CM Punk's role when he returns.

[I am Mr. Excitement]

There is a CM Punk time off thread in the WrestleZone forums but this has nothing to do with him taking time off this this is specifically about what his role will be when he returns. Will he be a heel? Will he be a face? Will he be a tweener? Who will he fued with? etc. Now me personally I think he returns as a tweener, people will be cheering the hell of out him and people will be booing him. I do honestly believe WWE has something up there sleeve for when Punk returns. What is up there sleeve? You never know. If I were WWE I would go with these routes. Have CM Punk come back and basically give him a live mic on the RAW he returns to or the next RAW. He could become the tweener that he was in 2011 and basically dropping "pipe bombs" left and right possibly feuding with HHH or even Vince McMahon himself or both HHH/Vince. Someone in upper management to feud with Punk would make WWE TV entertaining and bring back the "real life" feeling to the storyline. Another option I would go with would have him come back and feud against Lesnar as a face come, a feud I might add that has been a long time coming. The feud writes itself because there both "Paul Heyman Guys". This feud would be gold, witnessing Heyman vs Punk in multiple verbal battles is for sure is must watch WWE TV. My other option would have him return as a heel and join Heyman and Lesnar. Supposedly, WWE wants Punk back by the PPV WWE Payback in June, the PPV is being held in Rosemont, IL not to far from Punk's home town of Chicago. Now if i'm not mistaken there was an old Payback PPV poster with BROCK LESNAR on the cover but now it's Randy Orton. But, if Brock does have a match at the PPV i'm pretty sure it will be against HHH again this would be a good time for Punk to return at the PPV, screw HHH and join Heyman/Lesnar. Thus setting up HHH to return to WWE by SummerSlam with a partner (would be a good time to bring back Batista if he wanted to set up a Lesnar/Batista feud). Or whoever HHH's partner may be it will still be a good angle between Lesnar, Punk and Heyman.

Anyways, those are my predictions, what are yours? Face? Heel? Tweener? Feud? Discuss, comments, etc..

 

[crazy_lou]

I definitely want to see him involved with Lesnar in some sort of meaningful capacity. I'd love to see their opposing styles in the ring, but I honestly don't think Brock would ever sell for Punk. Cena, yes, the son in law, yes, Rocky, Taker, even Dave Battista, yes yes and yes. But Punk? I'm sorry but I don't think Brock's ego would let him undergo something as unbelievable an implausible than CM Punk beating Brock Lesnar clean. And I say this as a CM Punk fan.

So I think possibly a tag angle at summerslam and ride out this CM Punk tweener heel thing because and dubyadubyayy won't wanna rock the boat because to be honest, their happy with a 3 Nielsen rating.

But I think the eventually angle is a..... gulp.

and i hope against hope.

Punk V Austin at WM30.

SSCA

 

[Redemption-2012]

When it comes to CM Punk, I think he's at his best when feuding with John Cena. I would actually like to see him return to a feud with Cena and maybe they both have a match at NOC.

 

[cawsnallthis]

But seriously folks. I think it's a no brainer that he will come back into a program with Cena. After all, he has to prove he is the Best in the World and that means regaining the WWE Championship. I'd be shocked if they went any other way

 

[Desyar]

With Ryback turning heel I think it's expected that he will return as a face and have a feud with the Shield or Brock.

I'm getting bored of the Shield taking on the same opponents every week (Kane, Daniel) same for the Lesnar and HHH feud.. Punk might be our answer.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

Whenever he comes back he's going to get a crazy ovation. If they are planning on making him heel again, than there going to have to think up something real good to get the crowd against him. I suspect that upon his return he instantly gets paired up with Cena for the title. I'm not sure how much longer the Cena/Ryback fued has (especially if/when Cena beats Ryback at Extreme Rules) and once Cena moves past Ryback there isin't much else out there for him except for Brock but who knows when Brock will be around for the fued.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

When Punk returns, I think he'll be more along the lines of a tweener, similar to what we saw in 2011, possibly a little closer to a straight babyface but not as much as he was during the first half of his WWE Championship run. Punk came out on Raw and his mannerisms, the tone of his voice & facial expressions told the story of a man who seemed to have been humbled. The cocky swagger & smirk was gone, there were no proclamations of being the best in the world, no declarations that he's God inside a wrestling ring, etc. All that suggests that Punk either won't be the same sort of heel when he returns or that he won't be a heel at all.

As to what WWE will do with him, I'd personally like to see Punk have a rematch at SummerSlam against The Undertaker. Latest word is that WWE would like Taker to work SummerSlam if he's up to it. That being said, however, Taker might most likely go into some sort of situation involving The Shield.

