WWE CM Punk Vs. Ryback – First Raw 2013

There were rumors circulating that the promotion wanted to make sure Ryback got one more crack at the WWE championship before the Royal Rumble, making up for the match he didn’t get at the TLC pay-per-view (PPV) because of CM Punk’s untimely injury.

Now it appears there’s a date for that match and it’s Jan. 7, 2013, on the very first episode of Monday Night Raw of the new year. Not only that but on the Christmas Eve episode of Raw, Ryback reveals he wants it to be a tables, ladders, and chairs match.

This is interesting for a number of reasons. For starters, Punk was taken off the holiday house show tour because he needed more time to heal. Having him come back to a match type like that against a wrestler like Ryback seems risky, especially considering the stakes.

After all, it’s just a few weeks away from the Rumble and Punk’s planned match with The Rock.

TLC makes sense however it allows for interference on Punk’s behalf; and it’ll be a ladder match, meaning Ryback can lose without being pinned. It works, keeps the title on Punk, and leaves open the run in possibility to get Ryback into a feud elsewhere and out of the immediate title picture.

“The Great One” is also back the first episode of Raw, on Jan. 7 in Tampa, Florida. That sets up easy for Punk to beat Ryback and Rock to make his presence felt immediately after, or any other number of scenarios that ultimately results in some sort of interaction with Rock and Punk.

That should be fun, but this is WWE we could see some serious screw ups.

CM Punk Can’t Lose To Ryback, Thats The Bottom Line Because The Rock Said So?

Now apparently the latest news coming out about CM Punk is that  Vince McMahon has only been supportive of CM Punk keeping the WWE Title for so long is because of The Rock wanted him to?

Now lets think about that for a second, Mr McMahon being told what to do by The Rock, I doubt even the great one would get away with that however on the other hand The Rock brought McMahon ‘the millions’ last year  at WM and I’m not talking about the fans.

McMahon was said to be very supportive of CM Punk holding on to the title at Survivor Series because he’s worried if the title gets put on someone different, The Rock might have an issue with it.

I’m sorry ‘might’ I think McMahon would have a pretty strong idea, I know he’s getting on a bit but come on!

CM Punk vs. Rock at Royal Rumble has been teased since the summer and is something The Rock agreed to do. Vince reportedly doesn’t want to upset The Rock by changing things last minute regarding the creative plans for 2013.

So in conclusion, there is no chance that Ryback will get the belt… Unless Vince wants picks his Ryback push over annoying The Rock? and ill be honest here, I wouldn’t put it past him.

The only thing that stops be believing this match is pointless is the fact that it is so obviously pointless.

Is CM Punk Part of the NXT Invasion Not?

WWE champion CM Punk has twice been helped by NXT Wrestling stars Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, but it is still unclear if they are working for Punk or if they have ulterior motives.

When push comes to shove, the “NXT Three” figure to be revealed as Punk’s insurance policy.

Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns burst onto the scene at Survivor Series as Ryback appeared to be on the verge of winning the WWE championship. He had already taken out Punk with Shell Shocked and had done the same to John Cena, but the promising trio stormed the ring dressed entirely in black and powerbombed Ryback through the announce table. This allowed Punk to pin Cena and retain the title.

Ryback attempted to crash Punk’s year-long title reign celebration the next night on Raw, but he was once again foiled by the “NXT Three.” Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns powerbombed Ryback through the announce table for a second time and ended the show standing tall in the ring while Punk stood over Ryback with the WWE championship in his grasp.

Punk appeared to be surprised by the “NXT Three” attack on Monday night as he looked at Paul Heyman and they exchanged a shrug, but the evidence is clearly pointing toward a partnership of some kind. Punk has been lucky to escape with the title at each of the past three pay-per-views, and it seems likely that Heyman enlisted the help of some young upstarts to make it possible.

One clue in favor of that theory is that Heyman essentially tricked Ryback into showing up at Punk’s celebration. Earlier in the night, he invited Ryback to attend, which seemed odd since both he and Punk are generally afraid of the monstrous man. The only way that would make sense, though, is if Heyman had set up the attack ahead of time and knew that Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns would be there.

