In the 7th installment of the "Turn" threads, we look at the leader of the new Nexus, CM Punk. The purpose of this thread, like the rest, is to discuss how you would successfully turn him face from his current heel persona.
CM Punk began his WWE career on the ECW brand, as a face with a straight edge gimmick. He was given a long undefeated streak from his debut in the beginning of August 2006 all the way until the debacle that was the Extreme Elimination Chamber in December of the same year. He made his first Wrestlemania appearance the following year in the Money in the Bank ladder match, which was won by Mr. Kennedy. Shortly after, he was involved in a tournament to crown a new ECW champion after it was vacated following Bobby Lashley's drafting to Raw. He advanced to the finals, but lost to the last second replacement for Chris Benoit, the newly named John Morrison. He subsequently challenged for the ECW Championship at the Great American Bash and Summerslam respectively, and was unsuccessful in both attempts to defeat Morrison. He won a fatal four way to once again become No.1 Contender, but then general manager Armando Estrada declared that it was Punk's "last chance" at Morrison for the title on the September 4th edition of ECW.
Punk then went on to have successful title defenses against the likes of Elijah Burke at Unforgiven, Big Daddy V via disqualification at No Mercy, and The Miz (at Cyber Sunday). On the November 6, 2007 edition of ECW, Punk retained the ECW Championship in a match against Morrison following The Miz's interference. At Survivor Series, Punk retained his title in a Triple Threat match, beating The Miz and John Morrison. Punk finally lost the title on the January 22, 2008 edition of ECW, where Chavo Guerrero defeated CM Punk in a No Disqualification match to win the ECW Championship after Edge, (acting as a guest commentator at ringside) ran in and speared Punk.
At Wrestlemania 24, competing in his second MITB ladder match, Punk won the match and the contract for a World Title shot at any time within the next year. On the June 23, 2008 edition of Raw, CM Punk was drafted to the Raw brand during the 2008 WWE Draft. The following Sunday was the Night of Champions PPV, which saw both World Titles go to Smackdown as a result of the draft. The following night, June 30th, marked Punk's first official night on Raw, and he made an immediate impact. Edge appeared on Raw to interrupt Jim Ross' farewell speech to Raw, but was beaten down by Batista in the process. Punk opportunistically took advantage and cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to bring the World Title back to Raw for the first time since 2005.
Punk had a lackluster first title reign, successfully defending the title against Batista by disqualification, and JBL cleanly. His title reign came to an end at Unforgiven 2008 at the hand's of Randy Orton's Legacy, where he was beaten down in the back during an interview by Cody Rhodes and Manu, and finally punted in the head by an injured Randy Orton. He was unable to compete in the championship scramble match, being replaced by Chris Jericho, who won the match.
On the October 27, 2008 episode of Raw, Punk and Kofi Kingston defeated Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase to win the World Tag Team Championships.Punk was then entered in a Intercontinental Championship Tournament, in which the winner would get to challenge for the championship in the future. He would defeat Snitsky and John Morrison in the first two rounds. In the meantime, Punk and Kingston were defeated The Miz and John Morrison at a live Raw event, which rarely occurs. Punk would win the tournament by defeating Rey Mysterio at Armageddon, and won the IC Championship 4 weeks later from William Regal on Raw. He would hold the title until 3 weeks before Wrestlemania 25, which is when he lost the title to JBL. At Wrestlemania 25, he competed in his third straight MITB ladder match, winning his second straight. 2 months later at Extreme Rules, Punk would cash in his briefcase on new World Champion Jeff Hardy, who had just defeated Edge in a ladder match. This began Punk's heel turn.
Punk retained his title in a Triple Threat match against both Edge and Hardy eight days later on the June 15 episode of Raw. At The Bash PPV, Punk lost to Hardy by disqualification after kicking the referee after being afflicted with a storyline eye injury, claiming he could not see the referee. Hardy called Punk into question about his eye injury, believing he had been feigning it, leading Punk to turn heel, claiming to be the moral superior of those who support Hardy due to his drug-free lifestyle. At Night of Champions, Punk lost the championship to Hardy. Their feud continued through SummerSlam, where Punk regained the title in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match; afterward, Punk was attacked by The Undertaker. On the August 28 episode of SmackDown, Punk concluded his program with Hardy and achieved his booked goal of excising him from the WWE, defeating Hardy in a steel cage match wherein the loser agreed to leave the company.
At Breaking Point the following month, Punk defeated The Undertaker in a submission match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Undertaker originally won the match with his Hell's Gate submission hold. SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long re-started the match after stating that the ban that former General Manager Vickie Guerrero had placed on the move was still in effect. Punk would win the match with his Anaconda vise when referee Scott Armstrong called for the bell despite Undertaker never submitting (reminiscent to the Montreal Screwjob, which took place in the same venue in 1997). The feud between the two continued and at the Hell in a Cell PPV, Punk lost the World Heavyweight Championship to The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match. He lost two subsequent rematches against The Undertaker on Smackdown, and then in a Fatal Four Way match at Bragging Rights also involving Batista and Rey Mysterio.
