Pro Wrestling Discussion Thread **Spoilers Possible**

[Comey]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Cena-Miz title match. Riley hands the WWE title belt to the Miz, and distracts the referee, Miz hits Cena with the title belt, hides the belt next to Cena, covers Cena for the three count.

As the referee goes to get the belt from the timekeeper (who's supposed to have it), they announce Miz as the winner and the new Champion.

The ref (after asking the timekeeper several times where's the belt?) turns around, sees Miz and Riley with the title belt, and actually, for once in a referee's life, puts two and two together and gets four, and he turns back to the ring announcer and says "I've reversed my decision. The Miz is Disqualified, John Cena is still champion)

You're writing this like it's the first time it's ever happened. I know you don't think that...it's just how it comes across in the text. ; )

On another note, I've read that tonight's RAW might be the worst one in years, arguably ever.

[SirFozzie]

I'm saying it's the first time I've seen a Dusty FInish benefit the face in about a decade. The last time, I think was something like Flair-Sting.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

I'm saying it's the first time I've seen a Dusty FInish benefit the face in about a decade. The last time, I think was something like Flair-Sting.

And despite that the outcome still managed to be fairly predictable.

I really miss the days of when the face won you felt like he actually accomplished something.

[Comey]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

I'm saying it's the first time I've seen a Dusty FInish benefit the face in about a decade. The last time, I think was something like Flair-Sting.

Many people said that, too. It was the most surprising predictable thing in wrestling history.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I really miss the days of when the face won you felt like he actually accomplished something.

Agreed. I think that would add much more intrigue to matches.

[DeToxRox]

Just kill TNA now. I am too disgusted to even post spoilers.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Just kill TNA now. I am too disgusted to even post spoilers.

{heads off to the dirt sheets}

You have GOT to be fucking kidding me. What's the goal here, collect as many addicts in one place as possible?

(And I'm not talking about the return of one-half of a former tag team championship duo either, nor changing the name of the show either)

[JonInMiddleGA]

And the Smackdown spoiler isn't nearly that stupid, but it's a bad call in its own right.

[molson]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

{heads off to the dirt sheets}

You have GOT to be fucking kidding me. What's the goal here, collect as many addicts in one place as possible?

(And I'm not talking about the return of one-half of a former tag team championship duo either, nor changing the name of the show either)

My first thought here was "No way, they brought back Scott Hall?" and then, I checked the spoilers, and this is actually even funnier.

One thing about TNA is you really do never know what's going to happen. It is out of control right now. It's actually kind of a nice contrast to the more corporate/polished/predictable WWE. I'm glad we have access to both.

[JonInMiddleGA]

TNA needs to be buried at sea.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

And the Smackdown spoiler isn't nearly that stupid, but it's a bad call in its own right.

Spoiler

That makes me really sad actually. Why not just wait till the next PPV? Oh I know, because the writing is shit on the show.

Edit: Just read the TNA results, wow.

[Chubby]

for those of us that wantto avoid the 5 million popups that normally come from the wrestling sites, can you post both the smackdown and tna spoilers?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Chubby

for those of us that wantto avoid the 5 million popups that normally come from the wrestling sites, can you post both the smackdown and tna spoilers?

SD spoiler

Spoiler

Orton beat Cage for the title at last night's taping

TNA spoiler

Spoiler

Chyna is Kurt Angle's "mistress" and mystery partner, something that was revealed by the returning Mick Foley last night, as he appears set to be the person that's been pulling string behind the scenes. Also, in lower profile news, after teasing that Jeff H would be joining Matt H as his partner, Matt's new partner in the feud with Beer Money was revealed: Wildcat Chris Harris

[Chubby]

thank you

[Mota]

Could the Impact Wrestling be any less relevant today? Wow.

It's really weird, RoH signs 2 ex-WWE guys Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas and run with it. They come across as stars and almost certainly worth the money.

TNA signs *spoilers above* and they're all complete rejects and half of them are rehab rejects as well. It's crazy.