As to where that leaves Punk, I could easily see him back in the WWE Championship picture, or possibly even the World Heavyweight Championship picture. Punk as WHC wouldn't bother me at all if he was treated & booked as an equal to the WWE Champion. Punk was given the ball by WWE and was obviously able to run with it, otherwise he wouldn't have been WWE Champion for almost 15 months. So I see him as part of some kind of main event program when he returns.

 

[Mustang Sally]

How long a performer's gone is always a factor affecting heel-face status, because when a guy's been away for a long period of time, the fans are happy to see him again and you couldn't make them jeer if he attacked his opponents with an ax. I'm reminded of Triple H returning after a very long absence: when he left, he was the Cerebral Assassin; a mega-heel. Still, fans were so glad to have him back that he became an instant face, at least for a while.

Same with Punk. Even as the company was trying to turn him heel after the Summer of Punk, the fans were cheering him, remember? He was performing dastardly deeds, but still getting the crowd's approval. It took time to turn him bad, and he did it with his mouth as well as his actions in the ring.

So, they'll be cheering him when he first returns, and he'll be accepting the accolades. Then, he'll take a turn to the evil side once again.....because that's what he likes, and he apparently has the greatly desired "creative control" of his character that sets him apart from ordinary mortal men.

 

[Aquaman6686]

I'd want to see Punk come back as a face, feud with Brock Lesnar and beat him, then pursue the World Heavyweight Championship. The title needs to be returned to the top of the mountain where it belongs, and having Punk chase it is a perfect way to do so.

 

[#IndyRules]

CM Punk will come back as a heel, that's what he want's and enjoys the most. His best period of time was definently as a tweener and the pop he got was the best since Austin/Rock in the late 90's and WWE know this but with Punk having the final say on what he says and the path he takes he will most likely come back as a heel.

Personally i want him to come back as a babyface like Austin was in the late 90's. Now i am in no way comparing Austin and Punk but it is easy to make comparisons between the two. Punk has the attitude that Austin had and IMO a better in-ring prowess than Austin but ultimately Punk's character is going to lead to a feud with SCSA, well that's what the fans want and i think if Punk and Austin had his way he would have its so also.

When he comes back he will definently working a feud with Cena and if not he will be working some sort of program with Lesnar and Heyman whether thats with Evolution which people seem to be going on about or some other thing program with Lesnar and Heyman.

As far as i am concerned as long as we get Punk back i couldn't care less.

 

[Alexrovers]

I want to CM Punk back as champion. I know I may be in the minority but I would have been happy if he was still champion and the reign broke all sorts of records. He was a good champion and good at making people hate them

 

[Leveller]

I think Punk should return in his hometown and be welcomed back with a huge Face run. Give him a feud with Ziggler over the WHC. The WHC has lost basically all credibility. Give it to Punk and give him a huge feud with Ziggler. Like Im meaning Rock VS Austin style feud. Have Ziggler hunt the title, have him do anything to retain it even go a bit crazy. Hell you could use that to split AJ away from him. Have her be the one who says "youve lost it". Dolph could snap.

Basically what Im saying is now use Punk to get stars made and Smackdown back to a decent show. With Cena on Raw Punk will never be number one unless he is 100% heel.

 

[FarFromFine]

I think Punk should return in his hometown and be welcomed back with a huge Face run. Give him a feud with Ziggler over the WHC. The WHC has lost basically all credibility. Give it to Punk and give him a huge feud with Ziggler. Like Im meaning Rock VS Austin style feud. Have Ziggler hunt the title, have him do anything to retain it even go a bit crazy. Hell you could use that to split AJ away from him. Have her be the one who says "youve lost it". Dolph could snap.

Basically what Im saying is now use Punk to get stars made and Smackdown back to a decent show. With Cena on Raw Punk will never be number one unless he is 100% heel.

Came to post basically the same thing.

He could come back as a tweener and feud with Ziggler who is basically a tweener himself right now.

He should come back with the angle that the WHC is a joke and so is Ziggler and that he's going to bring credibility back to the title just like he did with the WWE title. I enjoy when he uses his knowledge of wrestling history so he could mention the great names that held that title 20+ years ago and then mention the joke it became for a while. (Personally, I feel like it is beginning to get better. Other than the time that Show or Del Rio held the title I think it's been solid back to Mark Henry's reign at the beginning of the Hall of Pain).

We know Ziggler and Punk can put on some fantastic matches (Royal Rumble 2012 was good even though Zigs wasn't as credible of a threat as he is now) so the work would be top notch and obviously Punk is gold on the mic and Ziggler is continuously improving in that aspect.

