WWE RAW, 23rd September - Five talking points

In just one week, WWE has managed to make us forget what was a disastrous Night of Champions. RAW this week was spot on again with stellar performances from CM Punk and Paul Heyman.

In a time where WWE needed a strong babyface to replace John Cena, Punk and Daniel Bryan have managed to do more than just that. In fact, I feel that Cena will not be as relevant as he was given the amount of popularity these two have gained right now. It’s sure that Cena will play second fiddle for a while after his return.

RAW this week was as good as last week, and in fact, could have managed to be better had it avoided a few filler segment and matches. Let us now look at the top five moments that will remain the point of discussion for the week.

1. The Shield unhappy with their role in the Corporation

The Shield

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon’s henchmen were subjected to a difficult match this week. They were clearly given a match that stacked all odds against them. Dean Ambrose’s reaction the moment the match was announced said it all.

The Shield were clearly unhappy with the decision of facing the 11 men again, and for once, the Hounds of Justice felt the sting of injustice. Despite their backstage promo, it was obvious that the Shield looked upset about the match. So what significance does this have to the present storyline? How much does this affect the Shield’s relationship with the bosses? Will Triple H and Stephanie McMahon still be able to order the Shield to work or will we see them going against their bosses and turning heel? A lot needs to be answered right now.

2. CM Punk’s great homecoming ruined

CM Punk

CM Punk entered the arena on RAW tonight in what can be said to be the biggest crowd reaction in recent memory. The home town hero returned eight days after facing a humiliating loss against Paul Heyman. Punk looked visibly upset, but was still pretty charmed by the crowd’s response.

He spoke about having let his fans down and having experienced a real low point in life. But he drew comparison from the Chicago Blackhawks’ victory against Detroit, and claimed he will fight back against Heyman and his clients. This was when Heyman came in, looking far too amused by what had transpired.

He showed his genius when he set a trap for Punk and lured him to attack. Ryback and Axel then ambushed Punk, who despite fighting back, was thrown down on a table and onto the concrete floor. Sadly for the fans and Punk, it was a ruined homecoming.

3. The Rhodes Brothers make a statement on RAW

Cody Rhodes and Goldust with dad Dusty Rhodes

It is funny how earlier in the year after Royal Rumble, every smark in WWE was wanting to see Goldust and Cody Rhodes face off against each other. But here they are now, fighting with each other. Goldust and Cody made a surprise appearance as they attacked the Shield as outsiders.

It was more surprising to know that Goldust and Cody were among the crowd with their make-up on and no one said a word. Anyway, everyone including the Shield were taken aback as the brothers ran in and attacked the Shield. They, however, were caught by the security guards who escorted them backstage.

Looks like the Rhodes Family has finally decided to go all out against the tyrant regime of Corporation 2.0. SmackDown this week will have an interesting answer to this sneak attack.

4. Best Miz TV till date?

The Miz

It would be unfair to not praise Stephanie for her work on the mic. The leading lady of the company looks absolutely perfect on the mic, and her work over the past two weeks has been impeccable. The opening segment of the show clearly showed how Stephanie had outclassed Triple H on the mic.

She has been as evil as ever and has completely transformed into a mature and a very despicable character. Her evilness took a step forward this week when she interrupted Miz TV. Miz, after being dismembered by Orton, looked dazed and hurt. He was asked by Triple H to host Miz TV with Big Show as his special guest.

Miz invited the big man and started things by telling him how the two bosses are using him. Show seemed pretty restless, but was saved by Stephanie’s interruption, who nailed every shortcoming of the Miz and called him a failure. Her inclusion in the segment only made the segment better, and Big Show knocking Miz without any hesitation created a lot of doubts. Is Big Show turning heel? Let’s hope he doesn’t. Let’s just hope that Big Show didn’t like the Miz (I mean who does?) and hence the KO.

5. Divas match a total let-down

Brie Bella

Just when we thought that the Divas matches had evolved from being a bathroom break event, WWE proved us wrong once again. The Divas match this week was supposed to be a ten-woman tag team match, and the fact that it ended in the blink of an eye was a total let-down. Plus, Brie Bella pinned AJ Lee, which was a bigger shocker than the rest.

However, AJ Lee and Stephanie had a not so friendly talk backstage, and it could lead to interesting changes in the storyline. Maybe we can even witness Stephanie taking on AJ at some point of time, depending on whether Stephanie has any intention of getting into the ring.