CM Punk: Year Long Title Reign

[Midnite Express 2009]

Ah, nice come back Dark Flame. Only thing with that is that Vince wasn't a bigot, he was equally a jerk to everyone. LOL. But yes Vince. But I meant the person who did it first. But in wrestling, it's always been that way. Take Nick Bockwinkel and Ric Flair. But I'm getting off topic completely. Just wanted to point that out...

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'd like to see Punk have a year or year+ long run with the title. I think Punk's been a great champ overall and, for me, it's been a real treat to see a strong babyface champion in WWE that's not John Cena, Randy Orton or Triple H; which is pretty much how it's been as far as the WWE Championship is concerned for much of the past half decade.

Punk's feuds in general may not have had the mega epic feel to them that many were hoping, but I think they've been solid all around and have delivered many of the best wrestling matches we've seen either on television or ppv this year. He continuously draws a strong response from fans, often times rivaling Cena's, and crowd interest in his feuds & matches have always been high.

I'm not sure if he'll hold it for a year, I think it could be close, but MITB is coming up next month and, according to what I read yesterday, the idea is to have two MITB matches, as usual, with the winners never having won MITB before. The only way I realistically can see Punk's run ending shy of a year is if it happens via a surprise cash in of the MITB contract or if Punk begins to feud with John Cena. A few months ago, I would've put Lesnar in the equation as well but he's allegedly even more difficult to work with now than during his first WWE run and has what's been described as "nuclear heat" right now due to his UFC appearance.

 

[remyx]

Punks reign in my opinion has been better than JBL's easily. JBL was good on the mic but apart from a few of his title matches most of them were not very sub par. JBL got to work with Eddie, Taker, Angle, Big Show, Booker T and Cena... all of them good wrestlers, but he couldn't even get classic matches out of them. I myself couldn't work out why they kept the championship on him when there were much better wrestlers that could and should have been holding it.

Punk has had a good championship crusade since Money In the Bank. He beat Cena (twice), lost it briefly during the whole Alberto/Cena/Nash/HHH shuffle, won it back in an excellent match against Del Rio and since then has defended it against Del Rio, Miz, Mark Henry, Chris Jericho, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, Daniel Bryan and Kane. Pretty good so far and they've all been decent (Mark Henry) to excellent (Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler, Del Rio & Miz at TLC).

Punk has shown he can hang with the smart crowds and regular crowds, he's been in a big variety of matches and walked in and out of wrestlemania with the biggest prize in wrestling... he's done good. All I could hope for before he drops it, is that they somehow finally get him to face Nash for the title, and maybe get a win back against HHH... but thats just me dreaming.

If I was going to book it, i'd have Laurinaitus tempt Lesner back with a Title match right away, and have Punk issue that if he's being fed to a well rested Lesner, the biggest shark in the pond.. that he won't be facing him with any regrets or excuses... and then go on to defend the championship against anyone willing to step up to the plate. Make it seem like he knows the clock is ticking on his title reign.. he could defend it against lower card wrestlers capable of pulling out all the stops to get noticed, Nash like I mentioned before, to once and for all bookend their story together and maybe even John Cena one more time, which would in turn be interrupted by Lesner who takes both of them out once they're already worn down. PPV comes about, and despite putting up a good fight, Punks reign succumbs to Brock Lesnar. It would be awesome.

 

[Smokeydogg7]

What if he lost it at the 364-day mark on Nov 19, which is a Monday? He can successfully defend it at Survivor Series Nov 18 in a brutal matchup and come to Raw battered and bruised, and either be defeated badly by a beast like Lesnar, or The Money in the Bank winner.

I think this could lead to two different paths: put Punk clearly back on the underdog chasing the title position on the road to Rumble/WM, OR have him start slowly turning bitter and back to tweener, which can open the door to a feud with Austin.

lesnar wont be touching the wwe title he doesn't have to work alot of dates it would be dumb as hell to give him the title he will complete his fued with HHH with a big summerslam match and then be gone until mania season where he most likely will face taker punk will hopefully take on austin if that falls through i could see him face the rock with the wwe title on the line

 

[robzilla]

Am I alone in thinking that Punk is a tad overrated? Dont get me wrong, he is great on the mic as well as in the ring. If we are being realistic, he doesnt have the look of an all time great world champion.

