I write a wrestling column for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on TribLIVE.com every Monday and Friday.
Today, I wrote about what the WWE world title match will be at Payback and how its right in front of us after the last episode of RAW. The following is an excerpt:
WWE told us tune into RAW in England for a decision to be made on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. RAW in England came, they said tune in next week for the decision.
WWE still isn't sure what to do and is still gathering information on how long Daniel Bryan will be out of action after his neck surgery.
I've talked to a lot of people in WWE this week who work in all different areas with the company. Talent, production, promotions — all expressing the same verdict behind the scenes with WWE. The new top babyface in Bryan going down, combined with the business woes on Wall Street, has made Stamford chaos central.
Some ideas that have been floating around presented to me range from CM Punk returning to Dolph Ziggler getting involved in the title picture.
Yes, one idea has been have Kane fight an opponent of Bryan's choice at Payback for the title. The person of choice has ranged from Punk returning in front of his home crowd to the popular Ziggler getting the call.
The Ziggler option is process of elimination because every other realistic babyface is involved in other storylines.
The Punk option is wanted, but he turned the company down for a return at RAW in Chicago months ago, turned them down on a WrestleMania return (where they did have an audible planned involving him if he showed up), so there isn't much belief he would return now.
Vince McMahon spent time over a weekend with Punk in Chicago back when Punk first walked out. McMahon has been trying since then to get Punk to return. Punk hasn't been enticed to this point and McMahon's ego is bruised in some fashion. I think it could be until Royal Rumble next year until this saga is behind us.
But if we look at what happen this past week on RAW, I think the answer is right in front of us regarding what WWE is considering and could likely pull the trigger on.
CLICK HERE for the end of the column with what the world title match will be.
