What If CM Punk Had Actually Left?

[Mr. HD]

Back in June, CM Punk had defeated John Cena on RAW clean, Rey Mysterio at Capitol Punishment and won a #1 Contenders match on RAW beating both Del Rio and Mysterio all within one week. It was on this night that CM Punk said that his contract expired on July 17 and that he would leave with the WWE Championship.

This led to the heralded shoot promo Punk cut on the June 27th episode of RAW.

This promo was talked about around wrestling boards and even on ESPN. This led to a character change for Punk turning him into the shoot style talker, voice of the voiceless, and engaging in feuds with John Cena, Triple H, Alberto Del Rio, and now Chris Jericho. He is no doubt one of the best characters in the WWE right now and the product has been very watchable since then IMO.

After doing some research, Punk's status with the WWE wasn't very clear then. He said he wanted to take a leave of absence to rest his body and there was mention of the lack of a push he was getting before all this.

My questions are this:

What would've happened if CM Punk actually did leave?

What if Mr. McMahon had no interest in re-signing Punk to a lucrative contract?

How different would WWE be?

Would it have been as entertaining?

It's hard to say for me what would've happened if he left because his contract storyline led to a great Summer rivalry and interesting months after that. His character was exceptionally entertaining and it really begs these questions. I would like to get everyone's take on this.

Explain and Discuss.

 

[Mark Gallows]

Just remember son, it's all a work. Punk was never, ever leaving, he'd maybe considered it but by the time his contract came up for renewal he would've had atleast a handshake deal with Vince. Think about it, would Vince McMahon let one of his "talent" walk out on Raw, a notoriously overproduced show, like "natalya dosen't fart till we tell her" overproduced, and cut a long, unscripted promo bashing the company? Forget about it. I've no doubt Vince told him to "shoot on" the product but VKM isn't Vince Russo, 99% of the time he's got a long term plan, and the "shoot promo" was all just part of the plan to sell MITB. So yeah, no theoreticals, no what if's, Punk was never leaving, if he was they wouldn't have put him over, remember when Lita left and they had someone auctioning off her panties on Raw?

IMO, had he left it wouldn't have made a blind bit of difference to the product, he just wouldn't have been put over on his way out. CM Punk is a really niche wrestler, he's still not that over with the mainstream audience. The IWC love him but until recently most people (casual fans) didn't know or care who CM Punk was, if he'd left Vince would've dusted off his hands and picked someone else to have a summer run.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

Just remember son, it's all a work. Punk was never, ever leaving, he'd maybe considered it but by the time his contract came up for renewal he would've had atleast a handshake deal with Vince. Think about it, would Vince McMahon let one of his "talent" walk out on Raw, a notoriously overproduced show, like "natalya dosen't fart till we tell her" overproduced, and cut a long, unscripted promo bashing the company? Forget about it. I've no doubt Vince told him to "shoot on" the product but VKM isn't Vince Russo, 99% of the time he's got a long term plan, and the "shoot promo" was all just part of the plan to sell MITB. So yeah, no theoreticals, no what if's, Punk was never leaving, if he was they wouldn't have put him over, remember when Lita left and they had someone auctioning off her panties on Raw?

IMO, had he left it wouldn't have made a blind bit of difference to the product, he just wouldn't have been put over on his way out. CM Punk is a really niche wrestler, he's still not that over with the mainstream audience. The IWC love him but until recently most people (casual fans) didn't know or care who CM Punk was, if he'd left Vince would've dusted off his hands and picked someone else to have a summer run.

It's pretty well documented that Punk didn't sign another contract until the day of Money in the Bank. As far as his shoot, they told him to go out and air his grievances.

As far as Punk not being "over with the mainstream audience" are you high? He's outselling everyone (including Cena) in merchandise, and up until Daniel Bryan's recent surge of popularity, his cheers were louder than anyone's. You can even compare Survivor Series numbers with TLC's... CM Punk is outdrawing Cena.

CM Punk seems like he shot some new life into Cena, Vince, and even Triple H, so I think the WWE would be a VERY different place if Punk elected not to re-sign

 

[PlayTheGame]

Hmm, interesting question. If CM Punk had left WWE, who knows if Chris Jericho would have signed back on to return? He made it pretty well known that he wanted to work with CM Punk, so I would say that enticed him to come back. He may have come back regardless, but Punk's presence certainly helped draw Jericho back. Jericho, at the time, was similar to a free agent, and he saw an enticing "player" that he wanted to be on the same team as, so he signed on. Who can really know if would have chose to come back unless he had planned on having a feud leading into Wrestlemania with CM Punk? So besides the obvious success that Punk's brought the WWE by staying, I think he played a huge role in landing Jericho.

