LIVE Raw thoughts - August 20, 2012

11:15 - I thought the stuff with Punk and Cena was epic.  Truly great.  These two have awesome chemistry with each other and truly do bring out the best in each other.  Both guys hit all of the right notes.  Punk pointed out the fact that he hasn't main evented a show since winning the title and Cena pointed out the fact that, to an extent, Punk has rested on his laurels.  And while Punk has held the title for 9 months, Cena held the title for over a year.  In essence, Cena is not obligated to respect Punk.  And if Punk DOES want Cena's respect, it's to award him the #1 Contender's shot without any ultimatum.  It's just to prove he's better.  I thought both guys came across great (even Cena, who had the unenviable task of not looking too arrogant and unlikable).

The stuff with Lawler dragged on a little too long, especially since Lawler's issues with Punk seemingly came out of no where, where he's completely ignored the past 9 months because Punk didn't save Cena once.  But I guess, with that kick, Punk's heel turn is solidified?

10:55 - While Punk's Hitman trunks were super duper awesome, I'm a bit surprised he's wearing them again.  Like his GI Joe and Macho Man special additions, they were just one-time only things.  I figured these would fall into that same category.

Oh, and I guess we're not getting a new WWE Championship tonight either.  Night of Champions, maybe?

10:45 - If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time Jericho has left as a face.  And since AJ made the stipulation (without any real provocation), I can't help but wonder if she's going to suffer any fallout.

10:20 - Odd decision with Kaitlyn winning.  I also enjoyed Layla's shocked expression, as if the vast majority of the audience has any idea that they've been teaming together recently.

10:12 - Odd that the two Divas the audience most cares about (Beth and Kelly) aren't even in this (despite being in the graphic).  This whole thing just seems awful.  Audience doesn't care, and the Divas look lost.

10:05 - Cena, you were legally thrown out of the ring and one of your opponents pinned the other.  It's hardly the most heinous thing that's ever happened.

10:04 - I guess this is what happens when you want to be on Raw.

10:00 - When Michael Cole gives his hourly update ("we're entering our third hour..."), it sounds like a telethon.  That's not good.

9:58 - In last night's LIVE SummerSlam thoughts post, I noted that Miz was wearing trunks that didn't match his jacket.  Now he's wearing trunks that DO match that jacket....which he's not wearing.  Sheesh.

9:53 - There was a little confusion over whether that was a Big Show face turn.  I'm inclined to say that it was not.  The announcers didn't talk him up positively, and his post-match pre-taped interview was rather heelish as well.  At this point, I'd still say Show is a heel.

9:35 - I still hate those stupid camera shots where they show the live audience watching the interview on the Titan Tron.  Why on earth do you think I want to watch somebody watching TV?

9:27 - Where the hell was Sheamus to tell the ref about Sandow pulling Clay's tights?!?!

9:19 - A while back I had proposed intersecting the Tensai/Ryback/Clay undefeated streaks and having them feud with each other....noting that new stars are sometimes better served feuding with their peers (and climbing up the ladder together) instead of being paired with established stars.  They didn't go that route, but it seems like they used the general idea.  We now have Ryback up against Jinder Mahal, and Brodus Clay feuding with Damien Sandow.

9:04 - Fine match, and I actually really enjoyed the quirkiness of Sheamus telling the ref about Orton's foot being on the rope, leading to ADR's defeat.  This is also good because it turns around the hypocrisy, from Sheamus to Michael Cole (his biggest critic), because he thinks Sheamus was cheating by now pointing out the foot on the rope.  But man, must I REALLY hate a feud when I want Orton to be added to it.

8:55 - I forgot to mention this earlier, but I loved how AJ skipped out of one scene, and then skipped into another scene several segments later.  Love that girl.

8:48 - Remember a little earlier when I said that WWE makes so much of their roster look like losers?  And then they have a guy like Alberto Del Rio, who they absolutely insist upon keeping in the main event or upper midcard, despite an apparent lack of interest from so many fans.

8:45 - So what are the chances that they swerve us by having Jericho win the match?  Seems like an awfully transparent way to remove Jericho from television.

8:37 - I have to say, I'm not really a fan of the "Feed Me More" addition to Ryback's theme.

8:31 - By the way, I am really glad that Kofi Kingston has reverted back to his old logo (the guy with the big smile and dreads) instead of the lion.  Like it!  Also, the "Anger Management" match is actually quite clever.  I like it.

8:12 - A fine enough opening segment.  Ideally, I'd like to see them begin to set up Lesnar's next feud at this point (incidentally, according to the WWE.com Superstar pages, Lesnar is part of the "Alumni" section, so according to the story he hasn't been officially rehired yet, I guess), but who should that be?  Seems too early to put him in a title feud (so that eliminates Punk and Sheamus).  How about Chris Jericho, since he's on the way out anyway?  The problem is, they've made so much of their roster look like losers that there's so few people that make believable challengers.

By the way, Heyman did an AWESOME job of making Lesnar's figure feel like an even bigger deal.  We can all debate the decision behind Lesnar losing to Cena, but for my money the biggest mystery is why they didn't bring Heyman back with him right off the bat.