CM Punk has told us regularly during the summer that he wants wrestling to be fun again. For a small period during Raw, it was. Triple H made a match between John Cena and Sheamus, and with the lack of referee's and ringside help made himself the official and gave CM Punk the keys to the announcers desk and ring bell. This was exciting, it was different, it seemed like a genuine moment of spontaneity where Triple H was doing his best with the resources left. CM Punk's enthusiasm seemed genuine, that really came across on the screen.
I was excited. On my twitter page @bobbybamber (subtle plug!) I even tweeted as much. Of course it wasn't going to last forever, but for this small moment in Raw history it was different. CM Punk would show us why he is second only to Jim Ross in the commentary stakes, Cena and Sheamus would give us a solid Raw match, and we could sit back and enjoy something different.
Then Vince came out and ruined everyone's fun. They couldn't have allowed the match to run another ten minutes? Then we got the news that I was fearing – the new interim general manager is the Executive Vice President of Talent relations – John Laurinaitis. If I could swear in this column, I would. It's not that it isn't logical, far from it. As Wrestlezone's Justin LaBar (@JustinLaBar on twitter) said last night, we should let it play out before coming down on it. And he's right, but there's one problem.
John Laurinaitis sucks.
Not in a good, heat building way. In a way exactly like Vince did when he came out and spoilt the opening match. Laurinaitus sucks the energy out of the building every time he speaks. This could be the greatest angle in wrestling history, and yet I think he could manage to ruin it. Some people are best served not being on TV, and he is definitely one of those people.
Other than that Raw simply blew. The announcement of Cena vs Del Rio got the reaction it deserved – nothing. We know you're waiting for The Rock to come back, but there's no need to make it this obvious. I simply don't care about the WWE title right now. All roads lead to Cena – they have done for too long. Nothing against Cena, but if you know the end of a movie, you usually don't waste your time on the rest of it.
The Miz & Truth stuff was a let down too. Bought out to be dominated in a virtual handicap match, before being put in a match we ALL want to see against CM Punk and Triple H. So the WWE wants its fans to pay $45 to see a match that Awesome Truth cannot and will not win. The best we can hope for is the debut of the new NWO – needless to say I'm grateful for Sky giving us this next PPV in the UK for nothing.
This latest battle for control story has far too many layers. Rather than being intrigued I am simply confused. And so long as I don't have the faith that the WWE can pull this one off, I'm not bothered. Layer's are great when they slowly and cleverly build up to a conclusion, but does anyone see this pay off being anything but another way for Triple H and Vince McMahon to get themselves over.
Mark Henry continues to be the best thing in wrestling. You know why? Because it's a simple storyline. Not that WWE viewers cannot handle more complicated ones, they're just not being presented with anything clever enough.
As Michael Scott would say K.I.S.S – “Keep it simple, stupid”.
You can reach me by tweeting me @bobbybamber, or by posting in the comment box below.
