CM Punk, better as a face or heel?

[future admin]

^I kind of hate that though. Heels always have to cheat.

That's why I really enjoyed his heel match with Jeff Hardy at Summerslam 2009. He didn't win by cheating. He won by skill. He should be a heel who wins by literally defeating his opponents. I would love to see him beat Rey by using the Anaconda Vise.

Exactly, Cheating=heat, heat=doing your job.
I think he is a great heel, one of the best right now. He is doing much beter now as a face (where he was bland and boring). He was alot worse on the mic then he is now, he is the leader of a future power stable, and he is in the middle of a great feud with another great wrestler.
Back to your Question, Punk is definitely better as a heel then a face.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Punk is one of the best heels to hit the E in the last 5 years I think
His gimmick is just perfect for him and I don't think they should change it in any way just because he's getting more pops than faces at times.

He's done good for a guy who got buried coz he mouthed off to Taker. Backstage politics can't keep this guy down and I think he should be headlining the next WM for the WH Championship


-----------------------------------------
JBL's NEXT VENTURE (after his successful run in the WWE showers)

 

[MWRedskins]

This is VERY easy, CM Punk is WAY better as a heel. As a face, Punk was all right, he could wrestle (something that wont ever be taken away) and he got good pops, BUT his mic work (which he's known for) was either not used right or not used at all. His stright edge promos as a face were, he had no addictions besides competition, but no one seemed to care, but his stright edge promos as a heel come off as VERY preachy (which gets BIG Heat). Punk's promos are WAY better as a heel and in my book is top 3 in WWE behind only Jericho and him and Miz are in a battle or whose number 2. Jericho, Punk and Miz are gold on the mic. Punk knows how to anger the fans, my favorite ALL time promo in WWE was the one where he threw cigarettes, prescription medication and alcohol in the trash can.
moveset is better in the ring.
i think his moveset hasnt changed much, he's just more known because of his heel status, my ONLY and i do mean ONLY problem with Punk as a heel was his match with John Cena where he lost in 3 minutes, Punk's a great wrestler, let him wrestle, even if he is facing SuperCena.

 

[Greenlight13]

Heels are there to be booed. They want you to hate their guts. If you liked Punk more as a face than a heel, then he's doing his job. If you hate a heel, you want a face to beat him, thus you cheer the face more, buy his merchandise, buy PPVs where the two are facing off, and the face becomes a big star. Heels are star-makers.

What do people hate?
1) Cowards and Cheaters
2) Arrogance
3) Being told they're scum.

Heels have to cheat and run and hide so that the face seems all the more heroic and people boo the heel all the louder. Angle was the lone exception, he was allowed to beat people just because he was better, but even then, he was only allowed to turn it on for big PPVs.

Wrestling plays upon the most basic of human values to tell very old stories. While you shouldn't use it as your sole moral guidance, fundamentally good morals are communicated in the WWE. Faces preach being honourable and courageous and standing up for yourself, so heels have to do the opposite so that when they lose the status quo is upheld.

Punk is booked as a very traditional wrestler. He has very solid fundamentals but his greatest skill has ALWAYS been being resourceful. He doesn't dominate or dissect, he normally find a way to win after trying a little of everything. He's made a career of it. That's why his moveset is so limited and simple. He does things that make sense and nothing more.

They aren't saying that drinking and doing drugs is good, they're saying that someone telling you what to do is bad. Triple H highlighted that it's about freedom of choice. Matt Striker puts over that it's not the message, it's the messenger. Punk lords it over people and they don't like it.

Mission accomplished.

End of the day, he gets booed, a LOT. When he was a face, I don't recall him getting monster cheers. Whoever suggested Vince turned him because he was getting too big must have been watching the wrong product, because he was getting very little reaction after he won his first world title. Now he plays a fantastic villain.

Plus, I'll repeat my point, being a heel got him signed.

 

[CH David]

Why is this even a question? Seriously, when Punk was first introduced it was in an ROH populated area. He was extremely well known when he debuted in New York on ECW. He was hot from his debut. Getting great pops. Not huge Cena like pops, but for a new guy, those were awesome. But he just did not look comfortable as a face. He wasn't given a whole load of time with the mic, and what would he say? I'm straight edge, don't believe in vices, but I'm cool with you doing it? That would be stupid. His popularity started to drop after his first title reign (as already stated) and he went back to the mid-card.

He was finally given the chance to show his true calling as a heel, last year when he cashed in on Jeff Hardy. It was the greatest chance for him to go from decent face to amazing heel. He has not looked back once. People can complain about his moveset, his promos (which are epic and gets great heat) all they want. He is arguably the best heel in the WWE right now. Hmm...decent face, amazing heel. Gee, I don't know which is better. Actually, I do. Heel Punk is better, and it isn't even a question.

 

[GameOver]

Alot of them are far better as heels than face. It's much easier to get people to hate you with a passion than it is to get people to continue liking or even adoring you.

Just have to watch Vickie Guerrero or John Cena for examples of that.

