C.M. Punk Undervalued?

[hater]

Why is C.M. Punk so undervalued in WWE?

 

[Shua]

He's been an ECW Champ, World Champ, Tag Team Champ and IC Champ...as well as being a 2 time MITB winner. How is that undervaluing?

Nonetheless, I'll try and answer your question.

1) Look: Let's face it, his appearance doesn't exactly scream World Champion. He is not the typical "format", if you will, of a WWE wrestler. With the tattoos, piercings, and his lack of bulk, it's easy to see why WWE might be down on him.

2) Moveset: Again, not the traditional style that WWE is accustomed to. His muay thai martial arts, while effective, would probably serve him better in MMA.

3) Not "Homegrown": We all know WWE tends to push their own stars before already established ones (with notable exceptions). Punk already had a following from his Ring of Honour days which, more or less, is considered to be an Indy promotion. When was the last time WWE EVER did anything huge with a (former) Indy star?

But, then again, those are just my opinions.

 

[hater]

I know he was the first to hold IC, Tag, and World title in same calender year, but how many of those reigns were memorable? He didn't even make it into the scramble match to defend the title. I understand you have to have a certain look for Vince to push you. His moveset kind of reminds me of RVD (maybe not to a full extent). How many of the WWE fans actually know his accomplishments in ROH and the indies.

 

[Shua]

I never said any of his reigns were memorable. But, the fact is that he HAS held all those major titles.

I disagree with your assessment that Punk's moveset is similar to RVD's. Sure, maybe here and there (especially in the original Dub), but RVD was forced into the WWE mold, thus taking away most of the stuff that made him appealing.

I will admit to not even hearing about Punk before his WWE debut, but that doesn't mean I didn't look him up. Sure, most people probably won't do that.....but I bet that there is a sizable WWE audience that watched ROH before Punk made it to the "big leagues".

 

[Blade]

I see where you're coming from, but it's not really WWE undervaluing Punk, it's just the WWE trying to create more than 1 young star at 1 time.

Punk has been the most decorated midcarder in the last few years. WWE's strategy seems to be to throw titles on Punk willy nilly (love that phrase) and hope it'll make him over. They want him to be a star so badly. But they're trying not to sacrifice the credibility of other stars for it.
I assume this thread spawns from Punk Judgement Day loss? In that match Umaga simply needed the win more. It was Umaga's first match on PPV since he returned, they need to get Umaga back on track as a monster midcarder who could potentially turn into a monster main eventer. If they wanted to make Umaga lose at his PPV return, they may as well have just written "JOBBER" in premanent marker on his forhead.

Yes Punk lost at JD in his hometown. But if we're gonna see an Umaga/Punk rematch at Extreme Rules, which we probably will, we know Punk will win it. If Punk has shown anything in the last year, it's that the guy can bounce back like no one else before him. A losing streak, a heel cash-in, a bad world title reign, bad mid card title reigns, jobbing to Kane... After all that, the man is still one of the most over faces on Smackdown. And if they really undervalued him, he wouldn't have clean wins over Edge (with Edge as world champion, might I add) and Jericho.
Don't you worry about Punk, he'll get there eventually. No matter how fucked up the WWE makes the journey.

 

[hater]

I agree with the WWE machine trying to create stars and when they toned RVD down. I just get tired of seeing good wrestlers being underutilized (maybe that's a better word). He used to go for 60-90 minutes against Chris Hero and Colt Cabana in ROH and IWA: mid-south. I think Y2j could put him over the top. By the way, what happened to the Anaconda Vice?

 

[Black Snow]

People need to think about Punk realistically. He debuted in the summer of 2006. That means he's been on TV for just under three years. While neither were for sustained periods of time he was technically the centerpiece of both ECW and RAW for a while. By having MitB and being drafted that means he's most likely on tap to be the centerpiece of SD! sooner rather than later.

The growing concern with the WWE is too much too soon. Guys like Lashley and Lesnar have been pushed to the moon only to leave the company thanks to growing egos. Vince is very cautious about making anyone too big after they've only been around a short period of time. Heck, we're already hearing about how he's souring on Swagger.

I can understand the frustration though. It seems like Punk keeps getting handed the ball only for it to jerked away at the last possible second. He was over when he first started in ECW on a huge winning streak only to have it ended by Bob friggin' Holly and he was massively jobbed in the elimination chamber match. Then Morrison owns him for a while. He finally gets the title. His reign is going smoothly and suddenly he's Chavo's bitch.

Punk in unconventional. He's not the type of guy Vince is used to with tattoos relating to pop culture of the 80s, lip rings and a physique that isn't jacked. But I think Vince does see a future in him. Everyone in the WWE values a straight edge guy in an era where drugs are a huge issue. But Vince is still testing the waters. Despite the PPV losses to Kane and Umaga I really think Punk is going to breakout on SD!. It's the B show (according to Vince) so it can have unconventional champs like Rey and Khali. Punk will probably get the belt soon and from there Vince will be paying very close attention to fan response and the ratings. If Punk proves himself maybe in a couple more drafts he'll be back on RAW and still winning World titles.

