Booker T: Watch How It's Done

All hail WWE's new #1 merchandise seller, the Best in the World, the Straight Edge Saviour: CM Punk! No one other than The Rock has taken John Cena's #1 spot in 5 years, and Punk has surpassed The Great One's numbers. If you think that's not a big deal, I point in you in the direction of Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio, two performers who stayed in the main event way longer than they had any right to do so almost entirely due to their merchandise sales. As soon as word of Punk's sales got out, the dirt sheets went from talking about how Vinnie Mac didn't "get" the Punk character and that he would probably see less attention to saying that WWE is going full speed ahead with a Punk mega-push. Sounds good to me. What can I say? I'm a Punk mark. I said it a few weeks ago: never count out the young adult male demographic.

Straight to Nowhere

There's a lot that WWE is getting right at the moment, and it feels like it's somewhat out of necessity. Make no mistake about it that Vinnie Mac or someone else upstairs is very much aware of the stiff competition that Raw is being forced to face each week. Sure, Monday Night Football is the same ol' threat that it is every year, but it just seems that, as of late, there's something huge every Monday. Last week, there was the Charlie Sheen Roast (laugh if you want, but it targets a similar audience). This week it was Terra Nova. So turning Raw into a Supershow format has some obvious motivations behind it.

And, because of this change, Raw feels like it's ready to burst with talent. It's spontaneous and offers varied types of matches each week. Let's face it - whether or not you thought that every decision on there was smart or whether the right people came out looking good or that sort of thing, Raw was VERY easy to watch this week. Though not perfect by any stretch, Raw has been entertaining as of late. And Smackdown has been... well, doing enough to get by, really (although last week's episode suddenly did huge ratings. I'm not sure what that's about.). Actually, that's one huge problem right now.

Don't Play That Card Yet!

Raw was a fairly typical go-home show before a pay per view. There was a lot of talk and storylines didn’t so much advance as they were just stretched to last another week. Meanwhile, Smackdown, though not terrible, continued to make it abundantly clear that it is the B-show by not featuring any Raw superstars. For the purposes of this article, though, it works out nicely because it gives us a chance to discuss what is, by leaps and bounds, the most gripping storyline going on right now.

Triple H vs. CM Punk.

Come Together

[Apologies for the delay. Between Hurricane Irene and then getting called in for jury duty, any momentum I had in regards to this blog was thoroughly destroyed.]

I didn’t need CM Punk to help turn everything in the WWE upside down in order to blog about the company. But it certainly hasn’t hurt. If anything, it’s allowed for me to be fairly positive in regards to wrestling. WWE had been maintaining a status quo for far too long, but as that gets shaken up, they seem to be improving.

As of late, Raw has been entertaining. However, the biggest problem for the company - which I’ve mentioned numerous times - has been that Smackdown hasn’t measured up in quite some time. That all changed as Triple H announced the end of the roster split. And it’s about damn time.

It's Good to be Bad

There has always been one big flaw in the dynamic of the babyface versus the heel, and that is that most major babyfaces – the guys for whom you are supposed to root – have always been impossible to like. I can’t fathom why anyone who isn’t a stupid little kid would have ever cheered for a John Cena or a Hulk Hogan. It’s the same reason I can’t root for Superman – he’s basically invincible and you know he’ll always win, no matter how clear it is that he shouldn’t (Cena could really help himself if he’d just sell the damage done to him).

Plus, they’re generally devoid of any real flavor

Destiny Can't Book

CM Punk, John Cena, and Triple H could get in a ring and go back and forth on the mic for hours and I’d listen to every word of it. Their exchanges graze so many topics that could be explored that it’s always a little disappointing when one of them has to get back to the main focus of the storyline and wrap things up. You know that Punk could probably debate just about anyone and win, but instead he has to threaten to kick their ass, because it is, after all, wrestling. That’s not a complaint – it’s a comment on how good the WWE Title storyline has been as of late.

Oh, wait. Punk’s not the champion, and neither is Cena. Alberto Del Rio currently holds the strap. And after this week, I’m hoping his reign doesn’t last long. You don’t want to bury the guy by having his first win lead to a pathetic reign, but the fact that Punk and Cena’s rivalry took center stage over the championship this week should tell you something.

WWE's Bad Orgasm

Summerslam was supposed to dramatically point the WWE in one direction or the other, as represented [mostly] by CM Punk or John Cena, though Christian or Randy Orton was also a relevant choice in this matter. Either they gave into the smarter fans by pursuing a new mode of thought with Punk as champion, or they stuck with their time-tested formula by giving the strap to their boy, Cena.

Instead, WWE sidestepped the whole issue and gave the audience a conclusion that prevented anyone from wanting to riot, but didn’t really satisfy anyone, either. It was as if they stared nervously at all their options, panicked, and then made a completely absurd choice. Yes, Summerslam was WWE’s bad orgasm.

Along Came Punk

Aside from in 2003 (when Edge was injured), there has never been a time when I wasn’t completely on top of the WWE, and even then, I wasn’t completely out of the loop. As you may have already gathered or known, I was an Edge mark from day one, and that appreciation carried me through some patches where Raw and/or Smackdown were not of the highest quality. Seriously, go back to summer of 2008, during Edge’s feud with Undertaker, and it can be pretty painful to watch until Edge shows up and single-handedly saves each episode of Smackdown. However, even without his sudden neck injury forcing him to retire, it was becoming clear that WWE without Edge was going to become a reality before too much longer.

The Heels are Right

There are two things about which I can write endlessly with minimal effort: 1.) Professional wrestling and 2.) Things I hate. So I’ve decided to kill two birds with one stone in this first article with my first target: I hate pro wrestling fans.