8 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (11 Dec - Results & Review)

6. Dream Machine

The Judgment Day CM Punk
WWE

Every time CM Punk is marched around backstage and runs into various wrestlers, it just sparks thoughts of new rivalries and feuds that fans could be treated to during the next year or so.

With Punk signing to Raw, he immediately ran into the faction that proclaims to run the red brand, the Judgment Day. That led to Damian Priest hoping Punk win a world title so he can cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on the Second City Saint. Drew McIntyre trash-talked Punk to open Raw, then glared at him backstage.

But it wasn’t all negative. Punk reunited with former tag partner Kofi Kingston and met Chad Gable and Ricochet, putting thoughts in fans’ heads about face-face matches between them. All of these little encounters are designed to whet fans’ appetites for future feuds and even one-off matches that could be tremendous fun.

Really, this is what WWE should be doing with Punk: setting expectations and then trying to meet them. That’s far better than just setting the table for one feud – Seth Rollins – and siloing Punk off from the rest of the roster.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.