Punk has been in the WWE Title picture for the better part of 2 years now so it's time for him to move on to something else. The only other thing that I would say makes sense is if he comes back at Payback and helps Lesnar beat HHH and he gets his own "payback" on HHH and he begins a feud with him. WWE may choose this direction but the Ziggler scenario is infinitely better.

 

[LODemolition]

Even though they need him back sooner, I'd like to see him put off his in-ring return til SummerSlam. I think he's going to come back as a face. Whether he turns on his own or they use Heyman to betray him, I think they have to turn him face with Ryback going heel and The Rock gone again.

I like the idea of him feuding with Lesnar. I wish Lesnar were full-time so it could be for the title, but the match sells regardless.

I think Dolph should feud with Daniel Bryan throughout the summer. If he retains, then maybe you have him start up something with Punk. It makes sense as they've had good chemistry in the past plus you have the backstory of Punk and AJ to add a bit of drama to it.

 

[nWo2]

Punk should honestly do a run-in and attack ANYONE to reveal he's part of The Shield.

I don't want to see Punk vs. Cena for a year and everyone else he's defended the title against already last year that I dont want to see including The Miz, Daniel Bryan, Kane, The Rock, Del Rio, etc...

I want PUNK back NOW... If you wont make him a HEEL on RAW with The Shield, Heyman & Lesnar as the BEST stable EVER then put him on Smackdown as a tweener and he'll raise them up from a B show.

 

[InstantAttitude]

Have him return as a Babyface, then engage in a feud with Lesnar and Heyman and have a match at SummerSlam 2013. Or hold off on that for a WM like say 31? (As Rock/Brock 2 at WM 30 is already locked in) But as for his return either a feud with Lesnar or have him return as a face to elevate lower tire talent like (Sandow, Rhodes, Cesaro, Shield and ETC) or return to SmackDown and challenge for the World Title and face guys like Ziggler, Swagger, Barrett and so on. The possibilities are endless. Hopefully when he does return WWE doesn't screw it up.

 

[EastCoastFan]

Everything I'd heard was that the reason Punk turned heel again was because he realized that as a face, he'd always be #2 to John Cena. Because of that, I think that when he returns, he will continue to be a heel. He'll get a certain amount of cheers as he always does, but he'll still have a heel persona.

I know there's a lot of talk that WWE wants Punk to return for Payback in June, while others say he needs more time to heal. Here's a thought: have him make a one-shot appearance at Payback, then go back to his vacation. He can come out and cut a promo then later interfere in one of the matches, planting the seed for his return feud down the road. In the meantime, Paul Heyman can act as his mouthpiece, much like he does for Brock Lesnar.

 

[tom9422]

He's not going to be the mega-heel he was when he left. Maybe a tweener.

I can see him feuding with Cena again, but not being as antagonistic before. Perhaps a falling out with Paul Heyman, a Lesnar feud and match would be incredible, even though he doesn't want it. For Wrestlemania 30, i'd like to see Punk vs. Austin, or Punk vs. Cena in a WWE/WHC unification match. Either of them would a landmark main event, the first for the mere spectacle of it or the second because its probably the biggest feud of this generation.

 

[MCMG]

Heel is the only option for Punk. That is where he is at the best. I'd fully expect a massive return as he held the belt for 400 days and faced Taker at Mania - the WWE obviously like him.

There are different options: him being leader of the Shield, facing Taker at SumerSlam/Survior Series and going for the WWE championship. To be honest, all three are possible but I think Punk returns and goes continues the program with Taker.

Punk lost to him at Mania; The Shield injured him; Punk and The Shield have history. It seems to fit very well and the WWE will go down that road. I'm sure it will be entertaining but I am unsure if the Shield actually need Punk, indeed, he may steal some of the spotlight. Saying that Rollins/Reigns could be the tag-champs, Ambrose could be the US champion leaving the WWE championship for Punk to walk in and recapture.

 

[cawsnallthis]

I'd want to see Punk come back as a face, feud with Brock Lesnar and beat him, then pursue the World Heavyweight Championship. The title needs to be returned to the top of the mountain where it belongs, and having Punk chase it is a perfect way to do so.

The World Heavyweight Championship will never, ever, ever be the top of the mountain. It will always be booked below the WWE belt, because Vince still sees it as a WCW creation. That's why the design hasn't changed. It's his daily reminder that he crushed the competition and bought it, lock, stock, and barrel. His own belt has changed a ton of times, but that one remains the same one Ric Flair made famous and there is a reason for it.