By Jason Powell

Dot Net Members will be listening to Jason Powell's exclusive audio review of WWE Raw later tonight. Join us on the ad-free version of the website by visiting the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from Indianapolis, Ind.

[Q1] The show opened with a long video that recapped the C.M. Punk and John Cena drama, complete with footage of Vince McMahon. The video closed with a shot of Punk and Cena holding up their title belts at the end of last week's Raw...

Michael Cole introduced the show from ringside. C.M. Punk's new (old ROH) music "Cult of Personality" played and he walked onto the stage and played to both sides of the stage with the WWE Championship in hand. Punk headed to the ring and stopped to take some grief from a couple of John Cena fans.

Cole introduced Jerry Lawler and referred to Jim Ross as a special guest. Lawler said Triple H ruled that Ross is back permanently. Cole quickly plugged the WWE Twitter hash tag as Punk continued to play to the crowd inside the ring. There was a loud Punk chant and a lot of boos once the music stopped.

"The Champ is here," Punk yelled into the mic. More boos than cheers for that line. The announcers noted that he was getting a mixed reaction. Punk took a seat in the middle of the ring and the "C.M. Punk" chants started up again. Punk said the $64,000 question is why he came back after everything he said and did.

Punk said he's a bit of a storyteller and asked fans to give him a chance to tell them his story. He said he's known for a long time that his contract with the company expired on July 17. He said he struggled with the decision. "One one hand, I live the place I work," Punk said. "I just hate the people in charge."

Punk said he could have re-signed and dealt with the "skull crushing status quo" or to speak his mind. "I spoke my mind and lo and behold, I caused just a little bit of change, didn't I?" He said Vince McMahon was relieved of his duties and change is in the air. He said a lot of the credit also falls on the shoulders of the WWE audience.

"For far too long, you've been fed scraps," Punks said. He said he was there to give them more. "I'm going to make this fun again," he said. Punk admitted he's unorthodox and people get scared when he has the mic in his hand. "I'd have it no other way," he said. Ross said he thinks Punk is a little arrogant.

Punk said he can't change WWE or the industry for the better if he's sitting on his couch in Chicago. "So I picked up the phone as much as I hate being on the telephone, I made the phone call to come back, believe it or not," Punk said. "By the looks of it, my timing couldn't be better."

Punk said they've already reverted back to the skull crushing status quo because John Cena is parading around as the WWE Champion. "John Cena is as much WWE Champion as this guy right here in the front row with his Shop Zone replica championship title belt," said Punk. What you have is a belt. What I have is a championship title. So much for change, huh? Same old, same old."

Punk said that regardless of the bogus tournament or whomever thinks they are entitled to rematches, "I hold the most important title in the world." He said the belt signifies that he is "the best professional wrestler this world has to offer." Punk said he is the one and only WWE Champion.

Triple H's music played. "Apparently it's time to play the game," Punk said. Hunter walked to the ring wearing a suit. Punk stood there with a smug smile on his face. A "Triple H" chant broke out. "Absolutely, let's hear it for him, HHH, he's the COO," Punk said. Hunter thanked him for the "warm reception."

Hunter said that since Punk took the time to explain why he re-signed, he wanted to explain why he re-signed him. "It comes down to one thing, business," Hunter said. "It was good for business. The same reason I brought back J.R., the same reason I brought back John Morrison. The WWE Universe wanted it. And it's my job as the COO to give them what they want."

[Q2] Punk told Hunter that he wants to know what his feelings are regarding him. "Personal feelings are irrelevant, but if you insist, I think you are a smug, overrated, attention seeking guy that puts a little bit too much stock in his own hype," Hunter said. "Not that that's a bad thing."

Punk said he's happy they could be honest and asked, "It's kind of like looking in a mirror, isn't it, Hunter?" Punk said he wished Hunter had just come out and said that he hated his guts. He said they live in an era that Vince built because he was surrounded by men that said "yes" repeatedly.

