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What you need to know
Daniel Bryan got screwed out of the WWE championship then, despite getting a modicum of revenge against former trainer Shawn Michaels, he was put in the hospital by the deranged Wyatt Family. "The Devil made them do it," said patriarch Bray. We're not any closer to knowing who the Devil is (although, I'll give you two guesses), but later in the show, CM Punk joined DB and The Miz on the Eater of World's roadkill club.
HHH's A+ player is the new WWE champ, although Randy Orton took a back seat to his boss and the recently "banned for life" Big Show on Monday's Raw. Look for him to get pushed farther out of frame when new World Heavyweight Champion (WHC) John Cena brings the big gold belt back to the show that it has been associated with for the last several years tonight.
He already has a successful title defense during his fresh run...when Damien Sandow joined him in the failed cash-in club earlier this week. Officials and smarks were all impressed with the fight put on by the Intellectual Savior, so what happens for him next should be very interesting.
Many think that they are seeing some cracks in The Shield. With Dean Ambrose as the only member currently holding a title (though maybe not for long if Big E Langston has anything to say about it), Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins seem a little weary of his braggadocio. Getting there tag titles back would probably do wonders for the trio, but Goldust and Cody Rhodes only seem to be getting better as a team.
And the tag division is suddenly stocked with realistic contenders. Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger defeated the champs on Monday. The Real Americans had just been defeated by Los Matadores at Hell in a Cell, so both teams have to be in the mix with previous contenders The Usos and The Primetime Players.
What to look out for
More action from the Sunshine state - this baby was filmed Tuesday in Tampa. Previews are spoiler-free, but we've got a rundown of what already happened right here if you're interested.
They actually have almost a month to set-up their next pay-per-view (PPV). Think they can make us believe that Alberto Del Rio has a chance to take his belt back from Cena?
Expect lots of multi-man matches, as (1) the ghost of Teddy Long still haunts the show and (2) Survivor Series rumors aren't gonna write themselves. An interesting wrinkle to the tag and US title scene, not to mention rumors of the demise of The Hounds of Justice, is that Dean Ambrose is scheduled to partner with Seth Rollins against The Usos. Is a babyface turn for the Samoan Shieldmate in the offing?
Also of note in WWE's hyping of tonight's show, their website is listing old HBShizzle as the guest on tonight's MizTV segment. This runs counter to the prevailing dirt sheet wisdom that Monday was his goodbye to WWE for a while. What will Michaels have to say following the Yes Lock that left him writhing in pain on the canvas?
What they should do
I know I made this point in the comments somewhere this week, but...you know how when Superman or Spiderman have already beaten Lex Luthor or the Green Goblin, like, a million times in the past year, so DC or Marvel Comics will band together a bunch of lesser villains to scheme to take the hero out.
The Spidey version is usual called The Sinister Six; Supes gets the delightfully old-timey Anti-Superman Gang or somesuch.
John Cena needs one of those.
Having just taken the belt off of Alberto Del Rio (the money) and overcome a crafty challenge by Damien Sandow (the brains), pair those two up and we're halfway home. Call up Leo Kruger to play Kraven the Hunter and plug in a returning Mark Henry as the could-go-rogue muscle (think the Ultra-Humanite or Sandman...okay, this just got entirely too geeky, but my fellow comics nerds get my drift), and you've got a program that takes you through the Royal Rumble, and keeps Cena out of The Authority storyline while his very presence with Big Goldy elevates that belt back to its historical heights.
The trick would be letting the Anti-Cena Axis actually look strong and get some wins before Johnny Boy overcomes. WWE and/or the man himself have rarely shown themselves willing to do that, but if GuyinNY is right and we're witnessing a change in how he's booked/is willing to be booked as he enters the third act of his career, they could do something really cool. I know I'd rather watch that than...
What we're afraid they will do
"Stone Cold" Paul Wight vs. Corporate Randy.
'Nuff said.
Whatever they decide to do, we can watch it tonight on SyFy at 8PM Eastern/7PM Central.
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