How would you book CM Punk's return(IF) to WWE Programming?

[L@RISANO]

I think it is pretty clear that CM Punk has walked out on the WWE. Whether he is right or wrong in doing that has been discussed all over the internet.

In this thread I would like if everyone can do some fantasy booking for CM Punk. We will all have our ideas as to when it would be best for his return, who it would be good for him to feud with and suchlike. Remember that his contract is expiring in July,according to reports, so try not to book beyond that time.

All that said, Here goes:

CM Punk is said to be suffering from possible burnout and is not happy with the direction of his character. Some reports state that he also requested to be turned heel again and be the no.1 heel on the show and be in the Main Event. So all the factors mentioned, I will incorporate them into my fantasy CM Punk booking.

Due to his tiredness/burnout factor, I would give CM Punk a good long rest and leave him off of Wrestlemania.
Extreme Rules has been moved to Seattle,reportedly, which is the hometown of Daniel Bryan. Needless to say, expect Daniel Bryan to be Champion going into that show, or to be winning it at that show.
Cue CM Punk's return after good long rest.
On the RAW after Extreme Rules, with Daniel Bryan basking in his glory as the Champion, CM Punk returns to a huge pop and congratulates Daniel Bryan(who would have knocked off the Batista challenge at Extreme Rules), before turning heel and blindsiding him. It starts up a feud that can easily go until SummerSlam, and will have all of us fans on the edge of our seats. Heel Punk's promos and ability to get heat from fans, will also allow Daniel Bryan to have a kind of foe that only CM Punk can present.

If anything is best for business Post-Wrestlemania and will guarantee that fans will follow the story closely, it would be a Daniel Bryan(Of Present) vs CM Punk(As Heel)
Book it, WWE !!

 

[HeymanHustler]

If Punk came back as a face: A group of guys well known from the indie scene form a stable and start sabotaging The Authority's plans. When HHH demands to know why, they say they take their orders directly someone they refer to only as their Leader or Fearless Leader. After a few weeks, HHH demands to this Leader to show themselves. From the crowd comes in a guy wearing a mask and attacks HHH in the ring. Security tries to grab the supposed fan, but the fan makes it all the way up to the ramp and reveals himself as CM Punk. The next week, Punk cuts a promo with his stable claiming enough is enough and its time for a change. He knows everyone is sick of seeing the favorites of the creative team in the limelight while the real talent gets squat. That's why he gathered guys from the back who never get a proper shot because they don't fit the cliché WWE mold or image. They're the guys the WWE Universe wants to see, but not the guys that the WWE suits want to see. "From this moment on, we're giving the WWE back to the fans!" He proclaims before dropping the mic.

If he came back as a Heel: Fast forward to Royal Rumble 2015. CM Punk is a surprise entrant and not only wins, but he's confronted by HHH after the match...who proceeds to shake Punk's hand after the match and raises his hand. The next night, he admits to "signing a deal with the devil" because its the only way you can get by in this business. He sold out for the greater good and he's gonna sell in when he wins the WWE title at WrestleMania 31. Then he's confronted by Daniel Bryan, who accuses him of being a sell out and a hypocrite. It all culminates when the two indie darlings square off in the WrestleMania 31 main event for the WWE Title.

 

[Bone For Tuna]

If Punk could be convinced to come back before Mania, I would have Bryan be attacked backstage by an unknown assailant and taken out the night of the Elimination Chamber PPV. The next night I would either have Punk reveal himself as Bryan's attacker, have him be revealed as the attacker or have Bryan call out Punk as the one who attacked him. If a deal couldn't be reached before Mania I would have Punk return the next night and either attack Bryan or screw him out of a match or something. Basically, whenever Punk comes back I'd have him turn on Bryan and hopefully Bryan's holding the title when that happens.

 

[Messiah]

I obviously don't know the extent of Punk's contract, but i'd assume if he was advertised for a show he has to show up, or it would be breach of contract if he was still contracted to the company.


I think Punk is done, but if he was to come back. I would bring him back as a heel and blame all the fans for the reason he walked out. That's just the easiest way to turn him heel upon his return. I was so tired of his babyface run, it was the worst part of his career. He's a natural heel and that's what he should be. He's more comfortable in that role to.