Punk said they screwed the pooch on this talent roster and the guys they let go. He mentioned Batista, Mick Foley, Chris Jericho, and Brock Lesnar. Punk said Hunter couldn't afford to see him go somewhere else. "I'm hot," Punk said. "I'm a commodity." Hunter said fair enough, but then said Punk should tell the truth about why he re-signed. Punk claimed he already did because he wanted to facilitate change.

Hunter said he thinks Punk wants to hear his own voice. He said Punk needs the platform because the pipe bomb (mic) and him mean nothing. Punk said it's 50/50 at best and he likes facts. "The truth is I'm the WWE Champion," he said. Hunter corrected him and said Punk is a WWE Champion, but John Cena is also a WWE Champion. Hunter said he'd fix that later tonight.

Triple H's music played and he started to leave the ring, but Punk cut off the music and called him back. Punk said he's just getting warmed up. He said that just because he signed his name on a contract doesn't mean he's going to shut up. He said he's not going to promo class or media training. "I'm here to stay and I'm doing things my way," Punk said.

Punk mentioned egos and then bowed to him. "Let's talk about egos," Punk said. "Let's talk about you hogging the spotlight so many, many, many, many times." He said that even when Hunter was carrying Shawn Michaels' bags, he was still pushing his weight around and telling people what to do. Punk asked how many times he's said, "'Well, you know, I just don't think he has what it takes' while you're lying in bed with your wife."

Punk said Hunter is a bully who likes to push people. "Be careful who you push," Punk said. "Because you know I like to push back." Hunter said he'll be the first guy to say that he has a massive ego. He said his ego is telling him to slap the rotten tattoos off of Punk's skinny fat ass because this is bigger than that.

"I took the job as COO for them," Hunter said while pointing to the fans. "That comes with certain responsibility and certain rules." He said he may not like the rules, but he's not going to break them. "Punk, I would strongly, strongly suggest that you don't break them either." Hunter dropped his mic and glared at Punk.

"Or what?" Punk asked. "Are you going to fight me? Are you going to punch me in the face? Or do you have to go ask your wife's permission first?" Punk dropped the mic and said, "Pipe bomb" while looking at Hunter. Punk left the ring and raised his hands in the air while Hunter looked down with a smirk on his face...

Backstage, Rey Mysterio was standing there when John Morrison flipped into the picture. Cole hyped that they would team up against R-Truth and The Miz. Jerry Lawler hyped the Divas Battle royal for after the break... [C]

Powell's POV: An interesting opening segment. Punk still comes across like a hero to his fans, but it's not like WWE is trying to make him out to be an all out babyface in any way. Ross's line that Punk sounded arrogant told me a lot about the way Punk is being positioned. Speaking of Ross, it seems like he's taking a backseat to Cole on the broadcast team, but I guess we'll know more once the matches start.

1. Beth Phoenix won a Divas Battle Royal in 7:15 to earn a WWE Divas Title match at SummerSlam. The participants were The Bellas, Alicia Fox, Melina, Tamina, A.J., Natalya, Eve, Beth Phoenix, and Gail Kim. Kelly Kelly joined the announcers on commentary. Melina, Gail Kim, Rosa, and Kaitlyn were eliminated quickly. Tamina was out around 1:00. Kelly was talking about the internet and red carpet photos and how they don't do photoshopping instead of the match. Natalya was eliminated about 1:40 and they went to break shortly thereafter.

[Q3] [C] Eve, Alicia, The Bellas, and Beth Phoenix were still in the match after the break. Fox was eliminated by Eve. One of the Bellas eliminated Eve, and then Beth hoisted up both Bellas and eliminated them simultaneously. After the match, Kelly entered the ring and clapped for Phoenix. Beth grabbed her by the hair and whipped her to ringside. Beth grabbed Kelly and threw her into the guardrail.

Beth took the mic from ring announcer Justin Roberts and then walked over to Kelly again, Beth said Kelly's days as the perky, cute, blonde, little bimbo are over. Beth dropped the mic and smiled...

