Punk, Rock will square off this Sunday for the WWE Championship.

Last Monday WWE celebrated 20 years and 4,096 hours of Raw. It feels like most of those hours have come since the show went to three hours last Fall. For perspective, Raw’s 20th Anniversary ran against new episodes of four of CBS’ half-hour comedies, Hawaii 50, and half of the 11 o’clock news. While excessive in length, the show benefitted from the approach of focusing on the current product rather than bringing in a parade of former superstars as we head into the annual Royal Rumble featuring the Rock versus C.M. Punk for the WWE Championship.

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Last Monday’s Raw saw the “Road to WrestleMania” begin with the latest return of The Rock, and we’ve challenged ourselves to get back on track with our weekly Warm-Ups. We apologize for being away for so long, but with a blockbuster show last week and Monday Night Raw’s 20th Anniversary Special planned for this evening (today also happens to be MLD’s 4th Anniversary) we had no alternative but to dive back in.

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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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Controversy surrounded the finish to WWE’s Night of Champions main event between WWE Champion C.M. Punk and hometown favorite John Cena. Expect a rematch announcement as part of the action tonight.

A lot has happened in the WWE Universe since last Monday, not the least of which was Jerry “the King” Lawler’s on air collapse that has since been confirmed as a heart attack. Our thoughts are with the King as he recovers, and we’re hopeful for a speedy recovery. The show has gone on in Lawler’s absence culminating in Sunday’s Night of Champions pay-per-view. We’ll get into where things stand coming out of the event and what to expect tonight on Raw after the break.

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This week’s abbreviated one-man version of the Warm Up revolves around one name: Bret Hart. Tonight WWE Raw touches down in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, site of the infamous 1997 “Montreal Screwjob” that saw has been the source of more discussion than few other things in wrestling history. For me, this is THE reason to watch tonight. However, given the relative lack of promotion for this aspect of the show on last week’s Raw I fear that many other things will take center stage tonight, and maybe they should.

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