdTheRipper

Same. I've been pretty excited about Raw since Punk's first big promo.

The bottom line is, whether you think they brought Punk back too soon or not, it's got people talking. It's got me looking forward to Raw every week...something they really don't do all that often. And I know I'm not the only one who feels that way.

SexualPudding

If Punk signed an extension only through Summerslam and is leaving right after, they need to have him on tv the next few weeks to keep building to that match. Holding him off tv longer when they only have a short window would be asinine.

rhpsozzy

Wow, they just made everything leading up to the Money In The Bank PPV completely pointless.

MigusMaximus

Too soon......way, WAY too soon. And I will tell you why.

But first the positives.

First, they fixed a BIG WRONG by bringing back Good Ol JR. If I cant have Joey Styles back, JR knows how to call a match like its both a sporting event AND a story. Cole is OK as himself in doses. But this heelish character of his is more annoying than getting over any "entertainer" or angle. Put him on Smackdown where he belongs where he cant do as much damage.

The H as the new figurehead should work. Yes, he did repeat himself way too much this week. But he's been off TV, with the exception to the lead up to Wrestlemania, for over a year, and the Wrestlemania H was the serious H, not the goofy, wisecracking, get pissed when you need to character that he knows how to do and will get to in time.

Morrison coming back is huge, but only if they let him get over.

And I will watch the last 3 minutes of this RAW over and over and over again for a long, long time. The different music was perfect. Punk's initial enterance onto the stage and the camera work was perfect. The annoucers laying out was perfect. The face off was perfect.

Now what?

For all the stides forward that WWE creative has made in the last month, they have written themselves into a few deep holes that may not be able to be dug out of. Punk came out and said what everyone was thinking but couldnt say. He was the first person to keep saying "wrestler" even though as of Wrestlemania weekend, that word is banned in WWE. He gave good reason why he was going to leave and why is was important for him to leave with the belt. And creative had the guts to make it happen IN CHICAGO, Punk's hometown. And Punk stayed away, doing stuff off WWE TV but with the belt. They create a new champion without using the term "stripped" or "title vacant." You put one of your rising stars who has been buried of late (Miz) vs the kid's second favorite wrestler who is on borrow times because he has had "surgery five times on my left knee (dont try this at home!) (Mysterio). And you have Mysterio go over for absolutely no reason and bring Cena in to take the belt back like this whole past month never happened.....and you know Cena HAS to have the belt at WM vs "Duane" because....well, because that's how this has to go down, right?

And let me give Cena his due here. He has wrestled (I repeat in bold type...WRESTLED) two of the best matches I have seen since WCW and ECW closed their doors 10 years ago. For how much his character is shoved DOWN OUR THROATS, it cant be said he doesnt eat, sleep and bleed this business.

But its not 1986 anymore. You have 6 hours of fresh wrestling (there's that word again) on TV every week between the two major promotions, plus tons of internet coverage, and at least 2 PPV's a month. The time where you could have a Hulk Hogan hold the belt for over a year and put over 3, 4 angles tops in a year is over. Its this antiquated thinking, while not necessarilly Cena the person's fault, is where the epicenter of what most "wrestling" fans find to be the most aggravating of what the product has become in 2011.

I want it to be the CM Punk era now. He was right. And he put his money where his mouth was. And now he is wearing shining white, and the majority of us not female and not under 15 are all behind it. Recent history and deep history show's us, though, that he who was had the crown for a long time is wont to relinquish it. And I knew....just knew....that using one Wrestlemania specifically to set up the next year's Wrestlemania, in 2011, would bite WWE in the ass.

I agree that with an angle this hot, it was almost impossible to keep Punk off TV for too long. But I just kept thinking of Shawn Michaels leaving as IC Champ and coming back with the belt as "The Real IC Champ" while Razor Ramone was the new champ and the rising star, and seeing those 2 Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship belts (when that title still meant something) hanging over the ring was too good a picture not to replicate here.

Since not much time has passed, I dont know if there is a clear distinction between these now 2 belts. And it frustrates me....very, very much.

One last thing-the WWE wont truely get over this hump, IMHO, until they make the WWE Championship (the championship with the true linage back from Sammartino to Graham to Backland to Hogan to Savage, RIP, to Warrior, to Flair, to Bret Hart, to HBK, to Stone Cold, to the Rock, and to Brock Lesnar) belt a true symbol of sports and entertainment and not of merchandising.....and AN F'N TOY!

wsox2009

This better lead to a Mysterio Heel turn. I liked Rey in WCW but feel like his schtick is stale now. But Mysterio got screwed more then Christian did to Orton.

raven56706

damn it... if i knew he was coming back i would have not paid 500 bucks on that ebay t shirt!

boredsilly

Yeah, I think the Miz v Rey match was really good. It makes me want to see them in a full fledged fued, as they had some really good chemistry. But then Rey has had a string of pretty awesome TV matches over the last two months, so that shouldn't surprise me. I just think they would have a really good program. And man, I've said it before, but Miz has the best DDT in the business right now. That shit looks amazing. I wish that was his finish instead of the SCF.

Really, REALLY, glad to have JR back. I think Cole is solid when he isn't doing schtick, but he was really getting on my nerves tonight. He really hurt what was otherwise an awesome title match, by doing his fangirling for Miz. I would love to see that same match with JR calling it straight up. I don't dislike Cole at all, and I think he's really talented and can be entertaining, but they need to pick a lane for him and keep him there. He's a good play by play guy, he could be a good on-air heel manager/authority figure, but mixing the two just grates on my nerves.

Triple H is alright in his new role, but I hope he isn't on TV every week past Summerslam. I've always liked Triple H, but I don't think his strong suit is holding court on the mic. In his new role, I definitely think less will be more. What he's doing, which is solid, shows how amazing Vince McMahon was at what he did.

raven56706

Michael Cole thing was hilarious to me... doing the spitting and all had me rolling..

my opinion... yes they could have dragged the whole thing out but unfortunately with a business, business comes first.. WWE has so far come up with certain ideas lately to grab the attention of the viewer... me being the example... i havent watched raw consecutively in years... now i watch to see what happens next... plus now with kids out of school, they need to put the seeds out there.

CM punk was bound to come back... for us adults, we knew where this was going... but for kids who want someone to be the anti cena, they need to be reminded constantly..

So far, WWE has me watching again every week to see "what happens next"...

my.02

boredsilly

Regarding Punk's new theme. I think the lyrics fit him perfectly, but I greatly prefer the feel of his other theme better. I hope he keeps that, as it has a much better "energy" to it than Cult of Personality does. But this could just be me resisting change. Still, while his return might be sooner than it should be to be most dramatically effective, I'm glad Punk is back on tv -- even if just until Summerslam. The last two weeks of Raw could have been spaced out over a month or two, but I'm actually glad WWE sort of rushed through things to get to where they are now.

Now, I'm just going to brace myself for when the internet losses its collective shit if and when Punk loses to Cena at Summerslam to unify the WWE championships. This is what I'm calling if Punk is only back until Summerslam. If he's around for a while, I would love to see Punk run with the title for a while.