 

[A11oftheLights]

I'd have Reigns start tearing through everyone as he rises up the ranks. At whatever the PPV before Summerslam is, he crushes the current champion preferably cena or orton. The next night on raw reigns stands in the middle of the ring and declares himself the best in the world. Only for CM Punk's NEW THEME to hit as Punk comes out and corrects him and at Summerslam you have Punk vs Reigns for the title of which I would love to see Reigns win leaving Punk to claiming he must prove to himself and the fans that he is still the best in the world. He goes undefeated for the rest of the year and wins the rumble to headline in a rematch against Reigns

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

He maces HHH from the crowd at EC, looking very much like a shoot. He even books shows at ROH before and after Mania. End up with a match of Punk vs HHH at Mania with some stipulation like HHH has to step down as COO if Punk wins.

Punk wins, then goes on a ridiculous win streak. Around Hell in a Cell, Punk takes the title off of Bryan after what's left of the Authority tries everyone else to take the belt off of Bryan. Punk does, and between then and TLC, the Authority corrupts Punk into a corporate kiss ass champ. Punk drops the strap at Mania 31 against Reigns who won the Rumble.

 

[roipdh123]

I would have Punk return in mid-june with a mic in hand in a middle of a match on raw between 2 mid carders who are faces {you can have Kofi vs Mysterio etc.} {no pre-announcement} and start talking about how WWE have forgotten about him in the last year.He will talk about how 3 years ago he came back and he says he doesn't want to do it again.So this time he will not beg for the WWE to give him a contract extension.This time they will beg to him not to destroy the company.
As he said that he run into the ring and then he got quickly out.Then he says he is not coming alone as from the crowd 2 big man are coming to his aid {you can have them being Alexander Rusev and Mason Ryan from NXT or you can just put RyBack and one of them - I will prefer the NXT duo}.Then all 3 attacking the 2 in the ring.
That's how he will continue and they will interfere in every match on the night.Then in the ME which will be WWE Champion Daniel Bryan vs Someone you can have them jump in and attack Bryan.Then you would have Punk saying that if he needs to get attention in this company he will attack it's most popular man -DB and he challenges him to a match at MITB for the title- and he says that if he loses he will never be in a WWE arena again - I would have him lose and then the next night on raw he and his team will return to interrupt the show again with him taking the mic and saying "You may asking yourself why am I here?The answer to this question is a sentence that one of my wrestling hero's used to say and this sentence is...."I lie...I cheat....I steal".Now anyone who wants to join me and fight the company come out now because it's either you with me or against me.A group of pepole came out {a lot of mid carders both faces and heels} and Punk says that now he challenges WWE to a fight at Summer Slam because he will put his best guys in matches against WWE's best...but wait WWE doesn't have the best because I'm The Best Wrestler In The World which means that there is no one that can take on me or my team.Then you can have him face Cena at Summer Slam and you could have Batista vs Reigns vs Bryan for the title.

 

[Limitless]

I would have a "mystery attacker" destroy Daniel Bryan at EC... only to be revealed as CM Punk. Punk then goes on to face Orton for the belt at a later time and wins with the help of the returning Mr. Mcmahon. Vince could say that Orton is not the face, punk is. Punk has Signed a deal with the devil. Triple H and Steph come out and hug him.

Punk could then keep avoiding Bryan... making the fans more pissed off. Then at Royal Rumble next year have Daniel Bryan win and Punk retain his title from Cena or whatever. The next night on RAW have Shawn come back to do old school Raw or something... and have a confrontation with Bryan Backstage. Later in the show, we see Shawn has been attacked backstage.

Triple H and Punk are in the ring... Triple H is shocked and turns around into a GTS. Have Punk beat Triple H on Raw for the belt and then win at the Elimination Chamber. Bryan and Punk talk about there master plan and how they will be main eventing WM 31 and there is nothing anyone can do about it... and this is the way it should be. The Authority is pissed and the fans go into WM happy.

