Monday, July 30, 2012 – 12:10 P.M. (CT)

C.M. Punk clotheslining The Rock on WWE's Raw 1000 show was the big hook that was designed to make viewers who tuned in for the nostalgia stick around to see where things will go from here. It remains to be seen whether that will be successful with the masses, but I'm certainly interested.

Will Punk drop the next great Pipe Bomb style promo tonight? It may not be as genuine as the first one came across, but there are plenty of storyline aspects that the Punk character can sound off on. Here's a checklist of items that the WWE Champion could bring up on Raw 1001.

-The lack of pay-per-view main events. Many of us have grumbled about the WWE Championship matches being lower on the card than John Cena's match of the month. We were cool with Cena vs. The Rock, and Cena vs. Brock Lesnar headlining shows, but not so cool when Punk's matches took a backseat to Cena vs. John Laurinaitis and Cena vs. Big Show. I've been saying for a few weeks now that it appeared to become a storyline driven move somewhere along the way and that Punk would eventually bring it up in his promos, so I'll be surprised if this isn't one of his complaints tonight.

-The Rock headlined WrestleMania 28: Punk complained about this publicly in interviews that led up to WrestleMania 28. We never truly knew at the time whether that's how he felt or whether it was something he was saying for future storyline purposes. Either way, I expect this to be a big part of Punk's explanation for his actions.

-The Rock is getting a WWE Championship match at Royal Rumble: If Rock headlining WrestleMania annoyed the Punk character, then surely the thought of Rock winning one match and being handed a WWE Title shot must really get to him.

-The WWE Championship belt spins: More importantly, it's a belt that was designed for John Cena. WWE is playing up the length of Punk's ongoing reign, yet he is still wearing a title belt that was designed for Cena, the same guy who continues to headline pay-per-view events even though he's not the champion. Could this be the setup for the introduction of the new title belt that Punk teased a while back?

-Where are my damn Ice Cream Bars? Okay, so maybe he doesn't bring this one up now that he appears heelish, but I know I still want a WWE Ice Cream Bar! We don't know whether Punk will be a definitive heel just yet, though I believe he will be long before he works with Rock at Royal Rumble (if that's the match they go with). Punk didn't play to the crowd for boos after he attacked Rock. He also seemed conflicted over whether to use Big Show's attack on Cena to his own advantage. Punk's character may not see himself as a heel. After all, great villains believe in their own mind that their actions are completely justifiable. Punk may even be cast in a way that lets the fans decide initially, just as they were able to when they met last year.

-A.J. isn't so bad after all: Now that A.J. is the general manager, will she form the new WWE power couple with the WWE Champion? If so, will one of her first orders of business be to present Punk with that new championship belt?

-Big Show isn't so bad after all: Big Show has been getting to Punk lately by implying that WWE is all about John Cena. Will Punk see Show as an ally? My best guess remains that it's Punk vs. Cena vs. Big Show in a Triple Threat match at SummerSlam if we don't get the straight up Punk vs. Cena match, but they could take this in a different direction. Hey, Punk and Show are both Paul Heyman guys. Go ahead and daydream about the potential of a Heyman led faction consisting of Punk, Big Show, and Brock Lesnar. For that matter, daydream about Punk leading a faction of guys who happen to have ROH backgrounds. I'd be pleasantly surprised if either one of those things occurred, but there's no harm in imagining the possibilities. I'd be surprised if we saw a new Straight Edge Society, but I can't entirely rule it out. If Punk and Show are friendly, then perhaps that Triple Threat match becomes a tag team match at SummerSlam with the two of them facing John Cena and the returning Randy Orton.

Final Thoughts: Punk has plenty of material to work with and there are some intriguing paths that his character could go down. I'm excited by the possibilities because it appears they have been planning this for several for weeks. Punk told Cena he was going to be the leader of their tag team a few weeks back. Eve taunted Punk about being overshadowed another week. Big Show followed up by pointing out where Punk stands recently. In other words, creative has been foreshadowing the turn, meaning this does not appear to be something they just threw together on the day of Raw 1000.

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