Raw discussion for Monday 1st August 2011

[J.D]

Triple starts a fresh month in control. Punk/Cena build, Alberto Del Rio teasing briefcase (possibly might mention cashing in after Summerslam) R-Truth being crazy, Miz being cocky. The usual.

[Adampro123]

We only have this show and next weeks show before summer slam. i been enjoying raw lately but can we get some freaking direction and feuds for the mid card please?

Kofi,Del Rio,Miz,Ziggler,Bourne,Riley,Swagger,Drew,
and the tag champs and Ryder too unless they only want to use them on SD now.

Also confirmed we got the divas batle royal where the winner (alicia fox probably) gets a shot at Kelly at SS.

[RyPrax]

Looking forward to tonight for some SS build and of course Punk/Triple H. Really curious to see where the mid card winds up like Adam said. There really isn't anything set up outside of the main events... which kinda sucks considering this is the second biggest PPV of the year.

[Majin HoHo]

As I look into my crystal ball I see Hunter being confronted in the Ring by Punk where he downs the Raw roster and maybe talking about how the Divas division is a joke! Cena comes out defending the roster and giving his feelings on why bring Punk? Blah blah, a 5 minute Divas match.Maybe starting a feud with Miz and Mysterio as he tells Rey he's a better WWE Champion.I also see in my crystal ball Velvet Sky getting undressed!

[Adampro123]

I don't think Punk would come out and bad mouth the roster. maybe the divas but only the ones that suck.

[Adampro123]

I enjoyed raw tonight wasn't great but was good IMO.

Punk/Triple H stuff to open the show was good. the tie flipped in the face was epic!

Diva battle royal was barely on TV.lol. but when it was it featured Beth throwing both bellas out which was awesome then beating down Kelly. I'm hoping beth wins the title and keeps it until Kong comes back and we get Beth vs Kong.

Ziggler on the mic was pretty good. then Riley came out there and it just got blah. nice Heel tease by Ziggler but i really don't care to see Riley at all. Bourne or Ryder should be in this feud. I'd probably even like it more if it was Masters instead of Riley.

Morrison & Rey vs Truth & Miz was good. really liked the last 2 mins of the match didn't know who was gonna win it. I don't like Morrison losing yet again after his return but i guess that will just mean he will win at SS. and maybe. issue here was it didn't really establish a Rey vs Miz feud like i hoped it would. i thought it did a better job of making Miz and Truth seem like partners...which might be what they were going for setting up a tag match at SS.

Otunga & MM vs Ryder & Santino was at least enjoyable. but thats because of the massive reaction Ryder got. it honestly seemed like the biggest of the night. so glad zack is on TV. now they just gotta push him (:

Also Otunga and MM getting another win is good too.

Del Rio vs Bourne was short predictable but pretty good. loved the eniguri on bourne by ADR. got its job done putting a direction of a kofi vs ADR feud up.

Triple H/Cena/Punk Johnny ace stuff at the end was just kind of odd to me. what was the point of ace coming out there? to help get Cena over or something? he didn't really do much of anything. the segment its self was kind of pointless too. i mean they had all the backstage interviews and we all knew what was gonna happen. the end of the show with punk and Cena Raising the titles was good but kind of got annoying how they would change the music so much.

Overall not a great raw but a good one and i enjoyed it.

Trending on Twitter was.
- Evan Bourne, Zack Ryder, Santino Marella, Johnny Ace and David Otunga were all trending on Twitter tonight during RAW.

And set for Superstars

- Vladimir Kozlov vs. Primo and Jack Swagger vs. Chris Masters was taped tonight in Indianapolis for this Thursday's WWE Superstars.

Dark Match was Brotus clay beating some jobber that looked like andy from tough enough but wasn't.

Will be glad to see Brotus Clay back on TV when they put him there.

[J.D]

It's Brodus Clay not Brotus

Anyway good show.
Opening promo was good. Tag match was good, Truth picked up another win! I know Morrison lost again but he has the excuse of injury and to be honest right now I'd rather see Truth, he is just a more complete package IMO.
It was amazing see the tag titles defended again, the tag titles are ones that should be defended the most as they can jump ship to either show. Good to see Ryder get such strong chants and was also impressed with Otunga and McGillicutty in the ring (the two Nexus second placers.)
Possible Ziggler/Riley feud= awesome. Like the way Ziggler is playing a more prominent part on the show and isn't just someone to throw the title on. I reckon we will see Ziggler vs Riley at Summerslam.
Del Rio/Bourne was good and Bourne got some good exposure and looked strong.

