Curtis Axel's Slide, Layla's Turn and the 5 Questions to Be Answered on Raw 8/5

While I have taken a lot of heat lately for my comments about Brock Lesnar and CM Punk and the fact that Lesnar’s lack of face time is hurting this potentially great feud, it should be noted that nothing has really changed about this angle.

What has changed is the fact that Curtis Axel got involved, which does not help the intercontinental champion as he is still looking for a “real” challenger heading into SummerSlam.

Sorry, I don’t see R-Truth, who faced the midcard champion last week, as a serious contender. Where is Wade Barrett and The Miz when you need them? Even Sheamus sticking his nose in Axel’s business would be a welcomed surprise.

When Axel was revealed as the new “Paul Heyman Guy,” he had a good look to him, and his pedigree was supposed to make him a top-notch star. It hasn’t. Axel is kind of the “yes” man of Heyman’s stable. While Lesnar walks to the beat of his own drum, the third-generation Superstar is still looking to completely get over with the fans, and the company and has lost a ton of steam since he won the title from Barrett at Payback.

Truth is, this is another failed attempt to make the intercontinental title a major source of success, which has not happened. Axel/Miz, Axel/Barrett, Axel/Sheamus, even Axel/Big Show would make a lot of sense in my book.

While Axel is still looking for his true identity in the WWE, there are other questions about wrestlers still looking for a dance partner at SummerSlam and questions to be answered this week on Raw.

What will Vince McMahon do next with Daniel Bryan?

He basically told Bryan that John Cena was lying to him, did not think he could beat the champion and teased him about his appearance. What is next for Bryan and the quest for the WWE title?

Will there be another confrontation between Cena and Bryan? Will it finally get physical? And could we please stop seeing the “love fest” between Bryan, Cena and the Bella Twins?

How imminent is Kane’s heel turn?

Will he look to the buzzards and finally join the Wyatt Family? For some reason, it seems Bryan should be making the turn.

The WWE really has nothing it can do with Kane now that Bryan has been given the push he deserves. The Wyatt angle is slow in developing, which led me to believe The Big Red Machine and Wyatt would have an interest in the WWE title match.

Now, I am thinking that maybe there is a match at SummerSlam between Kane and his newest opponent.

What does Layla’s heel turn really mean?

This was a little late in happening, but it does make so much sense.

Layla had been the only “friend” Kaitlyn has had of late. And while I (and all of the WWE Universe) saw this coming for some time, it was slow played in such a way that it almost doesn’t work right now.

The Layla, AJ angle is good and it could be played out from different sides—but the situation with Layla, the situation between Dolph Ziggler and AJ, and the angle with Ziggler and Big E Langston all appear to be “spider webbed” together and make this hard to watch.

Does Kaitlyn battle AJ, or does she now feud with Layla? Who comes to Kaitlyn’s aid? And who will balance the lines of good and evil? Stay tuned?

Has the WWE thwarted The Shield’s momentum?

It sure looks that way. They were the most dominant trio of wrestlers since the original nWo. Now they seem mortal, beatable and out of luck with the bookers in the company. Is it possible arrogance on the part of the company and ignorance on the part of the creative team that has led to six-man tag matches and lack of momentum.

The Usos have been teaming with Mark Henry, which makes no sense to me at all. If Henry was challenging Dean Ambrose for the United States title, it would be one thing, but that is not happening.

The Shield jumped all over Mark Henry to start this mess, but after that, it became a real cluster of confusion.

Is this the week we see Evan Bourne’s return to television?

After his cryptic tweet last week, it is only a matter of time before it happens. You already know my feeling on this.

If Evan Bourne returned as a heel, which will never happen, it would be better for the tag team division. Also, the idea of a cruiserweight heel is very appealing. Bourne is a high-flying flurry of excitement this company needs. But honestly, he is midcard at best, and teaming him with a Kofi Kingston or Sin Cara does nothing to excite us in the tag team division.