LIVE #Raw1000 thoughts - July 23, 2012

11:14 - Quite the interesting ending to Raw and a rather enthralling character study into CM Punk.  First, the ref was knocked out, immediately followed by John Cena hitting the AA and getting a clear win over Punk (which did not count, since the ref was out cold).  This was slightly bothersome, however not significantly so.  For the past year, in their actual matches, Punk has been shown to be at least on Cena's level.  And we can always use the excuse that Punk suffered some damage banging into the referee.  Following that, the Big Show interfered and Punk reluctantly watched on as Big Show prepped a WMD.  He was obviously conflicted, unsure if he should just let it happen or if he should help him.  Ultimately, he let it happen.  Following that, he was notably torn as to whether he should take the cheap win even though it wouldn't be particularly honorable.  After a significant amount of turmoil, he decided to wake up the ref and go for the cover.  But he didn't get the pin. And when he went for his finisher, which was reversed into an STF, Big Show again interfered (thus ending the match).  Again, Punk was unsure what to do while Big Show made the attack.  Rock finally came to Cena's aid, but just as the Rock was going for the People's Elbow, Punk shockingly attacked him.  All the while, he seemed conflicted.

What does this all mean?  The way I saw it, Punk realized that he came THIS close to losing the WWE Championship, and that scared him.  It also preyed on his insecurities, which Eve pointed out a few weeks ago (yeah he's the champion, but the company still centers around Cena).  And because of that, he was willing to do whatever it took to stay on top.  I wouldn't say this is a heel turn, but it's certainly planting the seeds for an eventual one.  The ending certainly has people talking, that's for sure.

And hey!  History has been made!  John Cena is now the first person to cash in the briefcase and not win the title!

10:59 - I think we're going to see a screwjob finish.  If Cena were going to win it in a legitimate match, they would give this match MUCH more time.  I say Big Show interferes and Punk somehow retains.

10:52 - So we've only got about 20 minutes left in the show and there's some surprising stuff so far.  Particularly, what we HAVEN'T seen.  No Divas match so far (including the rumored return of Kelly Kelly). No Big Show.  No Edge.  And, most surprisingly (and as noted in the comments section), no Stone Cold Steve Austin.  Not only is he the pioneer of making Raw successful, but he's been somewhat of a constant in these Raw memorable moments.  They're clearly highlighting him, which seems strange (to this extent) if he's not here.  I'm not sure I see him interfering in the main event (which I do imagine Big Show will do) because it doesn't seem to make sense.  Very surprising.

10:45 - It's always awesome to see the Undertaker on TV and I'm a sucker for him and Kane as a team....so I loved that segment.  But I'm fairly certain Alex Riley could've cleared the ring of those six guys....I'm pretty sure Kane had it covered.  They couldn't have made the threat a little more believable?

Overall awesome segment, though.  Except Undertaker struggled with that hood a bit.

10:38 - Undertaker appearance?

10:34 - Just get it over with and say that Hornswoggle was responsible for GTV.  Makes about as much sense as the Anonymous Raw General Manager :)

10:25 - No f'n way.....Sean Mooney??!?!?!  He hasn't aged a day!

10:23 - That was a fun climax to the Heath Slater/Legends storyline.  I especially liked seeing all of the past legends (as well as some additional ones) reappearing to stop Slater from leaving.  This is actually the one time that I might argue that a losing streak worked.  A very, very, very, very, very rare instance.


10:18 - Okay, who do you think Slater is facing (incidentally, has nothing happened in 15 minutes?)

10:03 - Oh, how I can't wait to see everybody's reaction to Triple H clearing the ring of Brock Lesnar.  I didn't mind it (as long as Lesnar wins the match).  I was more bothered by Stephanie emasculating Heyman verbally and physically, actually.

10:01 - Just in case you were wondering, Heyman can't talk about Triple H's kids....but Stephanie McMahon can talk crap about Heyman's kids.

9:46 - I don't mind Miz winning the title.  I actually hope that Christian inserts himself into the World title feud, which desperately needs some interest in it (sorry, ADR/Sheamus isn't cutting it).  And how about throwing Miz in a feud with Sin Cara or somebody?  Build up that midcard and the IC title.

9:37 - I wouldn't mind seeing a full blown Christian/Miz feud (wish it were for the World Championship, though).  By the way, I HATE Miz's new look with the new look and the barely there facial hair.  Remember when WWE had Dolph Ziggler dye his distinctive bleach blonde hair brown, so that it looked like everybody else?  Terrible mistake which took away what made him unique.  Miz's fauxhawk was a recognizable characteristic that set him apart.  And he looked a lot better with it, too.

9:36 - Who faces Christian?  I'm hoping somebody surprising, i.e. not Cody Rhodes.

9:28 - Fantastic segment that probably topped anything we've seen tonight.  First off, CM Punk, The Rock, and Daniel Bryan exchanging insults behind the mic is guaranteed gold.  And it surely delivered.  Also, I LOVE the idea of building the Rock's title match at Royal Rumble in July.  Awesome stuff.

