A Missed Opportunity?

[Barbedwire Ropes]

Am I the only one that thinks the WWE missed an opportunity on this CM Punk angle with tonight's episode of RAW? This angle has been the hottest thing in professional wrestling in over a year, and has created much more buzz than even the Nexus achieved during its debut. Here in Canada, right after the promo, major sports TV stations (excluding TSN) were even reporting on it or quoting it and radio stations were using quotes from it as well. This angle had everyone talking.

Now, I'm wondering if anyone sees things the way I see it. John Cena's promo at the beginning of the show was very well done. I don't like Cena, never have and I hate his superman gimmick more than I hate TNA but his promo tonight was the best promo I've seen from him ever personally. But aside from him mentioning CM Punk, do you think it would have been more effective for the angle if the WWE refused to acknowledge the existence of CM Punk in any way? No video package. No Punk photos. No mention from the announcers. Confiscate all the CM Punk signs. (They do it for Zack Ryder, why not take Punk signs?) Let Cena say his thing, and that's it.

But here is where I personally think the WWE messed up big time and really failed to make this angle the hottest thing pro-wrestling has seen in the last 15 years. Maybe I'm the only one, but wouldn't it have been bone chilling if when Cena handed over the WWE Championship to Vince McMahon that nothing else was said? He hands over the championship, and leaves. Leaves the WWE as well. Making it a "If Cena loses he's fired" match really takes away from the mystique of the match. Now, if we refer back to the past of the WWE, chances are extremely high that Cena wins this match with the mere mention of his career being on the line. The only thing that could have been worse is a "Cena Goes To Smackdown" match. To me, it really puts a dent into the entire atmosphere of this angle by adding the stipulation. If he would have handed over the championship, tossed his mic and just left with no music or theatrics it really would have put the entire "WWE Universe" into a further panic.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

Yeah I think you may be the only one. The angle is running smoothly with how things went tonight on Raw. They don't need to over saturate things by doing little petty things such as taking away signs & stuff. Vince did a great job delivering what I felt was his Rocky moment, where he's faced with being sacred of a loss and the repercussions of said loss. It was well organized and I was very pleased with it. It also still has a mystery since apparently Alberto Del Rio is the number one contender. I wanna see how this plays out because I really think something big will happen that'll tie Vince, Punk, Cena, Rio & the winner of MITB all in together heading into Summerslam. IDK how they're gonna do it, but it could be HUGE. So no, there wasn't a let down. The build up is great!

 

[The_Reptile_]

If the backstage circumstances were any different, any different, I'd agree with you. Putting the stipulation on there would pretty much get rid of any and all speculation about the outcome of this match.

But here's the thing.

If the dirtsheets are to be believed, Cena's working injured. Like, really injured. And you can tell too. His in ring work has been sluggish and he can't even do his Superman routine without some legit grimaces of pain. If this is the case, then this is the perfect opportunity to write Cena off so he can recuperate and rest up, because frankly the guy needs it. RAW will be just fine. I'd assume Triple H will come down and take care of the top face dutie, or maybe a new guy will step up and actually prove himself. The absence of one star often makes another, after all.

 

[Yesiamaduck]

The is so much uncertainty surrounding the backstage at the moment... is CM Punk staying? Does John Cena need a rest? that it could go either way... so no! The build up has been spot on for me, the is a very real possibility that Cena looses and gets 'fired' and CM Punk hijacks the belt, McMahon becomes determined to get the belt off of Punk until he has to rehire Cena and he wins it just before Wrestlemania.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

If the backstage circumstances were any different, any different, I'd agree with you. Putting the stipulation on there would pretty much get rid of any and all speculation about the outcome of this match.

But here's the thing.

If the dirtsheets are to be believed, Cena's working injured. Like, really injured. And you can tell too. His in ring work has been sluggish and he can't even do his Superman routine without some legit grimaces of pain. If this is the case, then this is the perfect opportunity to write Cena off so he can recuperate and rest up, because frankly the guy needs it. RAW will be just fine. I'd assume Triple H will come down and take care of the top face dutie, or maybe a new guy will step up and actually prove himself. The absence of one star often makes another, after all.

