WWE: Talking Points from August 5th RAW

This week’s RAW came to us from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and going into the show, WWE teased the outcome of the “Corporate make – over” of Daniel Bryan, along with the presence of Brock Lesnar on the show. A lot was expected out of this show, but without a proper TV match, this week’s RAW was all about furthering storylines as we get closer to SummerSlam. The show fell flat in terms of bouts, and hence affected the overall episode. What were the major talking points coming out of this week’s episode? Let’s find out.

5. Triple H – Vince McMahon saga escalates

This week’s episode saw Vince McMahon getting frustrated with Daniel Bryan, and he apparently took it out on his daughter, Stephanie McMahon. Stephanie then went to Triple H and voiced her frustrations, which infuriated the COO of WWE. Triple H then told Stephanie that he had enough of Vince McMahon running around wrecking havoc, and said Vince lost his mind. Triple H said he would take care of Vince McMahon and his intentions to destroy Daniel Bryan’s career, before he “sinks the ship”. With Vince McMahon and Triple H locking horns, this will add fuel to the fire, and with their rivalry set to culminate at WrestleMania, one has to wonder if it will be the start of the ‘Corporation’ angle once again in the WWE.

4. Alberto Del Rio turns his back on Ricardo Rodriguez

Happier days for Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez

Alberto Del Rio faced Rob Van Dam this week on RAW, and when Ricardo tried to help ADR, he instead ended up costing ADR the match, when RVD took advantage of the sweat bucket between the turnbuckles that was meant for ADR to use. Post match, ADR took his frustrations out on Ricardo, beating the living day lights out of him. This might lead to an official split between the duo, although this can also be WWE’s way of punishing Ricardo for his Wellness violation. Will this affect the ADR – Christian match at SummerSlam? One has to believe that now the odds are stacked against ADR to come out as still the World Heavyweight champion.

3. Brock Lesnar destroys CM Punk yet again

CM Punk faced Curtis Axel this week on RAW, but had his sights set on Paul Heyman. After Heyman escaped to the back when Punk tried to get his hands on him, Heyman came out when Curtis Axel took control over Punk. At the end of the bout, Punk finally got his hands on Heyman, but before he could do anything, Brock Lesnar came out and got into yet another scuffle with Punk. When it looked like Punk finally had the upper hand, he instead went after Heyman, which enabled Lesnar to recover in time and hit an F – 5 on the Second City Saint.

Lesnar and Heyman then had a backstage segment, where Brock said something that was along the lines of Sid Vicious’ “He was so bad he was hilarious” mic work. You can watch what Brock said below.

2. Randy Orton makes his intentions clear

Orton, Bryan, and John Cena faced The Shield in the main event of the show. Bryan inadvertently knocked Orton down during the bout, and after The Shield got disqualified, Orton came back into the ring and RKO’d Daniel Bryan. After Cena and Orton chased The Shield away, Orton dropped Cena with an RKO and thought about cashing – in his Money in the Bank contract, but changed his mind when The Shield came back. Orton then left his “partners” to face the wrath of the trio as he made his way back into the locker room, while The Shield took care of John Cena and Daniel Bryan. This looks to be a slow lead for an Orton heel turn, and one suspects that will finally happen at SummerSlam.

1. Colossal Corporate damage

This week’s show started with Stephanie showing how Daniel Bryan cooperated with her for the “Corporate make – over”, to look like a WWE champion. Bryan then came out in a suit, and when Vince showed up, he asked Bryan to complete the look by shaving his beard off. Bryan misled Vince, and when Barrett tried to shave his beard off, he shaved half of Barrett’s beard off instead! This led to Vince throwing a fit in the ring, as Daniel Bryan told Vince that he will not shave his beard off, and will win the WWE championship at SummerSlam. How will Vince McMahon react to this? One has to imagine that the chairman has something up his sleeve for the goat faced warrior come SummerSlam.