[Mota]

The Smackdown spoiler makes me angry, but I am excited about the potential of Smackdown in the coming weeks. Hopefully they can get Mark Henry off the screen ASAP and start pushing top young heels to the top like Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes and Sheamus. To me, that is really exciting!

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Mota

The Smackdown spoiler makes me angry, but I am excited about the potential of Smackdown in the coming weeks. Hopefully they can get Mark Henry off the screen ASAP and start pushing top young heels to the top like Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes and Sheamus. To me, that is really exciting!

Little late for that. I liked the Rhodes-Mysterio feud, but Sheamus is a mid-carder, and Barrett is a jobber. I don't think either can be legitimately pushed into the main event scene after being nobodies for the past year.

Mark Henry isn't bad. He should be a guy who helps put over young talent.

[Mota]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Little late for that. I liked the Rhodes-Mysterio feud, but Sheamus is a mid-carder, and Barrett is a jobber. I don't think either can be legitimately pushed into the main event scene after being nobodies for the past year.

I don't think they really have a choice though. They need to take these guys and make them mean something again, so that's what excites me about it. Then again I've been disappointed by the WWE many many times so I shouldn't get too emotionally invested in it. And I am a hardcore fan. Imagine the casuals out there, if they're not emotionally invested in the product, they just flip the channel to watch something else.

And when the WWE all of a sudden decides to repush Sheamus and those guys again, can they at least try to come up with a reason that a guy losing 90% of his matches will all of a sudden start winning again? Like a new finisher, or show him suddenly discovering a new diet that helps him out? Anything?

A guy like Daniel Bryan will have a tougher time overcoming the loser stench because they've been telling everybody from day 1 that he's boring and a loser and it looks like it's catching up to him. I still remember his first match with Chris Jericho where the crowd was wowed and believed that this guy that they've never seen could win. They've definitely killed that. Losing to NXT guys in 1 minute, the whole virgin storyline, dancing like a loser with all the divas. All of that on-screen time could have been spent telling us why we SHOULD LIKE a wrestler instead of why we shouldn't. I just feel so much resentment and anger in the booking, like it's coming from guys that just hate their jobs and take out their frustration on the wrestlers. Counter-productive, obviously.

[DeToxRox]

TNA's new focus on wrestling apparently means

Spoiler

Eric Bischoff pinning members of Generation Me

[Mota]

Is that really that bad? I mean, of all the TNA roster, do you need to protect Generation Me? They may be good on the indy circuit but they're nothing but jobbers in TNA. In fact, I bet that 95% of the TNA viewers couldn't even tell you which one is Max and which one is Jeremy. I can't remember which wrestler said this, but they look like two little kids that went out and bought the Hardy Boyz starter package.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Mota

Is that really that bad? I mean, of all the TNA roster, do you need to protect Generation Me? They may be good on the indy circuit but they're nothing but jobbers in TNA. In fact, I bet that 95% of the TNA viewers couldn't even tell you which one is Max and which one is Jeremy. I can't remember which wrestler said this, but they look like two little kids that went out and bought the Hardy Boyz starter package.

Well I mean, Max Buck was wrestling for the X-Division title at their PPV last night.

[DeToxRox]

And speaking of the X-Division

Spoiler

They had all the X-Division guys come out and get beat down and then Abyss won the X-Division title

[DeToxRox]

Not sure why I didn't post full spoilers (laziness I suppose) but here:

Spoiler

*Impact opens with an Immortal promo saying Hulk Hogan and Mick Foley are in New York City meeting with the Network and Immortal is in charge tonight. Brian Kendrick leads a group of X-Division wrestlers out to interrupt. Eric Bischoff books them into matches, then Immortal attacks them and lays them out. Fortune hits the ring for the save and there is a huge brawl.

*TNA Knockouts champion Mickie James & Tara & Miss Tessmacher defeated Sarita & Rosita & Madison Rayne when Tara pinned Rosita with a sitdown powerbomb.

