Rate CM Punk's WWE Title reign

[ProWrestlingFan]

CM Punk who won the WWE Championship at Survivor Series 2011 has been the WWE Champion for atleast 7 months.

-Defeated Alberto Del Rio and The Miz at TLC to retain the WWE Championship.

-Defeated Dolph Ziggler at the Royal Rumble to retain the WWE Championship

- Retained the WWE Championship in the Elimination Chamber

-Defeated Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 28 to retain the WWE Championship

-Defeated Chris Jericho at Extreme Rules to retain the WWE Championship.

-Defeated Daniel Bryan at Over the Limit to retain the WWE Championship.

So what do you think about CM Punk's title reign. Good, average, below average, etc ?

 

[Dr. Mantis Toboggan, M.D.]

He's been champion since November 20, so going on 7 months. I've enjoyed his reign as champion so far. He's not boring, stale, or shoved down our throats every week. I see him holding onto the belt until later this summer and dropping it to someone like Daniel Bryan maybe at SummerSlam. He's had a solid run. I can't remember the last time we had a champion that held onto it for so long.

 

[Unocinco]

This is kind of off subject, but has anyone else noticed that WWE wont put CM Punk in the main event? Better yet, they wont pull Cena out of the main event. I swear Cena has main evented every PPV for like the last 2 years, Raws and PPV's! (Okay, he hasn't main evented every PPV and Raw, but I think you get the point.) I find it stupid that CM Punk is the "Champion" yet the story lines still evolve around Cena, and he main events EVERYTHING. How can you take a champion seriously when he is in the mid card and gets less tv time than Cena? Stupid PG bullshit.

 

[CMPlank]

Personally I think Punk has fallen victim to a massive lack of backing from WWE officials. I mean of all them PPVs you listed, he only properly main evented one of them, and this is the title that is supposedly the most prestigious championship in the whole industry, also he never even gets the ending segment on RAW. The guy is one hell of an entertainer, I think he's great (A lot better in the summer, but that is for another thread).

For his reign now, I think it's been alright, notice I say 'alright', and not 'super smashing great' or something similar. The main appeal about him for me is his in ring ability, he's been my favourite match for most of them PPVs (bare Mania and Extreme Rules). He can talk, but he doesn't seem to even get that time anymore. I don't think I'd call his reign disappointing, but it wasn't the best, he could of feuded more lengthier feuds, like a few PPVs against Dolph, help him get over whilst still having great matches, but they gave him the time around Rumble, and then just dispatched of him (Dolph) from the main event.

I'd give his reign a 7/10, so just slightly above average

 

[R.K.O]

I think his title reign is alright, probably above average, but nothing special like when he claimed that he was going to make the title interesting again. Most of his feuds listed are mediocre and some pretty bad ones like vs Del Rio. But he did provide some memorable moments. His "John Laurinaitis looked like he just went through a meat grinder because CM Punk just kicked his pathetic ass!" promo was one of my favorites. His feud with Chris Jericho was really good. Although I dislike how they booked Jericho since his return, but that's another story. His current feud with Daniel Bryan has potential to be interesting depending on how it pans out.

But one thing I give credit to him though, is that he did pretty good for a reign this long as people doesn't seem to really get bored of him the same way they did during John Cena's year long reign.

 

[kingofkings01013]

Matches Great.
Storyline okay.
But when they air the segments on the RAW has been awful. It is the WWE title it should 95% of the time end RAW not air the segment at 10pm.

 

[justin71]

The company seems to have the mindset that it's Cena or no one in the true main event picture(before you think I'm using my thought as an excuse to bash Cena hear me out). It almost reminds me of Hogan/Savage yes they put the WWF title on Savage for a year, but he was mostly an experiment that failed because they did not have the balls to get 100% behind Savage. Punk is clearly Savage in this scenario and yes by today's standards if Punk managed to keep the title the same period of time he would looking at being dubbed one of the greatest WWE champions ever!

 

[sdelfin]

I think, overall, it has been a very good title reign relative to how things have been done in the last few years. The list of PPV title defenses is good, and Punk has had some great matches on Raw as well, with Ziggler, Mark Henry and others. In fact, that is a key difference with Punk vs. Cena as champ. Cena as champ generally makes his opponents all look like chumps. Punk as champ makes everyone he's in there against look like a million bucks. So at least guys stay credible.