Yeah Cena's injured. I don't see HHH coming in and instantly being the top face, it IMO would dilute things and create a level of too much predictability in a situation that's pretty loaded with their being unpredictability. I personally think Punk is going to beat Cena and Vince is going to fire him. Not fire fire, but you know, storyline wise. You gotta remember, anytime Vince promises to fire somebody, it 9 times outta 10 happens. I think this keeps the level of unpredictability going since officially there may not be a champion heading into Summerslam. I'm sure Vince needs Cena healthy going into WrestleMania, or did people forget that match is still supposed to take place? It's amazing how things are turning out because I haven't been this curious for next week's show in a long, long time. I hope they keep this going for a while. It's very interesting.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

WWE fucked up as of this writing. I don't know how it'll end, but as of right now I'm pissed.

CM Punk cuts this amazing promo last week, antagonizes everything the WWE stands for and is a plain rebel. Next week, here comes the 'E to mess things up.

Thank you for killing any chance that even SOME of this was truth, by making an entire promo video of Punk's "shoot" and airing it twice during your programming. That's how you do it. No biggie, though.

WWE, once again, makes this about John Cena and his placement in WWE. You have Punk who is PURE gold, and instead of focusing all of your attention on him, and basing your entire show around how rebellious Punk is, and having the entire roster full of piss and vinegar, and McMahon coming out and being mad, and Cena coming out and wanting to tear Punk's head off his shoulders, you make it about Cena, his fucking morals and even more so McMahon? Now the spotlight is on them. Will Cena keep his job or not? Will Cena get fired? How is McMahon going to react?

Not only that, but you have the biggest babyface SIDE with the biggest heel? Are you fucking kidding me? So where's the conflict now? Where's the hatred? Where's the drama, the tention? He disagrees with him but he respects his opinion? What kind of cheesy, goodie two shoes bullshit is this? Did McMahon ever agree to disagree with Stone Cold? Fuck no. They HATED eachother. McMahon never went out and said "Well, Steve, I'm an old man who should know better.". Fuck no.

Now instead of having Punk be this brash rebel, he's a little bitch who got suspended for running his mouth and pulled out of the shit by Cena.

You made McMahon look like the bad guy, and not Punk you FUCKING morons. Now Punk is just a guy who spoke his mind. He didn't do anything wrong. It's McMahon's fault! Boo him! Cool. NOW what? Instead of having Cena be FUMING and defending the brand that he loves, he goes on this feel-good bullshit rant and makes it all about himself. All about HIS belt. All about HIS job. All about MCMAHON being worried about this and that.

And where does this leave Punk? How are the fans supposed to react to him now? WWE made it clear that McMahon's the evil one and Punk just spoke his mind. Are they supposed to cheer him now because Cena sided with him to an extent and he's just a guy who likes to be honest? The same fucking CM Punk who buried the company and the very same fans who chanted "first amendment"?

You talk about bad booking, this is it. Way to fuck it up from week one, WWE, you absolute fucking CRETINS. I hope you won't continue to ass rape this storyline. I really do. I hope you've got something in store, and it better be fucking good because as of this writing you fucked up, big time.

Oh, and congratulations to Punk for getting himself in trouble with the gay slurs. You think he'll do that and WWE will put the belt on him now? Not WWE.

 

[iwinulose]

i think this has played out very well, its unfortunate that it will be cm punks last match cause a cena/punk feud would be great. what vince did tonight definitely made things even more interesting heading into MITB, plus we got 2 more monday night raw's before MITB so im rather excited as to how it all plays out.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

WWE fucked up as of this writing. I don't know how it'll end, but as of right now I'm pissed.

CM Punk cuts this amazing promo last week, antagonizes everything the WWE stands for and is a plain rebel. Next week, here comes the 'E to mess things up.

Thank you for killing any chance that even SOME of this was truth, by making an entire promo video of Punk's "shoot" and airing it twice during your programming. That's how you do it. No biggie, though.

WWE, once again, makes this about John Cena and his placement in WWE. You have Punk who is PURE gold, and instead of focusing all of your attention on him, and basing your entire show around how rebellious Punk is, and having the entire roster full of piss and vinegar, and McMahon coming out and being mad, and Cena coming out and wanting to tear Punk's head off his shoulders, you make it about Cena, his fucking morals and even more so McMahon? Now the spotlight is on them. Will Cena keep his job or not? Will Cena get fired? How is McMahon going to react?

