That crowd was fucking molten lava tonight. I only watch the last few minutes of Orton/Christian and the last 15 of Punk/Cena, but goddamn! Psycho Orton is back, and hopefully for good this time, and Punk is Punk and he's the focal piece of WWE for the time being. The crowds are BEGGING to cheer for Punk, similiar situaton with Austin in 1997. I definintely feel like the kiddy, wacky, "fun" WWE is gone after tonight. It won't be as trashy and violent as the Attitude Era, but I think they're moving towards a more grounded, realistic storytelling. Or maybe I'm just way too psyched up because of the Punk win. They've invested 4 weeks of build up for this, they can't just ruin it all tomorrow night. Then again, they invested a few good months into the Nexus, and still fucked that up. So, who knows. I'm going to stay positive, though. For the first time in YEARS, my non-wrestling fans are actually talking about WWE and CM Punk. My roommate is getting sucked in too, and loves CM Punk (and R-Truth, 'cuz he's crazy). People that normally wouldn't give two shits about wrestling outside of the bubble that the wrestling world is in are being sucked in by this whole saga. It reeks of Austin vs. McMahon in the 90s and it's awesome. EDIT: I guess they want to build Del Rio up as a serious threat, or something, so he needs to keep the briefcase, but it would have been awesome if Punk grabbed that as well as the title before he bolted from the ring and escaped through the crowd. Small, small complaint, though. Other than that... all smiles here.
I have to say the rest of the PPV was excellent as well. I had zero hope on Daniel Bryan winning the briefcase or Christian winning the title only to unleash psyhco Orton.
Nevar. That would be the most amazing way for him to leave the WWE. But I do agree, the little looks bad.
CM Punk posted this on twitter "@WWEUniverse: It's 12:00 a.m. ... Do you know where your WWE Champion is? #MITB @CMPunk" The champ is...here
lots of speculation. they both have ties to outside organizations, and both are heavily pimping that group in public. Not saying a Ring of Honor stable will invade WWE or something, because that's crazy, but Bryan turning heel (wouldn't even be a heel turn really, associating with Punk right now would get you cheered) could be explained a number of ways. He's constantly under appreciated, overlooked, and Michael Cole (among others) are always making fun of him. He doesn't owe anything to WWE, much like Punk doesn't (kayfabe wise). They both are more valuable elsewhere, especially since one has a legally binding contract for a World Heavyweight title match anytime, anywhere, and the other is the WWE Champion and isn't even signed to the company. It's a lot like the Rob Van Dam stuff in ECW when WWF was working with them. In that, RVD claimed he was worth a lot of money to Heyman and ECW, but he was worth MORE elsewhere because of his talent and the buzz about him. In this angle, Punk and Bryan are worth a metric fuckton to WWE, but they're worth waaaaay more outside because of the titles and contracts both of them have. PWInsider claims NO ONE in WWE is talking to anyone about this angle, and they all claim that it's being kept on the ultra down-low and no one really knows where this is headed besides the obvious people up top (and Punk). They're just guessing, but a lot of dirt sheet guys are claiming he's signed an extension for now, which is pretty obvious if you watched the PPV last night Oh yeah, and WWE.com says Vince punched Johnny Ace in the face after the PPV (the guy Cena decked was Ace). It's obviously worked, but Joey Styles and his staff do an excellent job with the site these days. Soooooooooo excited for tonight. We We We We so excite.
I want to be excited. Like, a lot. But every time I do, it's just a matter of time before the entire thing devolves into LOL just kidding DA CHAMP IS HURRRRRRRRRRR! Like, every time. Without fail. I"d like to think since they have Punk blatantly calling them out on it now, it's a sign they intend to end it. But, you know, they have directly acknowledged the 'John Cena steamrolls everybody all the time no exceptions' thing before, and ended it with... John Cena proceeding to steamroll everyone anyway.
