LIVE Raw thoughts - June 24, 2013

11:08 - GREAT win for Daniel Bryan!  Much deserved and I HOPE this means that WWE is serious about giving him a real push.  Great to see him get a big time win against a legit star and main eventer in the final segment of the show.

10:54 - I'm guessing somebody might get in trouble for that chairshot directly to the head.  Isn't that a no-no?  Especially with all of the recent head injuries?

10:32 - The WWE Championship Ladder Match is REALLY stacked.  Wondering who will be in the World Heavyweight Championship one.  Especially since half of the competitors (Sheamus, Orton, and Christian) are Smackdown guys.  I would have guessed Ryback and Jericho, but I guess they're fighting each other.  Big Show and Jack Swagger seem like obvious options, but who else?  Miz?  Cody?  Sandow?  Barrett?

10:22 - The match was fun, but the post-match attack seemed really awkward and (poorly) choreographed. But I really did enjoy the Curtis Axel save at the end.  Again, a fun new chapter added.

10:09 - Awesome, compelling story told by two awesome promo guys.  A great new layer to this storyline.

9:59 - Actually, I like the hair length.  The sideburns are just dreadful, though.  By the way, I appreciate this CM Punk history lesson.  WWE gets weird sometimes, where they just expect fans to know the intricate backstage relationships between certain personalities, and suddenly we're supposed to care about their betrayal.  The best example is Kevin Nash and Triple H.  Two guys who have NEVER been shown to be friends as television characters.  But we're supposed to know that they're best friends backstage, and we're supposed to care that one turns against the other.

9:45 - I would love for the Usos to get a legitimate push.  I don't think they should be the Shield -- not yet, anyway -- but I'd love to see them get a series of big wins over the rest of the tag team division.  WWE quite frequently pushes them strong, and then after two or so weeks has them job clean to Big Show in a handicap match.

9:43 - What is with Michael Cole constantly referring to things happening "a little bit ago"?

9:36 - At what point can we stop pretending that Mark Henry was constantly draped with championship gold?  This "the WWE Championship is the only title he never held" thing is REALLY heavy handed.  He was European Champion, ECW Champion, and World Heavyweight Champion.  Never Tag Team Champion.  Never Intercontinental Champion.  Never United States Champion.  Never even Hardcore Champion.  I'd say there were PLENTY of titles he never held.

9:29 - The criticism is probably overstated, but it's worth bringing up.  The severity and intensity of Mark Henry's attack is certainly impacted negatively when John Cena makes his first appearance by cracking jokes about selling his t-shirt.

9:24 - In a trend for what I've been saying all night, but where does Ryback go from here?  Payback was a bit of a transition where people's allegiances changed and feuds ended.  But really, only certain people got new storylines.  Cena moved from Ryback to Mark Henry....but what happens to Ryback?  Punk moved from Jericho to Lesnar....but what happens to Jericho?  Daniel Bryan is up to his own thing now, so what happens with Kane?

9:22 - SHOCKED that Khali is getting this much offense.

9:15 - It bothers me that Brad Maddox's tie is visible below his vest.  And it's kinda lame that Rock is on the cover of the new WWE game.

9:12 - Is Vickie even still a heel?  Shocked she still gets this sort of reaction considering she hasn't done anything explicitly bad in pretty much all of 2013.  Gotta love that they're doing ANOTHER fan voting for Bryan vs. Orton, since that worked SO WELL last time.

9:02 - Jericho is another guy that is sorta directionless right now.  I'm enjoying the Dolph Ziggler face turn (probably more natural for him anyway), but I'm wondering how they're going to formally separate him from AJ?  Which is disappointing, because I find them to be an entertaining pair.

8:54 - Why is JBL talking about how a count out win will allow Del Rio to retain the title?  Isn't this a non-title match?

8:46 - Oh, now you know this heel turn is for real.  Del Rio is back to wearing his black attire.  Well, since he's a heel, can he bring back his car entrance now?  And DEFINITELY dump the decidedly face "American Made" t-shirt.

8:31 - Still love AJ.  Although I find it extremely hard to believe that Layla could hold back Kaitlyn.  Curious that King brought up Layla's prior behavior as part of Lay-Cool.

8:26 - While I don't mind Punk growing his hair out (although I thought he looked cooler with the shaved head), I REALLY hate this Wolverine muttonchops thing he has going on.  Just grow the beard back, already.

8:16 - Thrilled that Christian's back, just wish he had some direction instead of just being tacked onto Sheamus' feud.  And, as always, I really wish they would do SOMETHING would Cody Rhodes.

8:03 - Since they're starting off the show with Daniel Bryan, I suspect he's going to have a semi-big role this episode.  Oh, and is he now OFFICIALLY a face, since he's back to wearing the "YES!" t-shirt?

8:00 - Will tonight's show continue last week's momentum?  Let's find out...