This whole set up reminds me of when Shawn Michaels “turned” on Hulk Hogan, with Punk playing the role of HBK. Punk, like Michaels, is frustrated over someone else being pushed in front of him. HBK made the (albeit brief) feud really memorable, and I expect nothing less from Punk. Cena versus Rock started as face against face too, but someone needs to be the heel. Punk makes the most sense, and the only guy he could attack and make it work was “The Great One.” Punk has proved for several months that he is the best in the world, and now “Dwayne” comes in and steals his thunder? Wouldn’t you be pissed if you were in line for a promotion at work, and some guy who used to work there decided to come back and take the job? Punk is acting like a lot of people would: he pissed off at hard work being unrecognized.
In regards to the title of this article, I don’t see him going back to being “better than you” because he’s drug and alcohol free. He could play a convincing tweener that is better than Cena and Rock because he can prove it in the ring. Even if Punk does go full-blown heel, so be it. I can’t stop them, and he’s a guy who does great things with whatever he’s given. I think alot of focus is being put on setting up next year’s events, but they can still do a lot in between that time. Say “Dwayne” responds next week, but the blow off to their feud is a match Survivor Series? Punk has Cena to deal with in the mean time, and there’s alot of speculation that Stone Cold Steve Austin will entertain the idea of a match with Punk at Wrestlemania. There are a ton of different things they can do with him, but everyone should really wait and see what happens. I usually wait a few weeks to make an assessment, and you should too; there’s too many unanswered questions and the situation was confusing.
CM Punk has impressed me since he debuted in WWE on the ECW program. Like Austin Aries, I had heard of him previously but I never got to see his work in Ring of Honor live. I remember him from his brief time in TNA, but I didn’t really discover him until I started finding ROH events online. He’s never changed who he is, and I don’t expect him to now; that’s why many of his fans love him. Punk has been great pretty much everywhere he has gone, and the past year has let him show that to the world. He wanted to make wrestling fun again, and he wanted to prove he’s the best in the world. It should go without saying that he’s done well at doing both.
I won’t give WWE all the credit, but they are letting Punk say what so many internet fans think. You can’t ignore social media and the internet anymore because it’s too much a part of our society. Vince McMahon was reported to loathe Twitter, now they don’t shut up about it and it’s included in wrestlers’ on-air intro graphics. Punk arrived at the perfect time because he’s finally getting the push that so many other guys deserved. I remember a few weeks back, a forum poster made the comparison that Daniel Bryan was in the Bret Hart role, and CM Punk was the next Shawn Michaels. I couldn’t agree more. The period between 1992 and 1997 was the “lull” before the Attitude Era, but those two were the brightest stars.
As far as Punk goes, there’s been rumblings of a “revolution” taking place and he would perfect as the leader into a new era. It’s been said in the video game advertisements and other media, but the message is there. It feels like it’s time for a new era, but Punk is bridging the gap from the old one and kicking the door down to the new one. I think he’ll remain a tweener for now, but even if he goes heel for awhile, I have no doubt he will make his on air time great. He hasn’t disappointed yet, so there’s no reason to think otherwise.
