WWE Monday Night Raw 8/29/11 Review: The Top 5 Moments of the Night

It was another memorable night of action on WWE Monday Night Raw on Aug. 29, 2011.  

We're here to break down the top five moments of the night, and there was plenty to work with on what I believe was a show that delivered on all fronts.

Tonight featured developing storylines, some great in-ring work and plenty of surprises. 

Last week on Raw, Kevin Nash played Triple H, lying to make him leave the arena so he could distract CM Punk and cost Punk his rematch against WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio.

Speaking of Alberto Del Rio, he failed to make an appearance tonight on Raw but will be in action tomorrow night at Super SmackDown.  

Super SmackDown is the live event airing on Syfy tomorrow, which is a change from SmackDown's typical tape delay format.  There was plenty of plugging going on for this show and a major announcement regarding the relationship between the Raw and SmackDown rosters.

Oh, on the topic of announcements, CM Punk's match for Night of Champions was announced...but it may not be against who you expected!  

Check out the following slides as we break down the top five moments of WWE Monday Night Raw.

The Opening Segment, and Confrontation Between CM Punk, Triple H and Kevin Nash

To kick off the show, WWE COO Triple H came to the ring and demanded to speak with Kevin Nash after making a major announcement.  

Instead of getting the seven-foot, 300-pounder, CM Punk made his way to the ring, accusing Triple H of acting.  Punk was sure that Triple H was aware of everything going on and called him a liar.

After trading jabs with one another, Kevin Nash made his way to the ring, along with his entrance music, which was the old NWO theme.

Nash admitted to lying about being in a car accident, but insisted he only did it because Triple H wouldn't let him get to Punk.  Triple H didn't care what the reasoning was, he was disappointed that his best friend lied to him.

Nash then questioned Triple H's manhood due to the fact that Triple H has let CM Punk bash not only himself, but his wife Stephanie as well.  

As things were getting heated, Punk mocked them, still not buying any of it.  Nash demanded a match with Punk at Night of Champions, and after more button pushing by Punk, Triple H made it official.  Or at least, it was official at the time...more on that later.

CM Punk Takes on the Miz, Then Has SummerSlam Flashbacks Thanks to Kevin Nash

The Miz and CM Punk put on a solid wrestling match in the middle of the WWE Monday Night Raw broadcast.

If I had any complaint about the match, it's that the match was a bit one-sided, with Miz getting the majority of offense throughout the match.

Despite momentum favoring the Miz throughout the match, Punk rallied in the end and was moments away from securing victory, only to have R-Truth run into the ring and force the disqualification.

After the fighting of the Miz and R-Truth, with Punk hitting the Go-to-Sleep on R-Truth to finish the scrap, Kevin Nash made his way to the ring.  While distracted, Punk was jumped by Miz and Truth.

After the two were done beating down Punk, Nash hit the Jacknife Powerbomb on Punk, just as he did at SummerSlam.  The Miz and R-Truth scattered, then Nash left the ring.

Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler in a Champion vs. Champion Match

The first match of Raw was, in my opinion, the best of the show.

Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler put on a match that was reminiscent of the Orton vs. Christian series, but of course, it had Ziggler's twist to it, with Vicki Guerrero filling her heel manager role like a pro.

The match was technical, fun and despite losing, Ziggler looks better in my eyes now than he did before.  He did some serious work in the ring tonight, and I look forward to watching him wrestle again.

This was, of course, the first interpromotional match of the evening as well, which leads me to my next slide...

Triple H Announces Raw and SmackDown Rosters Will Work Together in "Super Shows"

This was the major announcement that WWE COO Triple H made at the very beginning of the show.

Triple H claimed that from then onward, the brands would be working together to put on "super shows."

What this means exactly remains to be seen, but from the looks of it, the separation of rosters may be over completely.  This means the WWE has some room to play around with in regards to who gets air time when, and how they build their feuds moving forward.  

Tomorrow night, of course, is another super show, with a variety of interpromotional matches. This has been a habit as of late.  Alberto Del Rio, the WWE Champion on Raw, has been visiting SmackDown often, and that's only one example.

At the moment, it's hard to tell just how big of a deal this is, but from what I can tell, this is massive, and personally, I believe it's the right move.

Triple H Closes the Show by Telling CM Punk They Will Face Each Other at NoC

As John Cena and Sheamus celebrated their victory over Mark Henry and Christian in the main event of Raw, the cameras cut backstage to Triple H.

CM Punk entered, once again verbally jabbing "The Game."  Triple H informed Punk that he had been in contact with the WWE Board of Directors.

Punk assumed the match with Nash was set, but Triple H told him it was cancelled, and that his opponent at Night of Champions would be Triple H himself.  

The two had a stare down as cameras cut back to the ring.

I think I speak for the majority when I say that a match between CM Punk and Kevin Nash didn't exactly seem like a proper follow up to the past two main event matches Punk has been in against John Cena.

Triple H's involvement is a vast improvement from a straightforward Punk/Nash singles bout, but I expect Nash will find a way into the match, possibly by provoking Triple H again and making it a triple-threat match.  

So how about it, Bleachers, how does my top five stack up against yours?  What do you think of CM Punk vs. Triple H, and what do you expect?  

Sound off in the comment section!