 

[Lesnar_Fan2003]

I wouldn't say undervalued the man has accomplished alot more than most ROH brand made names would have accomplished in the WWE. Look at all of the things Punk has accomplished since making his debut back in 2006.

1.) ECW Champion: defeated John Morrison on the September 4,2007 edition of ECW on Sci-Fi to become the ECW champion.

2.) MITB Winner (2x): Won his first MITB match at Wrestlemania 24 and his second at Wrestlemania 25.

3.) World Heavyweight Champion: Cashed in his first MITB briefcase to win the title after Batista attacked Edge on June 30,2008.

4.) World Tag Team Championship: Teaming with Kofi Kingston the duo defeated Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. on the October 27,2008 edition of Raw to win the Tag Team titles.

5.) Intercontinental Championship: On the January 19,2009 edition of Raw Punk defeated William Regal to become the Intercontinental Champion.

Now with all of those accomplishments how could Punk be undervalued he's one of only 19 men to ever win the Triple Crown Award in the WWE and the fact that he got his start in ROH makes it even more impressive. Vince tends to frown upon using stars he didn't build up himself.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

1.) ECW Champion: defeated John Morrison on the September 4,2007 edition of ECW on Sci-Fi to become the ECW champion.

He only won this Championship after Morrison was apart of the massive list of Superstars accused and found out to have been using steroid substance. It decreases the value of his reign, since for months leading to this moment he couldn't defeat Morrison in several matches prior.

2.) MITB Winner (2x): Won his first MITB match at Wrestlemania 24 and his second at Wrestlemania 25.

Once again, his first MITB victory came off a fluke when Jeff Hardy, the predicted winner, failed a drug test and was suspended. They had to place the case on someone - and figured to continue pushing Punk. He wasn't the first option to win, though, which decreases his value in winning the first time.

I'll give him his second as being highly valued, but it's unknown how it'll turn out - as to whether or not it'll mean anything, or nothing at all.

3.) World Heavyweight Champion: Cashed in his first MITB briefcase to win the title after Batista attacked Edge on June 30,2008.

And this reign has been highly recognized as one of the biggest flukes in Wrestling history. Outside of J.B.L, Punk couldn't seem to defeat any Heavyweights and just looked awkward and out of place.

4.) World Tag Team Championship: Teaming with Kofi Kingston the duo defeated Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. on the October 27,2008 edition of Raw to win the Tag Team titles.

How long did this reign even last before they lost to Morrison & Miz? A week? A month? Surely not beyond a month. It's just as forgettable as house show title changes.

5.) Intercontinental Championship: On the January 19,2009 edition of Raw Punk defeated William Regal to become the Intercontinental Champion.

This was the reign I had high hopes on Punk finally accomplishing something, then they put him in the MITB match - only to have him drop the title to the only Heavyweight he knew how to defeat - J.B.L. Horrible move.

Now with all of those accomplishments how could Punk be undervalued he's one of only 19 men to ever win the Triple Crown Award in the WWE and the fact that he got his start in ROH makes it even more impressive. Vince tends to frown upon using stars he didn't build up himself.

You do realize most talent starts in either R.O.H, or O.V.W - with O.V.W being out of business (I think) that leaves only R.O.H and other small unknown promotions from California, and various other States.

Punk is NOT undervalued, but he is over-used in a negative way. All those Championships should make Punk's career mean something meaningful - not tarnish each title more, and hurt Punk's career worse. But the latter is what's happening.

When you win one title, then drop it in a short period of time - it's understandable that it can happen. When you drop every single belt you win, within a month or two after gaining it, if not sooner - you're considered a fluke Champion all the way around.

Fuck, currently they're making Edge look like a fluke Heavyweight Champion all because they're playing "catch-up" to seemingly build-up a Championship match between Edge & Triple H, with each man being tied with 16 reigns. However that's another subject for another topic.

Punk has talent - I didn't like his entire run of 2008, but I WANT to believe he can be the future. In order for this to happen, they need to start using him properly by way of making him win credible (Pay per view) matches. Outside of Wrestlemania, has he even won at any Pay per view this year? NO.

 

[Razor]

Punk undervalued? With his title reigns? He's had more success than most wrestlers have had in their lifetime. That's even more impressive when you look at him and realize he's been here for 3 years. Matt Hardy has been here for how long? And he's only really been a Tag Team Champion and ECW Champion, plus a US Title reign.

Though, I suppose you would mean he's undervalued in the way he's being booked. And for that, I couldn't tell you. They're making him more of a fluke champion than fucking Rey Mysterio, and Mysterio's booked as the dude who probably won't win, because he's always the underdog. It may be that they put the title on him but realized he couldn't pull it off. I dunno. I don't really like him, but he doesn't deserve this string of horrible title reigns.

 

[Collier1505]

I agree with most of the guys. His title reighns were anything but good. He got all of them either because

A) someone was getting suspended
B) KEPT IT FOR A MONTH

I'll give him this. He did get a major title and defended it somewhat well. Also won the MITB twice (only person to do that too)

So I would guess that he has been doing pretty well plus might gain whc tthis year from extreme rules if he cashes it in ( right after ladder match....)

What do you guys think?