Not only that, but you have the biggest babyface SIDE with the biggest heel? Are you fucking kidding me? So where's the conflict now? Where's the hatred? Where's the drama, the tention? He disagrees with him but he respects his opinion? What kind of cheesy, goodie two shoes bullshit is this? Did McMahon ever agree to disagree with Stone Cold? Fuck no. They HATED eachother. McMahon never went out and said "Well, Steve, I'm an old man who should know better.". Fuck no.

Now instead of having Punk be this brash rebel, he's a little bitch who got suspended for running his mouth and pulled out of the shit by Cena.

You made McMahon look like the bad guy, and not Punk you FUCKING morons. Now Punk is just a guy who spoke his mind. He didn't do anything wrong. It's McMahon's fault! Boo him! Cool. NOW what? Instead of having Cena be FUMING and defending the brand that he loves, he goes on this feel-good bullshit rant and makes it all about himself. All about HIS belt. All about HIS job. All about MCMAHON being worried about this and that.

And where does this leave Punk? How are the fans supposed to react to him now? WWE made it clear that McMahon's the evil one and Punk just spoke his mind. Are they supposed to cheer him now because Cena sided with him to an extent and he's just a guy who likes to be honest? The same fucking CM Punk who buried the company and the very same fans who chanted "first amendment"?

You talk about bad booking, this is it. Way to fuck it up from week one, WWE, you absolute fucking CRETINS. I hope you won't continue to ass rape this storyline. I really do. I hope you've got something in store, and it better be fucking good because as of this writing you fucked up, big time.

Oh, and congratulations to Punk for getting himself in trouble with the gay slurs. You think he'll do that and WWE will put the belt on him now? Not WWE.

Are you serious? Did you really honestly think that it was a total shoot last week? It was a shoot, sure, but come on, I'm sure Vince knew what he was going to say, or at least some of what Punk was going to say. It's apart of the angle. It's okay.

And no, this is NOT about John Cena or his placement in the company. It's about so many dynamics that it's starting to become very interesting. It's like some people just can't be pleased no matter what. And yes, I do think they'll put the title on him despite what he said because let's see, Michael Cole & John Cena both were involved in similar situations and one of those mentioned happens to be the WWE Champion. God, stop gripping about things not going the way YOU want them to (and by you, I mean people who are complaining about the angle). It's working fine. So what they showed his speech twice tonight? People are looking way too deep into this instead of just taking the ride and seeing where it goes.

 

[sycro]

WWE fucked up as of this writing. I don't know how it'll end, but as of right now I'm pissed.

CM Punk cuts this amazing promo last week, antagonizes everything the WWE stands for and is a plain rebel. Next week, here comes the 'E to mess things up.

Thank you for killing any chance that even SOME of this was truth, by making an entire promo video of Punk's "shoot" and airing it twice during your programming. That's how you do it. No biggie, though.

WWE, once again, makes this about John Cena and his placement in WWE. You have Punk who is PURE gold, and instead of focusing all of your attention on him, and basing your entire show around how rebellious Punk is, and having the entire roster full of piss and vinegar, and McMahon coming out and being mad, and Cena coming out and wanting to tear Punk's head off his shoulders, you make it about Cena, his fucking morals and even more so McMahon? Now the spotlight is on them. Will Cena keep his job or not? Will Cena get fired? How is McMahon going to react?

Not only that, but you have the biggest babyface SIDE with the biggest heel? Are you fucking kidding me? So where's the conflict now? Where's the hatred? Where's the drama, the tention? He disagrees with him but he respects his opinion? What kind of cheesy, goodie two shoes bullshit is this? Did McMahon ever agree to disagree with Stone Cold? Fuck no. They HATED eachother. McMahon never went out and said "Well, Steve, I'm an old man who should know better.". Fuck no.

Now instead of having Punk be this brash rebel, he's a little bitch who got suspended for running his mouth and pulled out of the shit by Cena.

You made McMahon look like the bad guy, and not Punk you FUCKING morons. Now Punk is just a guy who spoke his mind. He didn't do anything wrong. It's McMahon's fault! Boo him! Cool. NOW what? Instead of having Cena be FUMING and defending the brand that he loves, he goes on this feel-good bullshit rant and makes it all about himself. All about HIS belt. All about HIS job. All about MCMAHON being worried about this and that.

And where does this leave Punk? How are the fans supposed to react to him now? WWE made it clear that McMahon's the evil one and Punk just spoke his mind. Are they supposed to cheer him now because Cena sided with him to an extent and he's just a guy who likes to be honest? The same fucking CM Punk who buried the company and the very same fans who chanted "first amendment"?

