Punk vs. Cena II: This'll Shut People Up

[Jack-Hammer]

There's a thread asking whether or not you think WWE has faith in CM Punk as the WWE Champion. It's no secret that Cena is still THE guy in WWE and with good reason, as Cena is someone that's long since proven himself as being worthy of the spot time and time again whether some want to admit it or not. Since Punk has been WWE Champion, there've been complaints that he hasn't gotten top billing, which is understandable as we're so used to seeing the WWE Champion portrayed as THE guy.

CM Punk has been WWE Champion for slightly more than 6 months. In my eyes, he's had overall solid feuds that've delivered some of the best wrestling matches of 2012, whether they be on television or on ppv. Punk hasn't had that one mega feud as WWE Champion that will truly silence the doubters. In my mind, that feud will happen at some point in the fairly near future and it will be against John Cena.

Cena vs. Punk was feud of the year in 2011 and their match at MITB was most people's choice for match of the year. It put Punk on a whole new level. Punk was playing a heel character then, even though he was still hugely over. There were some mistakes made, in my eyes, what with introducing Del Rio into the middle of the title picture, which did result in the title scene losing some steam. However, Punk won the title at Survivor Series and I don't think anybody can legitimately and fairly say that CM Punk hasn't been a good champion. Now that Punk has established himself with a long run as WWE Champion, I think it should be soon time to start things back up with John Cena. Overall, Punk got the best of Cena last year, which was something that we weren't used to seeing happen very often, but is also something that we've seen more of when it comes to Cena. If the magic of Punk vs. Cena can be recreated in 2012, especially over the course of this summer, then I think Punk will have truly arrived. He might not ever be THE face of WWE in the same way as Cena, but I think it will silence the doubts as to whether or not Punk truly belongs at the top.

 

[DetectiveZelix]

Good point OP. I truly think a new fued with Cena will elevate Punk in many ways. Now, firstly I truly dislike Cena's character and wish not to watch him week in week out get top billing and so on, but I will and must admit that almost anyone who gets involved in a heated fued with Cena usually rises to the M.E. or gets more attention a la Edge, RVD, and as you recently named Punk. So, in theory it was Cena that indirectly brought attention to punk as well as the Cena haters who usually cheer for Cena's opponents.

Punk, however is legitimate. From day one Punk has proved himself in the independent circuts and one of the best performers, wrestlers, and mic workers that I've seen in the Indy's. So then after losng steam from the new NeXus and threatening to quit and dropping his powerful Pipe Bomb speech and targeting Cena in my opinion all of that as well as winning the WWE gold brought Punk his solid status as a Main Event player. But again, its an unassailable fact that if he wasnt targeting Cena, there'd be a good chance he wouldnt be as revered and recognized as he is now. The Cena haters and the Cena radiation so to speak brought him there.

So with that said, yes a second more heated fued with Cena will defintely be the determining factor on Punk being "The Man" in WWE. let's face it. Cena=Austin, Cena=Hogan. I ay that because during the height of Austin and Hogan's time in the WWF/E they were the biggest characters/thing to talk about. No matter who was fueding. No matter who had the title, at the end of the day we all remembered what Austin or Hogan was involved with, which usually was the Title but when it wasnt we still watched mainly for them. They were the attraction and even though Cena gets alot of Boos and such he still is the main attraction and will be until someone foils him. Randy came close, but nope, Rock and Brocks returns were awesome but look who they fueded with=Cena....So that's that. In my opinion Punk is the PERFECT foil to Cena, he has the wrestling skill to back it up as well as plenty of experience. His character is always kid of the rebel smartass fuck that Cena would natural dispise because he is more of a follow the rules do the right thing kind of guy while Punk is more of a "I'm getting my spot fuck everyone else" kind of guy. But what makes this so interesting is that Punk has the title. For this fued for one we need it to be long, like Cena's fued with Edge. Also, it needs to be really personal. A match just wont do

In order to shift the powers or at least test the waters with punk we have to throw some of the rules out the window. Both guys have to ve gritty and edgy in thier own right. Naturlaly Punk would be the Heel, but I'd like to see Cena be the Heel. It would further Punk as the new "Face" of the comepany if it were this way and Cena could be the ultimate heel. Forget all of the Make a wish stuff as well as the armed forces respect and so on. Cena, outside of wrestling can still have his beliefs and honor but during this fued he needs to be rancid to compete with Punks already snarky style. Punk needs to be Anti-Hero like he was during he Pipe Bomb phase and Cena needs to be relaly angry but also cocky because he doesnt believe Puk can overtake him. The fued would be really good if planned out right. Get JL out of the picture. There should be no authority figures in the middle of this. If planned right I can definetly see Punk coming out of this as the New Face and WWE Cena being the baddest heel.