Punk's reign has suffered from a lack of heel buildup, which is more of a company problem and that the WWE has devalued their top title by continuing to feature Cena and friends in the main storylines that seem to be increasingly insulting to the intelligence of the fanbase. Oh how I wish wrestling could get away from the evil authority figure story for a while. Wrestling used to be far more compelling without it.

 

[jeritroll94]

I think CM Punk's title reign has been very successful. He is unfortunate that this has all happened amongst The Rock/John Cena rivalry, Brock Lesnar's return, Big Show's 100th heel turn, Daniel Bryan getting over with one word and more. CM Punk has held his own and his match with Jericho at Wrestlemania certainly matched if not bettered the Cena/Rock match. Wouldn't dare say it has been a flop but just overshadowed.

 

[akathelaw]

I don't care if the WWE Championship is defended in the main event. It doesn't bother me that Cena is still the main event. Facts are facts, and Cena is the number one guy. Punk is number 2, but he holds the championship. TBH that basically makes Punk and Cena equal. Isn't that a good thing? I mean, Cena is a cultural phenomenon, he has been involved in the WWE main event for 7 years straight. For Punk, a guy who entered the main event in 2008 to already be right up there with "The Man" is really impressive. I think it's hard for some fans to accept that they're not going to get their way. They see Cena treated a certain way, and want "their" guy to replace him. CM Punk actuaqlly did, and it wasn't good enough. Cena needs to be ceremoniously buried in order for CM Punk to have a "true" title reign. Get over yourselves. Cena's fans wear his shirts proudly, they tell their friends to go see WWE shows. Punk's older, hardcore fanbase is afraid to wear his shirt in public. Reality, get acquainted with it.

 

[Ryberg]

CM Punk's title reign has been solid! The problem is VKM want's CENA to main even everything from PPV's to the end of RAW. I think it sucks treating your Champion as the mid-carder guy BUT in the same sense he hasn't become stale. Every other champ gets shoved in your face all the time and they get old. His matches are always VERY solid I just wish they'd have him main event and close RAW. Cena can do the 10PM slot while he fueds with Big Show and his 1000000000 Heel turn.

 

[EssWhyDee]

Hmm
I think about 6.5/10 maybe 7

He's been okay and entertaining at times but he's holding on to it for far too long. But thats not his fault, if he were to lose it. Lose it to daniel bryan or a mitb winner

 

[damagecon]

i voted for good with 7 month title reign for me they get boring and stale but punk has kept it fresh and great to watch. with punk not ending raw or ppvs is just stupid punk deserves to be the one ending ppvs and raw.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I love CM Punk, but this title reign has been going on almost completely in the background since it started. For a guy that has insisted on "making wrestling fun again" and being the best in the world, he really allows himself to take a backseat to not only whatever is going on with John Cena, but to his opponent as well.

Survivor Series: CM Punk won back the Championship in a decent match on a very special night, but ultimately it didn't feel that important. I blame a) the Rock and John Cena being the most heavily booked thing on the card, and b) Punk should have never been flip-flopping the title with Alberto del Rio in the first place.

TLC: CM Punk defended the WWE Championship in the main event for what would be the last time (up till now he's been the secondary or tertiary event on every PPV). Great match, and a good set-up with Miz and ADR working together. One of the highlights of Punk's title reign.

Ziggler/Rumble: The short feud with Ziggler was great. There were a lot of people on both sides of the fence here, and why not? Nobody wanted Punk to lose, but everyone wanted Ziggler to win. Good match, obviously.

Elimination Chamber: Awful build up to this match, with Chris Jericho already falling flat on his face post-return. The way they "eliminated" Y2J from the Chamber was silly, unnecessary and ruined the whole match, in my opinion. Didn't exactly book Punk as a strong champion, or Jericho as a legit threat. It also kicked off the night...

WrestleMania: Good match, still not a very interesting feud going in. At this point I didn't care about Jericho, and although they had ONE good week of promos between the two, it wasn't enough to sell me on a feud that literally should have sold itself. Like, you almost have to try to make something between those two bad... It also played third fiddle to Hell in a Cell, and Rock/Cena.

