What Character Does WWE Want CM Punk To Portray?

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I'm not going to talk about the crowd reactions immediately because I feel that is a somewhat different aspect altogether and sometimes doesn't even depend on the character that a wrestler portrays. I am here going to talk about the character Punk has been portraying in the ring ever since his shoot promo, and by that I mean that I will be mostly talking about the stuff he has been doing inside the arena.

I just saw the contract signing segment between Punk and HHH and I observed that HHH gave a very face-like promo. He talked about how Punk has been shitting on his wife as well as the company for some time now despite his efforts to co-operate with him and enough is enough. He talked about not taking shit anymore which was again a face like thing to do.

I do not think that the WWE wants to promote Punk as this antihero babyface that most of us think he is. There is more to this. Let me take you back to the contract signing between Cena and Punk. HHH told Punk back then that he was full of shit and had only resigned for a bit more money. HHH told Punk again on Smackdown on Tuesday that Punk only accepted the change he was fighting for if he ended up on top. Punk did not exactly refute either allegation in both cases. He changed the topic with a counter-allegation which looked as if he was trying to shy away from discussing those topics. Not exactly a tough antihero-like thing to do.

There is just one thing that I feel is in favor of Punk as an antihero babyface. That he was screwed by Nash at SummerSlam. I think that how the WWE will explain that part of the story is going to be the pivotal thing that decides which way the Punk character goes. They could make him an antihero there and then or they could just make it appear as a heel getting some come-uppance. Let's face it HHH is a face as of now, Stephanie McMahon is a face right now, it could be done.

There are just two more points that I want to address that will invariably be brought up in the course of this thread. They are a) Punk insulting authority figures and b) Crowd reactions. As I have already mentioned, HHH and even Stephanie are faces currently and Punk insulting these faces is just another heelish thing to do. Just insulting any authority figure does not make you an antihero face by default.

The other thing is crowd reactions. Punk has been getting cheered but it certainly won't be the first instance of a heel getting cheered. Wrestlers have been getting reactions which are not in accordance to their characters for a long time now and we know that that does not really change their characters. Cena gets booed every week but his character is still that of a babyface. If he were heel, we would not be getting so many Cena turn heel threads every week. So why should it be different for Punk?

So, what do you think? Is WWE trying to turn Punk into an antihero babyface or is he just going to be a strong heel in the longer run? I personally think that the answers will be much clearer post Night of Champions but that Punk hasn't turned into a babyface yet.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I don't know honestly. Punk is really whiny, he can bitch about things not being how he wants, but when he says "I want this to be fun again" he's shitty on his own product and really, the fans in attendance. It'd be like if I were a server at a restaurant and I was talking to my boss in front of a table and said "I want our food to be good again, not like the shit this person likes". It's insulting. Kinda of stupid on their part to let him say that.

I say make Punk the opposite of Cena. Make him a heel to the main audience and a face to the smarks. He annoys a lot of people and he gets some people to get behind him. He's losing steam because he really isn't that likeable. He's telling the audience, the audience that's having a good time, that what they like is shitty.

I don't care if you think the product is shitty, you watch it, so obviously it's not that shitty.

 

[BASSER911414]

after his one month feud against cena. punk fell back into the 15 minutes of fame category.

his mic work unlike his in ring performance no matter what any one says has not been solid for some time. the segment in which he starts retching and makes stephanie jokes. pretty corny if u ask me.

not that anyone can do a decent promo these days except maybe legends returning for certain nights aka the rock, stone cold, hbk and occasionally triple h and sometimes u hear a good one from christian.

punk did that awesome shoot promo and then 2 weeks after that and the week after that. he did some very good promos. now its nothing special.

punks getting stale and creative really has to put out something special to keep him more relevant. cenas showing improvement but i guess now that punk mustve gotten a better contract and higher paycheck it doesnt mean he has to put it all out there every week and if anyone thinks punks in wwe for the wrestling and not the money they are naive as hell

 

[rge2010]

I think Punk himself wants to portray himself as an asshole. But hasnt Mr Anderson been doing that on TNA for a while now?