*Abyss defeated Kazarian to win the X-Division championship.

*Samoa Joe defeated The Amazing Red in about a minute. He keeps trashing Red and Crimson makes the save.

*Tommy Dreamer and AJ Styles, wearing a neck brace, go back and forth in the ring. It leads to Dreamer laying out Styles. Christopher Daniels makes the save and they brawl. Bully Ray attacks Styles in the ring. Dreamer ends up on top of Styles, beating the hell out of him. Styles is helped out.

*Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett go back and forth to set up a match at Slammiversary where the winner will be the new number one contender for the TNA title. Angle says that after Sacrifice, Karen is gone. Jeff adds a stipulation that if he beats Jarrett, he gets Kurt's gold medals. Karen comes out in a wheelchair but Velvet Sky shows up and shoves her down the ramp.

*Matt Hardy and Eric Bishoff defeated Generation Me. Bischoff scored the pin.

*Velvet Sky defeated Angelina Love and Winter with a rollup on Love. After the match, ODB returned and laid out Sky.

*There is a back and forth segment with Ric Flair and Robert Roode. It ends up with Immortal attacking Roode and injuring his shoulder as revenge for Flair being hurt at Lockdown.

[DeToxRox]

ROH issued the following press release:

RING OF HONOR ANNOUNCES SALE TO SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP

BRISTOL, PA. (MAY 21, 2011)--Ring of Honor Wrestling owner, Cary Silkin, announced today the sale of the promotion to Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., one of the largest television broadcasters in the country and which owns and operates, programs, or provides sales services to 58 television stations in 35 markets across the United States.

ROH, currently the third largest wrestling promotion in the country, just celebrated its ninth anniversary, and Mr. Silkin is excited about taking the next step towards increasing the company's visibility and expanding its operations.

"We have been waiting for and working for this opportunity for quite some time", he said, "and of our 9 years in business, there has been no better roster of wrestlers than this one to expose the ROH product to the masses. With Sinclair's resources and many avenues of distribution, we believe many new fans around the world will be as captivated as those who have followed Ring of Honor over the years."

The month of September will see the debut of the new Ring of Honor television program which will be syndicated across the Sinclair network of stations, and with it, ROH will become the only wrestling promotion in the United States with a major, multi-market presence on broadcast TV. But if you don't live in a market with a Sinclair station, fear not, says Mr. Silkin. "Through our revamped website we will be able to make the TV show available to anyone in the world with internet access."

Sinclair officials are enthused about the project as well.

"We are very excited about this acquisition," commented Steve Marks, COO of Sinclair's Television Group. "Television and professional wrestling have a long history of successful partnerships and driving viewership. Unfortunately, the broadcast networks have not protected that relationship, allowing professional wrestling to migrate to cable network distribution. We believe that the powerful promotional platform that our TV stations provide, coupled with our 22% share of the U.S. TV households, will allow ROH to achieve name brand recognition and grow its share of the wrestling market. When you consider the makeup of our station mix and the number of CW, MYTV and FOX affiliates we operate, this is a perfect fit for our viewer demographics." Mr. Marks also noted, "Longer-term, we can envision syndicating ROH wrestling to broadcasters in markets where Sinclair does not have a presence, and even internationally."

Mr. Silkin assures the ROH fans worldwide that they will be seeing the same exciting, hard-hitting style of pro wrestling that they have become accustomed to. "We have established the name Ring of Honor as synonymous with the best in-ring action in the sport. The only thing that will change is that it will now be easier for fans around the world to follow. Our visibility will increase greatly--our production will be upgraded--but the work ethic of our incredible talent roster and our athletic style of wrestling will remain the same. This is what our fans have told us they want, and we will continue to give it to them."

The current front office staff, including Cary Silkin, Syd Eick, and Ross Abrams, will remain with ROH going forward. Hunter Johnston, a favorite of ROH fans for years as the masked grappler Delirious, will still handle matchmaking, Jim Cornette will remain as executive producer, and other familiar faces like ring announcer Bobby Cruise and senior referee Todd Sinclair will be in place."

