CM Punk's Injury - Could it benefit The Straight Edge Society?

[The Codebreaker]

Word coming from sources within WWE is that CM Punk will be out of action for 4-8 weeks due to having surgery on his arm last week. He has been working through the injury as of late, and was wearing a sling during tonight's Friday Night SmackDown tapings.

We will have more information as soon as it becomes available.

While I initially dreaded reading this, I'm now thinking of it as somewhat of a good thing. With Punk being unable to wrestle for a bit, The Straight Edge Society could build themselves up to being a serious threat, rather than Punk's cronies. From the looks of it Punk is going to remain an on-air character, so he could be put in a solid manager/mouthpiece role.

Gallows and the Masked Man could put on a great feud with The Hart Dynasty (along with Serena vs Natalya) and perhaps even win the tag belts. Perhaps Serena could even win the Women's Title, though I see that as somewhat unlikely.

As for Punk, by the time he's ready to wrestle again, he'd be looking strong after managing the tag team champions. He could easily be booked in a WHC match (triple threat with Kane and Rey?), or he could even be put in a feud for the IC title, which I feel he'd have a much better chance of winning.

Well, that's all I got to say. I swear it sounded a lot better in my head, haha.

 

[Ferbian]

I do not think that CM Punk being gone from WWE would be a good idea, I had this thread in mind myself, wanting to ask how it could hurt them, because that's what I think will happen most likely.

They would get hurt more than they would benefit from his absence, unless he's reminded in some kind of way, or with appearances (with his hand in a cast / sling nonetheless) because I do not see Serena and Luke being able to carry the faction for themselves, they're great on the microphone and all, but the faction's leader being gone usually isn't the greatest thing for a faction.

But I do not think that the Hart Dynasty and the Gallows / Masked Man pairing would turn into much, seeing as Punk wouldn't be gone for that long, and The Hart Dynasty will still be feuding with the Uso's by that time most likely.

 

[Nate DaMac]

I don't think they'll benefit in the least honestly. Punk is the backbone, the frontbone, every fucking bone in the body of the SES. Without him, they will go to shit. Nobody gives a shit about Gallows or Serena without Punk, and it will show if he's not around to carry them. They better keep him on television to work the mic or else this stable is going to fall apart.

 

[Super Crazy]

This won't really benefit them at all. Serena doesn't wrestle in the WWE, she's only a valet, so I doubt she could do much for the group. Same goes for Luke Gallows, he's featured on Superstars and only seems to wrestle on Smackdown when it's a tag match with Punk. Hopefully Punk just cuts promos to keep his heat while out of action, other wise it may hurt his gimmick a little bit for him to disappear for that much time. There's just no way this stable will survive without Punk.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Gallows and Mercu...Masked Man, whatever, can benefit, but I don't think in any way, shape or form, that this could be good for the SES. Having Gallows and MM become relevant (a tag team) may stop the bleeding.

If CM Punk sticks around during his injury, as a mouthpiece, it could work out for the SES. He would need to involve himself in a feud, maybe with Rey leading up to a title match when he returns. If the creative dept. can give CM Punk some interesting things to do, while injured, it could turn out alright. But he needs to be involved in his own feud, as well as helping Gallows/Mystery Man.

I do agree with some that this is a chance for Gallows/MM to get going. I have been hoping for months now that Gallows would get a tag team partner, and I'm not sure why it's taking so long. Gallows is not a singles star. He will not get over as an IC or US champ, I'm almost sure of that. He needs to be in a tag team, with a smaller guy, and go after the tag belts.

I understand the Harts are feuding with the Uso's, but that can easily end after MITB. The SES needs to stay somewhat relevant while Punk is out. I understand that people will more than likely not care nearly as much about the SES tag team as they did about CM Punk, but if the SES does nothing besides give CM Punk the mic for the next two months, they are in trouble.

 

[Goliath Uterus]

Like everyone else said, I believe this could only hurt them. I'm sure that Punk will remain on TV in a "mouthpiece" role and Gallows and the Masked Man will have a match or a few matches just to keep the group relevent, and in the back of everybodys mind. There is absolutley no way that this is at all good for the SES and hopefully they can continue to stay relevant, and not lose any steam while Punk is out with his injury.

 

[The People's Peep]

I'll go with everyone else and say that Punk being hurt is not a good thing.

The biggest problem for the SES now is what to do while punk is out. They are not going to be nearly as relevant as they were with Punk and the only way to keep people remembering who they are is to put them in some matches. And we still havent seen Serena wrestle yet. That really only leaves Gallows to keep them relevant. But what do they do with Gallows when he is basically feuding with someone on his own.

