JBL's title run VS CM Punk's title run

[ThePhenomLives]

So in your oponion, who had the best title run? JBL held it through most of 04 and leading into Wrestlemania 21 where he lost his title to Cena. Punk held his for about a year before dropping it to Dwayne.

I'd have to go with JBL for three reasons:

1. Wrestling in general was so much better then.
2. I loved the manner in which JBL retained his title (the fluke victories, crawling under the ring, etc.).
3. Punk main evented very few PPVs during his run and the ending to it was abysmal.

What do you lads reckon?

 

[Y 2 Jake]

JBL went over the whole of the Smackdown roster, bar Cena, and was never accepted by anybody. It didn't help that he ended the reign of the beloved Eddie Guerrero or that he was a life-long mid-carder who came out of nowhere to win the WWE Championship, but the reign still didn't work. There are some quality angles & segemnts from that reign, but the best matches he had as a headliner came after he lost the belt.

Punk's reign was long so people might think it was more impressive than it actually was. His matches with Bryan made it above average, but other than that it was uneventful. Still, it's considerably better than Bradshaws.

 

[TheBottomLine]

The only match I remember from JBL's run is the barbed wire steel cage match against Big Show...T-Long booking right there! However to say JBL's run was unsuccessful is a big silly considering how he's become a co-commentator and an enjoyable one at that! Maybe it was the character rather than his run that excelled him to where he is now, but hey, in my opinion, still a success!

 

[Mitch Henessey]

CM Punk.

I barely remember anything from JBL's WWE Championship reign. You can't ignore the versatility with Punk's reign, because he had great matches as a heel and a face. The match with Cena at Night of Champions is a surefire five star classic, and the storyline half of the feud was underwhelming and disappointing, but Punk had a good match with Jericho at Mania 28, and the street fight at Extreme Rules was pretty good also. Plus, you have to throw in the matches with Bryan, especially the match from Money In The Bank.

 

[The IWC Kid]

I liked Punk's reign but all of his defenses were so predictable. In the beginning you thought that his reign could end at any time. But once you could see he had the title for a while, you knew he was going to retain the title. At least JBL's title matches weren't so predictable. He defended the title against actual threats to his title in matches that made you think he had a chance of losing. So therefore, I liked JBL's reign more. I thought Punk was a good champ but I prefer JBL's run.

 

[zhaff2004]

I'd have to go with JBL's title reign on this one. I enjoyed the majority of Punk's reign and being a huge rock fan, seeing him lose the strap to the rock was good for me.

HOWEVER, JBL as champion made me absolutely hate his character. Everything he did, from winning the strap off Eddie, to repeatedly shafting the undertaker, everything was "Heel" gold. There was nobody I wanted to lose more at the time than him. Not even HHH during his evolution run. JBL was a heel personified and he played that role nigh on perfectly.

 

[jameyt2003]

JBL's title run changed his career for the better. No matter if he was bragging or complaining, he delivered his message way better than any CM Punk "pipbomb."

One claimed "Wrestling God" while the other "Best in the World."

JBL was a re hash of Ric Flair and CM Punk a re hash of Raven. So, based on who they followed character wise, JBL was so much better. Its just, both of their gimmicks are both un original. That is not their fault though. I give the nod to JBL.

 

[Da Solo]

I'd say Punk's easily. JBL's reign was good, but I feel the year thing with him was pushed until it's last last leg, and it felt forced after a while. There were many points where I felt he should have lost the belt during that reign imo, but admittedly putting over Cena with it was a pretty good idea.

Plus Punk had better matches during his reign. JBL's weren't bad, just not memorable. And the loss has to be factored in too: while both Punk and JBL were heels who gave up their titles to feel-good face victories, JBL vs. Cena kinda sucked. Their Judgment Day match was much better. Rock v. Punk felt more epic to me.

 

[Jmeeks]

JBL went over the whole of the Smackdown roster, bar Cena, and was never accepted by anybody. It didn't help that he ended the reign of the beloved Eddie Guerrero or that he was a life-long mid-carder who came out of nowhere to win the WWE Championship, but the reign still didn't work. There are some quality angles & segemnts from that reign, but the best matches he had as a headliner came after he lost the belt.