Also, the rumored name of the NXT triumvirate is “The Shield,” which is what the Spanish announce team called them at Survivor Series. Many fans are upset about the proposed name and think it’s stupid, but it makes perfect sense. If Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns are aligned with Punk, then they are basically acting as a shield to deflect Ryback and prevent him from getting to Punk and taking his WWE championship.

Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns are scheduled to be interviewed by Michael Cole on the upcoming edition of Raw. While the interview may reveal the true intentions behind their actions, it’s entirely possible that they’ll deny any involvement with Punk and Heyman. Brad Maddox said his reasoning behind taking out Ryback at Hell in a Cell was so that he could become a star, and “The Shield” may say something similar.

Even so, I’m still convinced that Maddox is working with Punk and Heyman as well. Heyman spoke with Maddox prior to his $1 million contract match against Ryback a couple of weeks ago and the nature of that discussion has yet to be revealed. Either Heyman was already working with him at that point or he used that conversation to set up something down the line, such as Maddox joining “The Shield” in the near future.

As things currently stand, it appears very likely that Punk will defend the WWE championship against Ryback in a tables match at TLC. Ryback has been put through a table twice in the past eight days and that is more than just a coincidence.

If that is the case, look for Vince McMahon to ban “The Shield” from the match. He could put forth a stipulation that states if Rollins, Ambrose or Reigns interfere in the match, Ryback automatically wins the WWE championship.

That would seemingly put Punk and Heyman in an impossible situation, but it could lead to the return of Maddox and perhaps even the long-anticipated return of Brock Lesnar at TLC.

On the ensuing Raw, a heel stable of Punk, Heyman, Rollins, Ambrose, Reigns, Maddox and Lesnar would be revealed and the odds would suddenly be stacked against The Rock at the Royal Rumble.

The WWE has waited for a very long time to debut Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns, and I doubt that they would be thrust into the spotlight without big plans already in place.

Allowing “The Shield” to go off on its own without the tutelage of Punk and Heyman would be a big mistake, as the fans likely wouldn’t care enough about the group in that situation.

With Punk and Heyman doing the talking for them, however, it would be impossible for Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns not to get over. There have certainly been some instances in the past where the WWE has squandered young talent, but these guys are considered can’t-miss prospects and won’t suffer the same fate.

Here are Some CM Punk NXT or The Shield related photos:

Ryback Should Not Face Punk at TLC

Ryback, the one WWE’s creative seem intent on pushing to the moon, has already lost in two consecutive pay-per-view main events. While these defeats were by no means in a clean manner, the match cards for both Hell in a Cell and Survivor Series read as nothing other than a loss to current WWE Champion CM Punk.

Ryback has managed to get over as a top face remarkably quickly. It is plausible to suggest that he needs to start picking up pay-per-view victories again to maintain his soaring momentum, rather than being continually outwitted by Punk, Heyman and company.

Following the Nov 19 edition of Monday Night Raw, it became apparent that creative intended to continue the feud between Ryback and the WWE Champion. The feud would culminate at TLC, with the winner going on to face The Rock at Royal Rumble.

There is one problem with this: There is only one winner.

Is any invested fan expected to believe that Punk will drop the belt at the last hurdle with “The People’s Champ” waiting in the wings?

Moreover, would a Ryback victory lead to a triple-threat match at January’s top-four pay-per-view?

After all, Punk would surely deserve a rematch following a 400-plus day stint with the WWE Championship. The problem remains that fans by now know that the Royal Rumble main event will feature Punk defending against The Rock (Punk confirmed this at thanksgiving)

Rather than having Punk beat Ryback in tainted fashion once more, creative could book their champion for a clean win over an upper mid-card/main-event face. An ideal pick is someone like Randy Orton, who has no real involvement in any meaningful feud at the moment. Furthermore, the crowd support that Orton receives is arguably second only to John Cena. It would likely be unaffected by a clean loss at the final pay-per-view event of the year.

Ultimately, whomever CM Punk faces on Dec 16, fans can bet their houses on his retention of the title in one way or another.

So why waste the opportunity by having him defeat Ryback on a third pay-per-view in a row?

It would make more sense to have Ryback become involved in some type of a handicap match with the NXT invaders, with Punk defending his title against a well-established face. That would allow the champion to gain momentum going into his feud with The Rock.

What do you think?

