After this week’s Raw it’s abundantly clear CM Punk will not be back on WWE television any time soon. Is Punk doing the right thing in walking away from WWE, and can he be proud to end his career as it is?
The Usos became WWE Tag Team Champions on Raw, but did their win cheat them out of a WrestleMania moment?
TNA Lockdown is available in New Zealand via video on-demand the day after it is held in Miami, Florida. Will we be tuning in on Tuesday?
Plus, with Raw’s rowdy Chicago crowd on our minds, we offer our thoughts on the best audiences in pro wrestling.
1. After this week’s Raw it’s abundantly clear CM Punk will not be back on WWE television any time soon. Do you admire Punk for sticking to his guns and walking away, or is this something Punk may come to regret? And, if this is truly the end for Punk, can he be proud of his WWE career?
Blake:
It’s not a plain “black and white” situation; there are goods and bads on both sides. Hopefully, the good that’ll come from this is more episodes of WWE TV being produced with the idea of entertaining audiences. As for Punk, he can be proud of his ground-breaking career as well as his decision to stick to his guns on what he believes.
Stevie:
None of us know what has gone on behind the scenes, so there’s nothing to really comment on. CM Punk doesn’t owe any of us a thing, we paid money to be entertained and he did that. Nor do we know whether he owes WWE anything. As nobody is talking, we’ll likely never really know.
David:
Punk can definitely be proud of his WWE career but if the rumoured reasons for his walkout, like being disappointed with his speculated place on the WrestleMania XXX card, are true then you’ve got to think he might have some regrets if this is the end. It’s too late to do anything about it now though, so let’s all just put on our copies of CM Punk: Best in the World and relive the good times.
2. The Usos dethroned The New Age Outlaws to win the tag team titles on this week’s Raw. Are you happy to see Jimmy and Jey get the belts now, or would their big win have been better saved for WrestleMania?
Blake:
I think I’d have rather waited for Mania, but I’m really just glad to see these boys finally get what they deserve. They’ve changed and adapted and improved since their debut and it’s finally paid off.
Stevie:
Should have happened at WrestleMania. We’ll probably just have a random tag match at their biggest show now; that’s if they remember to put them on the card.
David:
The win would have been more memorable at WrestleMania. I imagine people will recall the Usos having won the tag team titles for years to come, but perhaps not the match or event on which they did so, whereas a WrestleMania win would be become a “moment” for the two. But it this means we get to see the Usos defend their titles in an exciting match at WrestleMania and opens up the tag team title picture, it’s been a good move.
3. TNA’s first major pay-per-view of the year, Lockdown, will be available to New Zealanders the day after it happens via the Impact Wrestling YouTube channel. Are you interested in Lockdown and, now there’s a way to watch the show from New Zealand, will you be renting it out next week?
Blake:
Won’t buy it, might just check Wikipedia for end results.
Stevie:
No, TNA was an entertaining show a long time ago but I have no interest in their product any more.
David:
I’m very interested in Lockdown. It’s hard to keep up with TNA without Impact Wrestling, but the company seems to be going through a real period of change with MVP and The Wolves joining the roster, and the joint show TNA just did with Wrestle-1 in Japan. I’ll be watching on Tuesday afternoon.
4. WWE Main Event featured El Torito as part of a 10-man tag team match last week, a far cry from the days of CM Punk versus Sheamus. What do you make of Main Event’s downward trajectory since its launch in 2012, and are you still keeping up with the show?
Blake:
It was always going to happen so I’m not too surprised, but it also hasn’t fallen as far from grace as I’d expected. Superstars went from the hit new show to the lower-card scuffle in a matter of months. Main Event is still featuring relatively entertaining and meaningful matches.
Stevie:
There’s enough filler on WWE’s other shows, I don’t need to add a whole extra show of it to the list.
David:
Main Event’s one of those things where it doesn’t often look inspiring on paper but if you give it a chance you can be pleasantly surprised. There aren’t always the biggest names on the card but the wrestling bell-to-bell is actually very competitive with anything else on offer. That said, we’ve got two major matches on today’s episode, so things could be moving closer to the direction they were going when the show first started.
5. A raucous All-State Arena crowd in Chicago made for an electrifying edition of WWE Raw this past week. Which location do you think has the best audiences?
Blake:
Hands down, anywhere in England.
Stevie:
It’s Chicago, hands down. This is just a fact, backed up by science.
David:
I lean toward the general New York metropolitan area of this one. Part of that comes from a personal bias of being in the East Rutherford, New Jersey, crowd the night after WrestleMania 29, but we won a Slammy Award for that, so we must have done something right. And how can you ever overlook an edition of Raw coming from Madison Square Garden? New York is the best.