 

[ProWrestlingFan84]

Hmm I've been thinking about this question for a couple minutes now. I have personally loved CM Punk ever since he came to WWECW. I didn't know him from his ROH/TNA days but the minute I saw him in WWE, I just loved his style and the old KsE music and have loved everything he's done since. Now if he actually plain left, there probably would be a few things that would've changed. First is no pipe bomb epic shoot promo that everyone will remember for the next couple years. I hate to think Punk getting buried but if he actually left, he probably would have. That whole summer last year would have played out differently. There wouldn't have been any memorable matches with Cena. I can't help but think Cena would be WWE Champion. The match that just happened at Mania 28 probably would've been for the title and therefore either Cena would've beaten the Rock or Rock would be champion. Finally as a previous poster pointed out, Chris Jericho might not have come back. I still think his whole re-introduction was just too out of left field to be good. The feud is picking up good steam now though so the good matches with Punk and Jericho wouldn't have happened.

 

[Headman]

Punk stopped being interesting the night after Summer Slam. I don't think his leaving would have made a huge impact on the over all landscape of the WWE. The summer of punk (WWE's version) was a hell of a ride, but the pay off has left me very unsatisfied.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Well if he was ever actually leaving none of it would have even started. It was all a work, I mean, his promo was done on a night when they taped the next weeks show and they had a script written up for the reaction conveniently.

Punk helped out the other guys. Cena has pretty much been carrying the show forever now. Punk put a new wrinkle in Cena's character and helped carry the show and added another dimension that he continues to add. It's great.

It might have been as interesting, probably not because it was a real unique situation.

 

[MCMG]

If he did actually leave I don't think it would be as drastic as everyone would presume. Yes the WWE would have been less entertaining but there is no doubt that someone could have stepped up and been WWE champion. There is certainly enough talent.

No one man is bigger than the WWE. One persons departure would never ever cause the WWE going into turmoil or become any less of a credible product.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

It's pretty well documented that Punk didn't sign another contract until the day of Money in the Bank. As far as his shoot, they told him to go out and air his grievances.

As far as Punk not being "over with the mainstream audience" are you high? He's outselling everyone (including Cena) in merchandise, and up until Daniel Bryan's recent surge of popularity, his cheers were louder than anyone's. You can even compare Survivor Series numbers with TLC's... CM Punk is outdrawing Cena.

CM Punk seems like he shot some new life into Cena, Vince, and even Triple H, so I think the WWE would be a VERY different place if Punk elected not to re-sign

Nope, Punk had already signed the contract it was all a storyline.

Remember the day of the CM Punk shoot,WWE taped 2 episodes on the same night. The next week's script was already witten for the next week's show which was being taped on the same night.

CM Punk wasn't going to leave. It was all a work (Storyline).

 

[Uncle Sam]

You know that episode where Mr. Burns is on ether and thinks Homer is Poppin' Fresh? Well, Vince McMahon would have to have his own ether sauna for him to have handed CM Punk a main event for the WWE Championship in his hometown against John Cena on pay-per-view without having first re-signed CM Punk to a WWE contract. That, or Punk waited until Vince was at the point of orgasm to pitch him the idea. That'll make you do crazy things.

The problem was that Punk was signed to a contract, WWE could have had a great storyline where he runs off with the belt without having to fear him turning up somewhere else and becoming Hulk Hogan's pose down apprentice, and yet they still couldn't spin anything drastically interesting out of it. At Money in the Bank - my goodness, Punk cannot leave with the historic WWE Championship, the world as we know it will end! Raw the next night - oh, never mind, it's just a belt, guess we'll just have a tournament with, like, eight dudes in it; no biggy. I guess that was when McMahon managed to escape the call of his ether chamber. WWE itself did a Matt Morgan - just when it looked like it was in real trouble, actually, no, it'll be alright. We were promised one thing and given another. We had a hot woman in our bedroom only for her to call her boyfriend to come pick her up.

 

[Mark Gallows]

It's pretty well documented that Punk didn't sign another contract until the day of Money in the Bank. As far as his shoot, they told him to go out and air his grievances.

As far as Punk not being "over with the mainstream audience" are you high? He's outselling everyone (including Cena) in merchandise, and up until Daniel Bryan's recent surge of popularity, his cheers were louder than anyone's. You can even compare Survivor Series numbers with TLC's... CM Punk is outdrawing Cena.

