Character Analysis: Miz, Goldust, Punk

Three of the WWE Superstars really came into the spotlight on this past week's 3-for-All on Monday Night Raw. Two of the wrestlers can be considered on the undercard while the third has definitely moved into the upper eschelon. We're talking about Raw's The Miz & Goldust, as well as World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk from Smackdown.

The Miz and Goldust (along with Hornswoggle) had a lengthy yet entertaining segment in the ring during Raw's 3-for-All. While I'll be the first to admit it was total filler, it served its purpose well. Miz' character on Raw has been one of the smartest ideas creative has come up with in a while because he says a lot of things that many fans might be thinking. For example, he's continually insulted John Cena as being a superstar loved mainly by kids and soccer moms. He's dissed Cena's acting and continues to pretend he's actually beaten Cena in the ring. In all seriousness, Miz has lucked out because he's always had Big Show intervene in the match to somehow get out of really wrestling Cena. That time will come. On Raw, Miz began to insult Goldust, calling him irrelevant, which is similar to what Jericho had been doing with the Hall of Famers. Only this time, Miz is talking about guys who are part of WWE but don't really do much more beyond comic relief and giving other wrestlers victories.

The other guy opposite Miz on Raw was Goldust and he's truly been lost in the mix on the show. It's also unfortunate that they decided to pair him with Hornswoggle, in some sort of "freak show" type move. While I'll admit the Hornswoggle novelty was fun at first, it gets tired after repeated kicks to wrestler's legs, Tadpole Splashes off the ropes to win matches and squirt gun shots to the face. It's strange that he was moved from Finlay but then again maybe it was Finlay's request so he could have a more serious solo role on ECW.

All that said, Miz and Goldust have the makings of one great feud on WWE Raw. The two played off each other well in their exchange, and if the creative team can come up with some "creative matches", they may be able to steal some of the Raw comedy relief from Santino Marella. Goldust's stuttering as well as Miz' cocky insults directed towards the WWE superstars are something fresh which pokes fun at the product and entertains.

And then there's CM Punk. Just about this time last year, people were questioning this guy as a serious champion. He barely had the World Heavyweight Title after cashing in on a beaten-up Edge, when he was attacked by Legacy and had to forfeit the belt after a week or so. People wondered why WWE even bothered giving him the belt to begin with. This time around it's been different as Punk's held onto the belt, and his character has an interesting edge so to speak. Punk is now in the ultimate opportunist role that Edge often portrays, where he finds ways to win. On Raw he won the match of the night, a Triple Threat title match where he looked to be seriously injured yet still managed to make a pin on Edge (after Hardy's Swanton). He had an exchange with Jeff's brother Matt backstage to further solidify Punk's new role, where he isn't looking for anyone's praise. He's been playing a "tweener" role as fans question is Punk a good guy or bad guy, and what are his intentions? In all seriousness, competition is not always about making friends, it's about winning, and Punk's character is about doing so. There's no need to butter up Jeff Hardy, when Punk can rely on his in-ring skills and finding the ways to win. With that in mind, a Punk-Hardy fight at The Bash will be highly anticipated, and with a clean Punk win, fans can start taking him even more seriously as champion.