CM Punk Returning To The WWE Championship Picture?

[Jack-Hammer]

According to a brief statement attributed to F4WOnline.com, the WWE ultimately has plans to put CM Punk in the WWE Championship picture when his current feud with Paul Heyman and Ryback comes to an end. There aren't many details as to when this will ultimately take place, only that it's set after his current program is finished.

As far as Punk's feud with Heyman and Ryback is concerned, I think it'll ultimately come to an end at Survivor Series. A month or so back, a report came out stating that local commercials airing in Boston & and the surrounding area, where Survivor Series will be held this year, were advertising the Punk/Heyman program. While that doesn't automatically mean that the feud will last that until then, I think that it's likely. I don't see Ryback losing to Punk at Battleground, with it being their first match since Ryback hooked up with Heyman, which will allow Punk to even things up at HIAC later this month resulting in a rubber match at Survivor Series.

As to who will be WWE Champion by that time, I think most people feel it'll be Daniel Bryan at this point. I'm expecting some sort of screwy ending at Battleground that winds up keeping the title vacant, then they move onto HIAC where Bryan wins the title and have one final match to blow off the feud at Survivor Series.

Reports a while back indicated that Orton was written to be in the WWE Championship picture up through the Royal Rumble. Whether that's still going to happen or not is up in the air, if it was ever legit in the first place. There were also reports early this summer stating that Punk was penciled into win the 2014 Royal Rumble match, then go to WrestleMania to face the WWE Champion. Again, whether or not that's still WWE's plan or ever really was is anybody's guess.

I think a possibility MIGHT be this scenario that could fit everything in: after Survivor Series is over, WWE starts to lay the groundwork for a 1 on 1 feud between Bryan and Punk. At first, it'll appear as though that's what's going to go down before Orton comes out bitching & moaning about whatever. He successfully manages to make it a threeway feud, resulting in a TLC match at the TLC ppv. Bryan retains in this match and, at some point afterward, maybe on the last Raw of the year or the first Raw of 2014, Orton & Punk have a #1 contender's match in which Orton manages to score the win, possibly due to some sort of interference from The Shield, allowing him one final shot at Bryan at the Royal Rumble. Meanwhile, Punk is left with only one option: win the Royal Rumble match. Bryan retains over Orton while Punk successfully wins the Rumble, ultimately setting the stage for their match at 'Mania.

Of course, this also could depend on whatever WWE ultimately has planned for John Cena when he returns. Conflicting reports say he could return at the Royal Rumble while other say he could be out until after the Elimination Chamber ppv.

 

[Mustang Sally]

As with so much that goes on at the top echelon of the roster, you wonder how things might have been different had John Cena not been forced to take time off. Presumably, plans for Heyman-Punk were already in place when Cena went out and the company had invested too much time and effort in going forth to abandon it. After all, Cena had spent a long time effectively out of the title picture when Punk was champion.....and it seemed time for Punk to reciprocate.

Would Cena had lost his title to Daniel Bryan had he not been due for a lengthy absence? I still wonder, but Daniel's program with Randy Orton had to be taken care of......and Punk was otherwise engaged with Heyman & his gang. The company stayed with it, which was probably a good thing.

But yes, it seems a feud between Daniel and Punk is inevitable and things seemed geared to finish Punk-Heyman and Daniel-Orton at around the same time, leaving the field open for the two to tangle with each other.....putting Punk back in the title chase.

 

[Klinz]

I think the very longest they can draw out the Bryan/Orton feud is HIAC, I think a lot of fans are already getting a little bored by it. The constant screwy finishes don't help.

Punk back in the title picture makes sense and although I would love a Punk v Bryan feud, I could see them holding off on that purely because it's two top faces going head-to-head, if anything that is more of a WM match.

However, Punk deciding to chase the title again, and coming up in a feud with Orton first over the #1 Contendership, whilst Bryan feuds elsewhere, would give enough time for the Rumble and then if Punk does win that, it's all set up and ready.

 

[Joker Ambrose]

Who says Punk has to chase title while Bryan is the champion. Maybe Orton will be champion and Bryan will get involved too along with Punk. Its too early to say and wwe can't make their minds up either. We will just have to see how it plays out. Logic would say that Bryan wins at HIAC. But then some new heel puppet of McMahons steps up and challenges for the title and wins it. Or Punk turns heel and challenges for the title, but that will probably not happen as wwe needs strong draws right now. I would say Punk, Orton and Bryan are in the title picture next couple of months until Cena returns.

 

[MCMG]

Punk vs Orton for the WWE title makes a lot of sense. Punk, like Bryan, is the opposite of what McMahon would look for in a champion and having Punk in the title picture means the quality of promos increases. Furthermore, Punk/Orton are capable of some fantastic matches and I hope we see them have at least one match for the title.