Extreme Rules: I was there live for this event, so I may be a little biased, but it was the highlight of Punk's title reign thus far. Jericho and Punk FINALLY clicked, and their match was incredible to watch live. Still...Cena/Lesnar was booked a bigger deal, and when we left the arena this wasn't the match everyone was talking about.

Over the Limit: I like this feud, because it's been simple and purely based on who is a better wrestler. At least up until this point, anyways... A great match, but one that somehow played second banana to a main event with John Laurinaitis.

So here's my take on CM Punk's Championship reign. He hasn't had a BAD match yet, and nobody expects him to. He's had some really good matches with decent builds going in; primarily at Extreme Rules. He's had a load of great opponents that match his size, speed and skill; Alberto del Rio, Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho and Daniel Bryan. A great list! But the whole time he's taken a backseat, settled for the hour-one time slot, and in my opinion just hasn't stood out as the WWE Champion. You would think that since WrestleMania John Cena was the Champion, but it's simply not true. But at the same time, I applaud WWE for that move. Fans WANT to see Punk as the Champion, but they also provided solid entertainment in Rock/Cena, HHH/Undertaker, and Cena/Lesnar. I don't have a problem with Punk letting those guys -- the big "draws" -- take over the hot seat. What I have a problem with is Punk's lack of attitude and "ground breaking" material that he got popular because of, just one year ago.

So the reign has been decent. I'm happy with it, and it's better than 90% of title reigns we get these days, but it could have been way better.

 

[RATED R CHAMPION]

Very solid title reign, he's not given the best of him yet, wait for more guys

 

[WrestlingGod101]

It stunk.
He had great match but it stunk.
The ora around it was gone after he lost to John Cena.

 

[Marv95]

I can't vote his reign good since the belt has been put in the midcard instead of the main event. Honestly when was the last time the WWE title played second fiddle on a consistent basis? Something is seriously wrong when the title takes a back seat to Cena/Ace/Show.

But I can't vote it as terrible since it's been a long reign and he has been a fighting champion. So average it is, though it has been a flop and it's time for him to drop it.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Average in every way. No complaint can really be made about the quality of his matches. They're veen fine. The match with Bryan and that generic "B" show was probably the best of the bunch. People were disappointed in his series with Jericho but neither are as good as they're made out to be. The quality of matches were a perfect representation of the workers involved. Good not great.

But as a mid-card world champion he can't possibly overshadow the main eventers now, could he! If he'd been booked more prominently as champion then maye his reign would actually be worth talking about.

 

[Arcade]

Do people even know what the mid card means? If CM Punk is considered to be in the midcard, then wouldn't that mean the only main eventer that the WWE has is John Cena. Just because Cena is getting all of the spotlight doesn't mean that Punk and the WWE Championship are buried into the midcard. WWE can still book Cena as the main event #1 guy in the company, but what WWE has to realize is that they can also book Punk and Sheamus into the main event spotlight. It doesn't have to be only one main event in a PPV, there should be 3 main events. Overall, Punk is having a good title reign, not counting in that he's being booked lower than John Cena. In every match he defends his title, he wrestled his ass off, and the only thing people notice about him is that he's not good or entertaining ob the mic anymore, or that he's being overshadowed by Cena.

 

[AndThat'sTheBottomLine]

I think his reign has been very successful considering he's been mostly overshadowed by Cena, Rock, Laurignightis(I think that's how you spell it lol), show Lesnar, Undertaker, Triple H, Shawn Michaels. You get the point right? But it has been a pretty good reign I've enjoyed it. He's faced quality opponents and the only feud that wasn't really booked properly was Jericho and it was still a pretty good reign. He hasn't really gotten stale, he's still fresh. He's not Stone Cold so they won't put him in every top feud. But I'm not complaining about anything. I'm just sitting back and enjoying it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I've been very entertained all in all with CM Punk's reign. In my view, the positives have certainly outweighed the negatives.

The only real negative that I see has been that Punk's programs haven't gotten all the attention, most of the time, that they could've gotten. At the same time, however, John Cena is the franchise player in WWE. Cena is someone that's shown time & time again why he's the face of WWE. The haters can bitch all they want, but the man's a proven cash cow that's been raking in money for WWE in huge quantities for the better part of a decade.

