A topic of discussion coming out of last night's (Aug. 27, 2012) episode of Monday Night Raw was WWE and its inability to keep stories straight. This is nothing new, of course, and reports have run rampant for years that Vince McMahon simply doesn't care about things like continuity. But sometimes there are issues fans like myself find hard to overlook.

How the WWE championship match pitting titleholder CM Punk vs. John Cena came to be at the Night of Champions pay-per-view (PPV) on Sun., Sept. 16, 2012, at the TD Garden Arena in Boston, Mass., is one of them.

Initially, Punk came out on Raw and told Cena he would be granted a shot at the belt if he admitted publicly that "The Straight Edge Superstar" is the best in the world. Cena refused to do so and Punk moved on to dealing with Jerry Lawler.

Then last night saw more of the same, with Punk having a steel cage match against Lawler while Cena was busy doing other things. But instead of actual storyline advancement and a legitimate feud between the two biggest stars in the company, the match came to be when A.J. Lee walked out and said it would happen because she said it would.

That was it.

In pro wrestling it's not just that you're there, it's how you get there. Thus continues the theme of late that everything we see on television is underwhelming. Maybe the PPV will deliver in spades. Let's hope so.

And hey, at least Punk will be in the main event.

WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS 2012 MATCH CARD

-- CM Punk vs. John Cena for the WWE championship
-- Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio for the world heavyweight championship