By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Thoughts From Raw:

- Oh c’mon! You had to know something was going to go wrong in those anger management skits when you saw one of those shiny WWE style trashcans in the background. The anger management pre-tapes were pretty good this week. Some of the novelty had worn off, but they were still pretty good. But I love how Daniel Bryan and Kane had to use an entire segment to showcase their inner conflict about hugging it out. I laughed out loud seeing Bryan trying to keep a straight face while shouting: “You didn’t hug me!” at Kane on live television. And what’s more? The segment actually worked! It might have lasted a minute too long, but for the most part it came off pretty well. I think it’s great that Daniel Bryan has managed to become this great comedic figure as of late. When he started with the company he was such an underdog because of his status as an internet darling. But now he’s one of the most entertaining guys they have.

- In the grand scheme of things, I can’t say I’m surprised at the revelation that Paul Heyman is aligned with CM Punk. Even though both men have stated publicly that Punk “doesn’t need a mouthpiece,” the temptation to have them work together is simply too great. This,  seems to put an end Punk’s tenure as a “tweener.” I’m very interested to see how Punk and Heyman’s on-screen relationship works. With any luck, this will lead to a match between Punk and Brock Lesnar.

- Really solid outing between John Cena and Alberto Del Rio in the main event. As one-dimensional as I find Del Rio’s character, I’ll never complain about his in-ring ability. That enzuigiri off the announce table was awesome. Oddly enough, the match was highlighted by the very brief appearance of a fan dressed as the late “Macho Man” Randy Savage, who Cena high fived in the middle of the match. Some great action worthy of a pay per view.

- Putting the Miz out there on commentary was an interesting risk. It was pretty obvious that it was Miz’s first night on headset. He started to go off the rails a few times, and Michael Cole had to get him back on track. But there’s definitely potential there. He’s not the natural as CM Punk was. But if announcing is something he wants to do when he’s ready to retire, I can definitely see him taking a shot at it. Putting a heel announcer in the table seemed to put Michael Cole in an awkward place, though. He had to balance between his normal pseudo-heel character with trying to play up the good guys the way Lawler usually does. And there were obviously a few points in the show where Miz simply didn’t know what to say, and Cole had to fill dead air. So I take my hat off to him for the skill he showed.

- Great match between Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler, as always. They really looked like they were having fun out there. I’m anxious to see what these two put together at Night of Champions (I’m assuming that’s where they’re going with this).

- I was hoping this AJ storyline would go the way it veered this week, with the Raw GM blowing her stack. I expect her to just go further and further off the deep end as the weeks go by, leading to the position being put on the line around Survivor Series. A likely scenario would involve John Laurinaitis taking the spot back. Hopefully Big Johnny’s taken some acting classes during his time away from the screen.

- I’m wondering if this Rey Mysterio Jr./Sin Cara pairing is the start of a build to a match between the two at Wrestlemania. That’s something people have been talking about since Sin Cara first signed with WWE. It might be a passing of the torch of sorts.

- Kaitlyn really needs new music. I’m all for the push she’s getting right now. But let’s give her a new song. Also, let’s make sure Layla never gets on commentary again…

- Speaking of music, any of you longtime fans recognize Antonio Cesaro’s song this week? It’s a remixed version of one of Dean Malenko’s old themes!

All images from WWE.com.