CM Punk is someone that's been a legit, solidified main event presence for less than a year, but look at how popular he is with fans. He's made a ton of progress, he's also someone that's making lots of money for WWE but, as I said, Cena's done it consistently for years so I can't blame WWE for wanting to see if Punk can follow suit. Fantasy booking doesn't pay the bills people. I do think Punk can carry the ball for WWE but I think you have to be a complete & utter moron not to recognize why WWE is cautious.

As far as the shortcomings with some of Punk's feuds, remember, he's not a booker. He's told by Creative to go out and do whatever. His feuds, promos & matches all rest on the WWE Creative team. While I do agree that his feuds haven't had an epic feel to them as WWE Champion, most of his matches in said feuds have certainly had that feeling. Punk's matches almost always steal the show and the fact that fans consistently show high levels of interest in whatever he's doing is all the proof I need that Punk's run has been successful. I've said in lots of other threads asking about what makes a good champion or main eventer: if the fans don't care, then nothing else matters. Doesn't matter how good you look, how athletic you are, what your amateur background & accomplishments consist of, how many high spots you hit, how strong you are, how fast you are or how high you can jump off the top rope. If the fans don't give a shit about a wrestler as a person/character, then everything else is irrelevant.

All in all, the WWE must be happy with Punk's reign and view it as successful. Othewise, they wouldn't have kept the title on him for the past 6.5 months. As of today, CM Punk has been WWE Champion for 202 days. If Punk is able to successfully defend the title at the No Way Out ppv next Sunday, he'll have had the longest run with the title since John Cena's 380 day run that began in September 2006.

I know some aren't thrilled that Punk isn't in the "main event" in quite the same way that Cena is. Get over it. Same thing happened to Savage & Warrior during their runs with the title back in the late 80s & early 90s as Hogan was still the guy. Would you really think of those two as "mid-carder"?

 

[CyberPunk]

Punk's reign has been very solid. He has wrestled great matches throughout his reign and despite holding on to the belt for so long, hasn't felt unbeatable i.e. he has kept people's interest. With all the attention on what's going on with John, it was pretty easy for people to forget about WWE championship. But he has managed to draw attention and kept it relevant. Yes, he is not closing shows but that's not his fault. He still has the belt and seems like E is happy with it. His current program with Kane and Bryan is producing some entertaining segments and it still remains to be seen how it all pans out.

All in all, he has had a solid reign with good enough stories, great matches and some solid work all round. And the best part, he has entertained in one way or another IMO.

 

[cole phelps]

It has been god awful. Major snoozefest. I call him the walking cure of insomnia. His seriously that terrible. His John cena 2.0 lets face it. He kisses up to the crowd and makes cringe worthy jokes. While being as boring as humanly possible but dont worry he'll smile the whole time and sell you a t-shirt.

His scum he said he hates cena and called him the new york yankees..... Now who's the new york yankees ? That's right wwe's favorite hypocrite cm punk.

 

[midgensa]

I am very happy with Punk's reign and I still turn up the TV and pay attention whenever his music hits.

He consistently puts on solid matches and has had some solid feuds. The WWE obviously is not pushing him as the top guy (still Cena by a mile) but they have trusted him with their title while letting Cena do other things and that has worked fairly well I think.

The feud with Jericho was solid (if a bit one-sided) and the feud with Bryan has been entertaining with fantastic ring work to boot.

I think that the reign is going to need a feud with Cena to be a real top-level reign as he is the top guy in the company. But in the end ... I am still entertained by Punk and think he has all the markings of a guy who could carry the company.

I give it a 7.5/10.

 

[Crypt Keeper]

I think it has been very good and I'm glad that he has held it this long. The thing is, he should be the number one priority being the WWE Champion. Sure, Cena is the top guy, but everybody knows that and he doesn't need to be in every single main event on a PPV because it won't take away his 'face of the company' title. WWE needs to focus more on who's the champion because it is suppose to mean you are the biggest thing going. I think Punk has been screwed on that aspect, in my opinion, but he has had damn good matches and his promos are top-notch, though he has been watered down since last summer, but he's had a decent run.