You talk about bad booking, this is it. Way to fuck it up from week one, WWE, you absolute fucking CRETINS. I hope you won't continue to ass rape this storyline. I really do. I hope you've got something in store, and it better be fucking good because as of this writing you fucked up, big time.

Seriously? What face would come out and say "Good! I'm glad you suspended Punk! He criticized me and you, so instead of kicking his ass, I'm going to fight somebody else. Thanks, Vince!"

It doesn't make sense for you that Cena doesn't want to be known for kissing Vince's ass? That he'd rather do the real "face" thing and stand up for what's right?

And how does any of that take away what Punk said or how people should view him? Also, you know that there can be multiple heels in a situation, right?

If you want to believe that they fucked this up, cool, but at least they didn't go the TNA route and just make the entire thing so convoluted that you don't know what's going on.

Oh, and congratulations to Punk for getting himself in trouble with the gay slurs. You think he'll do that and WWE will put the belt on him now? Not WWE.

Kind of like how Cena got in trouble for it originally and then never won the title again?

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Are you serious? Did you really honestly think that it was a total shoot last week? It was a shoot, sure, but come on, I'm sure Vince knew what he was going to say, or at least some of what Punk was going to say. It's apart of the angle. It's okay.

And no, this is NOT about John Cena or his placement in the company. It's about so many dynamics that it's starting to become very interesting. It's like some people just can't be pleased no matter what. And yes, I do think they'll put the title on him despite what he said because let's see, Michael Cole & John Cena both were involved in similar situations and one of those mentioned happens to be the WWE Champion. God, stop gripping about things not going the way YOU want them to (and by you, I mean people who are complaining about the angle). It's working fine. So what they showed his speech twice tonight? People are looking way too deep into this instead of just taking the ride and seeing where it goes.

If you'll go ahead and kill any realism and "holy shit" factor of a shoot the next week, here's a goddamn clue - DON'T MAKE HIM SHOOT IN THE FIRST PLACE! WWE cut his fucking mic off, and then they show parts of the speech in a little neat promo two times on RAW? I thought they cut his mic off because they wanted him to stop shooting. You would think they'd erase this shit off their records, kayfabe wise. Now they run the edgy parts of his promo on air again?

I'm trying to "ride" the wave. But so far, as always, I'm riding WWE's cock for believing they can produce something even HALF decent. I forgot what that feeling was like, haven't felt that cock up my ass since 2009. My ass hurts. Bad. Real bad.

They are adding more dynamics, and that is always great. It IS more interesting. The storyline is doing FINE. I have nothing against it. They'll deliver. My gripe is about Punk and how they fucked him up. Punk MADE this storyline, he should be THE storyline and he's not anymore. They forgot about Punk and his role. Now he's not a heel who spoke out against the holy WWE. Now he's a guy defended by Cena for being honest. McMahon is the ultimate heel, Cena is the babyface, and Punk? Punk is just ... there. Waiting to be fed to Clark Cena.

 

[zwbruno]

I personally think it was a great idea to put some of the heat on Vinnie Mac. CM Punk v Cena is gonna be a barnburner, but its in Chicago so no matter what Cena said or did (and considering his split fanbase) CM Punk is gonna be the fan favorite. Now you have an actual villain, and one of the best of all time Mr. McMahon. This will allow CM Punk to become the perfect anti-hero and play the foil to whoever he chooses, whether it be a heel like Del Rio or a face like Alex Riley

I think Cena will lose and take time off to nurse those nagging injuries, CM Punk will continue to defend the WWE title, just like he did with the ROH title when he did this same angle in ROH. And this summer will feature some of the best WWE programming we've seen in years

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Seriously? What face would come out and say "Good! I'm glad you suspended Punk! He criticized me and you, so instead of kicking his ass, I'm going to fight somebody else. Thanks, Vince!"

No. Vince comes out, says he suspends Punk for speaking out against the WWE universe. Cena comes out saying he's fuming that Punk insulted his fans and this Championship. Cena demands that McMahon reinstates Punk so he can teach him a lesson. Cena's losing it. He says that if McMahon doesn't give him a chance to rip his head off for insulting everything all these fans and himself stand for then he walks. McMahon gives him the match. Litte tweak, Punk's heel status is even bigger now because EVERYONE'S vocally against him. McMahon is out of the picture, this is about Cena defending the WWE's honor and Punk trying to tarnish it.