Powell's POV: I love it! I think most of us were expecting Eve to win the battle royal, but I'm all for a Beth Phoenix push. Punk is getting the push of his career and now his girlfriend is finally getting her first meaningful match in ages.

Backstage, The Miz and R-Truth spoke inside their locker room. Truth spoke about a "C-O-N...spiracy." Truth noted that if Hunter was bringing back Punk all along with the WWE Title, then he wanted to know why he and Miz were competing in the tournament in the first place... [C]

Powell's POV: The conspiracy line was hilarious. Miz played it up like he blew off R-Truth, yet was left thinking about what he said once he was alone.

[Q4] Backstage, Josh Mathews and his distracting glasses interviewed John Cena, who said Punk isn't afraid to speak his mind. He said there's something admirable about that, but you live by the sword and you die by the sword. Cena said his focus is on Triple H and what he decides to do about the WWE Championship. Cena said that when Hunter came out to make his decision, he planned to be there to see what he had to say...

Powell's POV: Not much to that interview. It was basically Cena telling his fans to stick around because he and Hunter will be in the ring together later in the show. By the way, Ryan Kester has way too much time on his hands and rewound the show like 237 times and is now convinced that Cole, not Ross, referred to Punk as arrogant. Okay, fine, he just said "several times." All joking aside, it was a good catch, and I'm not sure what to make of heel Cole saying that line rather than face Ross.

R-Truth made his entrance. The Miz made his entrance and highlights of his comical appearance on "Lopez Tonight" were shown... [C]

2. The Miz and R-Truth defeated Rey Mysterio and John Morrison in 12:00. The faces were on the offensive and hit big moves on the floor in front of the announcers' table when the show went to break. Unfortunately, Morrison barely caught Miz's arms when he performed a dive from the ring onto Miz on the floor. [C]

A generic ad for Smackdown focussed on Triple H announcing Christian vs. Randy Orton in a No Holds Barred match for SummerSlam. The heels were in control of the match when the show came back from the break.

[Q5] Cole reset the show and the announcers spoke about Punk's explanation for why he returned. Ross said we will find out tonight how Triple H intends to deal with the situation. The heels remained in control until Miz jumped off the ropes and into a Rey Mysterio dropkick. Rey made the hot tag to Morrison, who hit a flurry of offense on R-Truth.

Morrison went for his finisher on Truth, but Miz pulled his partner out of the ring. Truth went for his kick, but Morrison avoided it and put Truth in position for a 619. However, Miz took out Mysterio at ringside. Morrison went after Miz only to walk into R-Truth's finisher for the 1-2-3. Afterward, Miz held Morrison and Truth struck him with the water bottle...

Powell's POV: An entertaining tag match with the heels going over to give them heat going into whatever they are doing at SummerSlam. All signs point to Truth vs. Morrison, and perhaps yet another Mysterio vs. Miz match.

At ringside, Cole held up one of the SummerSlam themed 7-11 cups...

Backstage, Sally Jesse Raphael, er, Josh Mathews interviewed Triple H, who said the bomb Punk dropped about his wife is nothing new. He said it's been dropped for ten years and it's nothing new. "Get some new material," Hunter said. Triple H said that if he were Cena, he would keep things strictly business... [C]

An ad for Smackdown focussed on Sheamus and Mark Henry. They didn't directly advertise a match between the two, as one can only assume that's being saved for SummerSlam...

Powell's POV: My poor email in-box would like me to issue yet another correction. Yes, I now know it was Cole who referred to Punk as arrogant, and I addressed it earlier. Abused in-box aside, I do appreciate you guys taking the time to correct me.

Highlights aired of Ultimate Warrior beating The Honky Tonk Man at Summerslam...

Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero came to the ring for a promo. Vickie did the "excuse me" routine to great heat. She eventually introduced Dolph as her client. Dolph recalled saying "follow that" after his match last week. He said the line was directed at every WWE Superstar, because none of them will have his skill, talent, charisma, etc.

