LIVE Raw thoughts - September 12, 2011

11:10 - I know I'll sound biased, but I feel like CM Punk definitely carried that promo -- and it probably was their strongest one yet. Triple H just sounded super repetitive and his arguments continually came up short. Most wrestling fans are smart enough to realize that they've been rooting for CM Punk for far longer than this summer. Along with that, there are loads of people out there they are cheering for that aren't getting an opportunity. Triple H came off as pandering and disingenuous, and I don't think that was intentional. Having said that, I do think that this promo did a much, much better job of establishing who the "good guy" is and who the "bad guy" is. Punk's the guy you're supposed to root for, I'd say, and this segment at least explained why he's so hostile towards Triple H (who, on screen, has been nothing but professional). The mic mysteriously cutting out did add a little mystique as well, leading you to believe that there might be something to Punk's conspiracy idea.

Oh, and I must say that I did hate that Punk brought the real names into the deal. It's just a pet peeve of mine, whenever wrestlers use their real names, it always takes me out of the moment and reminds me that I'm watching a TV show. Obviously, I know that "CM Punk" isn't his real name, but why remind the audience that anything about what they're watching isn't real? The one misfire Punk has shot this entire run.

10:53 - CM Punk and Triple H -- as a unit -- have been hit and miss (unlike Punk/Cena, which was home run city). Let's see how they do leading into Night of Champions.

10:45 - For what it's worth, I hope that Cody doesn't abandon the masked look. His whole Dr. Doom thing is a lot cooler than the Dashing gimmick.

10:36 - Mark Henry will be playing the role of A.C. Slater tonight.

10:33 - Who do you see Cody defending his Intercontinental Title against at Night of Champions? Ted DiBiase? Or do you see them going a similar route as the U.S. title and having him defend in a multi-person match? Perhaps a fourway with DiBiase, Sin Cara, and Daniel Bryan?

10:28 - You know it's funny, the former creative writers who are on Twitter (and who are, for the most part, very entertaining) pretty frequently rail Vince and his Yes Men for not understanding pop culture and what his target audience wants, yet when it comes to this Mark Henry push, most of them are rallying behind the big man and saying how much he deserves it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking away from what Henry has accomplished over the past few months, but I don't think anybody in the audience actively wanted this push -- yet the former writers act like they've been campaigning for it for quite some time. Point being, they're not necessarily much better at knowing what the audience wants.

10:11 - I'm sure many would say that the 9/11 video was self indulgent -- and perhaps they'd be right -- but I thought it was a rather beautiful, touching tribute. And this is another reason why John Cena is their poster child -- not many Superstars could pull off that narration.

9:59 - Wow, they're not having Bret Hart come down to his own theme music in Canada? That's REALLY odd.

9:52 - If McGillicutty and Otunga couldn't beat Zack Ryder, why would we think they have a chance against Sheamus?

9:49 - Cole is calling Lawler the best ever (which is odd), and in the very next sentence he's saying that the former Nexus might finally shut Lawler's mouth. That criticism aside, the announcing has been SIGNIFICANTLY better this week, since they cooled off on the bickering.

Oh, and like I said last week, "The Great White" is a terrible moniker. It sounds incomplete. The Great White what?

9:46 - You know, when you think about it, it's rather remarkable how incredibly different Edge and Matt Hardy handled their injury-induced early retirements. I can't take credit for this observation, but Lita's decision is becoming more and more understandable.

9:40 - Told ya. If I were Kofi, I'd weep every time I saw that I was booked against the Miz. That guy CONSTANTLY has his number.

9:27 - Is Kofi ever booked to beat Miz? I'm guessing he's staring at the lights again tonight.

9:21 - Could these four guys face each other for the United States Championship at Night of Champions?

9:14 - The opening segment felt a little flat, to be honest. After weeks of such "real," passionate, true promos from CM Punk and John Cena, it's a little rough getting back to such character-centric promos like the ones from Alberto Del Rio (and by extension, Cena too). And further, WWE really shot themselves in the foot by teasing ADR vs. Cena for the title, and then ADR vs. Bret Hart for the title, before giving us a tag team match that was far less desirable.

9:09 - Honestly John, no matter how much you push it, NOBODY cares whether or not Alberto Del Rio knows the names of the cars he drives. Let it go. It doesn't matter.

8:53 - Is everybody ready for tonight's Raw? I just picked up quite the concoction at Red Mango, so I'm rearing to go (and appropriately, Fruity Pebbles are one of the toppings I went with!) Check back in about 5 minutes for my LIVE Raw thoughts!