A CM Punk promo explaining his apparent heel turn at the end of last week’s RAW will kick off tonight’s three-hour episode, announced WWE in a Monday afternoon text update.
Punk’s explanation for his decision is the major hook for this week’s broadcast, but given the expectation that some WWE fans will forget to tune in at 8PM, industry observers felt it might be wiser to hold the promo off until the 9PM hour. The promo, after all, will begin the build to one of the key Summerslam matches and would therefore best benefit WWE by being presented for the largest possible audience.
Ultimately, however, WWE went with the decision that is both logical from a storyline perspective (why would he wait until 9PM to address the final moments of last week’s show?) and most likely to start the show with a bang.