LIVE Raw thoughts - July 2, 2012

11:08 - I loved everything about that ending.  Particularly, that they got rid of Cena and Jericho and finally allowed CM Punk and Daniel Bryan to get some actual attention (much deserved).  And the stuff with AJ is still intriguing to me.  In a cry of attention, she teased jumping off the top rope onto a table.  She was stopped by Daniel Bryan first.  But why?  Did he truly care?  Did he simply have his own agenda?  And then Punk tried to stop her.  What were his reasons?  Then she kissed Punk, and while he was stunned, she pushed him off the turnbuckle, onto Bryan, and both went through the table.  Intriguing stuff.  And the right way to end the show.

10:45 - Good thing they stopped that momentum Tyson Kidd was on.  Oh, and if they're not careful, they might accidentally put their WWE Champion in the final segment of the show.

10:40 - I'll settle the debate.  Both Jericho and Bryan's jackets rule.

10:37 - Have him win, have him lose, have him beat up Sakamoto.  People still don't care about Tensai.

10:28 - Remember about a half hour ago, when I was talking about how they booked Lesnar to lose to Cena but are now pushing him as an unstoppable monster that we have to pay to see get beat?  See the Big Show.

10:19 - Good job teasing us with Doink as the special guest (allowing Slater to get a clean victory) and then surprising us with DDP.  Although Page needs to get a tan or something.  He's starting to look like Sheamus.

10:13 - I hate when they bring back Doink and it's clearly not the original.  I mean, sneakers?  Really?  And the original Doink never wore that outfit.  And the dude looks like he has chicken legs.

10:07 - In his review of Raw last week, Scott Keith said he might be getting tired of AJ.  I'm nowhere NEAR there.  I don't even care that she completely overshadowed the World Heavyweight Championship storyline.  I think she's great and she's doing an awesome job with this storyline.

Oh, and did Punk trim his beard since the beginning of the show or something?

9:56 - As you all know, I've defended Brock Lesnar losing to John Cena.  I didn't think it was the right decision -- Lesnar definitely should have won (just like how I thought Cena should've beaten Rock) -- but I didn't think it was the worst in the world either (there was a lot of overreacting).  There was a lot they could have done with it, but the route they decided to go wasn't the right one.  What's the incentive for fans to want to see Triple H vs. Lesnar?  Lesnar has already been beat....we don't need to see Triple H do the deed.  And they're clearly establishing it as "Lesnar = bad, Triple H = good," so they seemingly don't WANT us to buy to see Lesnar win.

9:43 - AJ and Bryan.  Love 'em together.  Again, I think I'm pleased with pretty much any way this story plays out.

9:40 - So isn't there legit heat between ADR and Sin Cara?  As in, like, one pulling a gun on the other or something?

9:33 - God is clearly trying to send a message to WWE by canceling Sheamus/ADR for THREE PPV's IN A ROW!  Take the message.

9:20 - Wow, I'm pretty shocked that Cody Rhodes is coming out to the Prime Time Players' theme music.  Surely he must be higher on the pecking order than them.

9:15 - Effective opener, but I didn't love the fact that they so quickly disposed of the WWE Champion and his challenger in favor of focusing on the Money in the Bank match.

9:12 - Hey, Punk is wearing one of my favorite uniforms....the green and black.  And hey, it coordinates with his tag team partner Cena's current color of choice.  And this is a great promo foursome.

9:04 - I REALLY think they need to add more former champions to the WWE Championship ladder match.  Frankly, I don't know if it's the type of stipulation match that can allow Cena and Jericho to carry Big Show and Kane.  Cena isn't a bump artist -- nor should he be.  He's too important to be injured -- which just leaves Jericho to carry the load.  Big, lumbering guys like Show and Kane can work in a ladder match -- when there are enough other guys to do their magic.  Any shot Rey or Miz return in time for the match?  Or maybe ADR?

9:00 - Is this "interrupt the opening signature with a string of ads" routine going to become a running gag?

8:41 - Can you believe July is upon us?  For those of you wondering, my skin is at about 85% normal now.  Lips are at about 65%.  If only the big wedding was today!  Anyway, for your pre-Raw discussion, check out this WWE ad promoting Raw's move to three hours (viewed on the EW website):

http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/07/02/wwe-raw-promo/

To tell you the truth, I found that to be pretty funny and charming.  And I LOVED the fact that AJ was included amongst the company's top stars.  I mean, you have John Cena, CM Punk, Sheamus, Triple H, Vince McMahon, Kane, and AJ!  That's pretty freakin' awesome.  Pretty good stuff.  Enjoy, and check back in 20 minutes with my thoughts throughout the show.