Kester's WWE Raw Rundown: CM Punk continues his slow burn turn, Big Show stands tall, Daniel Bryan continues to lose his mind, and Chris Jericho gets the better of Dolph Ziggler

By Ryan Kester

CM Punk, John Cena, and Big Show

While I remain of the opinion that WWE would be better served by turning Punk in a quicker manner, Punk is doing well with his slow burn turn. He's managing to maintain his character while making slight alterations from inspiring everyman rebel to cocky self-entitled jerk.

Of the three men involved in the triple threat, Big Show was the one that needed the most rub and WWE did an excellent job of making him look like a brute when he took out both Cena and Punk at the end of the show. I'd still like for Big Show to not be involved in this story, but if he is going to be involved then he might as well look like a threat.

Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan continues to be one of the more interesting characters on the WWE roster. While I think WWE is going a bit too much in the opposite direction by trying to replacing all of his uses of "Yes!" with "No!" I have enjoyed what Daniel Bryan has done with it.

I'm more or less indifferent about the feud Daniel Bryan has with Kane. If feels ancillary to Bryan's feud with AJ and it's not a particularly SummerSlam-worthy match. It will likely be better than many are giving it credit for, but it won't be a match anyone remembers a month after it happens.

I did enjoy Bryan's work with Cena last night. If WWE wants to transition Cena into a feud to tie him over until the Road to WrestleMania, Daniel Bryan could be a prime candidate.

Dolph Ziggler and Chris Jericho

I like what WWE is doing with Chris Jericho at the moment. With his schedule how it is, Jericho really doesn’t need to be around the world championships, but he is such a veteran and shrugs off losses so easily that he can really propel a guy up the card. Dolph Ziggler's needed a feud of this type for over a year now, so it's a lot of fun to watch finally happen.

I'm hoping that the repeated instances of Jericho getting the better of Ziggler are a precursor to Ziggler going over at SummerSlam. Ziggler needs all the rub he can get at this point, and I am confident Jericho could provide the momentum Ziggler needs before he finally cashes in for his World Heavyweight Championship.

Overall Show

Last night's show was solid. It wasn't very memorable or noteworthy, but WWE has gotten better with their pacing for three hour Raws. Time will tell if they can keep this up for the long term, but last night's show was a success.

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.