The Strange Case of CM Punk

The Strange Case of CM Punk

CM Punk found a way to overshadow Sting after his big debut with nothing more than a shoot interview. Everyone has been waiting and wondering what caused CM Punk to disappear from the wrestling scene. Well, now we have one side of the story and honestly I believe at least half of what he said is true. In personal experience, I have learned that usually the true story is 50% of what you’re told.

However, I must admit that a part of me wonders if CM Punk ever really stood a chance in the WWE. We’ve seen some of the greatest talents in wrestling history falter in the WWE. Anytime the WWE does not create something, they generally treat it with less respect. The evidence is very clear on this.

Let’s start with Goldberg. A ten year old with casual wrestling knowledge could have booked Goldberg better than the WWE. Goldberg is so easy to book; you give him dominant victories and let him run through everything that gets in his way. WWE certainly had enough hosses on the roster to make Goldberg look good. The crowd was molten for Goldberg at Summerslam, yet WWE kept prolonging his victory. Triple H was injured and they wouldn’t let Goldberg win the title despite the crowd finally going crazy for him. I cannot truly believe that WWE thought that was a good idea. That was a political move plain and simple.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mgSWo1mffY

Now, one may ask what Goldberg has to do with CM Punk. Well, CM Punk came into WWE with his own name and gimmick (like Goldberg). CM Punk was a product of the Indies not the WWE development system. CM Punk like every other big star has a massive ego. CM Punk identified with a part of the audience that no other big star ever did. CM Punk was the one of the first wrestlers I can remember that fit in with the nerd population with his love of comics. CM Punk was underused for years in the WWE. Does anyone really remember John Morrison’s ECW Title Reign and was it really the right move to put the title on him? CM Punk actually fit the prototypical ECW star whereas Morrison did not.

CM Punk’s reputation as one of the best world only harmed his progress in the WWE instead of helping it. Another example of this is Daniel Bryan who had to take the crap he was dealt with for years before breaking out. Anyone remember NXT with Michael Cole denigrating Daniel Bryan and Kaval week after week. How about placing a badass like Kaval with two preppy women? Some of the story-lines seem to be created out of spite for the performer’s success outside of WWE.

You do not need to look any further than CM Punk’s first World Title reign. He won it over Edge in an appropriate way with how Edge’s character had been booked for years. The follow-up on the other hand was horrendous. CM Punk was treated like a fluke in every match he had after and his only notable victories came over midcarders or upper midcarders in JBL and Snitsky. CM Punk was never allowed a chance to become a star. The man did not even get a chance to lose his world championship in a match. Instead, he lost the title in a match he was not apart of.

WWE is a highly political environment for better or worse. CM Punk is one of the few who were so great that he got over in spite of the environment surrounding him. I’m not CM Punk’s number 1 fan or anything, but I do enjoy his work. CM Punk was a guy that almost left because he realized the environment around him did him no favors. CM Punk may be egotistical but at least he has aspirations. CM Punk left because he wants to be one of the best; otherwise, he would rather not be a wrestler at all. CM Punk never wanted to be just a wrestler, he wanted to be one of the best and he was one of the best. Regardless, if you believe CM Punk’s story or not…you cannot deny that WWE mishandled him from the moment he debuted.

CM Punk did things his own way and became one of the hottest wrestlers we have seen in years. There was a period of time where CM Punk for one day made wrestling cool again. John Cena despite his own greatness never had that moment and probably never will. No John Cena moment will ever compare to the pipe bomb dropped by CM Punk. That’s a fact. Wrestlemania has had countless main events, yet half of them were not deserving of going on last. CM Punk certainly deserved to go on last when he faced The Undertaker.

I’m going to look at past Wrestlemania main events while CM Punk was a main event talent. Wrestlemania 27 was the first of those, and Miz vs. John Cena was not a good main event in most people’s minds. CM Punk and Randy Orton could have conceivably been a better main event. The Rock vs. John Cena match did not need a lackluster main event to create a feud. The following year had John Cena and The Rock which in my opinion did not live up to the expectations. John Cena is a good worker and so is The Rock. However, the match didn’t click in my opinion. The match was decent at best. Some people may disagree and that’s okay. Wrestlemania 29 on the other hand is far more egregious. John Cena vs. The Rock II did not excite many people. I found the match to be very mediocre and I skipped watching the match when I originally watched Wrestlemania that year. Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar was decent, but not worthy of following CM Punk and The Undertaker.

I actually liked CM Punk and The Undertaker better than Triple H vs. The Undertaker from the previous year. Also, imagine if that match got the extra 5 minutes that Rock and Cena got. The match would only get better. In the end, CM Punk is a self made man that WWE never used to his full potential. CM Punk probably isn’t even in my top 10 favorite wrestlers. Still, I will accept that he has some legitimate gripes. I wonder if another case like CM Punk arises again. I’m not saying all wrestlers will be encouraged to stick it to their boss because CM Punk did, yet a few others already have. What about Alberto Del Rio who can work wherever he wants now and made WWE look very bad in his departure. The wrestlers are starting to gain leverage in lawsuits and disputes. I do not think it is any coincidence that CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio had departures so close to each other. I wouldn’t be surprised if other disgruntled employees are feeling confident in their chances to fight back. The only question that remains…who will be the next to choose themselves over the WWE?

Also, I encourage all of you to give your own thoughts on the matter and thank you to everyone that read my thoughts on the matter. We can all come with interesting observations with these recent allegations, and I wonder what all of you think about this!

Do you think WWE is hurt by CM Punk’s absence?

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