Tonight, on the With Leather WWE Raw open discussion thread:
Last night’s three-hour slugfest was colloquially known as WWE Payback, but retribution may yet be waiting for a trio of Superstars who brazenly relieved incumbent champions of their titles in Chicago’s Allstate Arena. Chief among those is, of course, Alberto Del Rio, who took advantage of Dolph Ziggler’s lingering injury to reclaim the World Heavyweight Title, but he’s far from the only offender who’s likely in for a rematch in the near future. With a troika of new champs, The Champ still here, and CM Punk returned from exile, what’s likely to go down on this week’s must-see Raw?
Our five-point preview:
1. Mark Henry returns tonight, but he’s teasing a retirement speech on Twitter. Hopefully that’s just the start of a face turn, and/or we get him a program so he can have a proper farewell at SummerSlam. Additionally, please don’t go, Mark Henry. :(
2. Speaking of random face turns, get ready for CM Punk: Not A Paul Heyman Guy, everybody.
3. In even sadder news than “Mark Henry might retire and CM Punk’s gonna start making Balls In Your Purse jokes again,” Triple H will be on Raw and will probably stand in the back having a 2 hour conversation with his wife about how Curtis Axel and the Intercontinental Championship are worthless. And yeah, he’s right, but you aren’t supposed to say it.
4. WELCOME BACK, RUDO ALBERTO DEL RIO! Del Rio/Ziggler was my favorite part of Payback, so I’m looking forward to seeing where the dynamics of those characters take them. Hopefully it takes Ziggler to “staying friends with Big E and AJ and just letting crowds cheer them without changing them,” and Del Rio to “always killing people like a belt-obsessed shark.”
5. Dean Ambrose, Daniel Bryan, US title feud. HAPPEN IMMEDIATELY.
As always, tonight’s 10 best comments will be featured in tomorrow’s Best and Worst of WWE Raw column. To nominate a comment for top 10 status, please reply to it with a +1.
Enjoy the show, everybody.
