Kester's WWE Raw Rundown: CM Punk and Daniel Bryan continue their feud, AJ delivers another standout performance, the hype for Money in the Bank picks up, and a no-contest on a pole

By Ryan Kester

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan

It was a pleasant surprise to see CM Punk and Daniel Bryan as the focus for several segments on last night's show. This feud has been the most entertaining story over the past few weeks and months, yet it has often been overshadowed by the latest John Cena brouhaha. That wasn't the case last night, and it was refreshing.

As usual, the best part about this story has been the blossoming of AJ's crazed character. From opening the show to the battle royal late in the evening, AJ has hit a groove with her "crazy chick" persona and it routinely produces entertaining television. See, WWE, women wrestlers can be good characters when given a chance to develop. I simply wish that effort extended to the rest of the women's division.

MITB Hype

While the majority of the hype for the MITB this week focused on the bafflingly continuing Big Show vs. John Cena rivalry, Chris Jericho did get in a very good promo that set the tone for the MIB, its danger, and its relevance to WWE's wrestlers.

I cannot say I am particularly excited about the announcement that the MITB match for the WWE Championship will only feature former WWE Champions. The great fun of the MITB matches and the briefcases that follow is the potential to elevate a midcarder into the main event. It defeats the purpose when you have former main eventers vying for the briefcase. It may draw more eyes, but it doesn’t give me a lot of excitement for the next few months' worth of booking.

Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio

The World Heavyweight Championship feels like it is in a holding pattern these days, and nothing says holding pattern quite as much as a "[blank] on a pole" match. While I am happy to see Ziggler in the main event scene, it's blatantly apparent he is only there because everyone else WWE would like to be pushing is either injured or on suspension.

What's worse, I'm still not convinced with Sheamus holding the belt. He simply doesn't feel important enough when compared to the few men before him who held the title and received well fleshed-out storylines. Hell, Daniel Bryan and Mark Henry both made themselves main event names with the belt, yet Sheamus feels like a transitional champion at bets. I've been calling for some progression for Sheamus for a few months now, yet the need for that progression persists.

Overall Show

Last night's show was ok. There were some fun moments here and there, and I was thrilled to see the WWE Championship given so much airtime, but it really feels like WWE is doing its damnedest to hold off until their big 1k episode show to do something special. It gives me a big show to look forward to, but I could do without the several weeks' worth of filler leading up to it.

If you have any questions or comments or just wish to chat with a fellow wrestling fan about whatever, then feel free to email me at ryan.kester@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at @TheRyanKester.