Punk's reign was long so people might think it was more impressive than it actually was. His matches with Bryan made it above average, but other than that it was uneventful. Still, it's considerably better than Bradshaws.

Are you serious ? Junk had plenty of great matches in his reign, great American bash, first Texas bull rope match wwe insane! Summerslam vs taker was good , no mercy in last ride match was great, as vs booker was good and the fatal 4 way match at Armageddon is my favourite 4 way match of all time seriously so entertaining, I personally loved jbl reign and the way he excaped so often, to me punks reign dragged on and was just a bore after money in the bank we all new he was staying champion until the rock came

 

[tvcolosi]

I have to go with Punk... JBL's heel persona meant he had to slip over A LOT.. Punk mowed down a pretty impressive list of challengers... ADR, Ziggler, Jericho, Show, Cena, Bryan, and Ryback. And how often do you see the champ turn heel, seems really rare.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Punk wins this easily by virtue of his matches with Bryan, Jericho, Del Rio, and Cena. JBL's reign was marked by a distinct lack of quality matches. JBL, himself, ended up being a decent champ with his promos and heat, but the fact that he came out of nowhere to take the title off of Guerrero plus the forced nature with which they kept the title on him (gotta make sure he lasts til WrestleMania!) and it was just underwhelming. By the time he finally did drop the belt to Cena at WM, it was a foregone conclusion.

Sadly, Punk's stellar reign was overshadowed by his lack of a main event spot in PPVs (though hardly HIS fault), and the weak ending where he was sacrificed to the Rock (again, hardly his fault). But when such stupidity is factored out, Punk's reign was really remarkable in its quality.

 

[shafe_41]

Punk. It's not even a contest.

The advantage Punk had was that he was able to turn in the middle of his reign from super face to super heel. Something that has really never been done in the middle of a title run. So he was able to basically have a brand new character and have brand new feuds. And honestly... who knows how long he would have run with it had the Rock not come back thwarted it. JBL basically had to cheat to get over a lot. So by a heel standard, JBL's reign I believe was sort of underrated because he was a truly great heel. Without a lot of clean wins, his reign will be poo-poo'd a bit. He was truly hated. Punk's was better start to finish though even if he did beat Ryback in a bunch of gimmick matches towards the end.

 

[ADLegend21]

I gotta go with Punks because while JBL was a great heel champion, Punk's started as him being the most over face in the company (arguably since Cena will never be heel again to being the most hated heel in the company during the same reign. Punk faced monster heels and monster faces, he reunited with Paul Heyman in the middle and even got injured and kept himself from being taken out of action for too long. His reign had everything you could want out of wrestling, even a money in the bank cash in, and JBL's reign was pre-MiTB. In Kayfabe he always knew when and where he was defending his title, plus he grew a stable around him in the Cabinet, Punk only had himself and then Paul Heyman and himself.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Are you serious ?

I don't know. Am I?

Junk had plenty of great matches in his reign,

You can't do that. You can't just merge the two together to validate your argument.

great American bash, first Texas bull rope match wwe insane!

Some might say it was the best 3 star match of all time.

Summerslam vs taker was good ,

Who doesn't like that match. It had everything. Great chemistry, fan interraction, Heidenreich!

no mercy in last ride match was great,

It's up there with Steamboat/Savage, Flair/Funk, Undertaker/HBK, Austin/Rock and many more.

as vs booker was good and the fatal 4 way match at Armageddon is my favourite 4 way match of all time seriously so entertaining,

It's your favorite Fatal 4-Way? Hey, bro! It's my favorite Fatal 4-Way. High five, home slice!

I personally loved jbl reign and the way he excaped so often, to me punks reign dragged on and was just a bore after money in the bank we all new he was staying champion until the rock came

Unbredictability is what made it a winner in my eyes. JBL over Punk any day.