CM Punk seems like he shot some new life into Cena, Vince, and even Triple H, so I think the WWE would be a VERY different place if Punk elected not to re-sign

High? No. You a dipshit? Oh he's out-selling Cena on merch, who buys merch? The hardcore fans, and 26 year old dorks like you, bet you've got the whole set, "best in the world" 'n' all that shit. Most casual fans wouldn't be caught dead wearing a "wrestling shirt". Oh he get's cheerd, I'll pinch one off in my undies in celebration, wake the fuck up, Cena and Punk headline SummerSlam it does RECORD LOW BUYRATES for the event. Want proof CM Punk isn't over with the mainstream? He can be on a show, he can be off a show, the ratings do not change, Rock turns up and they go through the roof, see the difference? One's a legit superstar, the other is a mediocre indy darling who's done nothing in his career yet has a MASSIVE ego due to internet marks like you tongue fucking his brown eye day in, day out. Wake up.

I can't belive you honestly don't get it was a work, I know in your twisted little mind he's "the voice of the voiceless" but just remember kid, he's paid talent, it's all scripted and IT'S ALL A WORK...but hey, don't take my word for it there's like, 8 or so posts after my first saying the same thing.

Dipshit.

 

[Mustang Sally]

He said he wanted to take a leave of absence to rest his body and there was mention of the lack of a push he was getting before all this.

That's both the beauty and the frustration of watching WWE. We've read hundreds of opinions on this board about Punk's odyssey last Summer, with many forum members "knowing for a fact" that one thing or another is true. But no one really does. You can't go by what Punk was saying then and since; he's a character playing a role and when you consider all the garbage statements we hear from celebrities, there's no reason to trust anything they say. (ex. Matt Bloom: "I have not signed a contract to return to WWE.")

Yes, there might have been elements of truth in some of what Punk was saying. For one thing, I bought the notion of his taking time off between contracts to rest his body after putting it through years of torture. Therefore, I was surprised when he took only one week off after beating Cena and leaving with the title. I figured a month or so of vacation was something he could have had since it played so well into the storyline. We could have spent the Summer wondering whether he had really left, only to be shocked at Summerslam when he showed up again.

Today, I wonder what Phil Brooks himself thought was going to happen, and whether he's happy or disappointed in the way things turned out. We're not hearing any more of those cross-legged speeches in the center of the ring, are we? We're not listening to his "voice of the voiceless" rants anymore, right?

What would have happened if he left? Well, I say he would have regretted it more than WWE. Right now, he's surely an asset to the company, making some nice bucks and living as the champion. Had he left, he would either be screaming at Eric Bischoff in TNA, frustrated that they aren't using him to full advantage.....or he would have been trying to do his act in front of 400 people in local high school gyms in West Virginia. Or, there's Japan, I suppose.

I love reading the stuff some of you guys write with such absolute assurance on this forum. But, in fact, we don't know if he really lives a straight-edge life, we don't know if he was serious about leaving WWE.....and mostly, we don't know that WWE isn't going to piss him off in the future if they don't utilize him the way he wants to be utilized.

Stay tuned.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I have to agree with those that've said that Punk's leaving wouldn't have been that big of a deal. If Punk truly was seriously intent on leaving, then I don't believe the entire contract storyline and certainly Punk's famous "shoot" promo would have ever come to pass. The WWE would have been losing a great talent and we know that now.

Many of us, including me, have always believed that Punk had it in him to truly be a main event & big money player for WWE on a regular basis. However, it wasn't really until the "shoot" promo, contract storyline, feud with John Cena & their match at MITB that truly silenced any doubt as to whether Punk had "It". We'd seen him in promising feuds & situations before in which he gave us the impression or idea that he belonged in the main event, but this whole program is what sealed the deal.

If Punk had left without any of this happening, I think Punk would have eventually wound up in TNA and spent most of his time in the X Division. I think Punk would have then taken to Twitter or done interviews with whomever in which he'd have blasted WWE like a lot of former WWE wrestlers do. Punk himself would have probably been written off by a lot of fans as someone as just another bitter mid-carder who'd gotten his shots but didn't have the stuff to move to the next level. Fortunately we know that's not true now, but I'm not at all certain we would have without his program this past summer.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

High? No. You a dipshit? Oh he's out-selling Cena on merch, who buys merch? The hardcore fans, and 26 year old dorks like you, bet you've got the whole set, "best in the world" 'n' all that shit. Most casual fans wouldn't be caught dead wearing a "wrestling shirt". Oh he get's cheerd, I'll pinch one off in my undies in celebration, wake the fuck up, Cena and Punk headline SummerSlam it does RECORD LOW BUYRATES for the event. Want proof CM Punk isn't over with the mainstream? He can be on a show, he can be off a show, the ratings do not change, Rock turns up and they go through the roof, see the difference? One's a legit superstar, the other is a mediocre indy darling who's done nothing in his career yet has a MASSIVE ego due to internet marks like you tongue fucking his brown eye day in, day out. Wake up.

I can't belive you honestly don't get it was a work, I know in your twisted little mind he's "the voice of the voiceless" but just remember kid, he's paid talent, it's all scripted and IT'S ALL A WORK...but hey, don't take my word for it there's like, 8 or so posts after my first saying the same thing.