IMO CM Punk is playing his heel character very well, and it shouldn't be changed. It's unique in today's standards as a character type that hasn't really been utilised much in a long time. The guy utilising evil/power to force preach something that is technically correct.

But not going as far as forcing hundreds of people a week to join like they did with nWo

I don't care much for Rey Mysterio's involvement in the storyline but since he has nothing else to do atm it's understandable.

Punk as a face was good at one thing, pure wrestling, on the mic he was bland, but as a heel he talks a good/contradictory game like any good heel should do.

I don't think he will get to a point where he is an inbetweener like Triple H, Orton or Edge, guys that it would only take one action to sway the fans either way, but as a solid heel he works and should stay that for the forseable future.

 

[Basz3]

CM Punk, I care more about him as heel.
His Jesus gimmick is going very good, his mic skills is really good.
Having him cheating and all of that stuff fit to his character, what can I say?

Cm Punk is best as heel

 

[911 JP]

Punk? Yea as a heel, he has much more use on smackdown and as a higher mid card. I dont like him what so ever any more because he is annoying, blabbering on in promos about how he is better than everyone, yet putting on better matches. As a heel he is much better. however i think the best he was in his career was as a face just after he ws drafted to RAw in the 08 draft. He isnt getting alot of title chases right now yet he is getting big PPV matches. Yea better as a face but only for his career, not for me personally.

 

[Undying777]

Right now Punk has proven himself to be a fantastic heel. He arguably gets the most heat on both rosters. He was a good face but he is playing a better heel these days.


However, I think Punk has a bright future ahead of him as a face. IMO, Punk is funny, or can be funny on the mic. Humor on the mic is a big plus as a face. I also love his quotes, "iTS CLOBBERING TIME", that he steals from pop culture movies and cartoons. It would not be a hard transition for him. After all, his straight edge life style is a good thing. He just would need to drop the whole better the you colt leader stuff.

 

[Via Armbar]

Heel and it isn't even close. Never once, for me at least, did anything seem legitimate with him as a face. He was never that over except perhaps his first couple of months on ECW. He had a couple of decent matches but none really that stood out above the rest. He cut terrible promos and never seemed to have a direction or purpose. When you have a look like he does, you need something strong to pull it out. They never got the chance to do that while he was a face. Really, what was there to work off of? The straight edge lifestyle he lives by is made for a heel. It's a perfect built in story and works for so many different things and works well with so many different opponents. He can criticize you for pretty much anything you do. Nobody likes to be judged so it makes sense that he thrives as a heel.

So the man reason he worked as heel so much better is because of the character lends itself better to the heel mentality. Why would somebody cheer for a man that judges their lifestyles and criticizes them? Even when they weren't really playing on him being straight edee they still recognized it rather frequently. It just didn't fit form the beginning. It's much the same way that a lot of people feel that Edge didn't get completely over as a face after his Rumble return. Edge, at his best, played the ultimate oppurtunist. He was just naturally a better heel because of the character he plays best. People always say that many of the best gimmicks come of so great because there is an extention of the real life person. Punk plays it well because he really feels that way. Perhaps not so extremely but the thoughts are there.

 

[BigRedPunk]

As a heel he is better. He won a couple World Heavyweight championships as a heel and not just that but his career was pushed to new heights when he turned heel and the straight edge society/gimmick was really pushed into his character. IMO he is a better character as a heel.

 

[Sliver66]

I liked punk as a face but as a heel hes perfect. He draws heat, and cuts spectacular heel promos especially against j.hardy

 

[Cmpunk is wwe]

I loved punk as a face but i think he is a great hell and i love the SES and he prolly is the best heel in wwe right now in my opinion

 

[awesomemizfan]

I would have to say i like him better as a heel. Even though everyone hates him, he gets heat that earns him respect in the eyes of people who are like me; teen who understands whats going on in the wwe. Anyways this whole straight edge thing would go better if he was a face. I believe in straight edge, well not the better than you part, but the real part. im thinking if he didnt do the whole im better than you thing he would be looked up to by younger kids as a promoter to not doing drugs and stuff like that.

 

[Whatisthis.huh]

CM Punk is 10 times better as a heel. He can be this generation's new leading heel. He can cut a good promo and he can do a good match (he already has a *****) under his belt. He can switch between a face and heel when his character gets boring but thats ok. Future looks bright for Punk.

 

[Teddy Irving]

There is no question about it Punk is a far better heel than a face. The reason for this is because the whole idea of straight edge(although a good idea) is one that is looked down upon in society in general. If you tell somebody you don't drink they ask why not and tell you how great it is.
Punk tells people he straight edge which makes him better than all of them, again this is not something anybody wants to hear in there life. Being told by somebody that they are your superior just makes you dislike them.
The straight edge gimmick is punks own gimmick it wasn't one that vince gave him it was one he created for himself and it was created to be a heel gimmick. As a face there was very little you could do with this gimmick as John Cena is the face kids look up to and that wasn't going to change.
Punk as a heel is what his gimmick is made for and he pulls it off fantastically. Preaching to people and trying to convert them generates a huge amount of heat for him and thats the whole point of his straight edged gimmick.