Punk HAS to win at Summerslam, Cena has enough belts at the moment and for punk to be a fully fledged main eventer he needs to have those advantages over him. Cena has won the title back so won't look weak but we need new stars so Punk for the undisputed title otherwise the WWE really will never go forward.
Then when Punk has this title Cena can spend all the time till WM chasing it to make his victory sweet.

[Adampro123]

Was the tag match really for the tag titles? i didn't even notice.

Anyone else wondering what the what Triple H asking Josh if he's Shaved then saying he should was about?

[RyPrax]

Was the tag match really for the tag titles? i didn't even notice.

Anyone else wondering what the what Triple H asking Josh if he's Shaved then saying he should was about?

That was just triple H trying to be the boss. I wouldn't read too much into it. I.E. if you go into your bosses office with a five o'clock shadow he might not like it lol.

Anyway, decent show... loved the opening with Trips/Punk, Punk made it feel real. The ending, not so much. I kinda marked for Johnny Ace, I don't know why they don't use him more often, he's great on the mic. I hope this is setting him up for something, but otherwise the ending promo was kinda weak. Triple H just told us what we already knew was going to happen, so why not do that at the top of the show and put that great tag match at the end? Not to mention it felt like it ended way too early. Plus the whole music/holding up titles thing was just annoying. I agree that Punk needs to win big time.

Overall decent show, but it felt like they were trying to set up too many feuds at the same time. That's what happens when your champion quits and you waste two weeks on a needless tournament I guess.

[Majin HoHo]

Solid show maybe a 8 or 7.5 outta 10  for me.Punk/Triple H segment was great.Punk is great at being an asshole even to his "boss" .My Father and I had an educated breakdown with TNA versus WWE.He said he would rather have Sting as champ then Punk! I lost it! I said you would have a mid 50's man then a young, talented in the ring and on the microphone as champ? The Diva battle royal ending was awesome.When Beth tossed Kelly like raggy Ane, my Dad said oh come on does she need a stretcher boo hoo.I said as small as she is she might need a blood transfusion! Miz/Truth vs Mysterio/Morrison was the match of the night.Diggler and Riley feud could be great to see with their quality skills in the ring.At the end wasn't too shocked but I hope Punk wins at SS but if he does Del Rio might cash in the MITB contract.

[J.D]

Your Dad watches wrestling? My Dad used to watch it occasionally back in the days of Hogan/Hart but I doubt he would have a clue as to who CM Punk is.

And yeah Sting as a champion is silly but its no different to when Taker wins the belt. The difference is the ratio of old to young guys they have had as champ, especially with a lot of young talent on that show.

[RyPrax]

Your Dad watches wrestling? My Dad used to watch it occasionally back in the days of Hogan/Hart but I doubt he would have a clue as to who CM Punk is.

And yeah Sting as a champion is silly but its no different to when Taker wins the belt. The difference is the ratio of old to young guys they have had as champ, especially with a lot of young talent on that show.

I disagree about Taker, because unlike Sting, Taker was actually relevant after 1995.

[J.D]

Sting works a tighter schedule though. I agree having young guys is better but I do think Sting is a great wrestler and had he had the balls to go to WWE I think that would be more apparent.

[Majin HoHo]

When it comes to watching wrestling with my Dad, both my parents were huge wrestling fans! My Mother would watch any wrestling shows before she went anywhere so me loving wrestling was bred into me.My parents stopped watching wrestling around 2003 just after Rocky and Austin left.Before then every show that was on we would watch it as a family.Both of them started watching wrestling full time again just three years so, we,debate all the time.When it comes to Sting I like him but he doesn't need the title to help the company.I love when a man like Punk grabs everyone by the neck and says watch what I do in the ring and on the microphone.It won't last forever but he is the popular bum gum flavor right now and that could be the blue print to make wrestling interesting again.

[J.D]

When it comes to watching wrestling with my Dad, both my parents were huge wrestling fans! My Mother would watch any wrestling shows before she went anywhere so me loving wrestling was bred into me.My parents stopped watching wrestling around 2003 just after Rocky and Austin left.Before then every show that was on we would watch it as a family.Both of them started watching wrestling full time again just three years so, we,debate all the time.When it comes to Sting I like him but he doesn't need the title to help the company.I love when a man like Punk grabs everyone by the neck and says watch what I do in the ring and on the microphone.It won't last forever but he is the popular bum gum flavor right now and that could be the blue print to make wrestling interesting again.

I understood what you meant until you said bum gum flavour? What the hell does that mean?