If tonight was any indication, the WWE is going to miss CM Punk if he's really leaving. While all this pomp and build makes me believe that they're not going to be letting him walk, well, tonight he proved that when he's on, he can take wrestling to another level. Even though it was a little crass, he was right when he said the only times wrestling gets front page pub is when he talks or a wrestler dies. That's publicity you can't buy. And really, this is only half of what Punk can do. He wrestles just as well as he talks, and he'll prove that at Money in the Bank, because Cena can too.
Speaking of Cena, outside of the beginning of his spiel after interrupting the contract negotiations, where Bad Goofy Cena reared his ugly head again, he was on point when he was serious. Hell, both bookend segments were outstanding. Vince McMahon acquitted himself well too, but he almost always does. He even broke out the "LET'S HEAR IT FOR VINCE MCMAHON" schtick again. Love that. Although one last note, is it a sad commentary on the city of Boston that it was Punk calling Cena the Yankees that made him snap? I'm from Philly, and we take sports very seriously, but even I think that's an almost sad breaking point.
Anyway, the rest of the show was just there, but it didn't really have to be anything but just there. The Money in the Bank prep was hit or miss. I will say that R-Truth talking about being afraid of spiders and the grits hitting the fan was again surreally entertaining. Christ, he should just do stand-up. He'd be like Tracy Morgan, only less controversial. Other than that, it felt warmed over. Miz was okay in his promo. Swagger was good. Bourne was actually decent on the mic, and then Kofi comes out and cuts the most generic promo I've ever heard. I mean, he's got good delivery... but who's writing this bullshit for him? Then after Truth's manic awesomeness, we get Alex Riley clearing the ring in the most nonsensical fashion ever... like, wouldn't he want to come out before SWAGGAH BOMBU? I don't know. The match was okay though.
Also, the Bella Twins should probably stay away from weight-based insults altogether. Calling Kharma fat is the wrong message. Calling Kelly Kelly overly skinny? Uh, have these twins looked in the mirror lately? Nattie, Beth Phoenix, Eve and Melina all have great body types. The Bellas are just as bad as K2. Maybe they should eat something more than bean sprouts and their fingers. And if you want to get a good reaction over the number of handicap matches on the show, just ask Razor. He'll give you the what for.
But then again, the sandwich portion of RAW could have been 90 minutes of monkeys on tricycles trying to fling poop at Santino and Hornswoggle and it wouldn't have mattered. Punk, McMahon and to a lesser extent Cena made this show. Is wrestling back? I'm not qualified to make that statement, because I'll probably continue to watch even if it turtles into further cultural obscurity. That, and if Punk leaves after Sunday, it's all for naught. However, RAW for the last three weeks has felt special, a certain kind of specialness it's lacked for a long time. Vince, Cena and ESPECIALLY Punk are the reasons why.
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