Punk VS Heyman: How WWE Can Keep It Going A While Longer

[Jack-Hammer]

A few minutes ago, I came across a story originally sourced from the WON regarding Survivor Series. The report says that commercials are airing locally in Boston and that Punk & Heyman is one of the programs highlighted, hinting that it MIGHT be going on over 2 months from now. IF, IF WWE plans to keep this going on for a while longer, then I can only think of one way that it could happen without getting stale: Paul Heyman aligns himself with The New Corporation.

If Punk beats Curtis Axel at Night of Champions, which I think is almost a given, then Paul Heyman must face Punk due to the stipulation of Heyman being gone from WWE if he runs away. The payoff for this whole situation has been for Punk to ultimately get his hands on Heyman, so naturally people are going to be extremely let down if Axel somehow scores an upset win over Punk. Just before Punk is able to get his hands on Heyman, The Shield's music hits and they make their way to ringside.

Of all the top guys on the WWE roster, CM Punk is the only one of that The Shield hasn't beaten down at one point or another. It'd be a nice little ironic twist given that Punk & Heyman are the ones who first "paid" The Shield to watch Punk's back during his feud with Ryback. The Shield hits the ring and beat Punk down, even allowing Heyman to get some licks in himself, before they leave him lying in the ring with Heyman himself untouched.

On Raw the next night, it's revealed that Triple H approached Heyman or maybe even the other way around to form an alliance or for Heyman to simply join up. The schtick of Trips & The McMahons has been all about doing what's "best for business" and, as a result, they've put their past issues with Heyman behind them and vice versa. As a result, Heyman will be aligned with not only Axel but could also act as sort of a liason between the executives and the talent. As a result, this winds up bringing CM Punk, the other top babyface on the roster right now, into this bigger feud as well alongside Daniel Bryan, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler and possibly others.

Otherwise, if WWE does want to keep it going until at least SummerSlam, I don't know how they're going to keep it fresh and to prevent it from feeling like a feud that's simply dragging its feet.

 

[DarrenYoungsCleanAssFro]

What if there is no pay off? What if Axel just destroys Punk and that leads Punk into a downwards spiral. His seeming weakness leads him to become the next target of the Wyatt family. The buzzards, so to speak, come to feast on his lifeless corpse. After weeks of beatdowns at the hands of the Wyatts, Heyman becomes dismayed at what has become of his prodigal son and eventually calls his "Heyman Guys" (Axel and a new guy from NXT) to the aid of Punk. Punk and the Heyman Guys go on to face and narrowly defeat the Wyatts and then Heyman welcomes Punk back into his fold.

I know this isn't the typical WWE storyline but this is the type of stuff I'd be into.

 

[ThePhenomLives]

But wouldn't CM Punk overshadow Daniel Bryan? The latter is supposed to emerge as the star and therefore he should NOT share the spotlight. Let guys like Dolph Ziggler align themselves with Bryan. They're not at the top of the card and could use the rub.

 

[kingofkings1]

I think, wwe may group them (punk and paul) again in a friendship bond. Because, paul Heyman once said that i would love to be in C.m. Punk's corner at wm30, where punk will be fighting for 'unified wwe world title'. Ultimately, punk may become the 1st 'unified wwe world champion'.

 

[BillAlfonsos_Whistle]

Wow. I never really thought of this. I really like the idea presented by the OP. The only issue I could see arising from a Heyman/McMahon union and involving CM Punk is that the saga would literally take up the entire show for months and months. I never liked wrestling angles that took over entire federations. Just like when the nWo jumped the shark. It was like the entire broadcast was based around who was the next guy and who was on whose side, etc.


I have noticed in recent weeks the Heyman and/or Punk promos have been a breathe of fresh air in an already stale angle. HHH is a great heel and his promos have been pretty good but D. Bryan just isn't a believable face in this saga for me. I know a lot of people love him and I respect his work ethic, in-ring skills, and everything else about him...other than that he simply doesn't belong as a top guy. In fact that's the entire reason I think the angle is working at all. Half the crowd wants D. Bryan as the champ while half the crowd has trouble believing he could compete with top guys because of his stature, etc.


I do think Heyman will be written into a large storyline heading towards WM30. What that will be shall remain to be seen but I wouldn't be surprised to see them keep him seperate from the corporation saga because quite frankly they need something else to take up time and clout on the cards.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

While the OP's pitch could work, I see two potential problems with his idea.

