*OFFICIAL* CM Punk/John Cena Thread - Keep It All In Here!

[GrandSword]

When the WWE first signed Punk, Vince was feuding with Shawn Michaels and I suggested (on another board) that he debut as Vince's secret weapon against Michaels as his straight edge philosophy would call HBK a hypocrite and a liar and would make a great WM match (instead of the HBK vs Vince match we got). Punk was coming off one of the hottest angles in RoH and had 5 star matches with Samoa Joe.

Well my idea was shot down because Punk was apparently not capable of making it in the WWE. Man I wish Punk and Michaels had atleast one match it would have been epic!!!

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

When the WWE first signed Punk, Vince was feuding with Shawn Michaels and I suggested (on another board) that he debut as Vince's secret weapon against Michaels as his straight edge philosophy would call HBK a hypocrite and a liar and would make a great WM match (instead of the HBK vs Vince match we got). Punk was coming off one of the hottest angles in RoH and had 5 star matches with Samoa Joe.

Well my idea was shot down because Punk was apparently not capable of making it in the WWE. Man I wish Punk and Michaels had atleast one match it would have been epic!!!

I really hate it when people use "5 star match" or anything Meltzer reviewed after UFC got hot as any sort of support to a viewpoint. Meltzer loves workrate, which I think is about as useful in judging a match as hair color is in judging a baseball player.

Other than that I agree that Michaels vs Punk would be great. People who think guys can't make it generally under estimate either the wrestler or Vince. For whatever reason there is this notion that Vince will only push huge bodybuilders. Even though he hasn't really done that at all in recent times. The thing about a guy like Punk is he knows how to get over. He'll change his style for the audience, just like Chris Hero and Daniel Bryan do.

Guys who can read and audience will always find a way to get over. It's not like Punk is a Dragon Gate guy who gets over on highspots and is only over in companies where highspots get you over. Punk and guys like him get over by telling compelling stories and having a compelling character.

 

[saw411]

1. I hated the fact that cena got a belt, not the real one that punk has, but a belt. It totally shows that wwe is afraid to give anyone a chance.

2. I love punk, but I feel his return was too soon. I think they should have had punk sitting in the crowd with the belt and he and his megaphone saying sumtin like "the champ is here, in section 105".

3. I would have also like to have seen punk create somewhat commercials interruptoions like the nwo, and have him somewhere in chicago etc saying its kinda funny that wwe dosent recgonize the true champ. And finish with that this was paid for by those who believe in the straight edge lifestyle.

Wwe could had done a huge build. Something we haven't seen in yrs. And its all gone. Smh, too bad

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

1. I hated the fact that cena got a belt, not the real one that punk has, but a belt. It totally shows that wwe is afraid to give anyone a chance.

2. I love punk, but I feel his return was too soon. I think they should have had punk sitting in the crowd with the belt and he and his megaphone saying sumtin like "the champ is here, in section 105".

3. I would have also like to have seen punk create somewhat commercials interruptoions like the nwo, and have him somewhere in chicago etc saying its kinda funny that wwe dosent recgonize the true champ. And finish with that this was paid for by those who believe in the straight edge lifestyle.

Wwe could had done a huge build. Something we haven't seen in yrs. And its all gone. Smh, too bad

You're forgetting that ALL Punk did was walk out and hold the belt up. Who knows what's going to happen next week. Had anything you said happened, then it becomes predictable. Not only that but Punk in the crowd, nWo style commercials, etc all show that he's with the company, so why not just straight up come out? The buzz isn't all gone, we have no idea what's going to happen or why he's back. WWE isn't afraid to give anyone else a chance, Cena is a money maker and should always be near the main event. Plus no one else works in the feud with Punk except Cena. Punk being the champ means whoever he feuds with has to be champ or it's ******ed. Since Cena is the only guy who fits the feud and given SummerSlam is the biggest show until wrestlemania I think it makes perfect sense.

 

[closet_fan]

1. I hated the fact that cena got a belt, not the real one that punk has, but a belt. It totally shows that wwe is afraid to give anyone a chance.

2. I love punk, but I feel his return was too soon. I think they should have had punk sitting in the crowd with the belt and he and his megaphone saying sumtin like "the champ is here, in section 105".

3. I would have also like to have seen punk create somewhat commercials interruptoions like the nwo, and have him somewhere in chicago etc saying its kinda funny that wwe dosent recgonize the true champ. And finish with that this was paid for by those who believe in the straight edge lifestyle.

Wwe could had done a huge build. Something we haven't seen in yrs. And its all gone. Smh, too bad

I kind of wish they had Punk come out through the crowd. It would have made the "I'm still not signed" angle more legit. Only thing I can think of is that next week, HHH comes out and says he and Punk agreed to a new deal.

