LIVE Raw thoughts - October 1, 2012

11:15 - While the champion (or any champion) should rarely be pinned, how crazy is it that the Tag Team Champions beat the WWE Champion?  On a typical night, the #1 Contender is usually beating the tag champs on his own.  So it was slightly refreshing.  And, as JR noted, Punk was left alone and thus his loss was a little "unfair."  But how many nights have we seen the tag champs closing Raw and/or Smackdown?  It's great seeing that championship a main focus again.  And you gotta love seeing Punk as the clear star of the show.  Plus, the continued re-emergence of crazy AJ.  This show had some low-lows, but it wasn't outright terrible.  I think it was Scott Keith who noted that these 3 hour Raws are GREAT 2 hour shows, and he's right.  Don't get me wrong, they're getting better with this 3 hour formula (remember when they used to bombard us with those stupid Tout videos from people watching the show?) with longer matches and such, but they still haven't mastered it.

10:47 - You know, for somebody who hates him so much, AJ sure has a lot of CM Punk posters in her office...

10:44 - How often do we hear these reports that WWE is high on Kofi Kingston (and why shouldn't they be?) only to job him out to a main eventer?  There are A LOT of dull characters at the top of the card, and ADR is one of the worst offenders.

10:29 - This segment, while technically very good, exemplified what is so bothersome about this CM Punk "respect" storyline.  In storyline terms, what more does CM Punk have to do to earn respect and to be called "The Best"?  He's had one of the longest title reigns in over 2 decades.  He's fought every challenger that's come his way.  He's cleanly beat guys like Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Kane, Alberto Del Rio, Miz, and loads of others.  He's consistently had the match of the night. And this whole "in order to be the best, you need to accept Cena's challenge and kick his ass" mentality is both flawed and proves Punk's point.  CM Punk is the WWE Champion -- shouldn't that mean more than beating John Cena?  And on top of that, as Punk noted, he HAS beaten John Cena.  On more than one occasion.  Just last month, people were telling Punk, "In order to be the best, you need to accept John Cena's challenge and beat him," and Punk did.  And they're now saying it AGAIN.  And when JR goes on at the announce table and says "you need to earn the distinction of being the best," what more DOES Punk have to do?  It's so forced and nonsensical.  If they insisted on going the respect route, they should have had everybody pay respect to Punk, and for it to not be enough for him.  Then HE looks like the jerk.  Right now, he DOES look disrespected.

10:17 - Can CM Punk please stop feuding with announcers?

10:13 - Nope, I guess not.  Incidentally, on this night of all new t-shirts, the one guy who REALLY needs a new one (Punk) still doesn't have one.  I still prefer the "Best In The World" ringer t-shirt, anyway.

10:08 - Am I naive in thinking that, with the Jerry Lawler ordeal being so fresh in everybody's mind, that WWE will actually "protect" and pay respect to their announcers and, as such, this JR Appreciation Night thing will be played straight?

10:01 - I will say this about the 3 hour Raws....we're definitely getting a lot more long matches.  And those longer matches have been pretty high quality.

9:54 - Alright, Cole has done a pretty effective job announcing the past few weeks....but did he really just ask Cody Rhodes how he and Sandow came up with he name "Rhodes Scholars"?

9:31 - Natalya must REALLY be evaluating her status in the company if they put an exiting Beth Phoenix over her.

9:19 - I credit Cole and Ross for covering for Ryback for finishing with the clothesline, and I commend Ryback for not attempting the slam a third time, but that still didn't go off very well.

9:11 - That was a dreadful segment.  It seems like WWE is taking every criticism people have towards John Cena and attributing it towards Sheamus.  You're now building a World Heavyweight Championship match by having your champion say that the challenger has B.O. and bad breath?

9:04 - I touched upon this back in my piece about entrance attire, but Sheamus is somebody who would benefit astronomically by appearing every now and again in street clothes.  He's now in John Cena territory, where no matter the scenario or circumstance, Sheamus comes out with his trunks, boots, wrist tape, and t-shirt.  What do we know about his character?  Is he the t-shirt and jeans type of person?  Tie and vest?  I mean, the fact that Miz comes out in a suit teaches us something about him and his personality and character.

8:55 - Now, just imagine they had built up Miz with victories such as these before feeding him to Ryback?

8:51 - New t-shirt appearances #2 and #3, Zack Ryder's pretty cool "Ssssicckkk" and Miz's weak "Haters Love Me."  Wondering if these two are fighting just so that they can show off their new shirts.

8:49 - Speaking of new t-shirts, Kane and Daniel Bryan have two pretty cool ones.  Check 'em out:
http://shop.wwe.com/Daniel-Bryan-Kane-%22Hugging-Is-All-The-Rage%22-Authentic-T-Shirt/W04599,default,pd.html?dwvar_W04599_color=Light%20Grey&start=2&cgid=superstar-current-danielbryan
http://shop.wwe.com/Daniel-Bryan-Kane-Hell-No-Authentic-T-Shirt/W04597,default,pd.html?dwvar_W04597_color=Red&start=1&cgid=superstar-current-danielbryan

8:44 - Antonio Cesaro making short work of Brodus Clay?  Tensai getting beat decisively by Ryback?  My, how the mighty have fallen.  Not necessarily a criticism, since equally new guys like Cesaro and Ryback benefited, but it's still surprising to see guys like Brodus and Tensai essentially getting squashed.

8:36 - I didn't catch Smackdown on Friday, but I am very intrigued by the Tag Team Championship tournament.  It's reminiscent of of the old Smackdown Six days.

8:23 - The dual Rey Mysterio/Sin Cara gear is kinda awesome.

8:18 - I kinda like the idea of putting all of the best parts of Raw into one segment.  And Daniel Bryan screaming "I JUST CAME OUT HERE TO APOLOGIZE!" is brilliant.

8:13 - New t-shirt appearance #1 - Dolph Ziggler's bright blue "Stealing the Show."

8:12 - Hey, they did remember that AJ isn't allowed to attack anybody!

8:06 - Unfortunately, Punk is once again sporting that stupid looking chinless beard.

8:04 - By the way, if you've been following Twitter today, it sounds like a lot of new t-shirts are debuting today.  Ziggler, Ryder, and Miz have already posted photos.  By the way, I appreciate Punk wearing the hoodies lately.  Separates him from the t-shirt crew.

7:47 - Pop Quiz:  How do you make arguably uninteresting characters like Sheamus and the Big Show even less interesting?  Why, put them in a live debate, of course!