The Christian/Orton match was really good and has been passed by the wayside since Cena/Punk was probably one of the five best matches in WWE history. I loved the psychology behind it -- Christian knew he couldn't beat Orton the right way, so in true heel fashion he got under Orton's skin. And since Orton's a psychopath, he lost his mind and the belt. But then he got absolutely brutal revenge via the only announcer table to never shatter on impact.
SPOILERS FROM RAW
Last night's Raw, I thought, was really good. I loved that they kept Punk off of TV. The angle will only work if they give Punk a reason to come back. There's going to be a huge groundswell for his eventual return which will culminate with a pop not seen since the Austin/Rocky era.
Last night's card was super wrestling based, which was a major change (and something smarks have been wanting for years, showing another signal the company may be changing styles). The only non-matches were Vince's two segments (both required for the major plot points) and one from Kofi and one from Alberto Del Rio, who obviously needs to get heel heat since he's going to be a major foil for Punk/Cena since he has the briefcase.
I thought Rey vs. R-Truth was really great. R-Truth has unfortunately been lost in the shuffle since he was a really good act before Punk broke free. But he's not a transcendent character, so he has to stay down a tier from the main events for now. I hated R-Truth (not just his dumb rap persona, but also in the ring) but he's really getting his stuff together. Rey's also an all-time great performer and can hold together a match against anyone.
I loved they kept Rey vs. Miz for next week. That's a great hook -- it will be the main event next week (most likely) so you keep the interest for that going. I think Miz has a great chance to also break out as a face -- the more hardcore fans are already cheering for him, he's a great promo guy, and if he ends up doing his own twist on a CM Punk rant, there could be some magic.
As far as HHH being the new man in charge -- I like it. I think Vince might be the best heel of all-time (still insanely over after a decade) but the guy's in his 60's and can't take bumps solely because of his age. HHH is really over and has the kayfabe stature to handle the power broker role. He's also kind of come full circle from his original Hunter pompous blueblood snob character as the corporate overlord. Vince really pulled off being fired -- it had wrestling cheese ("I'm sorry, Pops) but his tears really put the moment over. It was a great send-off to one of the best characters ever. (And hopefully stays a send-off.)
I hope they'll go into a "meet the new boss, same as the old boss" direction with a power-mad, heel HHH pulling the puppet strings against Punk and everyone else who crosses his path. And Punk already called him a doofus (one of the best insults ever) and said the company would be in even worse shape when he took over.
There is, of course, the eternal worry that HHH will be more invested in his own status behind-the-scenes. He has a bad habit of burying dudes. Vince was never afraid of "showing ass" (parlance for making a fool of himself, even going so far as to piss himself) which made the dynamic work. Will HHH embarrass himself like that, since he never has before?
On the other hand, he has put over plenty of guys who needed to get over (Benoit, Jericho, the Rock, Austin, Foley, Cena). And they have magic with Punk right now, so...
It's a great time to be a fan. It's really rare you get to see a guy like Punk get to where he's now at, especially in a truly unique angle. And it's also great since he feels like a friend -- me and my friends had two primary loves: wrestling and punk rock. I love watching this all unfold.