I like Punk, but he has become whiny real quick. I've gone off his 'character' already.

 

[ARLO]

Quite simply, I think they're making him into a "Cult of Personality".

A cult of personality is someone that brainwashes people using his voice/propaganda. They gain followers, but are still bad people.

I think they'll let the fans cheer him now, but eventually he'll flip it around a be a badder heel than ever!

This is basically the same heel persona he had with the SES, but now they're playing him up as a face. Soon enough he'll do something to make the fans realize they've been brainwashed.

I hope they don't just make him some pussy face.

 

[Dolph Ziggler]

cm punk is stone cold of this era, and you can call him corny but atleast he doesn't come in week in week out bitching saying tonight's going to be a fairytale dreams will come true i will be the wwe champion!! he keeps it real, and he doesn't pander to the crowd which is why he is a hero amongst the adult audience's

and he is offering us excitement!! for the past 4 year's cena has been winning every championship hogging the spotlight and he has finally offered us change, and when you suffer through 4 years of the same old pg crap, it's refreshing austin was the same in ealy 1997! and it didn't take long until all the males shined to him and a year later the casual crowd wasn't there anymore and instead it was filled with a crowd full of males cheering for him!

i believe cm punk is trying to do the same.. and let's hope so if i see cena on my tv next year giving us another of his gay pg promo saying OMG I RESPECT YOU BUT I WANT A REMATCH TONIGHT FAIRYTALES WILL COME TRUE AND I WILL BE THE 22ND TIME WORLD CHAMP i will shoot myself!! cmon cena your nearly 35 your past your exporation date bud!

 

[Best in the World 79]

cm punk is stone cold of this era, and you can call him corny but atleast he doesn't come in week in week out bitching saying tonight's going to be a fairytale dreams will come true i will be the wwe champion!! he keeps it real, and he doesn't pander to the crowd which is why he is a hero amongst the adult audience's

and he is offering us excitement!! for the past 4 year's cena has been winning every championship hogging the spotlight and he has finally offered us change, and when you suffer through 4 years of the same old pg crap, it's refreshing austin was the same in ealy 1997! and it didn't take long until all the males shined to him and a year later the casual crowd wasn't there anymore and instead it was filled with a crowd full of males cheering for him!

i believe cm punk is trying to do the same.. and let's hope so if i see cena on my tv next year giving us another of his gay pg promo saying OMG I RESPECT YOU BUT I WANT A REMATCH TONIGHT FAIRYTALES WILL COME TRUE AND I WILL BE THE 22ND TIME WORLD CHAMP i will shoot myself!! cmon cena your nearly 35 your past your exporation date bud!

Dude. You're a king in my book. I salute you for that.

I completely agree. I pondered up the stone cold comparison to a buddy of mine. It's definitely true. Unless your like 7 and like stupid red shirts, then CM Punk is change and he is the voice of the voiceless. What that means, Cena's voice, is all his t shirts he sells to little boys who get beat up by kids who either don't watch wrestling, or wish the Undertaker would come destroy Cena at Mania. But we know that won't happen cause Cena's a puss. But that's neither here nor there.

CM Punk = Stone Cold. Hence the twitter war and dream match at wrestlemania. Think about it people.

What's John Cena do on twitter? Talk shit with a guy who shows up like once every 7 years. Tells us we're living in 1993 because of faces and heels. Dude is an idiot. If there are no faces and heels how and the hell are you going to have a product. Yay mark henry isn't a heel and orton isn't a face lets let them fight and have a boring ass match with no heel-face storyline. Shut up cena.

Forget what wwe wants. It's what the damn fans want. I pray for the day when I can go to a live event and get to boo cena and not make little kids with sweatbands cry and their parents say "he's just a kid man". NEWSFLASH FUCKERS. I PAY FOR MY TICKET TO CHEER FOR WHO I WANT AND I CHOOSE TO BOO JOHN CENA BECAUSE HE SUCKS ASS. The product has been so much better since the shoot promo. MITB was awesome. CM PUNK! CM PUNK!

