WWE: John Cena-CM Punk Staredown Finishes off a Great RAW Event

It started with a world title match. It ended with a world title match and a confrontation.

Say what you will about conspiracy theories that Vince McMahon is still running things behind the scenes of the WWE, which may very well be happening, but tonight’s version of Monday Night Raw was exciting, a little edgy and definitely the right tone for what is now known as the Triple H Era in wrestling history.

TNA had delivered a solid program Thursday night in the wake of McMahon leaving WWE last Monday and honestly, I was not sure what to expect tonight when I turned on the TV; but what I got was well worth a two-hour program.

Kudos to the WWE creative team for giving us solid matches (excluding the women’s tag team match and the Michael Cole/Zack Ryder joke).

Rey Mysterio captured gold and was handed the old WWE title to open the program. It was predictable that the California native would get the push toward SummerSlam with his win over The Miz. What the fans and the IWC did not expect was John Cena getting a crack at the title to end the program.

Classy move on the part of the creative team, Triple H and the two contestants.

But the end of the program with the confrontation between Cena—who has just claimed WWE gold again—and the “current” champion, CM Punk, was pure genius for the fans.

Yes, a title vs. title match should be in the offing for SummerSlam with the winner holding Raw supremacy.

Hopefully, this is what we will get every Monday night, with a former wrestler behind the scenes and the creative team trying to improve on a program that was vanilla.

The addition of John Morrison back to the roster and his continuation of his feud with R-Truth proves that Triple H has his finger on the pulse of what the fans want and what is good for ratings. Morrison, who could work toward headline status, was the surprise signing the new COO talked about during his state of the company address.

Adding Jim Ross back to the announcing team did not hurt either. Michael Cole’s act is not a fan favorite, and while it works, I cannot see him on the microphone and then in the ring anymore. Please make it stop.

I am now curious to see what happens with the next move by the chairman. Kofi Kingston and Alberto Del Rio seem to have established a nice rivalry as has Evan Bourne and Dolph Ziggler. What happens to Ryder or Drew McIntrye or someone like Alex Riley? Can Triple H find viable wrestlers to match them in ability?

Does CM Punk’s return mean he was signed to the RAW roster? Does this also mean Colt Cabana is on his way to the WWE?

All this and more. We have so many questions and no answers yet. Guess that means the further we go into the summer, the hotter it will get outside and in the ring.

Only three weeks until SummerSlam.