Dipshit.

You're right, I suppose him making massive amounts of money for the company through merchandise sales doesn't mean anything (sarcasm)

And crowd reaction doesn't mean anything either? Well then you can tell all these guys like Rock, Austin, Taker, Cena, and Triple H who have been trying for years to connect with the audience that they've wasted their time.

Looking for week to week ratings boosts (especially in the summer) is one of the most short-sighted ways of doing business. And sure, Summerslam 2011 was low (not the lowest) think that could have anything to do with the main event being set like six days before the event? How about Survivor Series 2011, The Rock and Cena actually DID bring in the lowest numbers for a Survivor Series PPV. What about TLC? The traditionally lowest performing PPV of year bringing in solid numbers with Punk headlining and Cena not even on the card.

I'm not saying it wasn't work, I never said that. I just said he didn't sign the contract until the day of the event (beforehand of course)

And Rock hasn't been setting the ratings on fire either... he gave them small boosts at first, and almost nothing after.

 

[RiseAboveIt]

Yurnewhero is right about Rock not getting the WWE massive ratings. Even before Dwayne came 'home' the numbers were pretty much the same.
And also about Punk signing on the day of Money In The Bank , Punk himself has said that many times in various radio/youtube interviews. And as far as the shoot/work aguement goes I have read plenty of times that Punk was told to go out and speak his mind and when he said too much then the mic was going to be cut.

 

[Dagger Dias]

The pipebomb obviously would have never happened. Cena would have retained at Money In the Bank, and Punk would have left. Cena's next feud for Summerslam would have been against Del Rio who still would have won the red briefcase. After retaining in the main event of Summerslam, Nash still text messages himself to go attack the champion (good grief, what a stupid storyline that was) which leads to Alberto cashing in the red briefcase that same night to walk out WWE Champion.

The following months would have been Cena feuding with Alberto. Cena eventually dethrones Alberto while Trips and Nash still go through their awful angle. Kane still comes back masked but his embrace the hate story becomes a championship feud, Cena loses the belt at Elimination Chamber to Jericho who would need a new challenger for Wrestlemania. That's where it gets difficult to predict how things would have gone.

Things would be very different. WWE would be searching like crazy for a secondary face behind Cena. Sheamus is a potential, but it's tough to tell how things would exactly have played out. Punk has had the longest WWE Championship reign in almost 4 years, so several things would have changed. Johnny might have been feuding with Cena the entire time he was an authority figure, there really isn't anyone else who could have given him a hard time during the timeframe that Punk has. Maybe Sheamus, but that's a big maybe.

I have enjoyed Punk's WWE Championship reign and all of the pipebomb promos along the way. It is pretty safe to say things would be rather different and that it would have been less entertaining. WWE made the right choice last year due to the fact that we would all have missed out on Punk's run at the top this year.

 

[MCMG]

IF punk was going to left than i can't see it being detrimental for the WWE. They would cope without him. At the time punk wasn't big enough to really harm the WWE if he had left.

What would've happened if CM Punk actually did leave? .

Nothing. Someone else would have taken his place in the main event.

Would it have been as entertaining?

No. As it stands i would say that Punk is the most entertaining man in the WWE, so if he had left then the product would have been worse in recent months but again if he did leave i'm sure the gap would have been plugged and his absence wouldn't have been seen with such sorrow.

 

[The_Main_Event]

I don't care if it was all a work, or parts shoot at the end of the day up until MITB it was told perfectly. Now this is where it gets complicated

They brought him back so quick that I do honestly feel that some people thought "Hey I thought this guy was leaving" I know he would've been back at some point BUT because the whole realism of the storyline they brought him back way too quick, so I think that is why over time he hasn't had as much freedom on the mic. Because people aren't as interested now (low ratings whilst he's on the screen)

The whole Punk/Nash/HHH fiasco could've been avoided if he hadn't been brought back so quick and had actually planned, another thing that I think didn't help his cause, was the fact during the HHH/Punk promos was that because HHH is a "Legend" people couldn't boo him.

By this time it was as if they knew they had brought him back too quick and stuck him in the middle of the whole Miz/Truth/HHH situation which puzzled me HHH and Punk went from "hating" each other to helping each other out all with in what a month?

Survivor Series - Rumble time I think Punk did reasonably well in his character, he showed aggression towards ADR, wit with both Miz/ADR and stuck it to JL.

But by this point people weren't as interested because all his momentum he had in the summer had evaporated hence low ratings now when he's on TV. He played 3rd fiddle to Taker/HHH and Rock/Cena during the WM build-up and since played 2nd filddle to Cena/Lesnar and now Cena/JL/Show

Just my opinion feel free to shoot me down.