But whatever. Cena holding the belt, a belt, etc. doesn't interest me in the least.

And I called it as soon as Vince saw last week's RAW ratings. They were going to go back into safe mode and give Cena the belt back.

 

[dlevesqu]

They really dropped the ball. Cena was looking legit hurt, but then became super Cena, shook it off, and won. I don't have a problem with him winning, but ADR should have come out, capitalized on Cena's knee, and won the strap. Then you have the Cena vs. ADR match at Summerslam that they've been talking about forever. Hell, you could even through Rey in for a triple threat. Then you bring Punk back in the crowd with a bullhorn saying it doesn't matter who wins because he is the real champ.

Why didn't they play the comicon footage? They said on wwe.com that they got the footage. It would have been the perfect way to get Punk on tv for the week without having him actually come back.

 

[JaylisJayP]

I guess count me in the minority of longtime WWF/WWE fans who aren't kids that actually enjoyed Punk coming out this quickly.

Don't get me wrong, back in the attitude era it was certainly filled with all sorts of epic, but they took SO long to run a story out, they'd throw you weeks and weeks of basically the same thing happening. One week wrestler A gets to pose over the body of wrestler B at the end of the show, the next week vice-versa, rince and repeat for 2 months...honestly those storylines ALWAYS got stale for me before they hit the money match, so to speak. I clearly remember not caring about so many feuds after a while because they never "built". They just dragged it out and when they finally went for the big moment, it was diluted because many people had moved on. It was took little too late. So I'm good with this and I totally marked out at the end of the best RAW in a long time.

So I'm glad they're speeding things up...and I kinda hope they stop (if they ever did) listening to the IWC if this is going to be your reaction. Seriously, Rey as the champion? He has some of the worst mic skills in the industry, he does the same few moves over and over again (believe me I'm not defending Cena, I'm just saying)...why exactly is he better than Cena? He would've been horrible as champ, and while I saw some signs of life with Miz, they're evidently sticking with him being a whiny heel at the moment, which is pretty old...and I don't know the deal with the extent of his injury (can't be that bad if he's working through it). This sets up an epic storyline between Punk/Cena that I'd rather see start now and play out through Summerslam and beyond. Let Punk get wrapped back up in the Rock match, too. The possibilities are there and they know they need to start now. Seeing Punk and Cena go toe-to-toe with the same belt in each of their arms was one of the best raw moments for me since Batista gave HHH the thumbs down leading up to whatever wrestlemania that was. It's not often I mark out for wrestling anymore, but it happened last night.

Cena might be overplayed, but with Punk I think it keeps him back on his heels a little. I don't think Cena likes being outdone on the mic so I think he'll up his game. If Punk had stayed away too long they would've lost the momentum they had. How many wrestling fans really knew or cared about his Comic Con moment or drop-in at the Indy event?

C'mon, get real...they would've wasted the momentum and hurt the angle had they NOT brought him back, not the other way around. I do agree maybe they could've pushed it a couple weeks (at most) of Punk "appearances", like the other guy saying Punk in the crowd talking about "The champ is here in section 105." That would've been nice, too.

 

[rvdiswhatsforme]

I like the idea that Triple H was able to bring him back and not McMahon. I'd like to see who kayfabe really brought him back maybe they say it was Stephanie or Linda. I think the crowd giving the bigger reaction to Punk might finally turn Cena heel. Please don't screw this up let Punk have his run with the belt give him the chance to get the young guys over.

 

[steven87gill]

No the return of cm punk shouldnt have taken place two weeks after money in the bank. WWE rushed way too early by having cm punk show up tonight. That just make all of cm punk's previous promos to be irrelevant. Ok he said he will leave the company with the title and wants to go somewhere else blah blah blah and now hes back after missing just only one raw?

Definitely a good storyline but i expected the wwe would make something kayfabe out of this storyline and prolong the storyline. Like have cm punk shows up on ROH or something. oo well


Rey mysterio was never going to get the strap. He was simply doing the job of a transitional champion giving the strap back to John Cena. But holy shit, the wwe wasnt gonna wait for another week to have cena become champion, oo no. It just makes the entire tournament completely irrelevant.