I suppose Punk could still be on TV, just not in matches. That way they would still remain important.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Gallows and Serena should have been put in matches a long time ago since the SES has been together for a pretty good while now. Things would be much different now if Gallows and Serena were constanly in title contention or close to it. They would have been in a much better position to hold it down while Punk is out but since they haven't, it's going to hurt them. I don't think severely but it will be a little significant.

 

[Prophecy of Darkness]

Honestly,now might be a good time to unmask the masked man(Joey Mercury or whoever it is).

With Punk injured,I'd think he would unmask him and say "here's the man that will help the SES out while I'm injured".Punk's injury will only hurt the SES if he's not there.As long as Punk's there,cutting promos,getting heat,the SES should be fine.

 

[Scotty]

It can be both good and bad.The bad, however minimal, can be reduced simply by keeping CM Punk as an on air character being the mouthpiece of the group.

The Bad: CM Punk is going to miss about 2 months of ring time. That might pull him away from the World Heavyweight Championship even longer. However if he stays in an on air roll that might not happen.

The Good: This will give the WWE a legitimate reason to put Luke Gallows and Serena in some singles matches. They could have Gallows go after Kane for hurting his mentor and Serena could be tired of all the Diva's seeing as how she is the "Anti-Diva". Even throw Gallows and the Masked Menace into a tag team and have them go after the Unified Tag Titles. Just something to get the members of the SES into matches to build their credibility because all Gallows and Serena does now is practically stand in the corner.

 

[Klown_Karnage]

I normally don't go with the general flow, but in this case I think it correct that Punk's injured status will not help the SES per se, but on the other hand it's not exactly the kiss of death. The fact that Punk is the leader of the pack helps. He can take the role of manager or (more accurately) mastermind behind the SES and Gallows and Mask-Head can do the fighting for him, Serena as well barring difficulties. For my own reasons, I have a feeling that when the time comes to break up the SES, Serena will be the weak link given WWE creative's inveterate use of "woman trouble" to break up established groups. But back to Punk.

I can see Punk continuing to be the mouthpiece of the group, even though he won't be fighting. This might also be an opportunity to cause tension within the group exposing "hypocracy" in Punk. Supposing he's caught taking doctor proscribed pain killers. If they wanted to write him out for a while, they could have the SES members beat him down and throw him out, then have him return again and whip them into submission under him again.

See, as difficult as this situation is, there are ways to salvage it.

 

[LigerBomb]

While I initially dreaded reading this, I'm now thinking of it as somewhat of a good thing. With Punk being unable to wrestle for a bit, The Straight Edge Society could build themselves up to being a serious threat, rather than Punk's cronies. From the looks of it Punk is going to remain an on-air character, so he could be put in a solid manager/mouthpiece role.

Gallows and the Masked Man could put on a great feud with The Hart Dynasty (along with Serena vs Natalya) and perhaps even win the tag belts. Perhaps Serena could even win the Women's Title, though I see that as somewhat unlikely.

As for Punk, by the time he's ready to wrestle again, he'd be looking strong after managing the tag team champions. He could easily be booked in a WHC match (triple threat with Kane and Rey?), or he could even be put in a feud for the IC title, which I feel he'd have a much better chance of winning.

Well, that's all I got to say. I swear it sounded a lot better in my head, haha.

You're right, it probably did sound better in there.
Currently the Harts are in the beginnings of a feud with the Usos/Tamina. By the looks of things it's going to be a long and slow build to the eventual blow off match so I doubt the SES will be involved to any significant degree. Perhaps they'll be used as fodder in the angle but they won't ever be the main focus unless something goes terribly wrong or the crowd just stops caring (again probably won't happen).
That said, Punk as a mouth piece is a wonderful thing and I think the SES could develop some strong momentum. It really comes down to how they are booked. Punk can get heat. That much is obvious. It's whether or not the in-ring work of Gallows and Masked man, can maintain or build on that heat. And that is probably more to do with being booked to look strong/deviant.more than anything else. So it's really a wait and see situation.
I believe neither Gallows nor Mercury (if that's who you believe to be the masked SES member) are so devoid of skill as to drop the ball once Punk shoots it off, so I say give it a shot. Also, since its an arm injury perhaps Punk can wear a cast and help interfere in matches Bob Orton style to help out on occasion.
As an aside, I'd really like to see Serena be used more whether it be in the ring with the Divas or as interference in male matches so as to bring more prominence to her role specifically and the SES in general. Basically lets' try to make the SES not ALL about Punk.

 

[Viola Moonlight]

The Straight-Edge Society has a back-up plan already designed for when their saviour becomes incapacitated. CM Punk has built himself as an excellent speaker, so putting him in the mouthpiece role will still get the group sufficient heat and will allow Punk to be featured on the screen. Considering Kane has accused the SES for being the ones that took out his brother The Undertaker, Punk can use his mouthpiece roll to avoid having to fight Kane. Luke Gallows and the Masked Man can certainly give Kane something to do before getting to Punk. The writers over on SmackDown would be able to handle this pressure.