His moves have very little to no impact, he just doesnt look like he can hurt anyone physically. As smooth and fluid as he is transitioning from move to move, it just doesnt look, to me anyway, that he could realistically beat guys like cena, show, orton, kane or any of the top guys.

I do give him credit for being able to GTS most of the roster, but he and all of you punk lovers should be happy he's gotten a reign this long, because he should have no business holding the top prize for anywhere near an entire year.

 

[The_Awesome_One]

yeah i agree with you robzilla, but as you can tell from my user name it's pretty obvious who my favorite is. I got nothing against CM Punk. I don't hate him as much as most of the people but he is definately not my favorite. That's just my opinion though. Everyone has a favorite and mine just isn't Punk.

Back to the question though. I actually see Punk losing the title to D-Bry or Kane at NWO next Sunday. A.J. will provide a major factor in who wins and i reckon it will be Daniel Bryan. Maybe A.J. accidentally distracts Punk or something like that. I'm not sure how, but i don't see Punk walking out with the title.

 

[Teddy Irving]

Am I alone in thinking that Punk is a tad overrated? Dont get me wrong, he is great on the mic as well as in the ring. If we are being realistic, he doesnt have the look of an all time great world champion.

So he is great at both parts of being a pro wrestler but due to the fact you don't like his look he is over-rated? He always puts on entertaining matches and he draws the crowd in with his promos so he does exactly what he is meant to do, how exactly does that make him over-rated.
As for his look what do you think is the look of an all time great world champion? Did HBK, Benoit, Jericho, Guerrero. Does Bryan? Or is it the tattoos?

His moves have very little to no impact, he just doesnt look like he can hurt anyone physically. As smooth and fluid as he is transitioning from move to move, it just doesnt look, to me anyway, that he could realistically beat guys like cena, show, orton, kane or any of the top guys.

Yeah I mean that running knee to the temple doesn't look like it would hurt you and the GTS doesn't look like it would hurt one bit if it was done legit. His moves don't look like they would hurt any less than anyone elses. To look at someone and think they couldn't beat that guy in a fight is just something people do and then when they see them do it they are impressed. By looks I wouldn't have thought Frank Mir stood a chance against a guy like Lesnar but he beat him none the less, because he was more technically skilled. If Punk doesn't look like he could beat them then neither did Mysterio and HBK isn't much bigger so I suppose he couldn't either?

I do give him credit for being able to GTS most of the roster, but he and all of you punk lovers should be happy he's gotten a reign this long, because he should have no business holding the top prize for anywhere near an entire year.

The reason he deserves the title for the length of time he has had it is because he is a great pro wrestler, has great matches and gets the crowd into his matches when he talks on the mic.

 

[TheNickster]

I like the idea. He can put on some great PPV matches (See Punk vs Jericho WM 28 or Punk vs Daniel Bryan OTL), so it'll keep us entertained for that year. I think with his year-long title reign it could elevate some wrestler to new heights, because that wrestler could say (when he beats Punk): "I ended CM Punk's year-long title reign. Not (insert top star's name here), me!"

So yeah, a year long title reign for Punk would be great.

 

[jared96]

cm punk should lose the title at summerslam to a mitb bank winner.
because daniel & kane dont need a victory over him and someone like wade needs a victory on punk

 

[Rated R Showoff]

First of all, to everyone saying he isn't deserving of a one year reign...you are all wrong. He is the guy appearing on every show and carrying the upper-midcard right now. And yes he should be main eventing but that spot is reserved (and rightfully so) for Cena.

However I can see him losing the title in a cheap way soon to Bryan to keep the fued going to a MITB winner. He won't lose clean but I can see one hell of a chase coming.

