Precap to the Oct. 15, 2012 episode of 'Monday Night Raw', or the lesser of two weevils

Punk! Cena! Ryback! Vince! Turbulence at the Pinnacle! WWE Championship!

Last week's (Oct. 8) Monday Night Raw closed with Vince McMahon offering WWE Champion CM Punk a choice between facing John Cena or Ryback at Hell in a Cell. 'Tis a most difficult decision for Punk, I'm sure. Does he pick Cena, the measuring stick of WWE, or Ryback, an unknown force that has been running through the roster like it was a 5-dollar footlong.

The WWE Universe waits with baited breath.

What is most interesting to me is not the good guy in the matchup, but the supposed "bad guy." Punk, with Paul Heyman by his side, has morphed into a pro wrestling contradiction. He has defeated Cena on numerous occasions, yet we are told those victories are not enough. He picked up the "W" against Sheamus on Main Event, however he struggled against the 67 year-old Vince McMahon. He was once a champion that welcomed all challengers, but now he runs away in the crowd.

Although, if Cena really wants a fight, maybe he should stand behind Punk with a cheap pair of sunglasses.

I know that Punk is now the "cowardly champion," but why exactly did that change happen? Because as far as I can tell he has every reason to be pissed off. Why should the current WWE Champion, the man who has held the belt for 330 days, allow the disrespect to continue? Cena, The Rock, Chris Jericho, and now Ryback get to insert themselves into the championship picture at a moments notice. Triple H, AJ Lee, and now Mr. McMahon have forced Punk to jump though hoops just for the hell of it. Punk is just trying to be the best damn champion of all time, and everyone wants to make life difficult for him.

No wonder the guy is on a short fuse. Maybe Punk needs to visit Dr. Shelby to help with that.

In any event, we should know tonight who will be facing Punk at Hell in a Cell. In reality the decision all comes down to whether or not Cena is physically able to walk into "The Devil's Playground." If the buck does fall to Ryback, though, it will be interesting to see how WWE handles him from here on out. For all the grief we have given the guy, he has gotten over like few have.

It might be time to welcome our new hungry overlord.

Hell No! Rhodes Scholars! Mysterio & Sin Cara! Number One Contenders! Tag Team Championship!

Tonight is the conclusion of the number one contenders tournament for the Tag Team Championship, marking the final step towards finding out whether the new and improved tag team division is here to stay. It's one thing to find a bunch of singles wrestlers and throw them together into a tournament.

It's quite another to tell a real story with the winners.

Either Rhodes Scholars or Mysterio & Sin Cara -- it's going to be Rhodes Scholars -- will have big shoes to fill following Hell No's rise to dominance. Daniel Bryan and Kane have gotten over like gangbusters, but it will be up the next in line -- it's going to be Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow -- to keep up the excitement. Hell No has a visible expiration date on it. And like 2% milk in the depths of hell, it is simply a matter of time before things spoil between the deranged duo.

The test moving forward is how strong WWE builds up the next in line -- which will be Rhodes Scholars -- when they take over as Tag Team Champions. It would be too easy to focus the entire angle on Bryan and Kane, and it is that sort of storytelling that left the tag team division in this rut.

I have faith, though, that WWE is finally turning a corner. As I said, the tag team tournament has been an excellent start. But now is the time to start to focus on the next Tag Team Champions, be it Rhodes Scholars or Mysterio & Sin Cara.

(It's going to be Rhodes Scholars).

One More Thing!

• AJ Lee is still General Manager, eh? Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about it. It just seems like WWE keeps starting and stopping with this angle. First she's insane and losing control of the roster. Then she's completely forgotten about. Maybe she's laying low under the ring with Hornswoggle until this whole mess blows over.

Hopefully this has prepared you for the night's festivities. Leave a comment about what you are looking forward to, and please joing Nolan, myself, and the entire Monday Night cSs gang in the live blog right here.