Looking Back, Would You Have Handled Things Differently?

[TM Punk]

in July, CM Punk "left" the WWE, with its championship at the Money in the Bank PPV. Quite frankly, this shocked the world. As soon as the PPV went off the air, people sprinted to their computers, or like me, dug in their pockets for their smartphones to give their insight on the future of the storyline. Did CM Punk really leave? How long will he be gone? Will there be a new champion? Will he defend his belt in ROH at least once?

The concensus amongst the wrestlezone faithful, including Mark Madden was that he should be kept off of TV for as long as humanly possible. And then low and behold, two weeks later Punkman was back on Raw. He has a new contract, new song, awesome shirt, and you all know the rest. There was a firestorm by a lot of people about this. It was said that WWE is rushing things again. They need to take their time to make him leaving seem more realistic. Things like that. One Mark Madden said that the"burnt through 6 months of storyline in two weeks." Let's see what has happened since then:

-the rise of Johnny Ace as the thorn in CM Punk's side
- The conspiracy angle
- CM Punk vs Triple H
- Kevin Nash learns how to text
- Punk vs Del Rio feud
- Awesome feud with Dolph in which they put on a clinic every time they're in the ring together

My question in all of this is, after all of that, and after knowing what you know now, would you still have rather waited longer for CM Punk to return after MITB?
How would you have done it differently?
How long would you have waited?

Author's note: I apologize if this is in the wrong section.

... Let's Go!!!

 

[The_Southern_Star610]

I think its hard to say what I would change. It would have been excellent if they kept him off tv for months but the fact is they weren't in a position to do that. They needed to capitalise on all the interest that Punk leaving had brought in and they needed to do it then because the casual fan wouldn't have cared for any longer than a month.

And even the way they did it, it didn't work out terribly. Yes the Kevin Nash angle was horrendous, Triple H, while he put on a good match, should not have gone over in that feud. But having said that, the match with Triple H wasn't all bad, I loved the Comic-Con segment because it was something new fresh and unexpected and the Survivor Series match with Del Rio was great, especially cause of the crowd and Finkel (why is he not on tv anymore?).

The only thing that really bugs me about this whole thing is that I wish they had done just a few more spots where CM Punk rocked up to a WWE event with the title. When he did that at the Comic-Con it was awesome and probably one the best ideas wwe creative had for a promo in a long time (apart from the shoot). I don't know I just personally thought that was a great moment lol

But, bottom line, there will always be doubts over what they could have done with this angle, but nobody will ever know how the other ways would have worked out, and its a guarantee that people would have found a way to criticise it even if they had kept him off for an extended period of time.

 

[SmarkySmark84]

He needed at least one more week off television. The stuff Punk was doing while "gone" (ComicCon, pics of the title in his fridge on Twitter, crashing an indy event to put over a young wrestler with cerebal palsy) were fantastic. It just needed another week, maybe two TOPS "in the oven" so to speak. His rematch with Cena at Summerslam was a given; he could have made his triumphant return on the go-home RAW before SS and immediately challenge Cena for a unification match and it be completely plausible IMHO. C'est la vie.

But holy shit what was with the Kevin Nash stuff? Punk had ZERO reason to be in that program, and all the momentum he had built up over the summer stuttered because of it. Imagine if Punk had beat Triple H clean at Night of Champions. His entire career trajectory since then would have had a HELL of a lot more steam because he would have proved, even without the title, that he really IS the best in the world. But no... Hunter had to knock him down a peg, then disappear from regular television again while Punk gets blamed for lousy ratings. It's infuriating.

 

[marklouis]

Yes, he should have been left off TV far longer. Almost everything he has done since returning has killed the momentum he had. This is the 2nd year in a row that WWE has killed a potentially great angle (Nexus was the 1st). He should have put videos on Youtube, sent messages over twitter, give interviews to whoever asked for them. They easily could have kept this going w/o him appearing in a WWE ring. Then, when he did return, it would have been so much better. But what the WWE decided to do was take away his balls. They made him HHH's side kick, then resurrected one of HHH's buddies who had no business competing in a WWE ring. Now he's a PG face who is in a feud with one of the worst authority figures in WWE history. Maybe Vince did this because he wanted to prove Punk couldn't be the main guy, because he isn't one of Vince's guys. Whatever the reason, this entire angle has been completely screwed up.