 

[Reflection]

I noticed it too. this is probably the longest wwe title reign since randy orton, and doesn't seem like it will come to a close anytime soon either. But the reign has been pro fantastic, not many had a negative opinion about it. Every month, Every week, Punk has brought forward his a-game, and we have seen hundreds of thousands of fans shifting from Cena/Orton fanclub to that of Punk's. The amount of impact he has made has been unmatched in recent times. I would not mind watching his reign last another seven months.

 

[SSJPhenom]

It's been awhile since I've done this and I'd be lying if I said that this thread wasn't inspired by the Wrestlezone Special on the main page.

It's been said by some, however, I'm sure that a lot more people are thinking it? CM Punk has been the WWE Champion for more than one calendar year; an amazing achievement in and of itself. In the grand scheme of things, though, is his reign really going to matter? We all know that during his reign as Champ he has been taking a back seat to The Rock, John Cena, HHH, and Brock Lesnar and IMO, you'd have to look all the way back to Savage's 371 day reign to see the last time the Champ took a back seat. Savage taking a back seat, however, is not what we really remember about his reign. The detail that stands out in our mind about it is the fact that it did last for 371 days.

What I'm asking is this: Is Punk's Championship reign important and 5 to 10 years down the road we'll remember it as amazing or is Punk's Championship reign one that we'll look back on in 5 to 10 years as just being unusually long for this era in Sports Entertainment?

 

[Mongoose McQueen]

I disagree entirely. CM Punk may have taken a backseat to the likes of John Cena and HHH, he still has been a strong champion. Now that he is back to main eventing shows as a heel, It will be more fondly remembered.

 

[closet_fan]

Transitional champions are guys who the organization needs to keep the belt on because no one else is deserving at the time. There are a handful of guys who could be carrying the belt. Cena, Orton, etc. I wouldn't consider Punk in the degree of, say, an Iron Sheik. Punk has had many memorable moments as the title holder. I can't think of one thing that the Sheik did to make his title reign that great.

I wouldn't say Savage took a backseat to anyone either. He had a good run as the title holder and had one of the best storylines at the time with Flair and his "affair" with Elizabeth.

 

[fenderjapan]

When I think of transitional champions, I think of guys like The Great Khali, Mick Foley, Swagger, Christian, Kane...guys who won the title not because they were considered the #1 guy in the business but for the primary purpose being to build up to something or someone else...not because they were the biggest draw but because they could get someone else over. Punk is not a transitional champion. He puts asses in seats.

 

[Chris123]

i don't think that CM Punk is a transitional champion. He has been a great champion. His contributions to the prestige of the title are unquestionables. You may ask, What contributions?
The best contribution of Punk has been his matches. Almost every of his matches, with the exception maybe with Ryback, has been good, very good or awesome. I don't remeber a champion to put so many very good matches even when wrestling on raw or smackadown.
I put his title reign in the same level of triple h world heavy weight championship reign in terms of prestige.

 

[Darkseifer330]

Punk is a great champion. He's being made a top guy by holding the title as long as he did and is being showcased a lot more than it was before.

 

[f_roEDGE]

Transitional champions are guys who the organization needs to keep the belt on because no one else is deserving at the time.

No. A 'transitional champion' is a heel champion used to transition the title from one face to another face OR a face champion used to transition the title from one heel to another. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms#T)

Examples are Sgt. Slaughter, Yokozuna (WM IX), Chris Jericho (undisputed reign) to name a few.

A 'paper champion' more accurately describes this thread, because while they are the champ on paper, they are not treated as the main star, and thus won't be remembered.

Now on topic, no, I don't believe CM Punk will be a paper champ because he doesnt have free reign to say or do what he wants as champ. He is restricted.

When we eventually see CM Punk drop the title, he'll be back to his old ways....the true CM Punk, and we will relate his title reign to the true CM Punk.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I don't see how CM Punk can be called a transitional or paper champion with any shred of legitimacy. As of today, CM Punk has been WWE Champion for 373 days. In a week, he'll have tied John Cena for the 6th longest reign with the title in history. After that, Punk will have surpassed Cena to hold the 6th spot by himself. The length itself means Punk is no transitional or paper champion no matter what personal philosophy you use to measure a champ's greatness.