I suspect the early return of CM Punk was due to last weeks surprisingly low ratings. VKM probably figured 'no CM punk, no casual fan interest'

 

[deshbo]

what was the sense of that tornament if they was gonna give back the belt to cena? it just didn't make any sense. i think they should have just let cena and punk battle for the belt punk have and call it a day instead of bringing in another title which aint gonna mean anything at all and have any purpose

 

[Menski]

CM Punk is not a stand alone guy, he even stated in his promos that the wheel keeps on turning. Ratings will not be based purely on him as this is all part of a much bigger storyline that revolves around more than just CM Punk and the belt and even Cena for that matter. Do you really think the Mr. McMahon character is just going to walk off into the night? No neither do I. The character deserves to be written out properly with a huge story (and he is leaving in terms of on screen as he feels it'll help Linda).

So, watch RAW again. Read between the lines and look at the big picture. Vince makes a mess of Cena/Punk and gets fired. Cole then is on the receiving end of HHH's new regime and Miz slates the new regime. The lines are being drawn and sides taken as a battle for the company brews. Vince will need superstars on his side and it'll come through them as HHH and Vince fight it out over the company. It has been building for a long time and if they're smart they'll incorporate The Nexus into it in order to have Wade's "change is coming" prophecy to come true. Only question is where does Punk fit?

Cena will side with HHH as the face, Miz with Vince as the Heels? Punk will maybe represent the wrestlers. With Nexus, Colt etc and maybe even a returning Jericho to create a 3 way battle. with perhaps someone like Shane or Heyman as the GM to lead their side. Punk was not brought back too early as this is all bigger than him, he is the catalyst to a new era in the WWE.

This years Survivor Series may be too close and with Wrestlemania being tipped for big things, I'd suggest there or next years Survivor Series for the end to all this.

 

[Mustang Sally]

WWE rushed way too early by having cm punk show up tonight. That just make all of cm punk's previous promos to be irrelevant.

That's one point of view, but I'm thinking just the opposite. In the entertainment business, you've got to strike while the iron is hot. Recently, Punk vs Cena has been the hottest topic in the industry. Keeping Punk off TV will only cool down the excitement that's built up over the past weeks. The company is smart to ride their biggest horses into the Summer PPV.

Okay, so now we know the entire angle was a work. So what? There are tons of things the writers can do with Punk's "rebel" character.....and the possibilities extend way beyond Summerslam, although the fireworks we'll be seeing the next few weeks should be as exciting as the build-up this past month.

Look how the feud resumed last night. You had two of the best talkers in the business, face-to-face.....yet the segment featured no talking we could hear. After everything Punk said, what in hell is he doing back so soon? We'll have to wait a week to find out.

The whole thing was great.....and it's going to get even better.

 

[[cL]]

We now have 2 wwe champions with cena being the real champion and punk now being the self-proclaimed champion.

How EXACTLY is Cena the real world champion and Punk the self-proclaimed world champion? Self proclaimed means that you didn't earned a title, you claimed a title. Just so you know, at Money in the Bank, Punk BEAT Cena for the world title. If Punk was the self proclaimed champion as you say, there would have been no need for a championship tournament due to the fact that CENA would have still been the champion. He wouldn't have needed a rematch clause cause he wouldn't have lost the title. See where i'm going with this?
Punk IS the WWE world champion and got it cleanly and fairly in the middle of the ring here in Chicago.
Cena is the....how would you say it...champion they came up with.
Yeah...
he's the champion they came up with.

1. I hated the fact that cena got a belt, not the real one that punk has, but a belt. It totally shows that wwe is afraid to give anyone a chance.

2. I love punk, but I feel his return was too soon. I think they should have had punk sitting in the crowd with the belt and he and his megaphone saying sumtin like "the champ is here, in section 105".

3. I would have also like to have seen punk create somewhat commercials interruptoions like the nwo, and have him somewhere in chicago etc saying its kinda funny that wwe dosent recgonize the true champ. And finish with that this was paid for by those who believe in the straight edge lifestyle.

Wwe could had done a huge build. Something we haven't seen in yrs. And its all gone. Smh, too bad

This idea is PERFECT! It would have been the best thing in the world to have Punk come to Raw, pay to get in and have his megaphone talking crap through the whole show. That would have been AWESOME!!!
NWO style commercial interruptions....yeah man...even though its "been done" that would have added to an awesome build for SS.
As I said before, I think the WWE is so desperate to keep ratings up they didn't want to take the chance on ideas like this even though I think it would have worked perfectly!

I WISH they would have gone this route.

 

[MoneyforNothing94]

I just wished they had kept CM Punk off of TV for an extended period of time to make his departure seem more real. I think it would have been a cool idea for Punk to play mind games with Cena though promos and videos. Interrupt his matches with Cult of Personality-themed promos, while not directly telling the audience it's Punk. Seems like they're rushing the Punk/Cena angle. And if I had to bet on a final outcome, Punk will end up jobbing to Cena, losing the WWE Championship. Sorry WWE, until you show consistency, I'll always see your product 'half-empty.'