 

[tru_overdose]

First of all, i would have him sign an iron clad, 10 year contract for half of his current pay, and if he at any time voided his contract, he would owe me his entire net worth for the rest of his life. I would absolutely BURY him, im talking 100-200 losses in a row. I would kill his character and give him zero mic time, but i would just work him to death. I would team him with terrible tag team partners and have him put over young talent. I would have his matches get interupted by random promos and even divas.

I would continue this for at least a whole year then randomly in a PPV match, i would have vince come out and interupt his match asking him if he is finally humbled and sorry in an absolute kayfabe/shoot style.

Then i would start CM Punk over, completely disregarding every aspect of his previous career and see if he could build himself up again. If he whined or complained in any interview or to ANY person backstage, i would send him back to NXT for a year and start his career over again.

Would this ever work theoretically? Absolutely not, but is it what should happen? Absolutely. There are 1000 guys that would kill for half of his spot and half the pay. He deserves to be humbled immensely.

 

[kumarjtk]

I think cm punk quits wwe after his contract end. So wwe make punk to fight against authority and failed his mission. Finally they make him quit wwe.

cm punk think to main event wm and win the gold before his contract end.

But wwe wont accept it. They wont put over superstars when their contract expires. Punk doesnt like this so bailed wwe.

we have two scenario.

if punk agree to re-sign after july. Then they make him to win against hhh at wrestlemania and win the title at chicago.

If he wont agree to re-sign after july. At ec he lost to kane and Then hhh beat punk at wm and make punk quits wwe.

 

[gotemo]

I say he comes back and you use him as the heel to bryan. He can basically hurt bryan the only way possible at this point. You can turn the crowd on the guy or make them forget about him, that's failed. You can used the pick on the small guy routine and just physically dominate him, that's been done to death and has made him more over. You basically have punk come out and verbally decimate him. Face facts there's no good heels right now at least not at a top level. I know there's orton and batista etc but here's the thing that people miss a good babyface doesn't necessarily need to know how to speak when they're over the crowd speaks for them. A heel on the other hand needs to know how to work the crowd, which punk can do, the problem being that everytime punk has been heel it's been a nightmare to get him over and not cheered. If he's the foil to bryan he'll get some decent heat. It also serves to keep bryan chasing the dream(which is the best role for his popularity) and it also does it in fashion without going back to the well with the authority and it's various goons keeping him down because that is starting to get stale. I don't think you have punk working directly with the authority, let them be seperate from eachother so people like batista and orton and lesnar came all work without having to worry about the crowd shitting on their matches because of bryan tie ins.

 

[ECLECTICHBK]

I'd have Austin rip him apart on his podcast, calling him a hypocrite and spoilt brat. I'd then have the two get in a twitter war, whilst keeping both off screen with no mention on wwe programming to make it seem legit. I'd then have Austin taunting punk about unfulfilled potential etc. If Austin was fit, this could lead to the dream match at mania. If not, punk could come back, slate Vince that his man Austin has a big mouth, and set punk up in a feud that leads to him tearing through everyone and winning the belt to prove Austin wrong.

 

[gotemo]

The fact stands that Austin has publicly defended punk's actions and has been very public on his own podcast and other places about doing the same thing the whole deal would come off as hypocritical and nonsensical. Besides we really need to move away from bringing back one off appearances, and trust me I was in my wrestling loving prime in the attitude era and would love to see austin in the ring again, I just don't think it's best for business. I mean slightly off topic but 5-6 years from now there's a very good chance that there's no established main eventers left.

 

[BaconBits]

I'd have Lesnar legitimately beat the piss out of him, then I'd immediatley insert him into a feud with Hornswaggle. And I'd have Hornswaggle go over.

He's not that important. He's never been that important, and he never will be that important. I'd let him know that, in spades, straight away.

 

[Straightfromthehart]

I'd have him return as a heel. He somehow returns to screw Daniel Bryan at elimination chamber winning the title himself. He cuts a promo the next night on raw basically turning on the crowd for supporting Bryan over him and says he is the true people champ. We then have a Bryan/Batista contenders match to see who punk faces at mania. Bryan wins. With the help of omg! Triple h. Leading to triple h v Batista at wrestlemania and a main event of cm punk v Bryan for the title. Bryan wins the title with an assist from none other than stone cold. Giving punk his main event, Bryan the title and a possible cm punk v Austin feud that could possibly run till mania 31.....that would be cool.