While it's true that Punk didn't get as much attention as Cena or The Rock during the first half of 2012, Punk still proved himself worthy as champ by still making people interested in what he was doing as champ. If they'd given Punk the title without people caring, then you could call him a paper champion. The fact that Punk continued to garner tons of interest among fans for his feuds & matches without having as much hype or exposure as John Cena is, if anything, a testament to Punk's star power & popularity.

Macho Man wasn't THE singular top guy during either of his runs, neither was The Ultimate Warrior during his run. Sgt. Slaughter wasn't either, neither was Ric Flair during his two runs, neither was Bret Hart for his first run. During the Attitude Era, there were several top guys on the roster just as now. Depending on the time of the year, some got more hype & attention than others. Does that mean that none of Triple H's runs rank him any higher than a paper champion? How about The Undertaker? What about Kurt Angle or Chris Jericho? None of these wrestlers was really the dead set center of attention in WWE the way that John Cena has been. If anything, Cena is something of a throwback to the days in which there was generally just one singular top guy.

Look people, the IWC has been screaming for more meaningful runs with World Championships especially and they're getting them. Just because one or two things don't line up exactly the way you think they shouldn't doesn't render the titles or champs meaningless.

 

[SSJPhenom]

I don't see how CM Punk can be called a transitional or paper champion with any shred of legitimacy. As of today, CM Punk has been WWE Champion for 373 days. In a week, he'll have tied John Cena for the 6th longest reign with the title in history. After that, Punk will have surpassed Cena to hold the 6th spot by himself. The length itself means Punk is no transitional or paper champion no matter what personal philosophy you use to measure a champ's greatness.

While it's true that Punk didn't get as much attention as Cena or The Rock during the first half of 2012, Punk still proved himself worthy as champ by still making people interested in what he was doing as champ. If they'd given Punk the title without people caring, then you could call him a paper champion. The fact that Punk continued to garner tons of interest among fans for his feuds & matches without having as much hype or exposure as John Cena is, if anything, a testament to Punk's star power & popularity.

Macho Man wasn't THE singular top guy during either of his runs, neither was The Ultimate Warrior during his run. Sgt. Slaughter wasn't either, neither was Ric Flair during his two runs, neither was Bret Hart for his first run. During the Attitude Era, there were several top guys on the roster just as now. Depending on the time of the year, some got more hype & attention than others. Does that mean that none of Triple H's runs rank him any higher than a paper champion? How about The Undertaker? What about Kurt Angle or Chris Jericho? None of these wrestlers was really the dead set center of attention in WWE the way that John Cena has been. If anything, Cena is something of a throwback to the days in which there was generally just one singular top guy.

Look people, the IWC has been screaming for more meaningful runs with World Championships especially and they're getting them. Just because one or two things don't line up exactly the way you think they shouldn't doesn't render the titles or champs meaningless.

Exactly!! You see, I read that Wrestlezone Special on the main page and I had to post something about it!!

While the posters who were featured on that article are more than entitled to their own opinions; I completely disagreed with them in just about every way.

CM Punk may not have been the top star during much of his title reign; however, that doesn't mean a thing. He has been putting on quality performances and has been making fans care about the WWE Championship again. He actually can call himself the best in the world because he has been putting on the best performances(excluding Ryback matches). Where does it say that the WWE Champion has to go on last every single night or be the focus of the storyline for Raw every night? This isn't the first time we've seen this and as you said, during the Attitude Era this was the norm. So why is it that with CM Punk the IWC wants to go crazy and call him a lackluster champion?

CM Punk, in the grand scheme of things is a great champion and will be so for years to come hopefully. He's been a breath of fresh air.

 

[Just Do It]

he has been a great champion in terms of output. But it is clear he isn't a major draw, although his fanbase are loud and loyal. The Wrestlemania 29 poster which doesn't even show his image - considering he was champ all year - sums up how WWE view him.