 

[sinisterscotsman]

I agree that Punk was brought back way too early but from a business point of view it does make sense in terms of the buys they will get for Summerslam.

Punk right now is at a point where he is the hottest thing in wrestling, where the fans with any wrestling knowledge are able to see that he is the best in the world right now. clearly, the potential is there for Punk to kick on and become a legend of the business but I am concerned that WWE may drop the ball with him due to their determination of continuing the supercena era. When this feud comes to an end it would be an outrage if Cena were to come out on top. if this were the case then Punk's character would be completely buried and almost impossible to salvage.

 

[Mustang Sally]

If Punk was the self proclaimed champion as you say, there would have been no need for a championship tournament due to the fact that CENA would have still been the champion. He wouldn't have needed a rematch clause cause he wouldn't have lost the title.

But Cena did lose the title fair and square. The point is that Punk's contract expired and he chose not to renew it, thereby ending his employment with WWE and giving up all rights to any position he held in the company.

In your own job, let's say you leave the company and they fill your position with someone else. If you decide two weeks later to return, you can't reclaim your old job and force out your replacement..... because you had resigned and had chosen to not be their employee anymore, giving up the claim to your old position.

Same with Punk. He quit, so WWE had every right to replace him as champion. Okay, they do it with a tournament instead of simply naming a new champ. But the person who ends up the night as title holder is the true champ, not Punk.

Of course, we're talking about make-believe, so here comes Punk, wearing the title belt he no longer has a right to. I'm sure the devilment he'll bring in the coming weeks will make this a must-see program.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I was just thinking, as I often do, about the New Nexus. I've got to hand it to the WWE, just when I think they're absolutely inept, they get something absolutely right. The New Nexus are shit. Before you raise your voice in opposition, hypothetical person, you're wrong - they're shit. However, my solution of getting them away from Punk in the same manner Hulk Hogan might get away from his shirt was to have them killed in a traffic accident. The WWE's solution - to never again mention them in the same sentence as CM Punk - appears to be the superior one. So, kudos to World Wrestling Entertainment for that.

Oh, also, Rey Mysterio is ******ed. Who agrees to two title matches in one night? Well, two-and-a-quarter. What a putz.

 

[DForce]

What do you think will happen now?

The Punk and Cena feud will end at Summer Slam, Triple H will turn heel administrator, and then CM Punk will feud with Trips. CM will be like this Castro type figure and Triple H will be like a one man government. It's going to be Stone Cold vs. Vince for a new generation.

Are you happy to see the return of cm punk?

O' hell yeah I'm happy with the return of Punk. The man is like a cult leader and one of the greatest heels since Hollywood Hogan. On par with those of Austin and the Rock are Punk's promos. Long live Punk.

What happens to rey mysterio now, does he get a rematch, or does the wwe just push him back to the bottom.
thoughts?

I can't even imagine what will happen with Rey, but a heel Rey would be very interesting. But he probably takes his character to damn seriously like Bret Hart.

 

[browngiant]

What doesn't make sense to me is if CM Punk is still unsigned, and we can say he's unsigned because WWE has not mentioned anything about resigning him like they did for JR and Morrison (Punk saying he's back doesn't mean anything btw), then why is he coming out from the back with new theme music and a titantron video? If he's unsigned, he should've came through the crowd and stood right in front of Cena.

Punk said he's winning the title and leaving the WWE yet comes back after 2 weeks of winning it? This should've been done wayyyyy better.

And is anybody else still pissed off about the spinner belt still being around???

Guess we have to wait till next week...

BG

 

[silrock316]

This is why I am beginning to hate Cena. The guy goes from fired to champ in a week. He is already like 50 time WWE champion and he isnt even 35. He will seriously be a 20 time champ. Its pathetic. Its garbage. I cant stand his face anymore. Cena is seriously making me consider not watching WWE until after he is gone from the company.

The Punk thing was cheap. Most of the fans out there have NO idea he used that music before so his reaction was died down. They should have drug it out more.

Honestly I am gonna cut myself off before I say something stupid, because I seriously am angered by Cena being force fed to me even more.

God I was so happy for 2 weeks watching this show now its right back to everything I hate about WWE.

 

[GideonGodsend]

a show is nothing without its ending, and i personally think the ending sucked. the song was playing and no one knew what was going on, if this fire burns started playing the crowd would have went NUTS and i really hope punk doesnt keep that song cuz it doesnt fit him at all

 

[stylin'andprofilin']

I knew what was going on. Punk is the greatest professional wrestler today. There is no ifs about that. He needs to b in the wwe right now to keep it interesting. Because without it its a stale product. He is the best thing going for the wwe right now. The ending on raw was great there still is shock value left in the wwe! Finally a good product!