Punk then took on the character as the leader of the Straight Edge Society, first converting Luke Gallows, who was formerly known as Festus. Continuing to espouse his straight-edge philosophy, Punk began to present himself as a cult-like savior to the crowd, growing his hair, beard and chest hair long in an allusion to Jesus. Punk then began to convert planted members of the audience to a straight-edge lifestyle, making them take a pledge of allegiance to him and shaving their head as a sign of renewal and devotion, including Serena, who became the second official member of the SES. Punk continued to show messianic traits, frequently giving sermons including during the annual Royal Rumble match as well as during an Elimination Chamber match at both pay-per-views.
In the Chamber match, he was eliminated by Rey Mysterio, whom he had feuding with leading into the PPV. Tensions escalated as Mysterio prevented him from winning a Money in the Bank qualifying match, causing Punk to interrupt Mysterio's celebration of his daughter's ninth birthday. Punk feuded with Mysterio through three PPV's losing to Mysterio at Wrestlemania, defeating him at Extreme Rules. He lost the final match of the feud in a hair vs SES match, where Mysterio would have been forced to join the SES had he lost. Punk lost, and had his head shaved. Punk began a feud with Big Show following this, which he also lost. Shortly after, he was traded to Raw for Edge, but was injured and joined the commentary booth while recovering. At the end of December, Punk left the commentary team after assaulting John Cena on Raw and SmackDown with a chair. Punk later revealed that his motives for the attacks were that he had joined and assumed control of The Nexus. He again adopted a cult like leadership presence, putting the "New Nexus" through initiations and telling them to have faith. He is currently feuding with John Cena as a result, and is the company's top heel.
The purpose of this long history lesson is to show you where we've been, and where we are now regarding Punk's heel character. Punk has worked the straight edge gimmick as both a face and a heel with great success at times. The purpose of this thread, like the others, is to determine how you would successfully turn Punk face, and why it would work. I welcome you ripping others scenario's to shreds, just be darn sure to give me an alternative one. As always, here are your discussion questions.
1. How would you successfully turn CM Punk face?
2. Why would this scenario work in your eyes?
3. In 2011, is it a good idea to turn Punk face, or should he remain a heel? Why?
Have fun with this.
CM Punk began his WWE career on the ECW brand, as a face with a straight edge gimmick. He was given a long undefeated streak from his debut in the beginning of August 2006 all the way until the debacle that was the Extreme Elimination Chamber in December of the same year. He made his first Wrestlemania appearance the following year in the Money in the Bank ladder match, which was won by Mr. Kennedy. Shortly after, he was involved in a tournament to crown a new ECW champion after it was vacated following Bobby Lashley's drafting to Raw. He advanced to the finals, but lost to the last second replacement for Chris Benoit, the newly named John Morrison. He subsequently challenged for the ECW Championship at the Great American Bash and Summerslam respectively, and was unsuccessful in both attempts to defeat Morrison. He won a fatal four way to once again become No.1 Contender, but then general manager Armando Estrada declared that it was Punk's "last chance" at Morrison for the title on the September 4th edition of ECW.
[YOUTUBE]v=i5KGQLw1M8c[/YOUTUBE]
Punk then went on to have successful title defenses against the likes of Elijah Burke at Unforgiven, Big Daddy V via disqualification at No Mercy, and The Miz (at Cyber Sunday). On the November 6, 2007 edition of ECW, Punk retained the ECW Championship in a match against Morrison following The Miz's interference. At Survivor Series, Punk retained his title in a Triple Threat match, beating The Miz and John Morrison. Punk finally lost the title on the January 22, 2008 edition of ECW, where Chavo Guerrero defeated CM Punk in a No Disqualification match to win the ECW Championship after Edge, (acting as a guest commentator at ringside) ran in and speared Punk.
At Wrestlemania 24, competing in his second MITB ladder match, Punk won the match and the contract for a World Title shot at any time within the next year. On the June 23, 2008 edition of Raw, CM Punk was drafted to the Raw brand during the 2008 WWE Draft. The following Sunday was the Night of Champions PPV, which saw both World Titles go to Smackdown as a result of the draft. The following night, June 30th, marked Punk's first official night on Raw, and he made an immediate impact. Edge appeared on Raw to interrupt Jim Ross' farewell speech to Raw, but was beaten down by Batista in the process. Punk opportunistically took advantage and cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to bring the World Title back to Raw for the first time since 2005.
[YOUTUBE]v=qlGVKzV8y28 [/YOUTUBE]
Punk had a lackluster first title reign, successfully defending the title against Batista by disqualification, and JBL cleanly. His title reign came to an end at Unforgiven 2008 at the hand's of Randy Orton's Legacy, where he was beaten down in the back during an interview by Cody Rhodes and Manu, and finally punted in the head by an injured Randy Orton. He was unable to compete in the championship scramble match, being replaced by Chris Jericho, who won the match.