 

[VinnieSunshine]

In the end, if i had to do it all over again...I WOULD.

However, not all of it. The MITB was gold, but I would've brought him back in the same timeframe. He was doing the "unsanctioned" appearances, and his absence created a "what now" feeling. I would have had a NEW title and I WOULD NOT have automatically placed the title on Cena, I would've made him fight for it and "earn" it. Then after he won I would've teased Punk with CULT OF PERSONALITY playing.

The following week I would've had Cena and the WWE go about business as usual, tease Punk's new song, in the opening, and let Cena have the ME match. THEN Punk's song hits and out comes Punk from the crowd with the now old WWE title. Punk holds up his title, Cena holds up his.

At Summerslam you have the same match with Punk winning and getting the NEW title, scrapping the old one. Nash comes out and does his thing.

Here's where I would change things. It was not Nash that sent it, it was Stephanie. She sent the text because of what Punk did to Vince. She took it upon herself to defend her family. THIS puts Triple H in a tough spot. Side with his wife, or defend the company he is now running. After things get out of control and Nash turns on Triple H, Stephanie puts JL in charge so Triple H can take care of Nash.

Screw the whole walkout angle, JL aligns with Miz & Truth as his own version of 3 minute warning. They try to take Punk out and make him lose the title, setting up Punk vs Miz. Miz & Truth turn on each other when they fight over #1 contendership.

Eventually it all comes full circle into the Punk/Ziggler story and JL trying to screw Punk out of the title.


THATS how I would've done it.

 

[Xumer]

They could have compromised and instead of punk coming back "officially" after 2 weeks, he could have come back and just crashed the show for a few weeks until they officially resigned him. The HHH/Nash/Punk angle should have NEVER happened at all but we all know what kind of a guy HHH is so he just HAD to go over on punk which made no sense at all. What a stupid angle. HHH goes against Punk with his GM status on the line, he beats punk and then loses GM soon thereafter anyway. That really began the loss of steam on punk. It's a shame petty alpha male syndrome means more than the product as a whole but that seems to be a cancer of the biz and it won't change anytime soon.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

They should have dragged it out as long as possible. They also should have dragged out finding a new champion as long as possible. I really like chaos and uncertainty when it comes to Raw. Punk's win led to that but it was resolved so quickly Raw went from "must see" to back to normal.

But that's just me. Maybe normal is what keeps them on top while chaos and uncertainty doesn't pay the bills.

P.S. - I would have loved to see one of the comedy jobbers (Santino?) start cutting 60 second fake shoot promos to get noticed. Just say obnoxious crap about backstage stuff that makes no sense. "John Cena always gets the biggest piece of chicken from food services." "WWE doesn't have the balls to hire my grandma as a Diva."

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

There are small things I would have done differently, I think. The whole Kevin Nash involvement for one, was frustrating, especially considering that there was never actually a real Punk vs. Nash confrontation in the ring, and they scrapped it half-way through to go in a different direction. There was a lot of mixed signals going around then, and I think they tried to be ambitious and ran out of creative steam much too early.

On the other hand, for about two months it was incredibly intriguing. Both Cena/Punk matches were great, and I was tuning in every week just to see what Punk would do. Fast forward a few months and the allure has worn off, but I'm still genuinely interested in Punk. I don't flock to my TV or computer every Monday waiting for Cult of Personality to hit, but I do watch and sit up straight whenever he comes out. It may have been entirely too convoluted, but on the whole the last six months did serve to take Punk from upper-mid-card wrestler to true main event level talent. People take notice of him, fans still chant his name, and as we saw with this Monday's promo he still has the fire.

Yes, I'd probably do a few thing differently, but in the end it all serves the same purpose and we'd probably be right where we are today regardless: CM Punk the WWE Champion.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

I fail to see how some are saying CM Punk has lost his steam or is in a Feud with what someone said the Worst Authority Figure in WWE History? Is he not the WWE Champion right now? Last I checked yes he was. I personally am loving his Feud with John Laurnatis and the Pipebomb he laid on him this past week was GOLD.

Would I have changed anything? No. I think they handled it fine overall and he is still one of the Top 5 Faces right now in the Company.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Well, it's easy to look back via hindsight and say that we would've done it differently had it been up to us. At the same time, we can't really know what ultimately led to Punk being brought back so soon. We weren't part of the meetings or talks that went on so, in some ways, we're flying blind because we don't really have all the facts.

