WWE 'RAW' Preview: Cena And McMahon Return, Punk And Ryback Feud, Tag Tournament Continues

At Monday Night “RAW,” which will be broadcast live tonight from Sacramento, Calif., WWE.com has teased the return of Vince McMahon, a confrontation between Ryback and WWE Champion CM Punk, a tag team tournament semi-finals match and more.

Vince McMahon hasn’t been a regular on WWE TV for several years, but tonight the Chairman will be on “RAW” to deliver a “State of WWE Address.” There have been rumors about having A.J. Lee and Booker T. fired from their respective jobs as “RAW” and “SmackDown” general managers, but there hasn’t been any direct word on what will be addressed tonight.

John Cena will make his anticipated return to WWE “RAW” tonight, but likely won’t be involved in a match due to his recent elbow surgery. The Cenation Leader isn’t listed on the WWE.com “RAW” preview, but he did take to Twitter to let his followers know he would be in the ring live and on USA tonight.

Cena tweeted this morning: "Headed to Sacramento... Huge night tonight on #RAW @wwe get ready! I'll be there, and im looking forward to #VKM agenda C U Tonight!

-- John Cena (@JohnCena) October 8, 2012"

Last week’s “RAW” was a rare occurrence in that it was missing the 10-time WWE Champion and face of the WWE. Cena’s absence might not have been the exact cause for the show’s poor viewership, but low ratings have encouraged WWE officials to bring Cena back to the ring in some capacity.

In Cena’s absence, and even in weeks prior, CM Punk has been taking on more responsibilities as the company’s top heel. Being the main bad guy makes Punk a draw in the opposite sense of Cena; people love to hate Punk and watch to see what despicable things he’ll do and say.

One thing the current champion hasn’t had a word to say about his recent encounters with Ryback. The rookie powerhouse has been having ominous run-ins with Punk, but the Second City Saint has no words for the big man.

Two weeks ago, “RAW” ended with Punk attacking Mick Foley and walking off. Before the show closed, Punk turned around to see a heavy-breathing Ryback.

Last week Punk was delivering some embarrassment to Jim Ross on the veteran commentator’s appreciation night. In the middle of Punk’s rant, Ryback approached the ring, but the Straight Edge Superstar was uninterested in a confrontation and walked off.

In less than three weeks, WWE will hold its annual Hell in a Cell pay-per-view and Punk has no opponent for the main event match. Cena is being teased for the event, but everything is tentative with his recovering elbow, and Ryback seems like the most likely substitute.

The plan is a strange backup, since Ryback hasn’t has a match last much longer than five minutes throughout his run in WWE. A better option would be Dolph Ziggler, who could win the WWE Title while holding the Money in the Bank briefcase and setup an epic storyline about uniting the two WWE World Championships before losing the unified belt to The Rock at the Royal Rumble; it won’t be happening, but fans can hope.

This dream storyline would be appropriate in regard to Sheamus, too, since the Celtic Warrior lost to Punk in a Champion vs. Champion match on the inaugural episode of “Main Event” last Wednesday. Sheamus had a lengthy winning streak, but it’s over now, and it may be the best time for the Showoff to cash in his Money in the Bank contract for a World Heavyweight Title match.

After Friday’s “SmackDown” the tournament to decide the no. 1 contenders for the Tag Team Championships is down to Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara, the Prime Time Players, Rhodes Scholars and “Team Co-Bro” (Santino and Zack Ryder). NoDQ claims that Cara and Mysterio will face the Players in the semi-finals tonight, and Rhodes Scholars and Co-Bro will have their semi-finals match on “SmackDown” this Friday.

WWE officials have been high on Antonio Cesaro since he made his debut with the company, and his momentum doesn’t seem to be slowing. The U.S. champion has an entire featurette on the WWE.com “RAW” preview for tonight, and it doesn’t even name any possibilities for what he might do on the show.

The piece talks about how Cesaro put down Brodus Clay with an amazing feat of strength last Monday. The title is “All Hail Cesaro,” and that speaks for itself.