[Q6] Dolph boasted that he's more of a man than anyone in the arena. He was eventually interrupted by Alex Riley, who came out wearing a suit and questioned why Dolph hides behind Vickie if he's such a man. Riley entered the ring and said "excuse me" after Vickie defended Dolph.

Riley asked Dolph when is the last time he ever accomplished something on his own. Riley said Miz hid behind him, and Dolph hides behind Vickie. Riley said that if Dolph wants to be a real man, then he'll drop Vickie. Riley said that Dolph is afraid he'll be exposed as a bleached blonde, arrogant, fraud.

Dolph backed Vickie into the corner while telling Riley that he doesn't belong. He took off his jacket and title belt, struck a brief fighting pose, and then rolled out of the ring. Vickie followed and Riley mockingly waved at them...

Powell's POV: Vickie was the star of the segment. Dolph delivered his lines well, but they were a little too cliche for my taste. Riley is still wearing the damn suit and just hasn't evolved enough from his sidekick days. He did a decent job on the mic, though. It looks like they've moved on from Miz vs. Riley.

A graphic showed a big Triple H with smaller images of Cena and Punk on each side. The announcers pushed a poll for who the real champion should be... A split screen shot aired of David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty walking, and the other shot showed Santino Marell and Zack Ryder walking together. Santino had what appeared to be a dragon puppet on his arm... [C]

3. Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga beat Santino Marella and Zack Ryder in 2:20 in a non-title match. Lawler narrated footage of Ryder beating Cole last week. Cole said his boots were four sizes too big for him. A loud "We Want Ryder" chant broke out. Cole called him a goof and said he spent $1,500 on his Internet Champion title belt.

Ryder got a good reaction from his vocal fans in the crowd when he tagged into the match. In the end, McGillicutty hit a Demolition-like finisher on Ryder and scored the clean pin...

Powell's POV: No Nexus shirts for the WWE Tag Champs, and they had a new video wall and craptastic new entrance music. They did a couple of real tag team moves during the match. It will take some time for them to break out of the Nexus B-Squad perception that most fans have, but it can be done if creative wants it to happen. They'll never be Tully and Arn, but at least they're showing signs of improving as a team.

[Q7] [C] An ad aired for the WrestleMania special that will air on NBC... Cole plugged the Edge appearance on Syfy's "Haven" for Friday night...

Ross set up a replay of a portion of the Triple H and C.M. Punk verbal exchange from earlier tonight. They focussed on the part where Hunter said he took the job for the fans and won't break the rules, and then suggested Punk didn't break them either. Punk fired back with the line about whether Hunter had to ask his wife's permission to beat him up...

Backstage, Sally Joshy Raphael interviewed Punk, who said he was testing Hunter earlier. He said Hunter passed with flying colors and he's sure they will have a good business relationship going forward. Punk said he beat Cena at Money in the Bank, making him the real champion...

Powell's POV: Yeah, I know the Sally Jesse Raphael reference is dated, but Josh's glasses are just too much. Oddly enough, he also looks like the former talk show host.

The legendary Ricardo Rodriguez introduced Alberto Del Rio, who did the classic car entrance. As Del Rio was heading to the ring, Lawler pimped the 7/11 cups. Cole said Del Rio would be in action next... [C]

Powell's POV: I'm disappointed with the Cole to Ross ratio tonight. Cole is still doing the bulk of the talking. He's not taking nonstop cheap shots at Ross, but I was hoping Ross would be the lead announcer, while Cole settled into a traditional heel color commentator role.

4. Alberto Del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) beat Evan Bourne in 3:45. As Bourne made his way to the ring, Cole pissed and moaned about Ross tweeting that he's a tool earlier tonight. Lawler said at least Ross won't be called on the carpet for his tweet. That's probably as close as we'll get to a Raw mention of Cole's use of a gay slur on Twitter.

