As summer winds down, WWE finds itself facing more questions than ever before. What, exactly, is WWE Champion CM Punk planning next following his controversial attack of Jerry “The King” Lawler last Monday on Raw? Will he, in fact, take up on John Cena’s offer for a title match at Night of Champions in Cena’s hometown of Boston? And what will Triple H have to say when the vanquished King of Kings makes his first public appearance since losing to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam? Here are five things to watch out for on this week’s Raw.
One week after Brock Lesnar unceremoniously announced he was leaving WWE via Tout, his now-injured SummerSlam opponent, Triple H, is set to return to Raw to give the WWE Universe an address of his own. Speculation about whether it’s truly “Game Over” for Triple H has been running rampant for the past week, and it seems like every Superstar except Triple H himself has weighed in on the state of the COO’s in-ring career ( FULL STORY).
The rumors have varied wildly, with some Superstars believing The Game will formally announce his retirement and others believing he’ll issue another challenge to Lesnar. The one commonality is that everyone’s talking.
“Anyone as Anxious as I am to hear what HHH has to say tomorrow on #mondaynightRaw ???? #wwe,” Divas Champion Layla wondered on Twitter.
Jerry Lawler tweeted that the locker room is abuzz with anticipation. “I sure hope The Game doesn’t decide to hang ‘em up,” “The King” tweeted, adding, “CM Punk, respect = HHH.”
The normally self-absorbed Prime Time Players tweeted back and forth about The Game’s announcement tonight, with Titus O’Neil suggesting Triple H will want an opportunity at redemption against Lesnar.
“I think after that Physical Fight with Brock,He Wants 2do it again!REMATCH,” the powerhouse Player wrote.
Meanwhile, former longtime Triple H rival Chris Jericho, who himself was forced out of WWE last week on Raw per a stipulation of losing his match against Dolph Ziggler, tweeted words of encouragement to his old foe.
“Heard HHH future will be addressed on #Raw tonight,” Y2J wrote. “My advice to him is, it’s better to go out on your own terms…and go out swinging!"
Remaining radio silent this entire time, however, is the Superstar at the center of this buzz: Triple H. WWE.com reporters left messages on Triple H’s office and cell phone numbers, but those calls have not been returned. For the time being, it looks like the locker room, WWE management and all observers will all have to wait for Triple H to break his silence. Tonight, expect The Game — re-broken arm and all — to set the record straight.
True, Chris Jericho won the “big one” at SummerSlam by defeating Ziggler, but The Showoff won the BIGGER one last week when he sent Y2J packing in a Contract vs. Contract Match that put Jericho’s WWE contract up against Ziggler’s Money in the Bank contract. With the biggest thorn in his side out of the picture, the world is Ziggler’s oyster at this point. Who will Mr. Money in the Bank challenge next as he prepares to cash in his contract for a World Title opportunity?
Man, we can’t wait to see how this plays out. Raw General Manager AJ Lee has mandated that the apoplectic Daniel Bryan attend anger management classes following yet another outburst last week on Raw. The irritable submission technician’s treatment is slated to begin this week. The real question here is, while D-Bry is off learning meditation techniques and secret Inuit safe words to curb his rage, what will Kane do without his current enemy of choice? The Devil’s Favorite Demon isn’t done with Bryan by a long shot, and we’re pretty sure he doesn’t take kindly to pacifism. This should be a good one.
Something sinister is brewing in Eve’s mind following her upset loss to Kaitlyn in the Divas Battle Royal last week that saw the former WWE NXT stalwart claim the No. 1 contender’s spot for Layla’s Divas Championship. Though Eve gave an ominous, ostensible display of sportsmanship to both women on SmackDown, raising both Layla and Kaitlyn’s hands following a Divas Match, we’re pretty sure she’s got an ulterior motive at play here. But what is it?
WWE Champion CM Punk seemed to reach his breaking point last week when both John Cena and Jerry Lawler refused to acknowledge him as The Best in the World, kicking “The King” in the head from behind after Cena laid down a potential challenge for Punk’s title at Night of Champions. With The Second City Saint growing more disgruntled by the day, and with the power to name his own No. 1 contender, will he take Cena up on his offer? And who else will be asked to pay respect or pay the price when Raw reconvenes? Find out this Monday at 8/7 CT.