 

[MCMG]

If Punk has legit walked out then why would come back. They won't be able to guarantee him anything that he wants.

If he this is a work/they can persuade him to return then they should acknowledge this. I'm guessing that a large portion of the fans are aware of this. Why not have HHH cut a promo, firing Punk. He is in the ring; the Punk chants begin and he feels it is necessary to address that.

Triple H cuts a promo calling Punk a coward and a traitor- whatever. Says he loves himself doesn't care for his friends/family/colleagues/fans - the usual stuff. Fires him and that is that. Punk gets a few weeks off and then returns to get his revenge on The Authority, facing HHH at WM30. If this is a work then that is how I would play it; if not then it becomes more difficult.

 

[fenderjapan]

If he wanted to come back and his walkout was in fact not a work...

I would bring him back unceremoniously, and let him put over young talent. He has accomplished far more than most wrestlers ever will in the WWE, especially for a 218lb indy guy who didn't even have to change his name or gimmick.

All he had to do was say it was time for him to quit, and ask to be written out of the storylines. But he had to do it his attention-****ing, crybaby way. So thats how I would treat him if he came back. But he would not be welcome back if I was running the show.

 

[JohnJohnson]

It's the main event at Wrestlemania and Orton is face to face with Batista in the ring. They get ready to square off and then Batista finger pokes Orton and pins him 1-2-3. HHH and Flair come out and they all hug. People are booing like crazy, and throwing trash into the ring. Then suddenly, "Cult of Personality" hits and the arena errupts in applause as CM Punk comes out with Vince Mcmahon who tells them that they aren't going to end the biggest night in WWE history with a finger poke. He says Batista will now have to defend against CM Punk. He says that the rest of Evolution will be banned from ringside and to ensure that they don't interfere he's brought in an enforcer. That's when Stone Cold's music hits.

To end the match, you either go the obvious route and have Punk go over or you have Austin give him a stunner and have Batista pin him. I personally don't think Punk deserves this. I just think it will make for the biggest moment.

 

[josiah1980]

Raw opens up with Punk alone standing in the ring. With mic in hand he addresses the rumors about leaving and gives a shoot about all the part timers who leave for months and upon return gets a title shot. He goes on about how he's fought and had the best matches in WWE yet the Authority has a one tracked mind. Whether it's favoritism or just not knowing what the WWE Universe wants, they are incompetent to be running this company. He goes on to shoot about HHH and Baptista. Finally HHH comes out and stands in the ring with Punk and says Punk is just whining like the last time he left. They go back and forth When you hear the Shield's music and see them coming through the crowd. Punk tells HHH he thought he would try that, so he brought a couple of friends. Out from the back comes Colt Cabana, Joey Mercury, and Luke Gallows. Punk tells HHH that the Straight Edge Society has been reformed and renamed as The Society and the main goal of the Society is to rid the WWE of these "part timers" and the Authority's favorite superstars. Punk goes on to tell HHH that two people has joined The Society. Daniel Bryant's music starts and Daniel Bryant comes out. After he's in the ring with Punk, Colt, Luke, And Joey the crowd chants "yes." Then Punk says I have one more member. He pauses And points at the jumbo tron and a video and music of Sting starts and the crowd goes wild. That's when Punk punches HHH and a brawl ensues. Then the main event is scheduled as The Society vs the Shield, HHH, Baptista, and Randy Orton. That would be an interesting Raw.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

Raw opens up with Punk alone standing in the ring. With mic in hand he addresses the rumors about leaving and gives a shoot about all the part timers who leave for months and upon return gets a title shot. He goes on about how he's fought and had the best matches in WWE yet the Authority has a one tracked mind. Whether it's favoritism or just not knowing what the WWE Universe wants, they are incompetent to be running this company. He goes on to shoot about HHH and Baptista. Finally HHH comes out and stands in the ring with Punk and says Punk is just whining like the last time he left. They go back and forth When you hear the Shield's music and see them coming through the crowd. Punk tells HHH he thought he would try that, so he brought a couple of friends. Out from the back comes Colt Cabana, Joey Mercury, and Luke Gallows. Punk tells HHH that the Straight Edge Society has been reformed and renamed as The Society and the main goal of the Society is to rid the WWE of these "part timers" and the Authority's favorite superstars. Punk goes on to tell HHH that two people has joined The Society. Daniel Bryant's music starts and Daniel Bryant comes out. After he's in the ring with Punk, Colt, Luke, And Joey the crowd chants "yes." Then Punk says I have one more member. He pauses And points at the jumbo tron and a video and music of Sting starts and the crowd goes wild. That's when Punk punches HHH and a brawl ensues. Then the main event is scheduled as The Society vs the Shield, HHH, Baptista, and Randy Orton. That would be an interesting Raw.

