A New Direction and Focus
Eventually WWE seemed to regain some focus, and cleared up these muddy waters leading up to their huge event, RAW 1000. The Cenaverse seemed to merge back in with the rest of the roster. There was even more cause for celebration. It appeared as if the WWE was tearing down the brand extension and making 1 roster, who could appear on both shows. Would this lead to the eventual merging of World titles? Perhaps, but let's not get ahead of ourselves, this is the WWE after all, plans change in a heartbeat. Money and the Bank seemed to further indicate that the dissolution of the brand extension was coming. No longer were the matches called 'Raw' and 'Smackdown' money in the bank ladder match. John Cena entered himself into the WWE title MITB ladder match, and of course, picked up the W. To be fair, it was quite an entertaining match, given that the talent pool, and the WWE had to have Cena win it, to make it crystal clear: John Cena is back in the title frame. We know what happened next: Raw 1000. John Cena cashed in his MITB for a shot at CM Punk's WWE title. The build was great, how couldn't it be, these two grating personalities bounce of each other wonderfully. They both bring the best out of each other. I know I speak for many when I say that I expected a classic match. Of course we'll never emulate the perfect storm of Money in the Bank 2011 again, but on such a special occasion, RAW 1000, anything could happen. It was a bit naive to expect a clean match, in hindsight. The Big Show still had nowhere else to go, so he was getting in Cena's head throughout the build up. Then you have The Rock, who at RAW 1000 truly surprised me when he said he will compete, for the WWE Title (and almost certainly win), at Royal Rumble. I have no problem with another title run for the Rock. He deserves it. I do take issue with the fact that he has competed in and won 1 singles match in the last 8 years. Shouldn't he ideally come back and win some matches over the course of 1-2 months, then declare himself #1 contender? Or why not enter him into the Royal Rumble and have him win it? So back on point: the match descended into farce. The Big Show continuously interfered, leading to a DQ finish. However, The Rock, perhaps with a new found respect for Cena, came to the ring with the intention of clearing house. CM Punk, who looked visibly conflicted throughout the content, blindsided the Rock, then hit him with the GTS to close the show. Of course, John Cena and CM Punk continued their feud, with CM Punk coming out on top most recently at summerslam (still not the main event!), making him the longest tenured champion since, well.... John Cena. However, now to prove himself Best in the World, as he declares, he will need to beat Cena in his hometown of Boston at Night of Champions. Who will come out on top, and presumably, face the Rock at Royal Rumble? Click "next" for the final part...