I don't think we will see Punk/Bryan for the WWE title , especially not at WM, but the possibility of a triple threat between these two and Orton is appealing. I suppose Bryan can temporarily move away from the WWE Title picture before returning to set up a triple threat.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

I will throw in my 2 cents:
One can only speculate what will happen, since there are a ton of possibilities that can happen regarding the WWE Title. Let's pretend that Cena is out of the scenarios for a bit:

We have the basic Bryan vs Orton-corporation feud over the title, which means that anytime, it can fill a program and be given a match at any PPV. That being said, it has been going on for some time now, and although a lengthy feud is good, being dragged for so long as certain people tend to say (Survivor Series or maybe even longer), will most probably make it boring, or at least not as interesting.
In my opinion, inserting another guy, except Punk, after Battleground inside the title picture, no matter the outcome would be the best choice. If Bryan wins, then the guy inserted in the matches can be probably one of the Shield members, Big Show, or even HHH himself. Now, Orton could still be involved in these matches, making them TripleThreat, but he could kinda change his gimmick if he loses from the corporate puppet to the cold-blooded loner psycho a la 2009, still being a heel. This way, HHH will have a reason to screw Orton and Bryan, while having Show or himself as the right candidate for the WWE Championship. Dragging this one, Punk can actually be involved in the title picture pretty easily, by getting beaten down by the Shield, or shooting a worked half-shoot promo where he bashes HHH, then next week, HHH calls him out.

No matter how much they wanna drag the Orton vs Bryan feud, I think that Punk's involvement as a face will be the best thing to do and will be so much fitting. I know that Punk's best work is as a heel, but in this storyline he just doesn't as one. He should be the bad ass tweener face a la Stone Cold. Him, Bryan and Ziggler could even team up against a Corporate trio (the Shield, or Orton + Big Show + (insert name)) at TLC like last year. Given the quality of the last year's match, I'd really wanna see a match between the 3 faces and the Shield, while Orton could be the Champion at that moment, facing a guy like the Miz, while on the TLC match, if the face team wins, they all get a title shot in a fatal4way match against Orton at Royal Rumble. Orton goes on to retain the title at the Rumble, and we are now at the Rumble match, with the #27 coming out being Sheamus, #29 being Cena, and #30 being Punk. Punk wins the Rumble after losing his WWE Championship match, while heading on, Bryan wins the title from Orton in the Chamber. Then at WM, Punk will challenge Bryan, but Orton also has a rematch clause, so they can say that WM is not big enough for both Punk and Orton, so they will have a #1 contenders match a la Punk vs Cena last year. Punk wins, goes on against Bryan at WM.

Now all of the above are just a scenario with slim chances of happening while not counting what Cena and possibly Sheamus will be doing by then. It seems promising having so many angles to be able to be developed and I can't wait to see how they go, but Punk would be an amazing addition to the title picture.

 

[Airehk]

Seeing Punk in the title scene would be nice as I feel this issue with Heyman feels very "eyes off the prize" to me. Sure Heyman was a dick, but move on, the guy isn't worth it.

As for Bryan, he just needs that title, though I don't see it easily happening, I feel like its time to shit or get off the pot. I know Orton will always be there for the title because he's the heel and is aligned with Triple H.

What I really want to see is Big Show to show some cojones and destroy Orton. Stop acting like a threat and actually be one.

 

[RKO920]

I for one love to hear that Punk will get back into the title picture after everything is done with Paul E. and the Funky Bunch. As for a few things that have been said on here so far, Punk will not enter the Rumble at #30. Would it make for a huge buildup with the crowd going crazy? Yes, is it likely? No. Punk will enter the Rumble somewhere between 1-15. If he is to enter the WWE title picture it will involve some sort of involvement from the Corporation and Triple H will not want Punk to win the Rumble since it won't "be good for business," in the mind of the Game.

I can see the CM Punk involvement starting right after HIAC, this is how I would do it not how the WWE could necessarily do it. Ryback wins at Battleground, Punk wins at HIAC, looking for redemption and one final shot at Punk, Heyman goes to Triple H and offers Ryback's services on a team with the Shield and the WWE Champion Randy Orton. They take on a team led by Daniel Bryan which has: CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler, and the Prime Time Players. Long story short, Punk pins Orton to win the match for Team Bryan. Next night on Raw, Punk comes out stating he pinned the WWE Champion so he is next in line to get a shot. Bringing out Bryan, then Triple H, who then pits the two against each other for a number 1 contendership match at TLC, winner gets Orton at Royal Rumble.

