WWE: Talking points from RAW June 24th

3. Dolph Ziggler vs Del Rio at MITB PPV

This week, Del Rio and Jericho faced off in a solid TV match, which ended with Ricardo causing a disqualification by attacking Jericho. This brought Ziggler out, as he attacked Del Rio and dropped him with a Zig Zag. This led to Jericho and Ziggler locking eyes, and Ziggler repaid Jericho the favor for delivering the code breaker to him on Smackdown! last week, and put him down with yet another Zig Zag.

With Ziggler vs Del Rio being confirmed for Money in the Bank PPV, Ziggler can now start his ‘title hunt’ angle, going after Del Rio. It’s interesting to note that Ziggler hasn’t been associated with AJ Lee for the past couple of weeks, and hence, I for one am intrigued to see how that would unfold. Ziggler can make 2013 his year, and his feud with Del Rio holds the key to his success or failure as a big time player in the organization.

2. Punk – Heyman segment

When RAW kicked off, I was looking forward to two things. One among them was the Punk – Heyman segment, and I wasn’t disappointed. The masters of promos showed just why they’re considered ‘great’ mic workers, as they both countered each other’s statements. Punk didn’t play up to the fans as a face, but asked Heyman if he was lying. Heyman sounded genuine for the very first time, and Punk aired some truth about the management not wanting him to work for the company, and how Heyman, who has backstabbed people in the past, stood firmly behind Punk. The segment ended with both of them hugging each other, and then Heyman sent Axel to save Punk from an attack by Prime Time Players. This might lead to Heyman turning on Punk next week, and opens up many possibilities which makes this feud all the more interesting.

1. Daniel Bryan steals the show

It has almost become a norm to write about Daniel Bryan stealing the show every week. He faced Orton not once, but twice in the night. RAW kicked off with Bryan facing Orton, but the match ended in a double disqualification, and a rematch was made as the main event to get a decisive winner. What followed was yet another great TV match featuring Bryan, and Bryan picked up the victory after a hard fought battle. Post match, Orton shook Bryan’s hand, as RAW faded with Bryan celebrating in the ring. I would have liked it if Orton turned heel giving Bryan an RKO, but I guess the WWE are building up the heel turn slowly. In the end, it was yet another great RAW for Daniel Bryan.