Will a third consecutive loss hurt Ryback’s stock, or does outside interference void any momentum loss?

Here is some Punk Ryback Shots:

How Did CM Punk’s Win at WWE Survivor Series

This is  it, folks.  The main event of Survivor Series, the one that we have all been waiting for.

WWE Champion CM Punk versus John Cena versus Ryback.  The great part about this one is that, literally, anything can happen.

It’s a safe bet that nearly everyone was calling for Punk to retain the belt and celebrate his one year mark tomorrow night on Raw.  It’s a history making run, it puts Punk in the record books and it does more than anything else has thus far in terms of cementing his legacy in WWE.

Why in the world would you want to take that moment away from him?

But let’s not forget about John Cena who is now, as he has been for quite some time, the face of the company.

At any given moment, on any given night, Cena could once again be given the strap and reclaim his place as the top champion in the industry.

That could literally happen at anytime.

For the superstar known as Ryback, the richest prize in the business is a goal that many of us thought was extremely out of reach for him.  He was too new in his gimmick, too green with his ring-work, the deck seems to be stacked too high against him.

But Ryback has the look, he has the character and he works in a company who loves what he brings to the table.  If Vince McMahon has his way, and he usually does, Ryback will be WWE Champion at some point.

So, what happened in the match?

Punk reluctantly handed the belt to the ref, then ran from Cena.

Ryback then gave chase to Punk, attacking him, but John wanted in on the action too.  Before you knew it, the two men came face to face.

The champ slid in the back door and gained the momentary upper hand on Ryback.  However, Cena was soon back to his feet and once again stood nose to nose with Ryback.

The lock-up between the two ended with Ryback powering him down, but he was quickly back in the match.  Ryback continued to throw his weight around, kicking and punching Cena in the corner, then Irish-whipping him into the other corner.

Punk, blowing a kiss to the crowd, was soon met with Ryback’s power game as well, but was then downed by Cena.

By this point, the crowd was chanting “Let’s go Cena, Cena Sucks,” the mantra that has been repeated seemingly forever now.

But it soon amounted to nothing, once again, as John ended up outside the ring, while Punk and Ryback continued to mix it up.

Once all three men were back in the ring, Ryback continued to show his physical dominance over Cena.  John was dragged out of the ring by Punk and then thrown into the steel steps.

I have to say that while Ryback, week in and week out, is putting forth as much effort as possible to get over, he still struggles to get the crowd’s full support.

Even when Punk had him down and they began to chant “feed me more,” it did not last long.

Soon, the champ was down and Ryback was ready to hit the Meathook clothesline, which he did.  He picked Punk up for the Shell-Shock, but was suddenly dropped into Cena’s STF.

The referee kept asking Ryback if he wanted to submit, but Big Hungry held on.

That is, until CM Punk came crashing down with an elbow on both men.

Punk, suffering the effects of the drop, shook it off and was back to his feet, giving the GTS sign.  But John countered, with the crowd booing every thing that Cena did.

Ryback was now back in full effect and grabbed both Cena and Punk outside the ring.

However, both men fought their way out, hooking Ryback with a double suplex straight through the announcer table.

It then came down to the two men who have been at the top of WWE for a while now, CM Punk and John Cena.

Cena hit his usual routine of moves, but when he went for the AA, he missed it and Punk hit the GTS.

But Cena kicked out at two and the crowd was very into the match at this point.

From out of nowhere, Cena hit Punk with the AA, but this time it was the WWE Champion who kicked out.  He went to Paul Heyman, apparently for some words of encouragement, then refocused on Cena.

John attempted to lock Punk into the STF, but Punk blocked the move.

Both men were back up until Cena got Punk into the STF, when suddenly Ryback came in from nowhere and broke the hold.  Ryback grabbed Punk for the Shell-Shock, but at the last second, Cena broke up the pinfall.

Now it was Cena who as on Ryback’s shoulders.

But before he could drop him, three men clad in black rushed in from the crowd and attacked him, sending him through the other announce table.

That’s right folks, the boys from NXT are finally getting called up.

Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins; welcome to WWE.

Good match, bizarre ending, and right now I honestly only have one thought; I can’t wait for Monday Night Raw.

Here’s some Pics of The NXT boys, and how CM Punk won the title at Survivor Series