Monday Night Raw Review - August 1, 2011

The opening promo featuring CM Punk and Triple H was by far the best segment of the night, even if it took up a quarter of the show. Both Punk and HHH made excellent points, but it seemed they were more focusing on setting up Punk vs. Triple H rather than Punk vs. Cena. Either way, Punk's mentions of former Superstars made this noteworthy and intriguing for internet fans and casual fans alike. 

The Divas  battle royal was quick and painless, with the right Diva going over here and earning contender-ship. As much as I enjoyed Beth Phoenix as a face, turning her heel will certainly spark up the Divas division a bit and build towards her eventual showdown with Kharma down the line.

Solid tag team match featuring Miz and Truth taking on Morrison and Mysterio. I'm not all for Morrison taking the pin here as he needs to look strong upon his return, but giving the heels heat going into SummerSlam works as well. I'd expect for Miz and Mysterio to continue their feud going into the pay-per-view, which just needs to be set up next week. On a side note, the pre-match segment with Truth and Miz was hilarious, which leaves me hoping this isn't the end of their teaming.

Both Alex Riley and Dolph Ziggler did pretty well for themselves on the mic, so hopefully it translates well into a future match between the two. I'm not sure where this angle is going with Vickie Guerrero, but I'm afraid that without her, Ziggler will garner zero heat as a singles competitor.

Finally, the WWE Tag Team Champions pick up a victory that actually means something. The action was decent for the most part, and Otunga and McGillicutty seem to have some chemistry now as a team. Ryder and Santino could make a good team, but I'd much rather have Ryder be taken seriously as a future contender to the U.S. Title. Also, it seems as if the Nexus is officially dead after last night, another angle that WWE expects to forget about without any mention unfortunately.


Great, brief action from Alberto Del Rio and Evan Bourne, especially with the jump kick to Bourne's head towards the end of the contest. Looks like they're continuing the feud between Del Rio and Kofi Kingston, which hopefully can get Del Rio back on track come SummerSlam.

The ending promo between CM Punk, John Cena, and Triple H didn't do much for me, as it was more bickering over the claim of the championship and an announcement we all saw coming. The holding of the belts and switching of the entrance themes at the conclusion of the broadcast was a bit awkward as well.

Overall,a middle-in-the-road show. It wasn't as boring as two weeks ago, nor was it as exciting as last week. The action that was featured was good for what it was, and a predictable Raw at the very least. Hopefully we get confirmations of more top Raw matches on the go-home show to SummerSlam.