Last Monday
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WHY, PUNK, WHY?
We were shocked – shocked, we say – when CM Punk seemingly snapped on Raw 1,000 and GTS-ed The Rock into a catatonic state after The Great One interfered following Punk’s WWE Title Match against John Cena to close the show. The Second City Saint left without another word as boos rained down upon him for the first time since the “pipe bomb,” with Rock splayed in ruin across the canvas and a thousand questions echoing in the WWE Universe’s collective mind. Elsewhere, Cena found himself on the wrong side of history, and Raw got itself the unlikeliest of General Managers by appointment of Mr. McMahon himself. Here are five things to look out for on Raw 1,001.
The age of AJ
Crazier things than AJ being appointed the General Manager of Raw have happened, but now comes the interesting part: What, exactly, does the unpredictable Diva have in store for her new domain? It’s highly likely that Daniel Bryan will have a few things to answer for, and AJ will likely make him pay for his past manipulations of her with lots of seemingly impossible to win matches for the “Yes!” man to compete in. But there’s plenty of other, non-revenge-oriented managerial work to be done; is AJ truly up to the task of running Raw?
Can Ziggler tame the lionheart?
Dolph Ziggler has beef with Chris Jericho. This much is apparent, as the two have been causing each other passive-aggressive misery over the past couple of weeks. Ziggler fed Jericho to Sheamus on Raw 1,000 during their Six-Man Tag Match, sending The Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla headlong into a Brogue Kick. Jericho repaid Ziggler in kind on SmackDown, setting him up for a beating at the hands of The Great White. It’s only a matter of time before these two settle their differences in the ring. Will it be Monday night?
Destiny resumed?
Alberto Del Rio is the No. 1 contender for Sheamus’ World Heavyweight Title once again, and The Essence of Excellence is under heavy pressure to deliver this time out when he challenges for The Great White’s prize. He’ll have Rey Mysterio to answer to, though, whom Del Rio robbed of the No. 1 contender’s spot on SmackDown with a little help from Ricardo Rodriguez. The Ultimate Underdog has gone after Del Rio with abandon since his return two weeks ago, will The Master of the 619 have more plans in store for his highfalutin foil?
Cena cashes out
Only one Superstar has ever failed to successfully turn a Money in the Bank contract into a World Championship win, and that man is John Cena. For all the Cenation leader’s towering accomplishments, he now finds himself on the less-enviable side of history thanks to the interference of Big Show (the irony in all of this is that Cena did win the match by disqualification, but not the championship). Cena has never been one to dwell too deeply on his failures, but with this one etched into the annals of WWE history, how will he reply to being robbed of his prize?
The Voice of the Voiceless speaks
No one has seen or heard from CM Punk since he attacked The Rock at the end of Raw 1,000, so far be it from us to assume we know what he might be thinking. But we HIGHLY doubt Raw 1,001 will come and go without Punk taking hold of the microphone and airing his grievances for the WWE Universe to hear. Presumably they will involve The Rock's WWE Title Match at the 2013 Royal Rumble. Frankly, though we have no idea what they will be. But we can’t wait to find out.