 

[Lockard23]

CM Punk will be remembered as one of the great champions of this era. He has had the single best year of any Superstar since Cena in 2007. There aren't hardly any Superstars around today who can pull off the reign he has. Hell, Cena is the only other guy. Sheamus? Eh, not so sure. Ryback? Yeah right. Chances are, the next guy to pull it off is still a midcarder or not on the roster. Fact is, Punk is the best champ in 5 years and it might be a long time before someone pulls off a reign like this ever again. When Punk's career is through, this will be the year that will define his WWE career more than any other year. Or who knows, maybe next year will be even better.

 

[HBsam31]

Like Punk or not he has been a great champion. Not only has he had a long reign, but he has taken on all comers. While not winning clean everytime he has consistently found ways to win. I wouldn't call him a transitional champion at all. This reign has been a breath of fresh air, and if he surpasses Cena's 381 days I think I read that would make him the longest champion in the last 25 years. That is a huge feat in and of itself. In an era where the title is hot potatoed continuously he has held that title, and he holds it proudly. it is going to be a shame when this title reign inevitably ends.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

As long as Cena's around, Punk isn't going to be "that guy." Cena is the undisputed #1 top guy in the company, and CM Punk is a distant second. Think back to when all of this started. Punk won the strap from Del Rio at Survivor Series, but The Rock's in-ring return, and his shaky partnership with John Cena was the main focus of that show. As Rock VS Cena at Wrestlemania drew closer, Punk was pushed further into the background. Cena and Kane's "Rise Above Hate" feud became the number one priority in WWE, and after Elimination Chamber, WWE kicked into high gear with building Rock VS Cena. Jericho and Punk delivered a pair of great matches, but the storyline side of their feud was very underwhelming.

After Mania, it wasn't unrealistic to expect more spotlight for CM Punk. The Once In A Lifetime match was over, Rock was preparing to take another hiatus, and Cena had to gather himself after losing the biggest match of his career.....and then Brock Lesnar shows up. Lesnar/Cena became the dominant storyline, and they main evented a pay per view in Punk's hometown. After Extreme Rules, Lesnar breaks Triple H's arm, and a very lengthy build for Lesnar VS HHH at Summerslam started up shortly after. Again, Punk had to take backseat to a more prominent storyline, because Triple H VS Lesnar was the bigger deal.

Of course, along the way Punk had an outstanding feud with Daniel Bryan, and they delivered some fantastic matches together. But in the grand scheme of things, AJ's emergence as "the crazy chick" slowly overshadowed Bryan and Punk's feud for the WWE Championship.

Raw 1,000 rolls around, and Punk turns heel by attacking The Rock, starting his crusade for respect. He bullied Jerry Lawler for a while, but the fans didn't begin to fully accept him as a heel until Paul Heyman came into the picture. Punk escaped the triple threat at Summerslam, and as expected, Cena and Punk delivered another five star quality match at Night Of Champions. Also, during this time, Cena's drought without winning any world titles became a strong focal point of the major storylines, and Cena did win the Raw briefcase in the main event of the MITB pay per view.

So far, Punk has survived the threat of Ryback, and I have no doubts he'll go into the Rumble as WWE Champion to face The Rock. But when Rock starts to appear on TV again, the spotlight is going to shift towards him again. And rightfully so, because The Rock is the bigger draw.

CM Punk's year long reign has been fun to watch. He's been an entertaining face and heel champion, but he's not the guy. There's nothing wrong with that, because as others have mentioned, other wrestling stars from the past held the world title, but they routinely took a backseat to Hulk Hogan. Still, that doesn't diminish their work as champion, and the same thing can be said about Punk. In today's WWE, having a year long title reign with the branded championship is something to admire, especially when you consider WWE's hot potato treatment of their world titles these days.

 

[Mr. HD]

Mick Foley hit the nail on the head with his promo on Punk last month. What defines your Championship reign is the moments as Champion, not the time you've been Champion. Punk's been Champion for a year, but what's the one thing people will always remember about it? He's been Champion for a year, but what was his defining moment?