Chris Jericho

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.

Smackdown has long been established as WWE's "B show. " No, you won't hear Vince McMahon -- or even any of the talent -- call it that in interviews. But with Raw being a well-established weekly spectacle filled with many of the company's top stars, Smackdown is obviously No. 2. Not that that's a bad thing, though. But this year's WrestleMania season drives the message home harder than a Brogue Kick. Looking at the line-up for the pay-per-view, a clear majority of all the show's top matches have been built on Raw: The Rock vs. John Cena, Triple H vs. The Undertaker, Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk and, to a lesser extent, the recently announced divas tag match pitting Eve and Divas Champion Beth Phoenix against Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos.

SummerSlam has long been one of WWE's top pay-per-views each year, but this year, the stakes are even higher as the event marks its milestone 25th installment. WWE has been slowly building to this event, teasing confrontation between Brock Lesnar and COO Triple H. Other matches have come together well, too, in recent weeks. On Sunday, SummerSlam emanates from its recently perennial home in Los Angeles. Here's a look at the card and predictions from Ring Posts' Arda Ocal and Adam Testa.

When it comes to WWE pay-per-views, four events on a crowded calendar stand out as special each year: Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series. Collectively known as the "Big Four," these are usually supercards for WWE standard and turning points in the major ongoing stories in the company. This year, the event is also representing a change from recent trends, as more than just a handful of matches are being announced before the show. Recently, it hasn't been surprising to see three or even four bouts added to PPVs without advance notice.

I despise Teddy Long's performance as a general manager. Anyone who has listened to From the Rafters Radio has heard multiple rants on the subject. But I give the devil his due, and on tonight's Raw, Long played his role well. His on-screen appearances were kept to a minimum, and the decisions he made "off-screen" were a nice way to recognize and even troll the thoughts of the Internet fans, who have long mocked Long's fascination with tag team matches. It's true that Long's character had a hankering for multi-man contests, and that shined at full force tonight, as Raw featured three tag team matches.

It's been half a month since WWE announced an official partnership with Tout , the online video service that allows users to post 15-second videos in a similar environment to Twitter. Since that announcement, some interesting things have happened in the WWE Tout-iverse. We have seen official integration of fan Touts onWWE Raw,in response to questions posed by Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler. It appears from doing a search Monday night that there are several hundred Touts being created live during the course of Raw. This number is expected to grow as Tout becomes more popular, particularly among the WWE Universe.

In 1988, the Honky Tonk Man lost the Intercontinental title to the Ultimate Warrior in 31 seconds. Honky Tonk would never reach that level of success in the WWE again, while the Ultimate Warrior was catapulted into the main event, winning the WWE title less than two years later. In 2012, Daniel Bryan lost the World Heavyweight championship to Sheamus in 18 seconds. But the rest of this story isn't a repeat of the Honky Tonk Man in 1988. Instead, something completely different happened.

Nostalgia can be a double-edged sword. There's a time and a place for the past in professional wrestling. The "nostalgia pop" garnered by superstars like "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and "Road Dogg" Jesse James during the Royal Rumble are one example. The return of Shawn Michaels to Raw this Monday is another. Michaels and Triple H had the crowd eating out of their hands during a segment on the show, in which Michaels pleaded with Triple H to accept the Undertaker's challenge for a rematch at WrestleMania.

John Cena put away Brock Lesnar at Sunday's Extreme Rules pay-per-view, but now he must fight the hired gun's boss himself next month. In the closing scene of Raw, General Manager John Laurinaitis threw Cena a curveball. Laurinaitis told Cena his opponent for Over the Limit would be announced at the end of the show. But while Lord Tensai and his henchman surrounded Cena, Laurinaitis clubbed Cena from behind and announced that he would face the WWE's top superstar at the pay-per-view himself.

A disappointing trend has been developing in WWE in recent months. Rather than actually using television programs like Raw and Smackdown to build undercard matches for pay-per-views, the company has been announcing minimal matches and then having "surprise" contests on the monthly showcases. This strategy wouldn't be so bad if the surprise additions were matches of any consequence or interest. Instead, they wind up being standard-fare squash matches. just as fans see for free on weekly television.