Additionally, longtime wrestling broadcaster Kevin Kelly, already the voice of ROH internet pay-per-views, will assume the TV play-by-play chair this fall. Veteran NWA and WCW promoter Gary Juster will come aboard to be in charge of live event operations, which are planned to continue in current ROH markets as well as expanding into new locations concurrent with the increased TV exposure.

Mr. Cornette, who along with Mr. Johnston, will be in charge of talent and matchmaking, sees this as a new beginning for pro wrestling. "This is not old-school wrestling, and it's not sports entertainment," said Mr. Cornette. "This is wrestling for the 21st century, a new style developed by fresh, young stars that incorporates wrestling, mixed martial arts and high-flying, high-risk action with unique personalities, and it's showcased by a sports-based presentation completely different from any other product out there. In my 30 years in the sport, it's the most exciting live-event wrestling experience I've seen, and I'm thrilled to help bring it to broadcast TV."

A major press conference, open to wrestling press and mainstream media alike, is being planned for Baltimore on Friday, June 24th. This event will feature a number of the ROH staff and wrestlers both announcing news about ROH's future and answering questions. The media event will be presided over by new ROH COO, Joe Koff. Mr. Koff, a longtime Sinclair executive with an extensive background in TV sales and management, also has experience in pro wrestling television production and syndication. Most visible of his projects may have been the first-ever live, prime time syndicated pro wrestling events, the Battle of the Belts, which aired from 1985 to 1987. These Championship Wrestling from Florida-based cards were broadcast live to a syndicated network of stations and may be best-remembered for the classic Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham NWA World Title contest from St. Petersburg.

The press event will kick off a weekend which includes ROH's next internet pay-per-view event, "Best In The World 2011," live from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Sunday, June 26th at 4PM EST. In addition to all the top stars on the ROH roster, this event will feature the return of some favorite stars from Ring of Honor's past, and can be ordered by anyone in the world with internet access through Gofightlive.tv for only $14.95. More information about Ring of Honor can be obtained through their website, www.rohwrestling.com.

[DeToxRox]

Sinclair's television group includes 20 FOX, 17 MyTV, 9 ABC, 9 CW, 2 CBS and 1 NBC affiliates and reaches approximately 22% of all U.S. television households.

It is big for ROH, but I am not sure the overall impact it'll have. Though if they have more money behind them then who knows.

[Matthean]

I have no problem watching it online if it is there. Hell, make it a channel for Roku and I can watch it on my TV.

[Mota]

I think it's great for RoH in that they have a more stable ownership group for now. Cary Silkin has done well, but I don't think they've been making money and at some point they were going to have to pull the plug.

With a TV company owning them they'll have more ability to take risks and play to a "bigger stage" which they need. They have the wrestlers and the storytelling and I believe their product is much better than what TNA and WWE are bringing to the table right now. It's just a matter of getting people to watch it and this is a good move.

[Toddzilla]

Would it really have been that bad to put the belt back on Miz? Or back on Christian for that matter?

[RainMaker]

What a swerve! Cena and Orton win!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

Would it really have been that bad to put the belt back on Miz?

In this case, I'd say yes, that would have been a bad decision.

Or back on Christian for that matter?

Much less so, although for as much as I like the guy, I have to admit that it's in the back of my mind that I don't have nearly as much data to base the decision on as they do so even this one (because of the apparent relative strength of Orton) doesn't seem all that awful a decision to me either.

[Suicane75]

Thoughts top to bottom.

The main event was an atrocity. As my buddy so eloquently put it on his way out "That's the most grossed out i've been by a wrestling match since Sid broke his leg".

They have killed the Miz. I hated him as champion and didn't think he deserved or was capable of the spot but they spent a fucking year putting him there and have absolutely killed him the past couple of months and spit on his grave tonight. The actual match itself was something I have a hard describing as even a match, it was more like a series of angles.Bad bad angles.