1) On the most recent Raw, Triple H basically laughed at Heyman's face and told him how he can't wait to watch Punk beat him down. Also, keep in mind Triple H's recent history with Brock and Heyman. That could make it a tough sell to see Heyman join Trips.

2) I believe WWE wants to keep Punk separate from the HHH/Orton/Shield story. If they add Punk to that mix then the show is too top heavy. Keeping Punk away from that story allows WWE to run two major programs.

If WWE does in fact want to keep Heyman/Punk going till Survivor Series this is how I would do it.

At Night of Champions I would have Punk beat Axel. And just as Punk is about to get his hands on Heyman have a wrestler come out and save Heyman by beating Punk down. The next night on Raw Heyman would introduce that guy as a new Heyman guy and set up a match at Hell in a Cell between Punk and this guy with a stipulation that if Punk beats this guy he gets 5 minutes with Heyman. Just as Punk is about to win at HIAC, Axel comes out and along with the new Heyman guy beat down Punk. This would set up a classic Survivor Series match with a twist. We would get a 1 on 3 match pitting Punk against Heyman, Axel and the new guy. It is here where Punk eliminates the two guys and finally gets his revenge on Heyman. This would end Punk's involvement with Heyman as he would shift his focus back to the WWE Title.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I dunno about an alliance between Triple H and Heyman.

I mean, Orton and Triple H had a very personal and heated rivalry, but all that stuff ended and reach its peak in 2009. Triple H and Brock Lesnar had three total matches together in a very lengthy feud, fighting each other twice this year, and one of those matches happened at Wrestlemania of all places. Brock Lesnar "broke" Triple H's arm twice, he attacked Vince with an F5, and with Heyman's help, Lesnar tormented Triple H for months. Bottom line, the Lesnar/Triple H feud is still too fresh in everyone's minds for Heyman and Triple H to team up.

Plus, how would this work, when Lesnar returns for the Wrestlemania build? Paul Heyman is Brock Lesnar's mouthpiece, so Heyman will have to reform the duo again. It would be kind of odd and defy all kinds of logic, if Triple H is siding with a guy, who manages the same "client" who made his life a living hell for almost a year.

Although, I can actually see a reason for needing to stretch the feud out a little longer, and that reason is CM Punk. Unless WWE plans to have Punk side with Bryan soon enough, there's nothing for Punk to do right now. Lesnar is on another one of his hiatuses, Cena is out with an injury, and Bryan is feuding with Orton. I'm sure WWE will keep Punk near the top, but who is he going to feud with? That's a big question that's not so easy to answer.

And make no mistake about it, Curtis Axel is the one handling 90% of the physical stuff in this feud, but Heyman and Punk are the ones carrying the load. Sorry, but Curtis Axel is an uncharismatic and uninteresting turd. Punk has feuded with the likes of The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, The Rock, and Chris Jericho over the past year, so Axel is a BIG step down for a quality opponent. That's why WWE's holding off on the moment where Punk beats the living hell out of Heyman, because once that happens, this feud has no reason at all to continue. Heyman is nowhere near believable enough as an opponent to have a competitive match with Punk, and Axel might be a Heyman Guy, but he is no Brock Lesnar. You can only do so many Punk/Axel matches before the crowds lose all interest in the feud.

 

[ryanmclfc]

Triple H's whole heel philosophy at the moment is "Good for Business"

It's easy, if the idea that OP put forward was to work, then Corporation 2.0 aligns with Heyman and Triple H &/or Steph say that "It's good for business" Also Axel would do well being in the corporation and would be helped out as a heel for 1) purely being in the Corporation 2.0 and 2) the shield or who ever else constantly helping him retain his belt

 

[daddyJ_t]

i look for this feud to introduce another new heyman guy and who better to add an extra spice to this feud then to bring in colt cabana as the next heyman guy. imagine it. colt runs down or comes from the crowd to "help" punk only to demolish him screaming you could get me here (meaning the wwe) so i found somebody that could. also further setting up something for team heyman vs team punk at survivor series traditional style or a gauntlet match with punk going through heyman guys until he gets to paul.