 

[Best in the World 79]

cm punk is stone cold of this era, and you can call him corny but atleast he doesn't come in week in week out bitching saying tonight's going to be a fairytale dreams will come true i will be the wwe champion!! he keeps it real, and he doesn't pander to the crowd which is why he is a hero amongst the adult audience's

and he is offering us excitement!! for the past 4 year's cena has been winning every championship hogging the spotlight and he has finally offered us change, and when you suffer through 4 years of the same old pg crap, it's refreshing austin was the same in ealy 1997! and it didn't take long until all the males shined to him and a year later the casual crowd wasn't there anymore and instead it was filled with a crowd full of males cheering for him!

i believe cm punk is trying to do the same.. and let's hope so if i see cena on my tv next year giving us another of his gay pg promo saying OMG I RESPECT YOU BUT I WANT A REMATCH TONIGHT FAIRYTALES WILL COME TRUE AND I WILL BE THE 22ND TIME WORLD CHAMP i will shoot myself!! cmon cena your nearly 35 your past your exporation date bud!

Dude. You're a king in my book. I salute you for that.

I completely agree. I pondered up the stone cold comparison to a buddy of mine. It's definitely true. Unless your like 7 and like stupid red shirts, then CM Punk is change and he is the voice of the voiceless. What that means, Cena's voice, is all his t shirts he sells to little boys who get beat up by kids who either don't watch wrestling, or wish the Undertaker would come destroy Cena at Mania. But we know that won't happen cause Cena's a puss. But that's neither here nor there.

CM Punk = Stone Cold. Hence the twitter war and dream match at wrestlemania. Think about it people.

What's John Cena do on twitter? Talk shit with a guy who shows up like once every 7 years. Tells us we're living in 1993 because of faces and heels. Dude is an idiot. If there are no faces and heels how and the hell are you going to have a product. Yay mark henry isn't a heel and orton isn't a face lets let them fight and have a boring ass match with no heel-face storyline. Shut up cena.

Forget what wwe wants. It's what the damn fans want. I pray for the day when I can go to a live event and get to boo cena and not make little kids with sweatbands cry and their parents say "he's just a kid man". NEWSFLASH FUCKERS. I PAY FOR MY TICKET TO CHEER FOR WHO I WANT AND I CHOOSE TO BOO JOHN CENA BECAUSE HE SUCKS ASS. The product has been so much better since the shoot promo. MITB was awesome. CM PUNK! CM PUNK!

 

[Dolph Ziggler]

Dude. You're a king in my book. I salute you for that.

I completely agree. I pondered up the stone cold comparison to a buddy of mine. It's definitely true. Unless your like 7 and like stupid red shirts, then CM Punk is change and he is the voice of the voiceless. What that means, Cena's voice, is all his t shirts he sells to little boys who get beat up by kids who either don't watch wrestling, or wish the Undertaker would come destroy Cena at Mania. But we know that won't happen cause Cena's a puss. But that's neither here nor there.

CM Punk = Stone Cold. Hence the twitter war and dream match at wrestlemania. Think about it people.

What's John Cena do on twitter? Talk shit with a guy who shows up like once every 7 years. Tells us we're living in 1993 because of faces and heels. Dude is an idiot. If there are no faces and heels how and the hell are you going to have a product. Yay mark henry isn't a heel and orton isn't a face lets let them fight and have a boring ass match with no heel-face storyline. Shut up cena.

Forget what wwe wants. It's what the damn fans want. I pray for the day when I can go to a live event and get to boo cena and not make little kids with sweatbands cry and their parents say "he's just a kid man". NEWSFLASH FUCKERS. I PAY FOR MY TICKET TO CHEER FOR WHO I WANT AND I CHOOSE TO BOO JOHN CENA BECAUSE HE SUCKS ASS. The product has been so much better since the shoot promo. MITB was awesome. CM PUNK! CM PUNK!

thank you man! i never had a problem with cena to begin with but he does the same stuff every week it's unbarable raw was unwatchable in 2009 and most of 2010 but so far 2011 have been amazing! raw has gone away from the soft pg to the edgy pg! cm punk has finally been recognized for his talent, and when he saids he wants change , HE REALLY DOES!! cm punk is trying to make the wwe cool again and not a show that little children discuss in the playground!