 

[Zycho32]

So in your oponion, who had the best title run? JBL held it through most of 04 and leading into Wrestlemania 21 where he lost his title to Cena. Punk held his for about a year before dropping it to Dwayne.

I'd have to go with JBL for three reasons:

1. Wrestling in general was so much better then.
2. I loved the manner in which JBL retained his title (the fluke victories, crawling under the ring, etc.).
3. Punk main evented very few PPVs during his run and the ending to it was abysmal.

What do you lads reckon?

1. Actually, if you believe the IWC scuttlebutt, '04 was roughly around the time of the post-Attitude Era Dark Ages, at a time when stars were dropping right out and developmental talent wasn't ready yet to retake the reigns. It's easy to say it's better than today's wrestling because it's DIFFERENT from what you're seeing now, but all in all, your claim is debatable.
2. In short, it was a Heel reign along the lines of Honky Tonk Man's IC run in 87-88, a reign very much designed to make you HATE the guy and greatly desire his comeuppance. That was really one of the things JBL did well.
3. Punk got screwed in this regard because he was still underneath John Cena's shadow. Cena didn't get a genuine opponent until Chris Jericho because Cena got stuck in a feud with Kane and then went up against the Rock in a feud that lasted for over two years. Jericho was good, but while he was having a rematch with the guy, Brock Lesnar went about destroying Cena. Then Punk entered a program with Daniel Bryan and eventually Kane while John Cena was fighting for the WWE by putting John Laurantis out on his ass. By the time of Summerslam Punk was being converted to heel status so he could presumably be sacrificed for the culmination of the Cena/Rock feud next year.

And while Punk's ending was really distasteful in the grand scheme of things, JBL didn't exactly go out in a blaze of glory either. Did you watch his match with John Cena in WM 21? Or the follow up "I Quit" match on Judgment Day? The first was shockingly boring, while the rematch wasn't going to elevate Cena any further than he already was.

Is it true that JBL deliberately toned down his ring work to constantly look worse than his opponents and build up his heel persona? If so, then he actually did Cena a disservice because the match was textbook SuperCena; 90% of the offense was JBL doing VERY boring stuff in the ring, until Cena goes beserk in the final two minutes and explodes into his finishing sequence to take it. It needed to go two other ways; either JBL upped his game and made the match better, or Cena should've just SQUASHED him. Remember how Ultimate Warrior stomped all over Honky Tonk Man in Summerslam 88?

At the end of the day though, I'd have to go with Punk by default. He largely did what he could with the deck he was given to work with, made quality matches with just about any opponent he was slated to work with, and had to juggle a Heel turn at a point where few actually wanted him to be a Heel.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

CM Punk's reign was more impressive.
It didn't really get good though until about 3-4 months in, with his feud with Jericho. After Jericho he had great defenses vs Bryan, Cena, Ryback and then the feud with The Rock. Complete with a full heel turn mid-reign and allegiance with Paul Heyman. That's a pretty impressive run if you ask me. And while WWE may not have booked Punk/Bryan to go on last, it certainly was more entertaining than Cena/Laurinaitis.

JBL was the first time, in my opinion, they started experimenting with the "Smackdown champion" being used to test new stars. It was also the first time that, again in my opinion, Smackdown was viewed as the "development" roster, where unproven guys would get titles, and if they got over, they'd get "promoted" to RAW. JBL was basically just holding it while they built up Cena.

 

[Johncena 34]

JBL was the better reign in my opinion, it was far more entertaining than Punks and he just run wild over the whole of the smack down roster for most of the year.

Cm Punks reign seemed to drag on forever and I started to find it boring around the half way mark.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Punks was a better all round reign cos he was given full focus of WWE, not just Smackdown. JBL did some great stuff around that time, but also went too far at times like the goosestepping in Germany that slightly ruined it. Of course the Cabinet, the escapes all made Cena's beating him far more special.

Punk's reign was built on being the best and beating the best... even though he and Jericho seemingly fought for 5 PPV's straight, it never got old. People DIDN'T want that run to end...ever.