Cm Punk

This one wasn't even close. CM Punk delivered another "pipe bomb" in the final segment on Monday Night Raw -- another blend of honesty and little lines that put smiles on hardcore fans' faces. This one had a more heel-ish twist, as expected given CM Punk's character on TV for the past several months. Then, after CM Punk got the crowd in a frenzy for several minutes, out came The Rock ... and again we saw that familiar Rock "Big Mac Formula" -- Catchphrase (bun), plot point (meat)

I'll be the first to admit that I was definitely lukewarm about the main event match between CM Punk and The Rock at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. It wasn't a terrible match by any means. It wasn't terrific, either. Both men have had far more entertaining matches in WWE, but it must be said that both men did well given their limitations. What I mean by that is that The Rock, WWE champion, is a part-time worker of matches, so naturally, his "work rate" (as is the commonly used buzz word among the internet wrestling community)

Before sitting down to watch CM Punk: Best in the World , I had already heard a lot about it. Most people unanimously praised it, going so far as to say it was the greatest WWE DVD documentaryever created. The words “honest,” “open” and “real” were often used. I can confirm these sentiments. The DVD is honest, open and real. But what I found most intriguing about the DVD is how much I found myself relating to CM Punk, and how likely it is that many working-class people watching the DVD will also relate to CM Punk's trials and tribulations, even if you don't have much in common with him. The DVD follows a logical life timeline, with sprinkles of Punk's interests and happenings in between chapters.

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.

It was the perfect final tableau for all players involved in the WWE championship triple threat match at Survivor Series.  CM Punk retained the title over Ryback and John Cena. Ryback, the massive monster on the rise, isn't hurt by not winning this match. The fact that he wasn't pinned preserves him as a credible threat. The NXT trio of Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and current champion Seth Rollins, all dressed in black, attacked Ryback and sent him through a table. This is beneficial because it adds an element of mystery (Why did they attack?

Last weekend I attended the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremony in Amsterdam, N.Y. It was great hearing such heartfelt speeches from legends of the industry and seeing so many familiar faces in the audience. One such face, Mick Foley, was in the audience enjoying the ceremony like everyone else and didn't even make a speech at the event. He drove four hours from his native Long Island to attend the induction of his trainer, the legendary Domenic DeNucci, then left less than an hour later.

I often think that lie detector tests fall in the same category as law enforcement in WWE -- they should be seen as sporadic as possible. At least in the case of the former, they are used infrequently. How long has it been since we have seen a lie detector test in WWE in recent memory? To me, that's a good thing. Imagine how boring (albeit civil) feuds in WWE would be if this was part of every one. In the main event of Raw, CM Punk accepted being part of one on Miz TV. It wasn't necessarily the lie detector test itself -- it was the verbal jabs back and forth between these two that made for some quality TV. On top of Paul Heyman receiving a new nickname (Walrus)

Whether you loved it, or you hated it, it definitely had you talking. It certainly wasn't the first time you have seen it - in fact, it probably wasn't the first time you have seen a version of it (for example, Pedro Morales winning the WWWF title for the first time against Ivan Koloff in 1971 . But the ending of the match between CM Punk and John Cena can be classified as one thing - necessary. After a terrific back-and-forth affair that had the crowd invested, especially with both men kicking out of the other's finishing move and not submitting to their signature submissions, John Cena delivered a German Suplex that left both mens' shoulders on the mat, and referee Chad Patton counting to three.

WWE Championship defenses are a rarity on Smackdown. In the promotional build to CM Punk defending the title against Kane in the main event, WWE advertised it has been four years since it last happened. That alone made tonight's Smackdown feel special. Add to that the well-hyped return of Sin Cara, and it seemed apparent WWE actually cared about getting people to watch the blue brand this week. The result of that main event, though, will be a source of consternation among wrestling fans and Internet-writing purists.

"Whether you like it or you hate it, you'd better start to respect it. " Those were the (paraphrased) words of WWE Champion CM Punk on tonight's edition of Monday Night Raw, hot off the heels of a controversial finish to his match at SummerSlam. Many have complained and said that the Punk heel turn has fallen flat on its face, but the thing is, it's not clear whether or not Punk has actually turned into a villain. What has Punk done lately that is overtly heelish? More than anything, he's almost transcended the traditional babyface-heel lines to simply be CM Punk.