When is this RAW taking place? TONIGHT?? Your idea is to revamp the entire direction of the company 3 weeks prior to their network launch, and 2 months prior to Wrestlemania.

 

[Staaaang]

I would change his name to "Tattooed Dingus" and have him wrestle in a purple leotard. He would also have a mask that's embarrassing somehow. Then he only works dark matches and never wins.

 

[josiah1980]

It wouldn't affect what has already happened. Joey, Luke, and Colt could interfere with the wyatt's and Shield at elimination chamber. Bryant is in elimination chamber so no change there. And setup two matches at Wrestlemania 30, Punk vs HHH and Sting vs Undertaker. For me it would be very interesting. Now it's like a t.v. soap opera. Ive been watching the last month or so after a year plus not watching and it's like I never left. I agree with Punk when someone come in and immediately get's a title shot.

 

[Rocky84]

First you'd have to use everything that has happened between DB, Punk as well as the the fan base (not to mention legends and former writers speaking up) and start to give them what they want. Punk, DB, and the fans all want it and more importantly deserve it. In this day and age, doing what Punk did is more righteous than disrespectful. Vince, I feel, kinda agrees with that way of thinking.

I think it'd be best for everyone if Vince and Punk came to an understanding on the creative aspect, and struck a deal that would possibly extend Punk contractually throughout the next year at the least, with time off shortly after this Mania....as long as Punk needs (I'd say a few months...maybe from March to the end of July right before SS...a solid 5 month break where he can rest, travel the world, spend quality time with family etc similar to GSP and the UFC recently.

As far as Mania is concerned, I think what's best for business is Punk in the title picture this year to be honest. As everything is "up in the air" at this time then I can pretty much book whatever I like...in order my preference would be...

DB vs HHH w/ Stone Cold special ref/enforcer
Punk vs Cena (c)
Sting vs Undertaker
Batista vs Brock
Orton vs Jericho (2 Undisputed Champs)

For Punk, I'd have Cena win the Chamber, and have Punk come back and confront HHH, Steph and Batista during their mic time on Raw the next night. He talks some smack to HHH about everything that he's been doing to keep DB and him down (like having Kane eliminate him from the Rumble illegally) then turning to Batista and criticizing how HHH gave him his spot at Mania with a late Rumble entrance because of their relationship n all that jazz.

Then have Batista shoot on Punk, mocking him about being a crybaby and leaving for not getting his way. Punk gets pissed and says that since he technically didn't lose the Rumble and that Batista was given as close to a guarenteed win as possible that maybe he should earn it and put his spot on the line against Punk to see who really belongs there tonight on Raw. Punk wins when Brock comes out pissed that he didn't get his shot and smacks the ref with a chair shot, then takes out Batista with it and while going to take out Punk, Heyman shouts "no!" to Brock and shakes his head...Brock leaves and Punk crawls to Batista and covers him while the recovering ref counts to 3.

This sets up Punk vs Cena for the title and Batista vs Brock.

 

[occ2]

There are 1000 guys that would kill for half of his spot and half the pay. He deserves to be humbled immensely.

I love this argument. It's the same one people use when a professional athlete holds out on a team for more money.

In what world must you be living to think that anyone in Punk's spot wouldn't try to get the maximum amount of money that he possibly could? You speak as though Punk was irrelevant to his own success - that anybody who was put in to a position to succeed would succeed by default. There is a reason that guys like Punk are paid more - because they are proven to be better. If you're good at something and you do it for any amount of money less than the absolute most you can negotiate to make, you're a sucker and it doesn't matter how much you "love" doing it.