I personally think Cena wants this too as he said numerous times he feels comfortable playing the Heel. But time will tell. This is the year however that all of this should began. I'd love for it to began directly after Summerslame when Punk beats Brock or whoever he ends up facing and Cena beats whoever he's facing, Punk can say he beat Brock too so Cena's no better than him and if he would have face Rocky he would have won. Then Punk can remind Cena of all the "Real" Hardcore fans he has and Cena can blow them off and say screw everyone. This has to come a day where Cena takes of the mask and lashes out at the crowd. There'd be no better fued to begin this phase with other than Punk.

 

[SFC]

The issue is, how do you go about it?

A few months after their feud ended, Cena said how much he respects Punk, visa versa. It's been a love affair.

I could see them going about it with Cena saying he wants his title back, and Punk essentially saying "Come get it." Who is the heel though? Vince hates face/face feuds (though we could soon get one with Orton/Sheamus). You could build a program around the prestige of the title, but is that enough to hold everyone's attention?

I doubt they would send Punk heel again (at least at this stage), as he is very much over. The likelihood of Cena going heel, as we know, is very slim after the opportunity has been there and they've decided not too many times in the past.

However, a face Punk going over a heel Cena would SKYROCKET Punk to being the no. 1 guy, but is it worth it for them to do that?

Not sure, but I would certainly be in for another feud if done correctly.

 

[Negrodamus]

Truth be told and I know a lot of you may disagree but Punk is not that over to be THE face of the company, this is the reason Cena has to stick around. Since his pipebomb speech he has been pretty decent but not to the level where Cena can take a break.
Yes he puts on good matches but his promos are not that interesting, this past feud was all Jericho who made it somewhat interesting. I cared more about what Jericho was doing than Punk.
Thats why Punk needs Cena love him or hate him Cena always has and makes a good storyline with whoever he is in a feud with I cant say the same for Punk especially a face Punk.
He is great but to get that THE GUY feeling there is something missing with him.
IMO his promos are too nerdy and go over top of most casual fans heads his promos are made for the IWC not for the mass audience. So there is no back and forth action between the 2 to keep invested in this feud. Thats why the attitude era was so good ( and no this is not a bring back the AE statement) when The Rock Austin HHH Angle or whoever was going at it there was always room for the other to get over so things were on an even base going into whatever match. Punk can kill a feud the way he does promos ( his promos against ADR ) I was interested in that feud until he just killed ADR's character and the feud became boring cause he made it seem like ADR was boring ( which he is not he just finds it harder to get his stuff across in english).
Cena will never turn heel but definitely Punk needs him to get over. I want Punk to find a way to do it without Cena though so he can take some time off which we all know he really needs but Vince cant afford that yet cause Punk is just not there yet. IMO

 

[xavyer]

I think a Cena/Punk feud is waiting to happen, and also i truly think that at some point Cena is going heel, he has put up with a lot of things against him, and at some point he is bound to explode (storyline wise of course) and when that happens he's going to say things like, how he worked his tail of and the fans turned on him, so he's turning on them and that he will get what he deserves, definitly aiming for the title ( CM Punk ), i really don't know who will come up on top, but i know it will be a great feud.......

 

[MCMG]

Does face v face work? I'm skeptical about this. I would never want either Punk or Cena to turn heel. They need to stay face as that is when they are at their best. I would say Punk as surpassed Orton as the number 2 face in the WWE and it would be crazy to tamper with that.

Although this feud could be enjoyable and I'm sure the mic-work and the matches themselves would be off a high quality but i just don't think face/face works and it is a waste when these two guys can be used elsewhere.

 

[Headman]

I have no doubt that a feud between Punk and Cena will renew interest in Punk, but it would also prove what I already believe to be true that Cena made Punk look like a star and without him he's just, well... Punk. If Punk is going to solidify himself as a top guy he needs to draw working with people besides Cena. I know there are those out there who feel for Punk to get a fair shake Cena has to get out of the way and turn heel. Well this would be like wrecking your Porsche so your beat up old station wagon can be the nicest car you own.

 

[dingman29]

Unfortunately, Punks reign as WWE champion seems to be reminiscent of JBL's title reign... Its solid, but not a memorable one... To book Cena/Punk, IMO i would make punk a tweener. Cena will NEVER go heel UNLESS his merchandise tanked, and the kids quit liking him (hogan)... Punk as a tweener, can bring back the pipebombs, and would be a fan favorite among adults as cena would be the kiddie/women fan favorite

 

[jeritroll94]

As much as I loved the Cena/Punk angle last year, this will not be one of those rivalries which will last years (Bret/HBK, Austin/Rock, HHH/HBK, Cena/Orton to name a few) unless one of them turns into a full heel which is something I highly doubt we'll see for a while given their current position and fan base.