 

[MCMG]

The HHH/Heyman segment was foreshadowing something in my opinion. Triple H aligning himself with Paul Heyman is "good for business" because Heyman obviously knows the business.

I like the idea of The Shield taking out Punk. Lesnar and Punk must have a rematch so they can't have just Punk and Heyman feuding. Adding The Shield, HHH, Bryan and co. into the feud means it can go for longer.

Another benefit is that HHH has another champion working directly for him. Just leaving the World Heavyweight Champion ( Sandow could easily fill the void). Punk is still above Bryan in terms of all-round quality so having him in the top feud makes sense. They can easily use Bryan elsewhere without him losing momentum. For example, Punk could face Orton for the WWE Title and Bryan could have a few matches with HHH.

 

[Lord_Frish]

There seem to be three main ways that Night of Champions will go down, either Punk gets Heyman, Punk doesn't get Heyman but still wins, or Punk loses. In any of those options it is possible for the story to continue forward. The second and third options both lead to Punk wanting revenge on Heyman still. In the second option I imagine Punk accidentally eliminating Heyman early on, like he locks in a weak hold and Heyman immediately taps to get out the match. The third option seems a fair possibility to me. In the match it'll be Punk vs Axel with a ton of interference from Heyman, much like Lesnar vs Punk at Summerslam. As for the first option where everything goes in Punk's favour, they story can continue just from having Heyman get pissed off at Punk, he can say something like "At Summerslam and Night of Champions I still loved you, but now I want to destroy you." and the story can flow from there.

 

[The Eighties]

It's a tricky one on a few levels, I mean Punk is a face, how long can he go along without following through on his promise to give Heyman a beating? Faces don't keep failing.

Then there's the issue of who to get as the next Heyman Guy? I see Colt Cabana mentioned in here, I've seen Kassius Ohno and Davey Richards mentioned elsewhere, the problem is that a large portion of WWE's fans have no idea who they are and none of them look a threat to Punk, a top guy. So who else? and logically why would Heyman not have The Beast ready to interject at NOC?

There was a promo for NOC on Main Event last night and oddly it didn't focus on the WWE title match, it focused on the handicap match and left you in no uncertain terms that they are selling it on Punk vs Heyman, and you can only go so long with a wrestler vs non-wrestler feud if he doesn't have credible fighters at his disposal, Axel isn't that guy.

It also seems a travesty if we don't get The Best vs The Beast II, I mean we got 3 matches with Brock and Triple H, and as I say above, why would Heyman ever get got before his Beast is slain?

However on the flipside the Corporation are pretty much everything Punk claimed was wrong with WWE 2 years ago, and the theme is that guys are afraid to speak up, to me that just feels like a lead in for the "Voice of the voiceless" to step up.

So in the end I think Jack-Hammer may be right, the 2 angles will have to crossover as keeping Punk wrestling mid card guys for another 2 months is gonna be hard, and so is stretching the idea that Punk is completely ignoring what is going on in the company.

The fact Punk is the only guy not on the ramp each week when Bryan is destroyed, coupled with the Heyman and Trips scene on Raw, suggests things are setting up for this to happen.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

If it were up to me, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan would hurry up and switch spots.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Punk vs. Heyman. I enjoy far more than I do the job Bryan's doing. However, if this continues, Lesnar needs to come back. Axel isn't getting it done.

 

[rerun406]

I agree with both of the above, and a smaller issue kinda lost in the shuffle is that now involved in the Punk-Heyman feud, Axel doesn't even defend his title, in fact he hasn't in well over a month.

Same problem with Rollins & Reigns now and the tag titles

but titles not being defended is only a minor issue, as I too feel Punk can't go on feuding vs Axel for much longer. He needs to beat him and move on to someone else .. would certainly like to see a sequel to the Lesnar match

one question

**If Punk gets involved in the Corporation feud, does that mean the WWE has given up on Bryan as a Main Event player?

 

[TheMainEvent]

I think the best thing for them to do is to keep Punk/Heyman away from the Bryan/Corporation feud for the time being. The way I would love to see it play out is to have Punk eliminate Axel at the PPV and as he is trying to get his hands on Heyman, Matt Morgan debuts and big boots Punk's head off. Morgan and Heyman then attack Punk and Heyman gets the pin to win the match. This allows the feud to continue with another new Heyman guy, Morgan to debut strong against Punk, and Heyman to keep heat.