Christian and Orton had a great match but I never once thought Christian was going over so that killed it a bit for me. I like the booking though and am hopeful that the feuds not over cause this program has a lot of juice right now.

Lawler match was exactly what Wrestlemania should have been. It was 2 months too late but it was the perfect blowoff.

R-Truth is such a promising heel right now I hope like hell they're able to utilize both he and Del Rio as top heels without short changing either guy.

Corre and Nexus are worthless at this point although Punk continues to be the best guy in the company. Every time I see Mason Ryan I picture a character left on the cutting room floor of The Ringer.

Sin Cara better pick a style and stick with it cause this WWE/Lucha hybrid shit aint cutting it.

Overall it was a pretty poor show with one great match and one AWFUL match.

It is interesting how RAW now has 3 really strong heels, none of whom are the Miz and none of whom anyone will really believe is gonna beat Cena because the WM main event is set. But that's what you get when you book on the fly.

[RainMaker]

Raw has good heels but they're booked as jobbers so they don't really matter. I understand having Cena win tonight, but to make Miz look so bad seems dumb. Basically just ended his run as a credible heel.

[DeToxRox]

John Benoit, who has been a semi-regular correspondent for TNA events as well as other events in the Orlando area, was ejected from tonight's Impact Wrestling tapings.

Benoit was ejected from the event by a TNA Producer and then walked off Universal property by an Orlando police officer. Benoit was shown PWInsider.com's website on a mobile device owned by a member of TNA security and then informed he was being thrown out.

PWInsider.com has left word for TNA's VP of Public Relations, Steven Godfrey, requesting comment on the matter.

[Mota]

I think R-Truth is awesome as a heel. That being said, I still find it hard to take him seriously because he's been a joke for years now. But WOW, he is SO much better now.

On the other hand, just the fact that someone said Kharma was fat is disgusting to me. She's supposed to be a monster character, calling her fat is everything that's wrong with the WWE. The whole point of wrestling is to create stars. Nobody, faces or heels, should ever be pointing out a real flaw of a character. If you tell the fans why they shouldn't be cheering for someone enough times, they won't cheer for them.

That's also why it's shocking to me that Michael Cole is right back to being the heel lead announcer. Hasn't it been proven that this hasn't worked over the last year? I thought they were going to kill their business but having him crap on everything for months to get the Cole / Lawler storyline going. But now that it's done, he's right back to the same thing again. It baffles me.

And last but not least, Jerry Lawler, you are now fatter than Vickie Guerrero, so shut up. It's not funny anymore (and it never was).

[RainMaker]

I do find it funny when WWE runs the "stop bullying" ad spot and follows it up with a bit that revolves around calling a woman fat. And speaking of the women's division, can they build a feud with something other than "lol you're fat"? It's just lazy writing at this point.

R-Truth is a solid heel, although as you mentioned, him jobbing for the last couple years doesn't make him much of a threat in the ring. Not sure where they can go since they don't have a solid heel in the organization.

Surprised at the response Alex Riley got. Still wish they had made his face turn a little slower but it seems to have worked.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Mota

I think R-Truth is awesome as a heel. That being said, I still find it hard to take him seriously because he's been a joke for years now. But WOW, he is SO much better now.

He was actually a pretty fair heel in his earliest days in the business.

Circa 2000, from NCW Arena (home of what would become Wildside, which would become Anarchy). The manager is the best indy talker I ever saw, Jeff G. Bailey, the older guy in management is Bill Behrens.

K-Krush (nee Killings) does nothing here, but it's a great bit with a couple of great heatseeking lines from Bailey.



If you're wondering why he needed a manager, this promo from a few weeks later kind of illustrates why



He's come a long way

[molson]

Originally Posted by Mota

On the other hand, just the fact that someone said Kharma was fat is disgusting to me.