and with great superstars like drew mcintyre dolph ziggler randy orton [heel] cm punk wade barret daniel brian and more wwe can be cool again! i just wished the silly cena fan's realised this

 

[Alittude]

after his one month feud against cena. punk fell back into the 15 minutes of fame category.

his mic work unlike his in ring performance no matter what any one says has not been solid for some time. the segment in which he starts retching and makes stephanie jokes. pretty corny if u ask me.

not that anyone can do a decent promo these days except maybe legends returning for certain nights aka the rock, stone cold, hbk and occasionally triple h and sometimes u hear a good one from christian.

punk did that awesome shoot promo and then 2 weeks after that and the week after that. he did some very good promos. now its nothing special.

punks getting stale and creative really has to put out something special to keep him more relevant. cenas showing improvement but i guess now that punk mustve gotten a better contract and higher paycheck it doesnt mean he has to put it all out there every week and if anyone thinks punks in wwe for the wrestling and not the money they are naive as hell

Punk's getting stale? Ahaaaaaaaaaaaahahaha. Maybe they should push him for 7 years and make him hog the belt so much that even as af ace he will start to get boo'd by half the audience and then people can say hey at laest he gets the biggest reaction. He is not stale at all yet and is still hottest thing in the WWE. That's why he's in the biggest storyline and is about to vs the (kayfabe) boss of the company in a match.

 

[Braxton11]

I'm still digging the CM Punk BITW character but I feel like they really need to give him something worthwhile to complain about. The last few weeks the message has gotten kind of obscured. I'm part of the CM Punk revolution but can someone please remind me what we are fighting for? Triple H has been saying "what exactly is it that you want?" In response we get Stephanie jokes and the "you are not a man" jokes aimed at Triple H followed by a rant about making things better without actually offering up solutions as to how to make it better.

This isn't a complaint as I am sure the story will unfold and there is a plan there. I'm just concerned that the unfocused genarilized "bitching just to be bitching" gimmick will get tiresome.

All in all though I look forward to every segment with Punk and Triple H because they do a fantastic job together on the mic. Punk is a big time player and will be for the forseeable future.

 

[MinistryofDeath89]

It's amazing to think just a few months ago everyone was cheering Punk, and now they can't stand hid character because he's to whiny??? Like seriously people what do u want from this guy. He's giving us something different he's bringing Raw back to the way it's surpose to be Edgey and exciting what do useswant the the same old Raw everyweek where Super Cena wins another Title or comes out with these corry jokes.. I love what Cm Punk has been doing for the past few months it's exciting putting a side the legends ( The Rock , Stone Cold, HBK, HHH, Taker) in my opinion he's the best person on the mic today. And Cm Punk is not getting stale it's the creative team who are starting to get stale now, there the ones giving him the scripts to read for Raw every week.. I would bet on anything if Cm Punk didn't have to read a script, You people will still be saying he's still stale.. There's no pleasing you's at all. Just enjoy what's going on right now, instead of the same old PG Crap we saw a year ago.

 

[Sub-Xero]

CM Punk IS NOT Stone Cold Steve Austin!! If you know your WWE history, it was RODDY PIPER who was the original Pipe Bomb. Piper did and said whatever he wanted. Austin was "real"..Piper was REAL. CM Punk isn't flipping middle fingers, spewing ECW-style profanity laced interviews and certainly not pouring beer down his chest. (I swear, Austin couldn't have drank more than 5% of the beer pouring from those cans...and just once I wanted to see someone hurl a 40 when he called for a beer...). Punk is encouraging independent thought among the masses. Sure, he insults Trips in a slightly vulgar way, but he's not spouting "hell" and "ass" like thery're cancelling them tomorrow.