I don't think you'll have to worry about anything. Obviously the end game is for Cena (or someone) to end Punk's reign, but it's not going to be tonight. Cena is claiming he's been fired on Twitter, so that'll probably be detailed a lot more on RAW. And Punk is gone, he has NO reason to appear tonight, and if he does, I'll kind of be disappointed. Vince offered him everything, and he still wouldn't stay. He wasted a split second gloating to Vince last night before he bolted through the crowd. Give it a chance. I am, and it's the most fun I've had with wrestling in awhile. For once, I'm not ashamed to tell people that I'm watching wrestling tonight, because my friends are doing it too! Oh, and: Colt Cabana, Ace Steel and YOUR WWE Champion.... CM Punk. Awesome.
Remember how CM Punk said the WWE would be better off without McMahon? Well, after tonight's raw, there is more incentive now for Punk to sign a contract. The thing is, I'm not sure if it will be publicly announced. Good insight on that Bryan angle... Never really thought of that! Exciting times in the WWE right now! Love it.
For some reason, a lot of people are thinking Triple H has actually taken over as CEO or whatever Vince's title is in real life. Like, ESPN journalists and close friends of Triple H, like X-Pac. Anyway, this whole angle is a slow burning one, which is just fine. All they did was write off Vince's character on-screen, although I'm a little disappointed they didn't run with the John Cena stuff. Anyone else catch the TNA reference, brother? I bet Vince Russo and Dixie Carter's heads are spinning. Punk tweeted a picture during RAW of a girl asleep at the baseball game he's at, saying "drunk at the Phillies game or watching RAW?". That's about how I felt, honestly. They should have went with a Deadly Games tournament circa '98 for the new title. Like, a huge field of competitors, lasting until SummerSlam. Then Punk returns, and yadda yadda.
I hear ya. I was watching this tournament not believing it for a minute. I am glad I started watching it late, therefore the DVR worked all the way through the show. Some matches bored be half to sleep. ADR vs. Truth, for example. and that Diva's "match" was a joke. On that thought, WWE needs to revamp it's Diva program... I'm sick of watching Diva tag team matches of goodies vs. baddies. Its boring, stale and just not fun. They need to give the belt to Beth Phoenix and have her kick all of the Diva's asses. At least I'd watch that... I read too that Waltman said that Vince stepping down is legit. He's damn near retirement age, to be fair. Legit or not, This whole story feels fresh. I havent been this excited since the formation of the Nexus. I can't wait to see what happens next Monday. I did catch the "Brother" reference and it was funny to watch Vince's face. I still don't see TNA as a formidable threat or entertaining TV. It just reminds me of the really bad WCW days during the end of the Monday Night Wars... On a side note, I'm glad the WWE is utilizing social media outlets to further along story lines. It makes them feel more believable and more real... What do you think of it?
Raw was a little slow but it was expected after a very awesome PPV. My only grip is that the outcome of the tournament is a little predictable. My prediction is that Rey will beat The Miz for the belt only to have Del Rio cash in on him, leading to Del Rio Vs John Cena for the title at Summerslam. I hope I'm wrong and we get something fresh and exciting. Things have been good so far and I just can't help but worry it'll go back down hill.
I think the WWE is aware of this and they realize that they are onto something brilliant right now. To Casey's point, I can see an uprising of under appreciated talent stepping out and making a name for themselves. I hope they don't fuck the pooch on this one.
I would armchair book, but I don't even know where to begin with this now. Triple H taking over really throws things for a loop. It can go multiple ways. Like I said before, Corporate Trips, fighting for the honor of WWE versus the rebel CM Punk, fighting for the honor of WRESTLING. or something. Maybe Triple H puts a bounty on Punk's head, like his heroes Harley Race and Ric Flair would do in the old days. Maybe Punk will be back next week in video form, taunting the WWE Universe. All I know is, when Austin hosted the All-Star night on RAW weeks and weeks back, CM Punk foreshadowed all of this. Austin made that Punk/Cena match, and Punk said Austin just said into motion events that will change the landscape of WWE forever. And here we are, with no Vince McMahon, no WWE title, and Triple H is the new boss. I love storylines like this, where seeds are planted months and months in advance, leading to a big storyline.