There are other options they can pursue if they wish. Punk and Serena can aid the two men into competing for the Unified Tag Team Championships. Either way, the Hart Dynasty will look good from the feud and the SES would look more legit with the belts around their waste. If not, they can move on (this should be around the time when Punk is scheduled to return).

Really, the SES will pretty much stay afloat for the next couple of months and this will provide the people within the society like Gallows to establish some credibility as being a threat, not Punk's crony. They shouldn't flail about because of Punk's injury at all, unless they decide to keep him off TV.

 

[J-Dogg]

It's really hard to say, as the SES have done well together as a unit, but, with Punk gone for a few weeks, its hard to say whether or not that Gallows and Serena can carry the faction, granted they are god on the mic, and Gallows is good in the ring, what else can they do?. Its not as if the Masked Man is going to be put in action and be brought in as a temporary fixture. If CM Punk could manage to make appearances to help SES then that would be a bonus for them not falling apart, because the SES are one of the good things to happen to Smackdown, so for it to end early would suck.

 

[MrHashasheen]

Ok, I've been thinking a bit about what Luke Gallows could do with Punk injured and Serena either on the way out or on the way to redeeming herself and finally wrestling. And lets face it, as Festus, Gallows took on a number of impressive opponents, including the Undertaker, and took them all the way in the ring.

So, here are my thoughts:
CM Punk could come out and say he's been injured and that he's not going to be wrestling anytime soon, which is why he's naming Gallows as his champion, the S.E.S champion to ensure that Straight Edge stays a force on Friday Night Smackdown. While Punk is dealing with Serena and here issues, Gallows could take on a number of opponents in singles contests. Jack Swagger, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, Christian, etc... Heck, bring out Chris Masters from where he's been hiding and have him wrestle a match or two.

Show him as a strong wrestler in his own right, have him mention his match with the Undertaker and slyly add that was when he was just an addled beserker, not the clear thinking straight-edge crusader he is now. Have him become a bit more independent of Punk, so that when the inevitable break of the S.E.S occurs, Gallows can do so without it coming off badly.

Any thoughts from you guys as how to deal with Gallows with Punk injured?

 

[Ferbian]

Gallows will stick around with the Straight Edge Society, I believe the fact that CM Punk appeared this week on Smackdown with an injured arm shows that he will most likely continue to be an on-screen character and help push the faction, but not in the ring.

I believe Gallows will be taking that spot, in being the in-ring competitor for the Straight Edge Society, and I think that's a good idea. Gallows will come off strong if he's booked to be taking the battles that CM Punk was supposed to be wrestling, all depending on who the opponents will be.

CM Punk being injured but still a presence on-screen can only benefit the faction, as opposed to what I said earlier in this thread about CM Punk being gone which would hurt the faction.

 

[Dave]

Yeah, I have to agree that this injury, as sad as it might be for CM Punk and Smackdown, might be a pretty good thing for the Straight Edge Society.

With Punk out of action, I guess the in ring duties are passed onto the smaller people of the SES and that ultimately means that both Gallows and the Mystery Man might get some much needed exposure. As I watched Smackdown on Friday, I couldn’t help but feel that the SES is a cross-roads right now and it is that time when Gallows and Serena really need to show us that they have what it takes to be successful on their own. As of right now, I don’t think they have done that but this is certainly an opportunity for them.

With the recording in the bar, it looks to me as though Serena is going to be in the Dog-house of the SES for the most part as she tried an alcoholic drink. I don’t know how the WWE will use this but I am assuming that Serena will not be getting some more exposure too. Whether she has what it takes to win the Women’s Champion, I literally have no idea but I would say no right now. However, it will be very interesting to see what happens with Serena in the coming weeks for sure.

So yes, I would agree with you. With CM Punk out of action, the WWE will look to people like Gallows and Serena to ensure that one of the best angles on WWE programming stays alive and that means giving them more exposure as Punk works the “manager” role.

 

[Sargonian]

As much as id hate to admit, CM Punk's injury has actually done the opposite. As of recently, The SES are in shambles.

Gallows and The Masked Man have both been made to look weak after consecutive beat downs by Kane while CM Punk can only watch at the sidelines. Serena was apparently caught drinking VIA video footage shown on Smackdown and seems to be on her way out.CM Punk still injured.

I Am a huge CM Punk fan and this isn't what id like to see. I know Kane is running on vengeance right now, but don't build him up at the expense of The SES.

The SES are a wolf-pack, they need all of the Wolves fighting at once in order to achieve any sort of victory. Without their top wolf, The SES seem to be on a downward spiral. Lets hope things change.