 

[closet_fan]

This is why I am beginning to hate Cena. The guy goes from fired to champ in a week. He is already like 50 time WWE champion and he isnt even 35. He will seriously be a 20 time champ. Its pathetic. Its garbage. I cant stand his face anymore. Cena is seriously making me consider not watching WWE until after he is gone from the company.

The Punk thing was cheap. Most of the fans out there have NO idea he used that music before so his reaction was died down. They should have drug it out more.

Honestly I am gonna cut myself off before I say something stupid, because I seriously am angered by Cena being force fed to me even more.

God I was so happy for 2 weeks watching this show now its right back to everything I hate about WWE.

I agree 100%. They were so stupid to use Cult of Personality because most WWE fans are just that, WWE fans. They don't watch other feds like Ring of Honor. I knew it was Punk coming out, but I never knew he used that song in ROH until I looked it up after RAW was over.

I'm not a Cena hater, but they have to stop relying on him as a standby when things get a little rough.

If Cena wins at SS, I'll be watching a lot of Monday Night Football and Family Guy reruns again this year.

 

[arcticfox04]

If Cena wins at SS, I'll be watching a lot of Monday Night Football and Family Guy reruns again this year.

Cena wins at Summerslam they'd KILL ALL OF THE CM PUNK BUILDUP unless Cena beats him Dirty. Punk is becoming more popular week by week because CM Punk gives the fans what they want. Someone that can talk on the Mic at the level of a Rock/Austin. Yes we all know its scripted but CM Punk can make it believable then anyone else.

You can start the angle next week pretty much saying that Cena rushed a title match after Rey had wrestle earlier that night. Punk can say Cena & Triple H plotted to get rid of McMahon so they could have the company. The Shareholders would of never let Cena get fired due to losing money and had to remove Vince asap and force in the Cena/HHH's Era. Punk can say Vince signed him to a deal right before Triple H took over.

You have the Rock show up to screw Cena out of the title in Summerslam to push the angle into Wrestlemania where its for control of the company. Have 2 huge matches HHH vs Punk & Rock w/ Vince vs Cena w/ Stephanie. Rock will claim he's trying to save the WWE while Cena says he is the WWE now. Then you have some good old attitude era story line with a PG rating is fine blood and cursing doesn't make ratings a good story does.

I know its Wishful thinking but I don't think Cena isn't going anywhere character wise unless he's put on the shelf for a long period of time. Hopefully they can tweak him to not be Super Cena anymore and look beatable like he has in the last 2 matches.

 

[Belladonna29]

Ideally, this angle could have been drawn out for at least a month or so.
The tournament could have lasted by having one or a couple of matches each week.
They could have foreshadowed Vince getting ousted by having the wrestlers or even the commentators wondering aloud about Vince seeming even more unstable than usual.
Cena would be "fired" for several weeks, and they could have played his absence as a big issue in the company.
The faces might have lobbied to get him back while the heels protested it.
And then when finally HHH took over, Cena could have been reinstated and got his title shot against the winner of the tournament.

Importantly, Punk could have been making publicity rounds and indy shows badmouthing the company and crapping on the "corporate paper champion".
Then something like yesterday could have happened with Punk coming out to confront Cena.
This would have awesome and milked the storyline in a believable fashion.

However, I think the reason this didn't happen might have to do with the buzz around Punk specifically.
This angle seems to be pulling some fair-weather fans and legit journos back into pro wrestling for a moment ( ESPN is kinda following this to my surprise), and frankly, these people aren't going to wait around if Punk isn't on the show each week.
The also aren't invested enough to watch viral videos and go to indy shows in case Punk shows up.
They just want to see this guy who everyone is talking about right now.
We may talk about how kids have short attention spans, but the pop culture cycle in general have real sped up the past 10 years because of the internet.
The truth is keeping Punk off of tv might have been best for the storylines, but it could have easily eroded his buzz unless he was showing up on talk shows and pushing the angle each week he was gone. And then they might have become redundant. Who knows?

Punk is the hook to get these people to watch the show; the WWE knows the kiddies and the smarks will watch almost anything they put out there.
What's significant about this storyline is that it's gotten the WWE mainstream attention that doesn't involve a scandal or someone dying, so they wanted to jump on things right away, and they weren't gong to do it without Punk.
The trick now is to keep the urgency of the angle going without diluting Punk's character or screwing him over at SS.