Brad Maddox explains his actions at Hell in a Cell, WWE gets it right

This is a pleasant surprise.

We wondered all week how WWE would handle the Brad Maddox situation, one the company didn't originally have a plan for. Sure, an outline was in place, but when Maddox cost Ryback the WWE championship with a low blow and helped CM Punk pin him with a fast count at Hell in a Cell on Oct. 28 in Atlanta, it was simply a creative solution to get out of the corner the promotion had booked itself into.

There was potential, though, so fans were hopeful this would lead to something new and interesting. Instead, they were met with reports that WWE didn't have a clue what it was doing, and the creative team was flying by the seat of its pants, desperate to appease the always difficult to please Vince McMahon.

Hope turned to despair when Maddox didn't appear on Raw the next night and the flimsy explanation was that he just couldn't be found. Or something like that. It was so weak, it was hardly worth remembering.

But then a plan came together and all throughout the week, WWE.com advanced the storyline with bits and pieces of information leading to Maddox returning to Raw tonight in Birmingham, England, where he would explain his actions.

And they got it right again.

Clad in a custom made vest with a button down collar, Maddox explained Punk had nothing to do with his actions. It was his plan. He always wanted to be a WWE superstar, you see, but no one would ever give him a chance. And why not? Because he's too small, or doesn't wear a mask, or can't do flips, or all this other nonsense.

He made a vow to himself that he would do whatever it takes to get to the WWE and that's why he became a referee. And when he got his one chance to make an "impact" -- yes, he used that word -- he took it.

"I know what I did wasn't right. That was all me, that was all me. CM Punk had no idea what I was going to do," he said. "I made an impact. My actions, very simply, were driven by my desire to be somebody.

"I'm somebody now! I'm famous now! People know my name everywhere. People know my name in England!"

He went on to say his dream is to be a WWE superstar and he wants a contract and a match with Ryback because, at this point, no one is going to forget who Brad Maddox is now.

That's when Vince McMahon's music hit, to a thunderous pop.

"So you want a contract, huh? You want a contract and a match with Ryback? Son, it's one thing to be famous, it's another thing to have a death wish."

Vince is the best.

McMahon would go on to say he doesn't think Punk and Paul Heyman weren't involved but he offered Maddox a $1 million contract if he can beat Ryback next week on Raw.

And there you have it.

Thoughts?