Kester's WWE Raw Rundown: CM Punk rallies against Ryback and Paul Heyman, Daniel Bryan no longer stands alone, and The Rhodes Brothers return to fight The Shield

By Ryan Kester

CM Punk and Paul Heyman

CM Punk delivered another solid promo on Raw, and it was easily the highlight of the show. The story for Punk rallying with his fans against the setback he faces in Ryback is a simple story to tell, but as much of the Punk and Heyman feud has gone thus far, it's told with such commitment and quality performances that it has been enthralling.

Ryback may not be the ideal guy to fill the role of interim Heyman muscle, largely due to WWE's multiple failed attempts to find a good character for the man since his heel turn, but he's got more chemistry with Heyman than Axel has shown to date. That alone makes his contributions to the Heyman and Punk feud more enjoyable, and I'm interested to see what Punk and Ryback can do when they meet with their heel and face roles reversed.

Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, and the McMahons

The story that went into the booking of the main event was odd. They tried to justify the move by pitting the babyfaces against each other, but they still made The Shield the overwhelming underdogs in a handicap match, which does nothing to help the babyfaces gain sympathy and come out looking like they've got some backbone to them.

Bryan delivered a solid promo defending himself against Triple H's accusations from the previous week, but there's a certain intensity that is lacking from Bryan's mic work. He hit the mark at points, but after all the setbacks his character has faced, it would be nice to see him turn it up and extra notch to rally the fans that are already supporting him into a fervor for the next PPV.

The Shield and The Rhodes Brothers

While the motivation for the Rhodes to go after The Shield seems off due to the source of their problems coming from Randy Orton and Triple H, I can understand the idea of having the Rhodes go after the regime's henchmen. The Shield have been in a nebulous role recently without clear rivals, and having them paired with a storyline opponent rather than a random number one contender will help keep the act fresh.

The Rhodes' attack on the Shield was particularly well handled. It's moments like this that show a little bit of investment in generating sympathy for babyfaces can pay off so much more for the characters than having them constantly overcoming their heel counterparts.

Overall Show

This week's Raw was ok. It didn't wow or amaze, but it served the purpose of furthering some of the main stories along. WWE has a long way to go with the hype for Battlegrounds next week, however, as this show did little to make me convinced that I needed to part with my money after the lackluster Night of Champions.

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.