The character Punk is playing is the true essence of what a Tweener should be. Carrying out his own agenda to either cheers or boos, he truly doesn't seem to care. As long as what he's doing challenges the audience's pre-conceived notions of face vs. heel, he's doing what he's supposed to do.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

cm punk is stone cold of this era, and you can call him corny but atleast he doesn't come in week in week out bitching saying tonight's going to be a fairytale dreams will come true i will be the wwe champion!! he keeps it real, and he doesn't pander to the crowd which is why he is a hero amongst the adult audience's

and he is offering us excitement!! for the past 4 year's cena has been winning every championship hogging the spotlight and he has finally offered us change, and when you suffer through 4 years of the same old pg crap, it's refreshing austin was the same in ealy 1997! and it didn't take long until all the males shined to him and a year later the casual crowd wasn't there anymore and instead it was filled with a crowd full of males cheering for him!

i believe cm punk is trying to do the same.. and let's hope so if i see cena on my tv next year giving us another of his gay pg promo saying OMG I RESPECT YOU BUT I WANT A REMATCH TONIGHT FAIRYTALES WILL COME TRUE AND I WILL BE THE 22ND TIME WORLD CHAMP i will shoot myself!! cmon cena your nearly 35 your past your exporation date bud!

Punk doesn't pander to the audience? Why do you think you (or your gimmick poster character) likes him? He panders to the IWC. He may as well just read threads and they dress them up more intelligently and then use that.

Here's the basics of it. Punk is to the IWC what Cena is to normal people. Punk is your Cena. He's the epitome of what you like. He's not muscular, and really, not even "athletic". He speaks "truth about teh wrasslins" and has a moveset of variety. Plus he has the IWC 'street cred' of being a ROH legend.


As for the "your nearly 35" shit. Do you even do your research or do you just go "fuck it, 35 sounds old". Want some interesting facts?
Stone Cold was born in December of 1964. This means that in 1997, he was 32 (born in december so for most of the year, he's 32). This means that when Austin won the title at Mania 14, he was 33. Cena only turned 34 this year. This means that at Wrestlemania X7, the real end of the Austin character because this is when he sided with Vince, Austin was 36.

I would pull up the Hogan comparison but because his character wasn't in the attitude era, didn't do a lot of moves, and was muscular and drew you'll probably just say something stupid about that.

How about Bret Hart? You have to like Hart right? Being a tude fan and all. Hart was born in July 1957. He won his first title in 1993 if I'm not mistaken, maybe late 1992. This means he was 36 when he won his first title, and 40 when he and Austin had their match at Mania 13.

Who else would you pay attention to? HBK? Born in July, 1965. This means that at Mania 12 he was 31. When he passed the torch to Austin due to a broken back, he was 33. Most people argue that at that point, HBK was the most well-rounded he'd ever been.

My point is that mid 30s isn't over the hill. In fact, it's typically a wrestlers prime. In their 20s, they have all the athleticism, but not the smarts to get over. In their early-mid 30s, they still have most of the athleticism and also have the smarts. After that, athleticism declines and they still have the smarts. Because Cena is such a good athlete, 35 is not over the hill for him.

You have shitty logic (or your gimmick poster character) because you don't research things, use facts, or think things through. You just spew bullshit that is 100% opinion driven and use your (or your gimmick poster character's) other opinions to back up your opinion.

 

[Shotlycrue]

Dude. You're a king in my book. I salute you for that.

I completely agree. I pondered up the stone cold comparison to a buddy of mine. It's definitely true. Unless your like 7 and like stupid red shirts, then CM Punk is change and he is the voice of the voiceless. What that means, Cena's voice, is all his t shirts he sells to little boys who get beat up by kids who either don't watch wrestling, or wish the Undertaker would come destroy Cena at Mania. But we know that won't happen cause Cena's a puss. But that's neither here nor there.

CM Punk = Stone Cold. Hence the twitter war and dream match at wrestlemania. Think about it people.

What's John Cena do on twitter? Talk shit with a guy who shows up like once every 7 years. Tells us we're living in 1993 because of faces and heels. Dude is an idiot. If there are no faces and heels how and the hell are you going to have a product. Yay mark henry isn't a heel and orton isn't a face lets let them fight and have a boring ass match with no heel-face storyline. Shut up cena.