None of you know the salient details of Punk's contract. How many dates is he paid to work per year? How much vacation time did he negotiate? How does a breach of the agreement actually occur? None of you know the salient details surrounding the circumstances of his departure. Had he voiced frustrations with his job previously? Did he feel as though his concerns were being addressed? How was his discontent handled by the management of the company?

It's real easy to, as a fan, sit on a message board and trash a guy for making what amounts to a personal decision. We haven't heard Punk comment on the situation and we haven't heard WWE comment on the situation - we've heard a lot of conjecture and second hand accounts.

I've quit jobs that I felt were dead ends before, and I've done it with a much thinner safety net than CM Punk has. There were probably a number of people who would have worked the jobs I left for "half the pay", but why that would factor in to any decision I made or that the company would make is a mystery. If the WWE could get someone to do what Punk did for half the price, don't you think that they already would have?

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

The most important thing when you do an angle like this, is to keep it as close to reality as possible. It's beeen reported that Punk walked out because he was burnt out, didn't like the creative direction of the company, thought a match with Triple H at WrestleMania wasn't a good enough push, and thought that it was bullshit for Batista to come back and be instantly given the spotlight. So you have to have him talk about that.

Looking at this logically, what would that lead to? It would lead to a feud with Triple H and Batista. I understand what some people are trying to do with bringing back Punk and having him attack Bryan and feud with him, but that takes something real and turns it into just another wrestling angle. This could be so much more than that.

How do you kick things off? Well, in a couple of weeks RAW is going to be in Chicago. The crowd is gonna be hot, and they are going to be chanting for CM Punk. This is the ideal time for his "return". But don't book it like a typical wrestling return where the music hits, he does a run-in, or its announced that he'll be making his return and be in a match or something. Fuck that. Throw that line of thinking out the window.

You have him come down through the crowd and jump the rail. He goes to grab a mic. Security comes out and maybe even some of the locker room, but as Punk is surrounded in the ring, Triple H comes out, without any music. He yells at the security and the wrestlers to get the hell out of the ring, and says that he can handle this. It's believable that a guy like Triple H would do this, given his character. Triple H grabs a mic and rips into Punk for walking out of the company. He has to cut a scathing shoot promo. Then Punk responds in turn, calling out Triple H for all of his bullshit. Punk says that Triple H once told him that "All you have to do is connect with the audience and win them over" and that guys have done that only to get screwed in favor of Triple H's buddies. Once Punk drops the final line of his promo, he can tell Triple H his doesn't give a damn about his job and that he's done. Then you have him leave the ring, hop the guardrail and blow a kiss, like he did at MITB 2011 in Chicago when he won the belt. RAW closes.

Now, if you look at this realistically, this would obviously anger Triple H. He's a guy with an ego, and he'd be believably mad at the lack of respect being shown by Punk and the fact that Punk pretty much embarrassed him. Triple H would want to kick this guy's ass but he can't. He's a corporate executive and Punk isn't an active competitor anymore. He basically quit the company for good last week in Chicago, so his contract has been annulled at this point. Triple H wants Punk back for one match, because he wants to personally send Punk out of the business the right way, by beating him. But Punk basically has all the negotiating power, so Triple H needs to turn the tables. At this point in the storyline I would have Daniel Bryan added to the WWE World Title mix, so it would be Bryan vs. Orton vs. Batista. However, Triple H says that he will pull Bryan from WrestleMania unless Punk agrees to a fight. For the good of his friend Daniel Bryan, and for the good of the fans who want to see Bryan in the Title match at WrestleMania, Punk agrees to come back and sign a contract for an Unsanctioned Fight with Triple H at WrestleMania.

Once again, if you look at this Unsanctioned Fight realistically, why would CM Punk follow any of the known WWE regulations in this match? It's technically not supposed to be officially sanctioned by the WWE and Punk is leaving anyways. So I think you have to have Punk use chair shots to the head and draw blood in this match for it to work. I understand that this is still actually an angle, and WWE does have these policies, but for the sake of this particular storyline and match it would make sense for them to bend the rules. It would add to the story in a meaningful way.