If you want to believe that they fucked this up, cool, but at least they didn't go the TNA route and just make the entire thing so convoluted that you don't know what's going on.

TNA doesn't tie people to posts with duct tape or have them lose after a kid poured water on their face. I see no midgets running around or people having arm wrestling contests. I doubt they have any models trained to be wrestlers, and I'm sure the roster isn't talentless.

Kind of like how Cena got in trouble for it originally and then never won the title again?

Cena could take a shit in a black man's mouth wearing a KKK hood and get away with it.

 

[greygoose67]

After watching Raw this week, I can say I havent been this interested in a story line in a long time, however I do feel as though WWE could have added a little bit more if they had reactions from superstars and didnt show the Punk segment twice. Although with Del Rio now being number one contender and Cole saying there will be a superstar to replace him in the MITB match. Now who will this be? Zach Ryder. He interupted during the Nexus celebration and is a known friend of Cena. If Cenas working hurt I could see MITB getting ridiculous with Ryder winning the MITB match, cashing in after a Punk win, Cena gets fired, and Del Rio to the rescue to fulfill his destiny with the help of VKM. Punk will win the match, however NOT walk out with the title in Chicago

 

[Zeven_Zion]

After watching Raw this week, I can say I havent been this interested in a story line in a long time, however I do feel as though WWE could have added a little bit more if they had reactions from superstars and didnt show the Punk segment twice. Although with Del Rio now being number one contender and Cole saying there will be a superstar to replace him in the MITB match. Now who will this be? Zach Ryder. He interupted during the Nexus celebration and is a known friend of Cena. If Cenas working hurt I could see MITB getting ridiculous with Ryder winning the MITB match, cashing in after a Punk win, Cena gets fired, and Del Rio to the rescue to fulfill his destiny with the help of VKM. Punk will win the match, however NOT walk out with the title in Chicago

I think Punk's winning one way or the other. Three things.

1. Punk wins, Cena's "fired", someone cashes in on Punk, Cena is back next week or whatever because while he lost the belt is still in the WWE.

2. Chicago Screwjob. Cena wasn't aware of it, Punk wasn't aware of it. McMahon's too paranoid to risk losing the belt, Cena, or both.

3. Punk wins, Cena's fired. Best option in my mind.

Either way, Punk's winning I think.

Oh, and if someone cashes in on Punk, wouldn't it have to be a face? Unless they plan on turning some heel - face. Could work. I mean, have McMahon have his pet Champion, a corporate guy if you will (rehash, I know, shut up), someone who unlike Cena can get the job done, marketed as the new face of the WWE until Cena comes back to reclaim his throne blah blah blah. So many ways to twist this ...

 

[EssJay76]

First of all... if it is shown on tv (first run or in a video package) it is always going to be a part of a storyline.

The only thing I would have changed with the story so far is to have had Cena leave and Vince not go after him. Next week Alberto could demand to be awarded the title from Vince. Vince could tell him no and that he will get his title match at Summer Slam. Then Vince could give Cena what he wants, reinstate Punk and include the current stipulation for the match.

Here is what I'd love to see happen for the next few months with this story leading into Mania...

I think Punk will win the title and hold it hostage. Vince might even already have a deal with ROH and NJPW for Punk to appear on a show or two in the future. Punk has probably re-signed with WWE and will take a mini Jericho-type vacation/break from WWE. Cena will get "fired" so he can heal up and be healthy in time to get the title back and face The Rock at Mania. Triple H can come back and carry RAW and try to get the belt back for WWE. They'll bring in Austin to challenge Punk to face him and return the title with no response from Punk. Eventually they will give up on chasing Punk, bring in a new belt for Alberto to win off of Triple H (thanks to the return of Undertaker) and lose to Cena. Punk will return with his belt claiming to be the real WWE Champ. He will accept the challenge of Austin on the condition that he is the main event of Mania instead of Cena/Rock. Instead, they will book both matches with the winners facing each other in the real main event of WM28 to crown an undisputed WWE Champion, with a new title design.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm sorry but I don't see how anyone can have any legit gripes about how the WWE has handled this angle. It's run as smooth as a prom queen's ass and people are still complaining about it? Wow. Just give it up and stop watching WWE because if you can't get behind this, then there's just absolutely nothing they can do that will please you.

