Alberto Del Rio

There are still many unanswered questions following Raw, 24 hours removed from the Survivor Series pay-per-view event. Once again, the 3 NXT alums dressed in black attacked Ryback and put him through a table, with no explanation of who, what or why. At this point, building intrigue through mystery is a great strategy, which is why I'm looking forward to the eventual "explanation" even more. CM Punk celebrated one full fiscal year as WWE champion with great work on the microphone. It was preceded with a mini "pipe bomb" by Paul Heyman, who called out members of the WWE Universe who criticized his and CM Punk's mocking of Jerry Lawler's heart attack, essentially saying that the same fans who clamor for the "good ol' days" of the Attitude Era, complain and are offended when an event that was inspired by that era is seen in WWE today.

Next month's Money in the Bank pay-per-view's signature namesake matches are shaping up to be a tale of two very different cities. On Monday's Raw, the first four participants in the Money in the Bank ladder match for a WWE Championship contract were announced: John Cena, Big Show, Kane and Chris Jericho. The stipulation was placed on the match that only former WWE Champions could be entered into the contest. Friday night's Smackdown featured five qualifying matches, with more promised for next week's live show.

Monday night's Raw was Big Show's stage to showcase and establish his new persona, and in many ways, it worked. While there have been many flaws in the early stages of Show's turn, the man behind the character has embraced the change and done his best to make it work. He had ample time in front of the camera Monday night, and his match with Brodus Clay quickly became a dream match few had even thought of. Show opened Raw with a promo about his motivation. He pointed out some of the bad decisions made by WWE in the wake of his firing, such as his emotional breakdown a few weeks ago being immediately followed by Clay's dancing and John Cena's reaction to John Laurinaitis later in that evening.

WWE has a long track record of revising its own history. Former enemies all of a sudden are best friends, a certain former world champion has been erased completely from history, and the list continues. But Monday night on Raw, general manager John Laurinaitis took it upon himself to not only rewrite WWE history, but also that of All Japan Pro Wrestling, where Laurinaitis competed as Johnny Ace from 1990 to 2000. Laurinaitis claimed to be the greatest star in the history of Japan, comparing his impact on the industry to the careers of Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and The Rock rolled into one. In all honesty, I think Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa is even a bigger star in Japan than Laurinaitis was during his heyday.John Laurinaitis rewrites wrestling history to build feud with John Cena on WWE's Monday Night Raw Believing his own hype, Laurinaitis said it's those skills that will enable him to beat John Cena at Over the Limit later this month.

For several weeks, WWE has been focused on heavily promoting the milestone 1,000th episode of Raw on July 23. On a personal note, I'm more than OK with this, as I've had my tickets for that show purchased since January and would love to see a stacked show. But as the build of that show has continued, WWE has been bringing back legends. Vader appeared last week, and a number of guests made special appearances on tonight's Raw, as well. In the wake of John Laurinaitis' ousting as general manager and executive vice president of talent relations, though, it seems a few more faces from the past may be making appearances.

I want to start of by saying the following: If by some miracle I ever become a WWE announcer, one that people somehow develop a care for (for some odd reason) and in some minute way shape or form using me in a storyline after I pass away would generate a desired response or would enhance a feud between two talents leading to a marquee event, then I want everyone to know that this is exactly what I would have wanted to happen. In fact, I could only hope and dream that that happens.

After Vince McMahon gave CM Punk the ultimatum of John Cena or Ryback as his Hell in a Cell opponent last week, one of the fine people I follow on Twitter alluded to it being a choice between "the devil Punk knows and the devil he doesn't know. " On tonight's edition of Raw, Punk himself used those very words when addressing the crowd. It was a clever tie-in with the pay-per-view poster that depicts Punk as a devil himself. Punk's desire to toy with the crowd cost him, though, as Vince McMahon told him he was taking too long to decide, and that McMahon would make the choice for him later in the show.

In the wake of WWE's Over the Limit pay-per-view, a new Intercontinental champion has been crowned, four other champions continue to hold onto their titles and John Laurinaitis remains employed. Sunday night's show delivered an evening of quality entertainment and good in-ring performances. On a non-major PPV event, WWE delivered a product that surpassed the expectations of many. Here's a match-by-match look at the show: Battle Royale This last-minute addition to the card was a means of crowning a No. 1 contender for one of the midcard titles.

Brock Lesnar and Triple H officially sealed the deal on Raw and will meet at Wrestlemania. The two stipulations are that it will be No Holds Barred (similar to their match at Summerslam 2012) and that Triple H's career will be on the line. This, of course, is met with the same questions and concerns from longtime WWE fans whenever a career is on the line. Is it really on the line? From a performer standpoint, Triple H is in terrific shape. You could absolutely see him being able to handle several big matches a year.

In recent years, the debate on whether WWE superstars should be classified as "wrestlers" or "entertainers" has raged on across television, social media and casual conversation. At times, it's been used as part of storylines, with performers like CM Punk and Chris Jericho mocking the use of the words "sports entertainment. " But on tonight's Raw, fans saw the semantics at play in a different manner. Look at the careers of Shawn Michaels, who was being recognized in his hometown of San Antonio, and Brock Lesnar and there's a world of difference.