CM Punk's title reign has been very good IMO with a lot of great matches (especially the Y2J ones). Heck he even got something good out of Del Rio! I reckon that if there is to be another one of these long-lasting rivalries for CM Punk, it would have to be with Daniel Bryan. I have a feeling these two will be in a World Title match for next year's WrestleMania and why not? As for John Cena, I guess time will tell. We all speculate he will turn heel but its if Vince can afford the merchandising declines that might follow. Unless Cena gets some creativity in his heel character the WWE can make money out of (Daniel Bryan's YES YES YES T-Shirt and Austin's WHAT? T Shirt are great examples when they were heels), he is not turning heel.

 

[Fansince1992]

I can think of 4 guys who could give Punk a much needed Rub.

John Cena
The Rock
Brock Lesnar
Steve Austin

The Problem is with Punk as Champion it's not really wise for him to fued with Rock, Austin, or Lesnar. Seems for the moment WWE wants to keep thier Part-Timers out of the title Picture. So yeah have to agree with the OP here and say Cena is the only one at the moment. Maybe if Punk was losing the Title in the next month or so (perhaps to DB?) then he could slot in and get a rub off one of the other three.

It's still tricky to find Punk an opponent other than Cena to put him at Cena's level.

The Rock - God knows when he will be back again
Austin - The dream fued with Austin may just be a Myth, and The Rattlesnake may not even be fit enough to compete.
Lesnar - Limited dates, and Triple H looks to be next in line for him.

Out of the other Top Full-Timers

Randy Orton
Chris Jericho (well not anymore after the Suspension)
Sheamus
Daniel Bryan

These guys are great but they won't help Punk get up there with Cena in my opinion.

Another thing they could try is put Cena and Punk in a tag team for a while, as they are both Faces. I don't mean them going for the Tag Titles, but teaming up on Raw and the lower end PPV's against top heels. They could even "Heel Turn" one of them this way, as one could turn on the other, setting up a Cena/Punk Fued. A bit like in the 90s when Sid Justice turned on Hulk Hogan when they were a team.

 

[DetectiveZelix]

I'll have to agree with most of you. Cena would be the only major one as Cena is the measuring stick (ack I hate admitting this) of the WWE. I mean I myself dislike Cena but I cant deny his drawing power. So I'd definitely have to book this fued. I honestly think Punk can outshine Cena if he like many of you said bring his pipe bomb tweener characteristics and Cena can be the Company Man. I mean, he is in real life anyways and in this day and age not too many people like the Company man. it will be almost like Austin vs Corporate Rock. But Cena should not team with Johnny because that would be awkward and would probably turn out real cheesy. Hell if Cena wasnt so widely known with Wish granting and Armed forces supporting and charities and so on he could tweak his character but no one would truly buy a Heel turn. Like I said in order for this to work Cena needs to be real cocky and careless of the fans then Punk would be the rebel who would speak out against him

 

[DetectiveZelix]

And another thing Right now Punk would have been a pefect foil to Cena starting from back at Money in the bank when Mcmahon sent Laurenitis down to the ring during the Cena Punk match. They should have screwed Punk and Cena would stand tall with Vince and JL and Punk would have lost and left. Then Cena would be like a Tweener because he stood up for his company but Punk was the one who got screwed so people would be on Punks side and Cena can turn more heel by telling the crowd that they didnt even support the company theyre suppose to love and choose to side with some Rogue Indy Wrestler who betrayed his own boss? and that would demean the crowd and theyd support punk more and chant for him to come back. let that last for about six weeks or so before the 2nd PPV punk starts pulling a Matt Hardy and interfering in Cenas entrance or on the street punk could show up outside haunting Cena and so on till Cena begs Vince to hire him back so he could kick his ass. Vince reluctantly does so. Punks music hits fans go wild and there you go. Cenas the Heel and Punks the edgy face. would be like Austin vs. Rock and they'd be somewhat equals. Just my opinion. I feel that could have made Punk the franchise player that would be equal to Cena. feel free to pick apart my idea and blast me as many of the members here do quite frequently

 

[sjdigitall]

Punk V Cena is a Wrestlemania-worthy feud and i believe it deserves to be only there. Thing is the only way to spice things up is if Cena turns heel and whether Vince has the balls to turn Cena heel. Cena being a heel, maybe the leader of a heel group of 3-4 running amuck on Punk would be a really great feud. Whatever it is , it needs to add something new to their feud.

 

[Jenna.]