On one hand, it's easy to say that Punk should've been kept off longer. After all, it could build the suspense and ultimately keep people guessing. On the other hand, a lot of wrestling fans have the attention span of a goldfish, meaning that they can lose interest in an angle if they don't get closure quickly enough.

Generally speaking though, it looks as though it all worked out anyhow. Punk has been a great champion, his popularity continues to soar, he's had a solid feud with Dolph Ziggler, some great matches while he's been champ, is currently involved in an interesting feud/angle with Big Johnny and could possibly wind up feuding with Chris Jericho for the title at WM and probably for a while after that. Keeping Punk away longer might have had a positive effect or a negative way. Doesn't really matter as things are going and have been going just fine.

 

[Ellye]

WWE wanted to capitalize on the fact that Punk name was still very hot. I believe, in the end, this was the better way to go.
I think that, if they waited months before bringing Punk back, he'd actually lose momentum.

 

[DeathClutch]

I'd take out the entire Kevin Nash storyline there was zero payoff for him costing Punk the belt at SummerSlam the false announcement of the match just didn't help matters. Nash/HHH could have and probably should have been saved until Elimination Chamber and allowed TLC to be about Punk getting his revenge on Nash in a ladder match but as such the entire storyline felt lost in the shuffle, John L has been a credit to the heel side of RAW but his whole appointment due safe working conditions has been messed around considering you've got Kane on the loose, Vengeance and the ring collapsing unless WWE plan on having some kind of pay off that storyline it's WWE's failed attempt at trying to change things.

I had this conversation with a friend last week about how wrestling seems to change every 4-5 years, from 89-93 or from 94 to 98 or from 2000 to 2002/03 but from then it's stayed the exact same with new faces. WWE needs to switch the product up, bring in some fresh new championships and storylines and drop the rhetoric that adds nothing to the show. The storyline above is a classic example of rhetoric

 

[Cats Pajamas]

I wouldn't look to Madden for wrestling enlightenment. He's an asshole who occasionally says something potentially relevant, but most of the time he's really just being a bitter asshole.

Raw needs the title like you and I need a pulse; they make uncomfortable, awkward attempts to sell feuds without it, but they have a terribly tough time doing it. He could've gone a little longer antagonizing WWE officials with the title, but they still needed to show Punk with the title, acknowledging him as some sort of recognized champion, and they still needed to beable to build for its next defense as soon as possible.

I think one week was good enough to remind fans what CM Punk was all about, but they still had a show to do and the title is too central to have it out for too long.

 

[SmarkySmark84]

I think one week was good enough to remind fans what CM Punk was all about, but they still had a show to do and the title is too central to have it out for too long.

But they still HAD a WWE Champion in John Cena. I still believe it should have waited at least, at least one more week. What did Punk DO when he first came back? He interrupted the last two minutes of the program to have a title show-and-tell-off with Cena. It wasn't even that big of a moment, it just felt like WWE were pandering to fans with horribly short attention spans, and that kind of booking is exactly why their stock is dropping along with their ratings.

They pulled the trigger on Punk's return too soon. There really is no way to argue otherwise; sure they needed to build up SummerSlam in a limited number of weeks, but that's what Punk's viral online assault was for. It would have still worked and been a hotter angle for it, but the E is too scared to take real risks anymore.

 

[Cats Pajamas]

But they still HAD a WWE Champion in John Cena. I still believe it should have waited at least, at least one more week. What did Punk DO when he first came back? He interrupted the last two minutes of the program to have a title show-and-tell-off with Cena. It wasn't even that big of a moment, it just felt like WWE were pandering to fans with horribly short attention spans, and that kind of booking is exactly why their stock is dropping along with their ratings.

They pulled the trigger on Punk's return too soon. There really is no way to argue otherwise; sure they needed to build up SummerSlam in a limited number of weeks, but that's what Punk's viral online assault was for. It would have still worked and been a hotter angle for it, but the E is too scared to take real risks anymore.

I agree with you that it did seem a little like they were pandering, but this was different the his heavyweight reign. This was Punk stepping up as the numbger one guy in wrasslin. It really seemed like they wanted him to be too. I'll admit the execution was choppy as hell (like quite a few things after MITB were) but I can't for a second dispute the decision to strike while the iron was hot. He could've hit a home run into the next ppv.