Last week, WWE had everyone buzzing about Punk's promo. There are honestly lots of people that think it was a shoot. It was a worked shoot, a fantastic worked shoot, but a worked shoot just the same. If it actually takes place on screen, it's a work people. Anyone that thought otherwise...well you're just downright precious. In order to enjoy pro wrestling, you have to suspend disbelief and smarks refuse to do that. So fuck 'em. This is a great storyline and I'm intrigued on seeing how it plays out.

If anything, this opens the door to another possibility. I might be completely wrong about this but I think that Punk has signed a new deal with WWE and it's been kept extremely quiet with probably only very few people knowing about it. With the stipulation of John Cena being "fired" if he loses to Punk, I find myself wondering if this couldn't lead to a huge swerve at MITB. What if McMahon "accidentally" causes Cena to lose, revealing that he & Punk have an alliance and have been planning this for a while. I know Cena is the biggest face in WWE but there's also a lot of talk that Cena is working injured right now. If Cena is "fired", then this is an opportunity for him to take some time off to heal and rest up because I'm sure Vince wants him healthy come WrestleMania. WrestleMania XXVIII and his match with The Rock will be a huge payday and if Cena is working hurt at the moment, then giving him some time off to get himself together is a good means of keeping that payday safe and secure. At the same time, Punk could solidify his place in the main event picture. I know it's not likely to happen but with Punk's future so up in the air right now, who can tell one way or another exactly what's gonna happen?

 

[itssoeasy123]

I have no clue how this is a missed opportunity.

The promo done this week was straight up phenomenal. Cena standing up for Punk, being against Vince's decision's, Vince being angry at Cena. So much tension in that one promo, added alot of realism to the storyline. Vince reinstated Punk, that match is back on, and Vince will fire Cena if he doesn't win. Now Chicago has another reason to want Cena to win, and we seen what kind of man Vince is before, Cena being "fired" to take some time off could happen. Remember the report's of Cena "working hurt," maybe Vince doesn't want to risk the WM 28 main event, also Cena not being on top of his game lately does add some merit to the report.

Are we seeing another screwjob in the work's. Will Cena win, will Punk win, will Punk win and side with Vince, will Punk win and lose the championship to the MITB winner? I have absolutely no clue what will happen, and that's why I love WWE, the unpredictablity that they make for these storyline's.

Punk wasn't on the show becuase he was "suspended," which added more realism to the storyline. Showing greatly redone vignette's of his promo is better than him being there and doing what, cutting another shoot promo? You have to "wait and see," what's going happen, which is what WWE strives on, making you wanting to watch next week's show, and I'm sure many people will watch next week's shows to see what the hell is gonna happen. Hell, 2 week's people were saying that their tired with the "status quo," than WWE pull out not one, but two very tensioned, heated promo's. You alway's have to wait and see with WWE, you have no clue what their gonna do next. Also WWE alway's has a very interesting summer angle, and this could be just the seed's for it.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I'm sorry but I don't see how anyone can have any legit gripes about how the WWE has handled this angle. It's run as smooth as a prom queen's ass and people are still complaining about it? Wow. Just give it up and stop watching WWE because if you can't get behind this, then there's just absolutely nothing they can do that will please you.

I'll take this quote, replace WWE with TNA, and reply with it to every single "It can't get me interested" line you've said about every single good TNA storyline. Would it get you more interested if there was a little white "W" in the bottom left corner?

If anything, this opens the door to another possibility. I might be completely wrong about this but I think that Punk has signed a new deal with WWE and it's been kept extremely quiet with probably only very few people knowing about it. With the stipulation of John Cena being "fired" if he loses to Punk, I find myself wondering if this couldn't lead to a huge swerve at MITB. What if McMahon "accidentally" causes Cena to lose, revealing that he & Punk have an alliance and have been planning this for a while. I know Cena is the biggest face in WWE but there's also a lot of talk that Cena is working injured right now. If Cena is "fired", then this is an opportunity for him to take some time off to heal and rest up because I'm sure Vince wants him healthy come WrestleMania. WrestleMania XXVIII and his match with The Rock will be a huge payday and if Cena is working hurt at the moment, then giving him some time off to get himself together is a good means of keeping that payday safe and secure. At the same time, Punk could solidify his place in the main event picture. I know it's not likely to happen but with Punk's future so up in the air right now, who can tell one way or another exactly what's gonna happen?

