One thing that won’t stay in Vegas, the annual tradition of pointing at the WrestleMania sign ad nauseam.

Raw arrived in Las Vegas last week with Raw Roulette in tow. There are plenty of newsworthy items to discuss in the fallout from the Royal Rumble, but we’d prefer that most of what happened on the show stayed in Vegas. The most newsworthy item since last Monday is the announcement of Bruno Sammartino on the list of 2013 WWE Hall of Fame inductees. Yes indeed, it is time for a Warm Up… since hell just froze over.

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As we pulled into the Best buy parking lot around 6pm last night, we saw stantions being lined up and port-a-potties in place. Their store will be opening at midnight tonight.

Vince McMahon returns to deliver his “State of the WWE” address tonight in Sacramento at the Powerbalance Pavilion. A confrontation between WWE Champion C.M. Punk, Paul Heyman and the Chairman may be exactly what the show needs.

Tonight’s edition of Raw follows in the wake of a record 15-year-low rating for WWE last Monday, causing the company to rush into panic mode and bring back their most bankable performer. It’s not Steve Austin, The Rock, Bruno Sammartino, Hillbilly Jim, The Brooklyn Brawler or the ghost of “Macho Man” Randy Savage returning this evening. It’s Vince McMahon. Will the chairman’s presence inspire changes? His infrequent appearances have usually signaled a fairly prodigious event, but we can only hope that his appearance tonight results in a revolution greater than who fills in the general manager spot.

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Weekly comic books are a big part of my life and below is a list of what I’ll be picking up this Wednesday along with cover artwork and previews courtesy of Comixology’s Pull List app.

Only five this week and I’m caught up on nearly all of them.

• AVENGERS #30 – Aside from the Walt Simonson art, I really haven’t enjoyed the AvX tie-in issues for this book. What bothers me most is the lack of coordination with other books that are part of the event. It’s a shame as the stories could have added some real depth if they felt like they had an impact outside of this title.
• JUSTICE LEAGUE #0 – I’m not sure how I’m feeling about DC Comics’ “Zero Month” but I’ve been following this series. Last week’s Batman #0 took an interesting approach to the flashback gimmick by telling an early story of Bruce Wayne’s costumed career that will have a direct connection to issue #13 when the New 52 returns to the present. Unfortunately, Justice League #0‘a Shazam story isn’t a sure thing for me. Gary Frank artwork should help with that as well as the Shazam back up features that have been running in the book recently. 
• NEW MUTANTS #49 – I’m several issues behind in my reading for this series, but the cover has me intrigued. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s move from the Marvel Cosmos to this book could pay huge dividends as they tell the latest tale of the Technarchy.
• SPIDER-MEN #5 – I’m liking this meeting of Spider-Men, but a lot hangs on how it wraps up. One of the best aspects of this story is the way Brian Bendis has taken this monumental collision of the Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe and kept it very personal.
• X-FACTOR #244 – The Breaking Points arc running in X-Factor right now is great and Peter David is really putting the team through the wringer. Last issue’s Polaris story is going to be tough to beat for me, but every issue has delivered on the “five days that will change X-Factor forever” promise.

Check back every week to see what’s on My Latest Pull List and please share your thoughts on these titles and everything you’re reading this week in the comments.

Last night’s 25th Anniversary edition of WWE’s SummerSlam event was a decent entry in the history of the pay-per-view though there have certainly been stronger offerings. While last night did provide less comedy skits than we’ve become accustomed to with WWE’s recent PPV offerings, it felt like the show was lacking some spark (and the Kevin Rudolf musical performance didn’t help). Despite that, a strong focus on in-ring action is hopefully a sign of good things to come every week on Raw as the three hour format opens things up for more wrestling.

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