9:19 - I know the brand extension really means nothing at this point, but Daniel Bryan IS a Smackdown guy.  Why would the the Raw GM have any impact on his career?  For that matter, AJ (the new General Manager) is a Smackdown Diva in and of itself.  I need a flow chart.

9:16 - So far, no new WWE Championship for Punk.

9:10 - Wow, I did not expect that.  Not at all.  I'm intrigued.  I'm sure AJ as the new General Manager won't satisfy the people who felt she was being overexposed (however, I was NOT part of that group), but I find Bryan's role in this particularly interesting.  Was he going to marry her?  Did he have something up his sleeve?  Did he truly love her?  Are they now broken up?  Who's the heel?  Who's the face?  Rather intriguing stuff.  By the way, AJ strikes me as the kind of girl who really would have Slick officiate her wedding.

9:05 - This crowd is yelling "WHAT?" during a Daniel Bryan segment?  Isn't there a more appropriate one word chant?

8:57 - I thought we'd see Stephanie interrupt Triple H and Trish's workout routine in a throwback to their Attitude Era awkward moment.  Oh well.  Big wedding is next.  Was Bryan talking to mental patients?

8:55 - I will confess that at one time Dude Love was actually my favorite incarnation of Mick Foley.  Of course, that would be usurped by a tie-wearing loony Mankind.  This was actually a clever way of using him, instead of his typical cheap pop promos.

8:48 - "He's an invisible child.  How do we know he's dancing if we can't see him?"

8:45 - My gut, unfortunately, tells me that Bryan will turn on AJ.  But I'm hoping that's not the case.  I want these guys to end up together.  By the way, in that backstage skit, AJ showed she has more charisma than many guys on the roster.

8:38 - I have to say, a feud between Dolph Ziggler and Chris Jericho, with both of them in a bit of a tweener role (until determining which goes face) could be LOADS of fun.  Sign me up for that.

By the way, was Cole excusing JR from the ring?  If he's only doing announcing for one match, why waste it on some throwaway six man match?  How about the WWE Championship match?  Or at least something to do with the Attitude Era?  I hope I misinterpreted that.

8:28 - I don't know why, but the social media icons on the graphics that show the Superstar's name annoy me.  WWE realizes we can't press the TV screen to click the link, right?

Oh, and I guess that wasn't an official face turn for Jericho last week.  Sin Cara and Mysterio teaming is cool, though.  Is this a first?

8:26 - Great to see JR back at the announce booth.  But why was Lawler so surprised to see him with the goatee?  He had it last time Lawler saw him (on television) at WrestleMania.

8:19 - A fun segment that didn't outstay its welcome.  It was fun seeing every single significant member of DX together -- in fact, this version of DX never officially appeared together.  So this was truly significant.  The interchange at the end, with Shawn and Gunn arguing over who gets to say "And if you're not down with that...." was pretty humorous.  I'm also glad that the promo was interrupted, because I think it would've been somewhat weak if it was JUST DX patting themselves on the back.  There needed to be a conflict and some action.  Well done -- effective beginning.

8:09 - Even though it turned into their (annoying) schtick....for that matter, shilling merchandise is very un-DX as well (anti-establishment, afterall).

8:06 - Willing to see how this plays out, but Vince introducing DX is very un-DX.

8:04 - Really good opening video, with a nice mix of legitimate historic moments, celebrity appearances, lighthearted moments, sentimental moments, and moments that might have changed the industry.  Really cool stuff.  Surprised we didn't get a full blown new intro, though (to go with the new logo and new theme, apparently).  Onto McMahon....

7:14 - Okay, the 1,000th episode of Raw is going to start in about 45 minutes and I have to admit that I'm looking pretty forward to it.  I discussed this on Twitter earlier, but between CM Punk vs. John Cena, the Daniel Bryan/AJ wedding, the return of the Rock, the return of Brock Lesnar, and even the DX reunion (with the possibility of other DX members appearing) truly makes it feel like something big is going to happen around every corner.  Plus, we've got some returning legends (some of which could have substantial impact on the show) and the announcement of a new Raw/Smackdown General Manager.

My hopes for the show?  First and foremost, that CM Punk debuts a new WWE Championship.  And second:  WWE calms down with this friggin' Tout crap.  The Twitter thing got a little annoying, yes, but it was at least something I could relate to.  I really don't like or get this Tout thing.  Twitter is great because you can simultaneously check out many people's thoughts while not disrupting whatever you're doing.  You can watch TV and read what 15 different people think.  You can be at work and follow what's going on.  Tout is just too disruptive.  You've got to watch a video, so you have to do it one at a time.  And you can't really watch it while watching TV or talking on the telephone.  And the messages have to be, like, 15 seconds or something anyway....so it's not like you can't just put it in a Tweet.  I don't get it.

Check back at 8:00 for my LIVE thoughts.  And comment!  So that we can discuss the show.