That's awesome, but don't think WWE's smart enough to pull something like that off. They'll keep it basic and plain, and eventually fuck it up two weeks later. Don't tell me I'm wrong, there's PLENTY of proof in history.

Are we seeing another screwjob in the work's. Will Cena win, will Punk win, will Punk win and side with Vince, will Punk win and lose the championship to the MITB winner? I have absolutely no clue what will happen, and that's why I love WWE, the unpredictablity that they make for these storyline's.

You do realize that this is the first time in years that the WWE has invested actual brains into a storyline, building it moment by moment, word for word, polishing it, improving it, adding shock factor and unpredictability? Every finish from every storyline over the last 3-4 years could be called by the most moronic fan out there because the storylines had only one outcome. Now they introduce MANY outcomes, a lot of plots and options.

"This is why I love the WWE". Bitch please. This is great, but will they invest so much intellect in more storylines after this? Or will they go back to having bland shit on a silver platter?

 

[itssoeasy123]

I'll take this quote, replace WWE with TNA, and reply with it to every single "It can't get me interested" line you've said about every single good TNA storyline. Would it get you more interested if there was a little white "W" in the bottom left corner?


That's awesome, but don't think WWE's smart enough to pull something like that off. They'll keep it basic and plain, and eventually fuck it up two weeks later. Don't tell me I'm wrong, there's PLENTY of proof in history.

But you don't like WWE, so why are you watching it!

Wait, I'm not a TNA mark.

I think WWE's smart enough to pull something like that off, they don't have a complete idiot "booker" from New York who's only claim to fame is making a making a movie star a champion, booking their show. WWE just doesn't need to be over the top all the time becuase there's clearly no competition to even remotely threaten them. WWE usually alway's has a very interesting summer angle to keep fan's interested during the summer, this could be the seed's of it.

So, your pulling the classic, "if it was in TNA you would hate it," logic that only a TNA fan can think of. Well, Cena would've turned face/heel 6 times so people would'nt probably care about this storyline.

 

[Mr.ManChild]

Okay I'm new to this so here are my thoughts. I strongly agree with Zeven Zion. WWE has once again made a mistake by making John Cena the focus of this storyline. Does he really have to he the white knight in shining armor all the time? Even for the heels? It makes no sense to me personally. I have been WWE fan for 20 years and I know good storylines when I see them and they messed this up bad. To all of you that believe this is a good storyline I feel bad for you because you're okay with mediocrity. You have been brainwashed into believing what's okay is great television but not me. I feel the best way this could have been handled would have been to let Punk be the bad guy. Pull a Beniot on him and don't even mention his name. Replace him with Del Rio at Money In The Bank and have Del Rio's replacement be some stooge like Zack Ryder (I love him by the way) and right before the money In the Bank match have a shot of Ryder injured in some corner but they don't replace him. Then have Cm Punk come out and win the contract and cash it in on Cena during the match. Now that would have made for great tv!

 

[itssoeasy123]

I'll take this quote, replace WWE with TNA, and reply with it to every single "It can't get me interested" line you've said about every single good TNA storyline. Would it get you more interested if there was a little white "W" in the bottom left corner?


That's awesome, but don't think WWE's smart enough to pull something like that off. They'll keep it basic and plain, and eventually fuck it up two weeks later. Don't tell me I'm wrong, there's PLENTY of proof in history.


You do realize that this is the first time in years that the WWE has invested actual brains into a storyline, building it moment by moment, word for word, polishing it, improving it, adding shock factor and unpredictability? Every finish from every storyline over the last 3-4 years could be called by the most moronic fan out there because the storylines had only one outcome. Now they introduce MANY outcomes, a lot of plots and options.

"This is why I love the WWE". Bitch please. This is great, but will they invest so much intellect in more storylines after this? Or will they go back to having bland shit on a silver platter?

So I can't invest in something that I love? "Will they invest so mcuh intellect in more storyline's after this," that's the thing no one know's, so far WWE has put on two great heated promo's to hype up a PPV match and it's already a great storyline. Isn't it good to invest brain's into a storyline, that's how you make it interesting, WWE has made me interested about the many possible outcomes to one match.

I'm so glad I'm not like you anymore, being mad over a company you don't even invest in and take time to watch.

 

[JJYanks121]

No missed opportunity yet, no.