I should of read this before I actually made my post in the other thread lol. I 100% agree with the OP. Punk hasn't had that epic match to really put him over as the face of the company. In order for that to happen this match has to go down. Like I said in the other thread a lot of time would have to be invested by Punk and the WWE to really elevate his character. Epic promos would have to occur, interferes in each other matches would have to occur, stare downs, etc.

 

[Con T.]

Copy and paste time...


See, there's a problem with that, Jack; Cena and Punk, in spite of the great chemistry that they have, can't feud again. At least not now

Here's why; for that to happen, one of them is going to have to turn heel. At this point, it'd be dumb to turn Cena heel. He's still the top draw of the company; apparently, Sheamus is gonna be the guy after John, but he just
isn't ready yet, and everyone can tell it.

No big deal; just turn Punk heel, right? Can't do it, unfortunately. In spite of how much more of a natural heel Punk is, he's always going to et cheered by the smarks. The IWC, while a minority, is a very vocal minority at house shows, tapings, everywhere really.


No problem, just do a feud like last year, right? Except, those come once in a lifetime. There was a desperation
to Punk and Cena's feud last year, with made it really seem this could be the last time they fight. You simply just can't do last year's feud again; it is once in a lifetime.

So, while the Cena feud may be good in theory, in execution, it doesn't work now.

Now, if you want something a little different... If you do want to establish Punk as a top draw guy, you make him a heel, an you do it right. Punk is a natural heel, and his promos as a face have been bland, and otherwise overshadowed. Punk just isn't good as a face; if you make him a heel, you revitalize a man who's been stagnant for months, and you get much more entertaining tv. But it has to be done right; he has to go over top guys, Cena included, and made to look like a legitimate threat. Think Bobby Rude in TNA right now.

Course, that's also why it won't happen

 

[DANIELBRYANrealwrestler]

WWE wouldnt allow that unless one of them were heel but i read once sheamus establishes himself to cenas height with the kids and merchandise sales cena might go heel. if that happens a cena vs punk match wud be epic and im anxious to see a heel cena the crowd wud cheer him backwards imo with kids booin nd more men cheering

 

[Lockard23]

Cena will never be a heel again, so that's out of the question. As for the rematch, I always figured they would have it eventually when the time comes for Punk to turn heel again, doesn't seem like they want a face Punk to beat Cena for a third time and Cena beating him is pointless. At this point though, seeing the awful booking they've done with Punk, a rematch might not even happen at all.

 

[The Eighties]

When Cena was made champion his defense feuds were Jericho, Angle, Triple H, Edge, Umaga and HBK across the next two years. In comparison Punk has been put in feuds with guys who aren't established themselves apart from Jericho.

Punk vs Jericho at Summerslam and then at Mania could work with them splitting victories, but I actually think Triple H and Punk have a lot left to offer in a feud and that could be the sort of title program that could give Punk the extra rub without WWE needing to put their top 2 faces in together.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

It would have been good if CM Punk actually lost a match in his fued with Jericho. WWE should have let Chris Jericho win the WWE Championship at the Elimination Chamber. It would have made the Jericho/ Punk fued more intense and finally let Punk win the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania.

Punk would have been more over.

 

[Mustang Sally]

He might not ever be THE face of WWE in the same way as Cena, but I think it will silence the doubts as to whether or not Punk truly belongs at the top.

Agreed. Punk has delivered some terrific matches and feuds....and has performed admirably as the champion. The problem is that I don't find him as exciting as I thought he was going to be after the initial "Voice of the Voiceless" campaign he launched as his contract was expiring. That was an awesome program because there seemed to be elements of real life mixed in. We'll probably never know if Punk was truly ready to leave the company, but he did his schtick so well that I can't believe it was all make-believe.

Still, a huge part of the reason it was such a successful program was John Cena, as are so many of the great moments in WWE. Now, as the OP is claiming, doing it again with Cena is the way to cement Punk's standing as a featured attraction. I agree.

Frankly, I was surprised the company abandoned the feud the way they did, leaving both men as good guys; I thought it was certain Cena was going to turn bad at that point. When Alberto Del Rio appeared in the picture and took the focus off Punk-Cena, I was disappointed.

In retrospect, I think it was the right move. If Punk's new celebrity status revolves around Cena, what was the company supposed to do after the feud was over? After presenting Punk at the absolute apex of his profession, did he have the staying power to run with it from there? Obviously, they decided to delay the day of reckoning.

The way they've handled it, Punk has room to grow.....even if it still comes back to him and Cena. I believe one of them has to turn to make this battle fly.....but it might not be Cena who makes the change.

Since the original program between the two men was never completed, it becomes inevitable it will resume some day. Looking forward to it.