Preview:Punk's Not Dead
July 21, 2008
For weeks, Monday Night Raw has been embroiled in a wave of unpredictability that continued through to The Great American Bash, as CM Punk retained his World Heavyweight Championship in a match against Batista.
The title was retained not by a pin or submission, however, but only after a double-disqualification due to outside interference from Kane. This is the second time that the Big Red Monster has attacked the Straightedge Champion outside of an official match — what can Punk expect from the unstable Kane next? And with The Animal’s quest for championship gold thwarted, will Monday night find him directing his fury toward the Big Red Monster?
Also at The Bash, Chris Jericho continued to direct his fury toward Shawn Michaels’ right eye, originally wounded by Y2J on an episode of the Highlight Reel. The contest was called off due to Michaels’ injuries, but not before Jericho did severe damage to HBK’s eye. Y2J emerged later to claim that Michaels’ retina was detached, and that it was a career-ending injury. Will Shawn Michaels be able to recover from this injury like he has so many others, or is Chris Jericho right? Has he truly ended the career of one of sports-entertainment’s greatest performers?
Another punishing match actually took place outside Nassau Coliseum: A NYC Parking Lot Brawl between John Cena and JBL. Recent weeks had seen Cena & Cryme Tyme deface the self-made millionaire’s limo, and JBL attempting to run over the Chain Gang Commander in retaliation. Cena has claimed that the thing between he and the self-proclaimed “wrestling god” isn’t just a match, but war. Will the events of The Great American Bash have been enough to settle things, or have we only witnessed an opening skirmish between these two Superstars?
For the answers to these questions and more, be sure to tune into Monday Night Raw, live at 9/8 CT, only on USA Network.