[Q8] Cole went into putting over Del Rio as a mixed marital artist and more. He went off on Ross and Lawler about dated humor. Lawler asked if they could just call the match. Yeah, no shit, please do. In the end, Del Rio applied the Cross Arm Breaker and got the submission win.

Afterward, Del Rio felt the need to reapply the hold. Kofi Kingston ran out in street clothes and ran off Del Rio. Ross reminded viewers that Kingston was on the receiving end of the move last week...

A shot aired of Triple H walking backstage... [C] The Sheamus and Mark Henry version of the Smackdown commercial was shown...

Powell's POV: It looks like we're getting Del Rio vs. Kingston at SummerSlam. They have to heat up Del Rio again. He's actually lost some momentum since winning the Money in the Bank contract.

The announcers hyped the Cee Lo Green theme song for SummerSlam and his appearance at the pay-per-view... Cole revealed the results of the WWE website poll regarding the rightful WWE Champion. 54 percent voted for John Cena, and 46 percent voted for Punk...

Triple H made a quick entrance as his song played again. Hunter said he's thought about the title situation for a long time. Before he could announce his plan, John Laurinaitis called out for him to hold on for a second. Cole said Ross knows who Laurinaitis is because he's far more talented than he is.

Laurinaitis introduced himself and explained his position. He said he took it over from Ross and pointed to him. Hunter asked when it became career day. Laurinaitis said Hunter has been in his new job for a short time. He said he worked with Vince McMahon for over ten years and knows how he would address it. "Strip the WWE Championship from John Cena," Laurinaitis said.

John Cena's music played and he came to the ring. He said Laurinaitis was the "yes man" that Punk was talking about. He impersonated Laurinaitis sucking up to Vince. Cena alluded to Laurinaitis's days in the Dynamic Dudes by pointing out that he used to carry a skateboard.

[Overrun] Laurainaitis said Cena is out of line and I started to fall asleep while listening to his voice. Cena said his favorite part of Money in the Bank was when he punched Laurinaitis in the face. He said he'd like to do it again. Hunter said he didn't have a problem with it. Laurinaitis fled the ring.

Cena made a quick case for holding the WWE Championship. Hunter told him to relax and said he didn't have to worry because his claim to the belt is legitimate. Hunter said he spoke with Punk at Comic Con and then didn't hear from him again until Cena was beating Rey Mysterio. He said Punk handed him a signed contract and told him to hit his music.

When Hunter said he wouldn't be stripping Cena of the title, Punk's music quickly followed and he headed to the ring wearing his version of the WWE Championship (you know, the real one). Punk called Cena's version of the title a paper championship and assumed that Hunter was going to take his belt away.

Cena referred to Triple H as Hunter and tried to talk to Punk. Hunter scolded Cena for calling him Hunter and reminded him that he's the boss. Hunter said they would settle this in a match at SummerSlam and there would be one champion. Triple H left the ring, leaving Cena and Punk.

Punk dropped the mic, took off his belt, and held it in the air. His music played. Cena dropped his mic, held up his belt, and his music played. Punk went to the ropes and played to the crowd and his music played again. Cena did the same and his music played. They took turns raising their belts and the music kept switching. Cena did the "You can't see me" gesture. They continued to trade off music and belt raises to close the show...

Powell's POV: Wow, Super Dave Osbourne, er, Marty Funkhouser, er, John Laurinaitis is off to a horrible start. He's freaking dreadful and I never want to see him on my television again. Are they keeping him involved to serve as the voice of Vince McMahon because Vince is going to be making an attempt to take his company back sooner rather than later?

The final segment didn't click with me. I just have a problem with Cena being so adamant that he's the real champion, as one would think his character would be asking for the unification match rather than lobbying to keep a title he lost to Punk fair and square. It makes him look bad. Worse yet, Hunter was right when he said they needed to stop whining like little girls, as it did seem like both guys were whining about the belt when, at the very least, Cena should have been excited to get his hands on Punk again to avenge his loss. I will have a lot more to say about this show tonight in Dot Net Members' audio.

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