7 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (5 Aug - Results & Review)

Downs…

4. Still A Hot Feud, But…

Drew McIntyre versus CM Punk was a white-hot feud heading into the summer and seemed like a can’t-miss rivalry. And then their SummerSlam match revolved around a fan-made bracelet, with Punk getting distracted and attacking the referee before losing.

Monday night, Punk had the opportunity to get things back on track and came out to the ring smiling, which he revealed was due to the fact he hadn’t been in Baltimore for 10 years and came back to hear 10,000 people chanting his name (cue the fans: “CM PUNK!”). He gave a pretty generic promo about getting back up after being knocked down, coming back from injury in half the time, and then wanting to talk less and fight more, before Seth Rollins interrupted him.

McIntrye would interject and goad Punk to chase him into the crowd, as their feud obviously must continue. And while fans were hot for all of this, it couldn’t help but feel a notch below what they’ve been offering in the months prior, with Punk screwing over Drew as payback. The Punker’s pandering and clichéd promo – unless planned that way for a reason – also felt a bit subpar for a CM Punk segment.

This isn’t to say that this feud has jumped the shark or anything like that – fan reaction and months of tremendous work say otherwise - but this still felt a step below what you’d expect coming out of SummerSlam at a crucial stage where they need to enter the next phase of the rivalry.