At TLC, Bryan wins, no idea how but he wins. CM Punk infuriated that he missed his shot at the WWE title says he will win the Royal Rumble and get his shot at the WWE Title at WrestleMania. At the Royal Rumble, Daniel Bryan finally wins the WWE Title from Orton, Punk wins the Rumble and there ladies and gentleman sets up the WrestleMania main event Vince McMahon only had in nightmares....WWE Champion Daniel Bryan vs CM Punk.

 

[LSN80]

As far as Punk's feud with Heyman and Ryback is concerned, I think it'll ultimately come to an end at Survivor Series..

I can't imagine it lasting this long, to be honest. Isn't this the kind of feud that Hell In A Cell is made for? WWE has already, despite the outstanding work of both Punk and Paul Heyman, run the risk of making the feud feel stale. And this despite the interjection of Ryback as a Paul Heyman guy, adding a new wrinkle to the feud. Ultimately, I suspect, the introduction of Ryback was done more to give Ryback a long-term pairing that legitimizes him, rather then creating another barrier for Punk to climb over. But if I were to guess, it would be that both Punk/Heyman and Bryan/Orton end at Hell In A Cell, leaving Punk/Orton as the natural feud going forward.

Like with Punk and Heyman, there are only so many variations and combinations they can incorporate between Bryan and Orton before they too grow stale. Essentially, they can either keep screwing Bryan PPV after PPV, have Orton beat him clean(likely not happening), or have Bryan defeat Orton inside Hell In A Cell. Again, that just feels like the best possible outcome given the nature of the feud.

If the plan is to put Punk inside the WWE Title picture once again, Daniel Bryan loses the feud, and we get Punk and Orton. We've seen Punk feud with both in the past, but his feud with Bryan was just last year, and for the WWE Title as well. Yes, Punk feuded with Orton in 2011, but that was 2 and a half years ago, and it was personal. This time it would be for the title, and the chance of fans feeling screwed by HHH, Steph and Orton screwing over Punk won't be quite as strong as it is with Bryan. But unless the plan is to abandon the "Best For Business" storyline, nether bearded Bryan nor tattooed Punk look like the face of any company, do they?

I hope I'm wrong, and somehow, Bryan ends the feud with Orton possessing the WWE Title, and Punk's his next opponent. Forget triple threats involving Orton, forget face/heel alignments as well. It's what they did for the Cena/Bryan match, and it was awesome. Much like their series from last year, Punk/Bryan should be about the WWE Title....and that's all. Forget making it personal, interjecting a female, or having the McMahons on the periphary.(Or worse) Make this about two guys who can flat out fight, and let's find out who the better man is.

That could keep the WWE Championship hot until John Cena returns. The triple-threat I wouldn't mind? Cena winning the Rumble, Punk and Bryan to a draw at Elimination Chamber, with Bryan/Punk/Cena as one of your Wrestlemania main events.

After his record setting reign, Punk had grown stale in the title picture. But feuds with Undertaker, Jericho, Lesnar and now Ryback have provided a much needed sabbatical, and Punk back in the title picture, regardless of opponent, will feel fresh once again.

 

[BestIntheWWE]

I think that is the smartest thing to do with CM Punk after his feud with Paul Heyman ends. I think that it won't happen for awhile though. I think they're going to milk this corporation angle out until at least Wrestlemania, so in the mean time, D-bry will feud with Randy Orton until TLC. I think Orton will win at Battleground and at Hell in a Cell, leading to a "last chance" match for Daniel Bryan at survivor series where he'll finally win the championship. They'll have a rematch at TLC (in a tlc match) where Daniel Bryan Retains. Punk will continue to feud with Heyman and eventually the corporation as well (who I think Heyman will join around survivor series). Punk wins the rumble and goes to WM to face Daniel Bryan. This can be an interesting story where you have both Punk and DByran as faces fighting against the corporation, but at the same time feuding with each other over the WWE championship. This will lead to a heel turn for Punk, who aligns himself with the corporation, and the feud can continue over the summer and build up to Summerslam for the big payoff.

 

[HereComesThePain420]

I'm all for CM Punk being in the title picture but for the love of God do not have him win the royal rumble have him face Orton for the title at the Rumble and win the title at the Rumble . They should let Daniel Bryan win the Rumble and go on to face Punk at WrestleMania. But I will b surprised if they let that happen tho WE all know who is going to win the Rumble it will b either Super CENA or shamus which I hate the idea but go back a few rumbles and I'm sure History repeats itself even tho its going to suck and everyone will see it coming but its WWE we are talking about so YEAH

 

[ecwsux~!]

Who's Shamus? And this Super Cena guy sounds like a dick, I think it's stupid of the WWE to their top draw in the main event of the biggest show of the year... Oh wait I have a brain, Cena is the biggest name in the company he should main event wrestlemania if the opponent is right. But Mania is such a long way off, I think this is a better topic right around the time of survivor series.