On the October 27, 2008 episode of Raw, Punk and Kofi Kingston defeated Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase to win the World Tag Team Championships.Punk was then entered in a Intercontinental Championship Tournament, in which the winner would get to challenge for the championship in the future. He would defeat Snitsky and John Morrison in the first two rounds. In the meantime, Punk and Kingston were defeated The Miz and John Morrison at a live Raw event, which rarely occurs. Punk would win the tournament by defeating Rey Mysterio at Armageddon, and won the IC Championship 4 weeks later from William Regal on Raw. He would hold the title until 3 weeks before Wrestlemania 25, which is when he lost the title to JBL. At Wrestlemania 25, he competed in his third straight MITB ladder match, winning his second straight. 2 months later at Extreme Rules, Punk would cash in his briefcase on new World Champion Jeff Hardy, who had just defeated Edge in a ladder match. This began Punk's heel turn.
[YOUTUBE]v=50-WPygLLVQ[/YOUTUBE]
Punk retained his title in a Triple Threat match against both Edge and Hardy eight days later on the June 15 episode of Raw. At The Bash PPV, Punk lost to Hardy by disqualification after kicking the referee after being afflicted with a storyline eye injury, claiming he could not see the referee. Hardy called Punk into question about his eye injury, believing he had been feigning it, leading Punk to turn heel, claiming to be the moral superior of those who support Hardy due to his drug-free lifestyle. At Night of Champions, Punk lost the championship to Hardy. Their feud continued through SummerSlam, where Punk regained the title in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match; afterward, Punk was attacked by The Undertaker. On the August 28 episode of SmackDown, Punk concluded his program with Hardy and achieved his booked goal of excising him from the WWE, defeating Hardy in a steel cage match wherein the loser agreed to leave the company.
[YOUTUBE]v=3bzYanlsTXQ[/YOUTUBE]
At Breaking Point the following month, Punk defeated The Undertaker in a submission match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Undertaker originally won the match with his Hell's Gate submission hold. SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long re-started the match after stating that the ban that former General Manager Vickie Guerrero had placed on the move was still in effect. Punk would win the match with his Anaconda vise when referee Scott Armstrong called for the bell despite Undertaker never submitting (reminiscent to the Montreal Screwjob, which took place in the same venue in 1997). The feud between the two continued and at the Hell in a Cell PPV, Punk lost the World Heavyweight Championship to The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match. He lost two subsequent rematches against The Undertaker on Smackdown, and then in a Fatal Four Way match at Bragging Rights also involving Batista and Rey Mysterio.
Punk then took on the character as the leader of the Straight Edge Society, first converting Luke Gallows, who was formerly known as Festus. Continuing to espouse his straight-edge philosophy, Punk began to present himself as a cult-like savior to the crowd, growing his hair, beard and chest hair long in an allusion to Jesus. Punk then began to convert planted members of the audience to a straight-edge lifestyle, making them take a pledge of allegiance to him and shaving their head as a sign of renewal and devotion, including Serena, who became the second official member of the SES. Punk continued to show messianic traits, frequently giving sermons including during the annual Royal Rumble match as well as during an Elimination Chamber match at both pay-per-views.
In the Chamber match, he was eliminated by Rey Mysterio, whom he had feuding with leading into the PPV. Tensions escalated as Mysterio prevented him from winning a Money in the Bank qualifying match, causing Punk to interrupt Mysterio's celebration of his daughter's ninth birthday. Punk feuded with Mysterio through three PPV's losing to Mysterio at Wrestlemania, defeating him at Extreme Rules. He lost the final match of the feud in a hair vs SES match, where Mysterio would have been forced to join the SES had he lost. Punk lost, and had his head shaved. Punk began a feud with Big Show following this, which he also lost. Shortly after, he was traded to Raw for Edge, but was injured and joined the commentary booth while recovering. At the end of December, Punk left the commentary team after assaulting John Cena on Raw and SmackDown with a chair. Punk later revealed that his motives for the attacks were that he had joined and assumed control of The Nexus. He again adopted a cult like leadership presence, putting the "New Nexus" through initiations and telling them to have faith. He is currently feuding with John Cena as a result, and is the company's top heel.
The purpose of this long history lesson is to show you where we've been, and where we are now regarding Punk's heel character. Punk has worked the straight edge gimmick as both a face and a heel with great success at times. The purpose of this thread, like the others, is to determine how you would successfully turn Punk face, and why it would work. I welcome you ripping others scenario's to shreds, just be darn sure to give me an alternative one. As always, here are your discussion questions.
1. How would you successfully turn CM Punk face?
2. Why would this scenario work in your eyes?
3. In 2011, is it a good idea to turn Punk face, or should he remain a heel? Why?
Have fun with this.