When Brian Pillman did his worked shoot in 1996, it lasted MONTHS. Pillman bounced from WCW to ECW to WWE, legitimately double-crossing WCW. Eric Bischoff had fired Pillman assuming he’d come back. He didn’t.
C.M. Punk left WWE for two weeks.
So, what was the point?
Oh, Punk and Cena had a cute staredown at the end of Raw. But Punk has clearly been reestablished as just another WWE guy. The absence of Punk’s title didn’t make WWE sweat, not even for two weeks. They just crowned another champ, then passed the belt right back to John Cena. Now Punk and Cena have a UFC-style real champ vs. interim champ unification match at SummerSlam. Cena wins, then heads for WrestleMania and The Rock.
Punk? Maybe he turns babyface and becomes the new Steve Austin, the anti-authoritarian. Or maybe he drops back down to the mid-card.
But how does Punk remain anti-authoritarian? Vince McMahon is gone, and the doofus son-in-law fixed a lot of the crap Punk bitched about.
I hope Punk came back for the money, because I’m praying he wasn’t stupid enough to fall for the promises. But I have my fears. Smarter people than Punk have been set up, blinded to some degree by their own brilliance (and BS).
If Raw’s rating drops, who gets blamed? Not Triple H. Original plans called for Trips to pedigree Punk. Why? Because Triple H is a REAL star. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was.
Nobody ever wants to let an angle marinate. Just hot-shot for TV. Hot-shot for the pay-per-view. Punk should have been gone for MONTHS. The title should have been gone for MONTHS. The belt would have gained credibility by its absence. Instead, it’s just another prop. Memo to bookers: You BUILD ratings. You don't SEIZE ratings.
Fire Vince? The WWE board should have fired EVERYBODY.
P.S. – Gee, I really enjoy the new comments section on these columns.
Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM, Pittsburgh, PA (105.9). Check out his web page at WXDX.com. Contact Mark by emailing wzmarkmadden@hotmail.com.
