CM Punk's walkout on Sheamus: Is WWE Raw the "show of letdowns"?

Is RAW heading for disappointment doom?

First things first, the high light of this week’s WWE RAW was definitely Paul Heyman driving off with C M Punk while John Cena was laid out in the parking lot. But that was Punk’s grand exit from the show, what about the earlier parts; where he had a verbal joust with the World Heavyweight Champion, Sheamus and or the part where he walked out of a match with him later on in the show.

Let’s take it step by step. Even before RAW opens, Punk attacks Jerry Lawler, a definite heel action. The show begins and out comes “the Great White”. He is a baby face, a tough talker and he backs it up in the ring. But he is interrupted by the self professed “Best (wrestler) in the World”. Instead of ominous boos, Punk receives an ovation which literally blows the roof off the arena. As his usual tirade about “respect” and “king” seemed to be never ending, Sheamus took it to himself to break the monotony and asked Punk to step in the ring with him. As the verbal tirade heated up, I am sure fans around the world were praying for just one thing; a match. This wish comes true as Raw GM, AJ Lee, gives us our main event “WWE champ vs World Heavyweight Champ”. In the words of the ever annoying Michael Cole, “OOH My!!”

The next hour is unbearable due to excitement. This will finally settle it. Which title is the ultimate? Finally it starts and out comes Sheamus. Soon “Cult of personality” hits and the fans scream along “it’s clobbering time!!”

But wait why is Punk in jeans? Is it a street fight? new look? Something’s odd for sure. And it turns out he won’t fight at all! He walks off and out of the arena. What a downer!

The whole show feels sour after this. The point is why hype it so much if it isn’t happening. It’s true that wrestling fans love surprises but not of this type. This meant that they felt cheated and not necessarily by their star but by the whole product (of WWE) where anyone could just “take their ball and go home” as they wished. What about the GM’s control, isn’t there an authority that wrestlers fear? Is the champ bigger than the WWE itself? Most of all, what does this speak of the WWE and World Heavyweight championships?

This isn’t the first time that there was a major letdown on RAW. In recent times, there have been plenty of “unwelcome” surprises. Two weeks back, the whole show looked like a send-off to The Game, only for him to deliver a speech but he never announced his retirement. Not that I wished he retired, just that I felt ” why all the hype” if nothing’s going to happen. Before SummerSlam, there were plenty of segments where Brock Lesnar‘s music will hit but the wrestler never turned up ( Paul Heyman’s just about made up for it). Many verbal jousts just end up as heated arguments without any physicality; leaving us wondering “where are the men gone?”. Hornswoggle being Raw’s Anonymous GM, Stone Cold missing RAW 1000, AW’s firing and list just keeps growing. More and more wrestlers are taking the easy way out and count outs are becoming as common as Michael Cole’s annoying-unwanted-untimely facts. Is there any real authority left in WWE, let alone RAW?

On a show where really “raw” wrestlers like Ryback (pun intended) and Kaitlyn are being pushed down our throat and repetitive recaps, hashtag references and untimely ad slots are constantly becoming an eyesore, these letdowns are acting as catalysts for further alienation from wrestling fans. If WWE keeps disappointing fans in such a manner, forget RaAW2000, even RAW 1200 will be a tough milestone to reach.