WWE 1,000th Monday Night Raw: Punk Shocks with Heel Turn, Legends Return

The 1,000th episode of Monday Night Raw opened with a video package recapping the show's history. 

Vince McMahon is introduced to the ring to a standing ovation. McMahon thanks the crowd and welcomes them to Raw. He introduces D-Generation X to the ring.

Triple H and Shawn Michaels come out. Michaels says he is feeling the whole Raw experience, but that there was something missing. Triple H agrees and begins to question what it is. X-Pac, Billy Gunn and Road Dogg arrive in a car and make their way to the ring.

Suddenly, while in the ring, Damien Sandow interrupts their reunion. Sandow, while in the ring, gets a beat down by D-Generation X.

(My quick take: A fun, opening promo. Glad to see WWE brought back all of the originals to that segment.)

After commercial break, Jim Ross comes out and heads towards the announcer table.

Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara and Sheamus versus Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio

Your winners via pinfall: Mysterio, Sin Cara and Sheamus. 

Match Rating: 3/5

(Lots of action in a short match. Ziggler continued to keep fans updated with the story line by knocking out Jericho, which allowed Sheamus to score the victory.)

Charlie Sheen is shown on Skype during an interview with announcers Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler.

Jack Swagger versus Brodus Clay

Before the match, Clay introduces Dude Love to ringside. 

Your winner: Brodus Clay.

Match Rating: 0.5/5

(A complete squash match that took just a few seconds.)

Backstage, D-Generation X are backstage. A shot of Daniel Bryan is shown right before his wedding on Raw.

Lawler, who is standing in the middle of the ring with the wedding decorations up, introduces Reverend Slick. Bryan's music plays and makes his way to the decorated ring. AJ, appearing in her wedding dress, makes her way forward to the ring.

Just before the Reverend made it official, AJ stops him. She says she was not accepting Bryan's marriage. Mr. McMahon comes out and introduces AJ as the new Raw General Manager. Bryan becomes upset and destroys all the decoration in the ring.

(AJ as General Manager? I was hoping for a big name to make a return to fill that position. This was a bit of a tongue twister, but let's see if it pays off for the WWE.)

CM Punk comes out to the ring. Bryan goes on a rant, claiming he is the best wrestler in company history. The Rock makes his WWE return to confront Bryan. The crowd begins to chant The Rock's name. The Rock begins to speak about why the fans decide who is the greatest of all time.

Bryan interrupts, but is quickly cut off by The Rock. Punk suddenly jumps into the picture and predicts a match against himself and The Rock at the Royal Rumble next year for the WWE Championship. Bryan, clearly frustrated, says he wants to be the face of the WWE as the champion.  The Rock wishes Punk well and gives Bryan a Rock Bottom.

(The Rock in a match for the WWE Championship? I think this would be very intriguing if the Rock returns to the WWE, wins the title, and makes a final run in his career.)

Bret Hart is introduced to the ring. He recalls about his Intercontinental Championship run and introduced Christian to the ring.

Christian versus The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship

Your winner and new champion: The Miz.

Match Rating: 3.5/5

(A pretty good match. I have no problem with the title change. It gets The Miz back into the mix with his recent return to the WWE.)

Triple H comes forward to the ring to confront Brock Lesnar. Instead, Paul Heyman comes out to the ring. Heyman tells Triple H that Lesnar does not accept his proposal. After Heyman begins to talk about Triple H's family, Stephanie McMahon comes out to the ring. McMahon talks about Heyman's past failures. Heyman finally agrees to let Lesnar fight Triple H at Summerslam. 

McMahon attacks Heyman and Lesnar makes his way to the ring. Lesnar and Triple H fight back and forth in the ring. Triple H knocks Lesnar out the ring.

(Solid segment by everyone involved. The back and forth fight from Lesnar and Triple H was also exciting to watch.)

Heath Slater versus Lita

Before the match began, Lita brings out the APA. Before he can leave, all the legends Slater faced forced him back in the ring.

Your winner: Lita.

Match Rating: 2/5

(A perfect way to end Slater's unmemorable run by having all the legends he faced standing over him in the ring. Lita looked pretty good with some impressive moves.)

Kane, who is in the ring getting ready for his match, is interrupted by Jinder Mahal and others. As they surround the ring, The Undertaker makes his WWE return. The group attempts to attack Kane and the Undertaker, but are quickly taken out. 

John Cena versus CM Punk for the WWE Title

No contest via disqualification. After the match, the Big Show attacks Cena. The Rock comes out to the ring and goes after the Big Show. As the Rock was about to go for his finishing move, Punk knocks out the Rock.

Match Rating: 4/5

(CM Punk has turned heel! This was a good idea by the WWE, as it appears the Punk and Rock story line seeds were planted on Raw. Punk could really do well with a new heel run and this was a good way to close the show.)

Overall 1,000th Raw Rating: 4/5

I felt this week's Raw lived up to the hype. Sure, there were pointless matches like Clay against Swagger, but most of the show was entertaining to watch.

The biggest shock was Punk turning heel. It was a surprise and the early stages of the Punk and Rock story line were set. I have always liked Punk as a heel and believe he will enjoy his most success in his WWE career with this run. 

It was good to see so many legends of the past make their returns. I felt this 1,000th Raw set the stage for the past, present, and future of the WWE. Hopefully, this is a successful chapter in WWE's direction.