Raw Five-Point Preview: August 12, 2013
Six days left until SummerSlam, and all hell is about to break loose. CM Punk might not make it to the summer classic if chicanery ensues during his fight with Paul Heyman (it will). John Cena and Daniel Bryan both might end up with egg on their faces if Mr. McMahon has some diabolical plan in store for their WWE Title Match at SummerSlam (he does), and one group of Superstars who’s been uncharacteristically quiet of late may look to make a big impact in the final days before the summer classic (they certainly will). Here’s the last pre-SummerSlam five-point preview.
Student vs. teacher
Paul Heyman hasn’t exactly minced words since turning on CM Punk at Money in the Bank, and with Punk still reeling from a thumping by Brock Lesnar last week, Heyman went and challenged his hobbled former Padawan to a throwdown on Raw. Punk, of course, accepted, but given that these two’s history of “fights” never seems to end without incident (ironically enough their last two were both against the same guy), look for Heyman to throw some kind of curveball to weaken Punk further before he steps into the ring with Lesnar on Sunday.
Tale of the Tape: Punk vs. Heyman
Release the hate
So Kane’s got Bray Wyatt in a Ring of Fire at SummerSlam in a bout that’s set to take both Superstars, quite literally, to the edge of hell itself. But while the backwoods preacher Wyatt has certainly proven himself as sinister a Superstar WWE has ever seen, Kane is coming off one of the more balanced years of his career, if not his life. Just a year ago, he was dipping his toes into anger management with Daniel Bryan and as of last month, hugging it out wasn’t entirely off the table for The Devil’s Favorite Demon just yet. Can Kane rediscover his old, sadistic ways in time? And even if so, will it be too little, too late?
Waiting in the doghouse
We haven’t heard much from The Shield in the weeks leading up to SummerSlam. This is not a good thing. Despite a pair of epic Six-Man Tag Team Matches, The “Hounds of Justice” have yet to announce their plans for the summer classic, which of course means that Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns are due to make one of their patented statement attacks sometime soon. The only questions left are who and when.
Three’s Company
Anticipation for a WWE Title Match the WWE Universe never expected has officially built to a fever pitch. John Cena holds steady as the world-beating champion, but perennial underdog and No. 1 contender Daniel Bryan is looking every bit as dominant as The Champ these days, taking on and defeating any Superstar who dares to challenge him lately. Randy Orton, meanwhile, remains on the fringe of the rivalry with his Money in the Bank contract ready to go at a moment’s notice.
And then, of course, there’s Mr. McMahon, who doesn’t seem to want any of these competitors as WWE Champion and is surely thinking up some wicked scheme for the final minutes of the summer’s biggest party. Speaking of which …
Change The Game
WWE COO Triple H has sworn to upend whatever scheme Mr. McMahon has in mind for SummerSlam, looking to interfere with The Chairman’s meddling by running interference of his own. With so many moving parts to the WWE Title Match as it is, it’s tough to see how The King of Kings could possibly keep his eyes on everything and anticipate what his father-in-law’s got in store, but for a man with seven days left to figure it out, The Game seems pretty confident. How can The Cerebral Assassin possibly thwart Mr. McMahon’s plans? Tune in at 8/7 CT on USA Network to find out!
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