It was one line from Jim Ross when Kharma was one of probably hundreds of people applying for tough enough 2 (which was about 10 years ago). FWIW, Jim Ross replied on twitter:

"Kharma will never be a standard issue wwe diva. She's a wrestler. And a keeper. JR shout outs always welcome on Raw. "

And since he was apparently terrorized on twitter after that (I do spend too much time - i.e. any - on these wrestling message boards, and I swear, people take this stuff way too seriously/personally), JR responded:

"Lots of angry folks. Ask @Kharma the story. She's a wrestler & not a typical WWE Diva. King havin fun w/ OKC Thunder. Yes, I'm fat. Duh."

[Mota]

Okay, I'm mostly negative on this thread because we're usually talking about WWE or TNA, but on a positive note, the RoH iPPV Best in the World is coming up and it's looking good.

The best thing about RoH in 2010 was a feud between El Generico (Colt Cabana) and Kevin Steen (Steve Corino) that lasted an entire year. They did a great job involving the tag team partners to add a lot of life to the storyline as it went. I know there are a lot less shows than the WWE so you couldn't expect a year long storyline there, but this story had multiple chapters, some breaks in between so let things breathe, and several defining moments that escalated things over the course of the year. In the end it was EPIC.

In 2011 we haven't seen too much epic stuff from RoH yet but there's a lot of stuff building. You have Eddie Edwards getting a surprise win of the RoH Title and putting on some spectacular matches. They've been building Davey Richards as the #1 guy in the company for 2 years now, and they're on a head on collision at the iPPV. Lots of interesting interaction between the two, they're best friends but there's been some tension lately. What will happen during this match? Is it a one off or is it building to something bigger? To me, RoH have been great at putting together storylines that have twists and turns, where I find the WWE has been lazy and basically just doing 3 PPV's straight of the same matchup with different stipulations (ie. Cena / Miz). I loved Shawn Michaels with his storylines, he was a true storyteller and often put together 3-4 month programs with wrestlers that were really interesting to watch.

Another interesting thing in RoH is the journey of Steve Corino. He was evil all of 2010. Then when his tag partner leaves, he decides he's going to try and change and be good. What he's done is told the story of someone who is suffering from addiction, but in his case the addiction is being evil. He's had a mystery "sponsor" for months which just got revealed as Jimmy Jacobs, another guy who had been gone for a few years and also had the reputation of being evil. I'm really curious to see where this storyline goes, obviously his struggle will continue, but will he win or lose, and who else will get pulled into this struggle over the next few months? Corino doesn't have a good body. He's past his wrestling prime. But right now, he has the crowd eating out of the palm of his hands because of this journey he's been taking us on.

You also have the story of Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly. Two young guys that everybody sees as stars of the future. But they lose. They put on one of the best matches of every show they're on, and every week it seems like they get closer and closer to winning, but they just don't quite have it yet. O'Reilly ALMOST beat Claudio Castagnoli in a classic big man / little man matchup. He came out of the loss looking better than he did before the match somehow. After nearly a year in RoH, both guys look like they're about to break through even though they have rarely won. But when they do win one of the big matches, the place is going to explode. It's great booking when you can make both the winner and loser of the match come out looking better.

I have to say that all the people that think RoH is just a series of 45 minute matches with no reason behind them, that's not true. Their average match time is certainly much longer and there's usually a 30 minute match somewhere in the card, but the matches really mean something. It feels important to them to try and win, so it means something to the fans. Many of the wrestlers are on personal journeys of some sort and you get to see them unfold in the ring.

So there, I don't hate everything. I love wrestling.

[bulletsponge]

what channel is ROH on? and when?

[molson]

ROH isn't my cup of tea, which is why I watch it every week anyway and complain about it all the time on the internet. Oh wait I don't, because that would make no sense.

But I'm glad it's around, I just don't understand why more people who claim they wish the WWE was like that just watch ROH instead. They're selling different products.

[Mota]

Originally Posted by bulletsponge

what channel is ROH on? and when?