Actually, I'd say this show did exactly what it should have done. This angle is vastly different than any other wrestling angle out there and is being presented as such. As far as the promo videos, that's reminding people what happened. The entire show was based on the backlash to those actions, yet some want to pretend they never happened? You have to accept that they happened and deal with them!

By running the angle this way, it actually became MORE about Punk than before. Cena now has his role in this match, but it's still about Punk. His contract is up and he could win the belt and leave (see the other thread as to why I think this SHOULD happen and how it could). The shoot promo got people's attention, but the main thing is still Punk leaving. If people don't see that, they are kinda missing the point.

When you are a "lame duck" and are leaving a job, you figureu why not do crazy shit? What are they going to do, fire you? You're already leaving! That's what the promo was about, not to build a feud off of the promo. It was there to show that Punk doesn't give a shit so he'll say what he wants because he's leaving. Everything comes back to the fact that Punk is leaving, wants to leave with the belt, and if he does, who can do something about it? Apparently Vince can and he tried to avoid another Flair to WWE or Madusa to WCW incident (the same paranoia that led to Montreal). However, Cena's basically saying "fuck that" and take the chance. In fact, another level is that people think Cena kisses Vince's ass (based on Punk's promo) and in this case, he didn't. He went the other way and basically challenged how Vince runs things and by handing him the title, basically said he doesn't want to be the poster boy if the poster doesn't represent what he believes. There are so many wrinkles here and most of them came this week. To say the opportunity was missed is ridiculous.

Remember that everything is happening due to Punk leaving. The shoot promo happened because he doesn't care, the paranoia of Vince is because of Punk's attitude, and Cena is reacting to everyone's feelings as well as acting on his own. But literally, it's all about Punk wanting to leave with the title. If you can't see that, I can't help you.

 

[Mercer the Ruthless]

I'm going to say no, this was not a missed opportunity, lets not forget WWE did this taping of RAW last week so it probably seem pretty weak no too mention this was sort of done to break the story and build hype going into next week's RAW. Next week's RAW is the final hoorah and we can get a better handle. I do however, think it could have been handled a little better but I'm thinking the Holiday might have been in the way and maybe even Cena's injury was in the way. I personally think it would have been brilliant for WWE to say that Cena is working injured, just to throw the extra question mark in for the "oh God is he going to win?" moment. Honesty can take you a long way in the business.

 

[XXJJ]

No. Vince comes out, says he suspends Punk for speaking out against the WWE universe. Cena comes out saying he's fuming that Punk insulted his fans and this Championship. Cena demands that McMahon reinstates Punk so he can teach him a lesson. Cena's losing it. He says that if McMahon doesn't give him a chance to rip his head off for insulting everything all these fans and himself stand for then he walks. McMahon gives him the match. Litte tweak, Punk's heel status is even bigger now because EVERYONE'S vocally against him. McMahon is out of the picture, this is about Cena defending the WWE's honor and Punk trying to tarnish it.

TNA doesn't tie people to posts with duct tape or have them lose after a kid poured water on their face. I see no midgets running around or people having arm wrestling contests. I doubt they have any models trained to be wrestlers, and I'm sure the roster isn't talentless.



Cena could take a shit in a black man's mouth wearing a KKK hood and get away with it.

I agree, thats why Cena is so corny. Punk cost Cena his match with R-Truth and then insulted him in his rant against the WWE. The next week Cena comes out defending Punk's "freedom of speech". He should be more angry at Punk.

They way they built it up Punk should be wrestling Vince at Money in the Bank, not Cena.

 

[avi01]

I agree, thats why Cena is so corny. Punk cost Cena his match with R-Truth and then insulted him in his rant against the WWE. The next week Cena comes out defending Punk's "freedom of speech". He should be more angry at Punk.

They way they built it up Punk should be wrestling Vince at Money in the Bank, not Cena.

exactly...cheesy character at its best. Worst thing is that I did actually saw it coming. No heat against the guy that cost him the match last week, no heat against the guy who called him as good of an ass kisser as Hogan. Nope, he is the big defender of his freedom of speech now..the show is focus on bringing Punk back, inadvertently painting him as some sort of hero...all leading to yet another rehash of the "cena you`re fired" stipulation with the guy already in next year`s wrestlemania main event, something pointed as an issue just last week by Punk. Whatever..it`s one thing to be a face but another thing to be a dull over the top 2d character.
Still this is still the feud of the year and that match will still be one of the most anticipated one of the year but I am not a fan of what they did on the last edition of Raw.