The Raw Review 8/20/2012

I'm doing things a little differently for this weeks review. Instead of going over the entire show, I counted down what I thought were the top five segments. I might just continue to use this format, so let me know what you think. After all I write it for you guys.

5. Brodus Clay vs Damien Sandow

I am really getting into Damien Sandow's character. The guy is a not only a pretty good wrestler, but he is a unique personality in a sea of cookie cutter grapplers.

On the flip side is Brodus Clay. I loved Clay when he first debuted The Funkasaurus character. However, WWE just never did anything with him. Before his feud with Sandow began, I had pretty much written the guy off.

The match was short, but succeeded in furthering the storyline. Sandow pulls the tights to pick up a cheap win. Clay then attacks after the match and gets a little revenge by hitting the big splash on Sandow.

I say continue this for a few more weeks, and blow it off at Night of Champions.

4. Brock the Conqueror

After losing to Cena at Extreme Rules, Brock Lesnar was made to look like an afterthought. WWE portrayed him as a mere stepping stone to help Cena save face after losing to The Rock at Wrestlemania. And so I guess they felt they had to have Triple H do the same for Lesnar, which is good. Brock has his heat back, but this on and off setup they have with Lesnar is ridiculous. It's hard to get behind someone who might not be there for months on end.

This entire segment was to show the world that Brock Lesnar laid waste to 'The King of Kings', and in doing so he redeemed himself in the eyes of the world. It's too bad that later in the show Lesnar Touted that he is leaving the WWE. I assume that maybe he will go away until Survivor Series, where he will have a rematch with Triple H.

And we all know how that one will end...

3. Shawn Michaels pours his heart out

No one knows better than Shawn Michaels what it's like to have your career end at the hands of another wrestler. It's happened to him twice, one time for real, the other through a storyline.

While we all know that Triple H isn't going to retire yet, it's a safe bet that his time in the ring in winding down. The match at Wrestlemania 28 against The Undertaker, really was ''The End of an Era''. While both men hadn't wrestled full time since 2009, the Hell in a Cell match was a way of telling the world that their individual runs were coming to an end.

I believe that Shawn's words tonight were not only aimed at Hunter, but also The Undertaker and anyone who has ever stepped into the ring.

2. Dolph Ziggler vs Chris Jericho

Earlier in the night, AJ set up this match, with the rules being that if Ziggler lost then he loses the Money in the Bank contract. But if Jericho loses, he is done with WWE.

This wasn't nearly as good as their match at Summerslam. In fact, it was pretty sloppy at times. I never thought that I would say that about a match involving either guy. But it was still better than most of the stuff on this episode.

The ending was never really in doubt. It's no secret that Jericho is embarking on a tour with his band Fozzy, and would be taking another hiatus from wrestling. So he puts over Ziggler on the way out. The way it's supposed to be done.

I had two problems with this. One, they are already in the middle of a retirement storyline with Triple H. So the way they went about this was overkill. And secondly, After the match while Ziggler was showing off like only he can do, Y2J grabs the MITB briefcase and nails Dolph with it. Afterwards he lays him out with The Codebreaker, and walks up the ramp for possibly the last time.

If I had booked this segment, There would have been no retirement stipulation. I would have just had Ziggler DESTROY Jericho after the match. That way Jericho could leave, and he would have a built in storyline for his return. Makes sense, huh? Maybe that's the problem.

1. CM Punk picks his opponent for Night of Champions

We all know by now that Punk choose John Cena to be the number 1 contender for his WWE Title. But that's not why I put this in the number one spot. It got the top spot because of the excellent back and forth between the two men, and because it furthered Punk's heel turn.

Punk has gone from proclaiming himself to be 'The Best in the World', to demanding that everyone else tells HIM how great he is. It reminds me how he used his straightedge lifestyle in the past. When he was a face, it was a way to show that he was a role model. But once he turned heel, he used as a way to show the world how he is better than them because of it. That's what I love about Punk. He's really never changed. He has ALWAYS been CM Punk.

Cena made some good points, but started to lose me when he said that "Punk has been Champion for 274 days, but all anyone remembers is Punk blowing Vince a kiss and leaving town". That's a crock of shit. I don't know about anyone else, but I remember him for being the guy who has gone out to the ring for the last nine months and stolen the show night in and night out. And not only that, he has done more to return some form of prestige to the WWE Title than anyone in the last decade. Prestige that was lost in large part during Cena's time with the belt.

After Cena leaves, Punk takes out his frustration by kicking Jerry Lawler in the back of the head to end the show.

So Punk continues his turn, and in doing so we have something to look forward to in the weeks to come. I'm certainly intrigued.