Their show will be back on in September. In the meantime you can catch their iPPV Best in the World on June 26th on gofightlive.tv. They're only $15 and usually over 3 hours so it's well worth the money.

[Mota]

Went to the TNA house show in Toronto on Friday. Overall it was a great experience.

My son got a total of 14 autographs and we were able to get our picture taken with Kurt Angle.

The house show strategy is totally different than the TV show. Simple stories, let the wrestlers use their personalities to get over, and the matches aren't completely overbooked.

I really enjoyed the experience, which was surprising because I only got the tickets for my son, I can't even watch Impact on TV anymore. Next up is Smackdown tapings on September 13th, hopefully they'll have something good lined up.

[DeToxRox]

Punk's promo to end Raw was off the charts. Fucking killed the Joey Styles "shoot" and that one was great too.

[RainMaker]

That was one of the best promos I've ever seen. Absolutely incredible. Not sure how much of that was a work vs a shoot, but wow. He is an amazing talent on the mic that they simply can't afford to lose.

[molson]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Punk's promo to end Raw was off the charts. Fucking killed the Joey Styles "shoot" and that one was great too.

+1. He's in the super-rare Piper/Savage mold where everything he does is entertaining, and he has the talent to pull off great moments.

I also love that the impact good worked shoots can have in wrestling again - after they were beat into the ground for so long and lost all meaning there for a while....

It really wouldn't shock me to see him "leave" the company with the title and run around the indies with it for a while (he'd still be under WWE contract)....I suspect they've done similar things with Matt Hardy and Daniel Bryan in the past, when those guys had super-brief indy runs after leaving the company where they seemed suspiciously protected to look good, only to show up back in the WWE a few weeks later (And Matt Hardy mentioned upcoming ROH shows on RAW in a "shoot" - so there is precedent for that kind of thing.) Just one conspiracy theory.

[Comey]

Apparently, after RAW, Cole announced CM Punk was suspended indefinitely.

[DeToxRox]

Raw is being taped for next week right now.

Spoiler

At the start of the show they had a graphic announcing that Rey Mysterio, Alberto Del Rio, and R Truth will be in a Number One Contender Match for the WWE Title at Money In the Bank. They also announced Alex Riley versus Miz.

John Cena comes out for a promo and he mentions that CM Punk has been stripped of his right to challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship in Chicago. He mentions that is why they are going to do the Triple Threat Match to determine a new number one contender. He also says that they are going to treat things as if CM Punk never existed in WWE.

Cena says that he is not happy with the decision and he believes that Punk was saying what he believes in, but he does not agree with Punk. He does agree with Punk’s right to say what he did. Cena says that he wants answers from Vince McMahon and he wants those answers tonight.

John Cena says that he wants to face CM Punk at Money in the Bank

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by Comey

Apparently, after RAW, Cole announced CM Punk was suspended indefinitely.

Which can be deemed a total storyline for when he is away.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by molson

+1. He's in the super-rare Piper/Savage mold where everything he does is entertaining, and he has the talent to pull off great moments.

I also love that the impact good worked shoots can have in wrestling again - after they were beat into the ground for so long and lost all meaning there for a while....

It really wouldn't shock me to see him "leave" the company with the title and run around the indies with it for a while (he'd still be under WWE contract)....I suspect they've done similar things with Matt Hardy and Daniel Bryan in the past, when those guys had super-brief indy runs after leaving the company where they seemed suspiciously protected to look good, only to show up back in the WWE a few weeks later (And Matt Hardy mentioned upcoming ROH shows on RAW in a "shoot" - so there is precedent for that kind of thing.) Just one conspiracy theory.

He would never allow that belt to be a part of one of those promotions.

I feel like Punk was going to be taking extended time off ala Jericho does but left the door open for a return. This exit allows him to have some incredible buzz when he decides to come back.

[Comey]

Originally Posted by Matthean

Which can be deemed a total storyline for when he is away.

Oh, definitely. But it's great that they're letting him go to town.