CM Punk has knee surgery; title match changed to 6 man tag:
CM Punk has undergone a freak knee operation, causing his match with Ryback at TLC to be changed to a 6 man tag. Team Hell No & Ryback will take on The Shield in a Tables Ladders and Chairs match.

The WWE Champion had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee yesterday in Flordia, under Dr. James Andrews. He had been working through pain for several weeks, but was forced to get it checked out in case he caused permanent damage.

After an examination it was determined that Punk immediately needed a piece of torn meniscus removed, which was blocking the knee’s full range of motion.

“The surgery, performed by Dr. James Andrews, went smoothly and CM Punk is expected to make a full recovery,” reports WWE.com

The website also published a statement from Mr. McMahon regarding the status of the WWE title:
“CM Punk will be in no condition to defend the WWE Title against Ryback at the TLC Pay-Per-View. However, Ryback does deserve a WWE Title match against CM Punk and will have the opportunity in the very near future.”

In the meantime newcomers The Shield have been given an enormous opportunity to get over with fans, by taking on Team Hell No and Ryback in a TLC match. If they’re allowed to steal the show, Daniel Bryan and Rollins/Ambrose should be able to do some spectacular things.

That being said the match will be decided by pinfall or submission; climbing the ladder is not required, which may reduce the amount of spots that take place.
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Raw rating disturbingly low:
This week’s episode of WWE Raw on the USA Network drew a 2.55 rating, with an average audience of 3,437,000 viewers.

This is the lowest viewership for the show in 15 years for a non-holiday episode. They were however up against Monday Night Football.

The real test will be if they can rebound next week.
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JR discusses CM Punk, The Shield and more:
Veteran WWE announcer Jim Ross is back with another JRSBARBQ.com blog. Here are some highlights:

The Shield:
“Enjoying the evolution of The Shield. They are getting valuable TV time and seem to be maximizing their minutes smartly with aggression and physicality. All three men have a viable shot of becoming ‘special’ but it won’t happen over night nor will it happen at all if they don’t keep their foot on the pedal. I think that they will but there’s always the chance of human error IE stupid, immature, unprofessional mishaps that can curtail one’s progression in a competitive business.

“I’ve spent ample time in NXT with all three talents and I have every confidence that @TheDeanAmbrose, @RomanReigns, and @WWERollins will not disappoint and will do all that they can to live their dreams. I’ve certainly lived mine and I love to see others do likewise.”

Paul Heyman and CM Punk on RAW:
“@HeymanHustle and @CMPunk had good nights from my spot on the La-Z-Boy. Both are great, old school talkers who are natural extensions of their own personalities while on WWE TV. Key word…they are NATURAL.

“Heyman’s value to enhancing Punk’s persona and perhaps others down the road is invaluable… somewhat Heenan-esque. That’s about as high a praise as I can bestow.

The Miz‘s exchange with Punk on RAW:
“The Punk and @mikethemiz verbal jousting was entertaining and at times reminded me somewhat of the Attitude Era where it was commonplace for talents to employ oneupsmanship and to adlib a competitor into submission. Competition, where it be verbal or physical, makes every talent better.”
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Where is Rey Mysterio?:
WWE star Rey Mysterio is currently taking a break from WWE to deal with an undisclosed personal issue.

The Lucha legend was not present at Monday’s Raw and has been taken of the house show loop.

It’s not clear when he’ll return but he’s advertised for event towards the end of the month.