Forget what wwe wants. It's what the damn fans want. I pray for the day when I can go to a live event and get to boo cena and not make little kids with sweatbands cry and their parents say "he's just a kid man". NEWSFLASH FUCKERS. I PAY FOR MY TICKET TO CHEER FOR WHO I WANT AND I CHOOSE TO BOO JOHN CENA BECAUSE HE SUCKS ASS. The product has been so much better since the shoot promo. MITB was awesome. CM PUNK! CM PUNK!

to many pathetic cena fans on this site! make's me sick

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you two of the biggest hypocrits I have ever seen.

First of all, what makes you "more of a fan" then the 10 year old in a red shirt, armbands, and a red hat? Yes, you absolutely can boo Cena because you don't like him, but guess what!??!? The kiddies can cheer as loud as they want too!!! Wanna know why? I will tell you because that's just the kind of guy I am. The reason is because they are the proud owners of fully paid for tickets as well!!! Wow! Check out that logic! I couldn't give two flying fucks on who you cheer for or who the kids cheer for or who the blind monkey's uncle that lives down the street cheer for. That's there choice, they (or you) spend the money on merchandise, they (or you) buy the PPV's, they (or you) pay money for the live event tickets. Believe it or not, your opinion is not the only one. *Gasp*

Now that I've gotten that off of my chest, I can get back to the topic at hand. CM Punk is not Stone Cold, he's not Chris Jericho, he's CM Punk. I think that he's gonna be an anti-hero to play opposite Cena's babyface. That way not only can he be involved in great feuds w/ Cena as we've already seen, go up against an "evil" corporate system which he's doing now, or be the badass that takes on the heels. Plus, you have the three major demographics covered between Punk and Cena.

 

[CM_PUNK1995]

Obviously the WWE want CM Punk to potray a Stone Cold like character but I think they should let him be himself. People have said before that the WWE is in the reality era at the moment I guess that's why they used Kevin Nash instead of Diesel, but the WWE should let CM Punk be CM Punk. He obviously has that cocky edge that I love and that's why he's cuts the best promo's in WWE right now.

Now on whether he should be a heel or a face, honestly I think he should be face. Because if he's a heel and cuts these awesome promo's fans will cheer for him no matter what. And as for Punk vs Stone Cold for WM28, I think it's a great idea but they've got already got Cena vs The Rock so I don't know how it's all going to work out.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Obviously the WWE want CM Punk to potray a Stone Cold like character but I think they should let him be himself. People have said before that the WWE is in the reality era at the moment I guess that's why they used Kevin Nash instead of Diesel, but the WWE should let CM Punk be CM Punk. He obviously has that cocky edge that I love and that's why he's cuts the best promo's in WWE right now.

Now on whether he should be a heel or a face, honestly I think he should be face. Because if he's a heel and cuts these awesome promo's fans will cheer for him no matter what. And as for Punk vs Stone Cold for WM28, I think it's a great idea but they've got already got Cena vs The Rock so I don't know how it's all going to work out.

Not really. Only attitude era marks who want shit to be 1999 all over again think he's an Austin-like character. Austin simply hated his boss. Punk hates the system. Austin didn't talk much and did more ass whipping. Punk does more talking and less fighting. Austin is an angry construction worker who kicks the shit out of his forman, Punk is the angry liberal college student who blogs about the evils of the government and shows up at rallies in DC. It's why Austin was more over as a babyface. Wrestling fans are generally poorer, blue collar people, they relate to Austin's working class mentality and aggression. They also typically DON'T like the whining intellectual types. It's why the majority of fans don't relate to Punk. Smarks relate to Punk because they fancy themselves intellectuals who are fighting the system.

Sure, absolute, bare bones, yes, they both hate the people in power, but their characters are TOTALLY different otherwise.

"if he cuts heel promos fans will cheer him" not really. The majority of fans don't seem to care that much for his character at the moment and he's a babyface. He wrestles like a babyface. If he's a heel, then the SMARKS will cheer him even more and the normal people will actually give a shit.

 

[H33LTurn]

They want him to play a revolutionary face character but its obvious that he has nothing to complain about. He complains about not being pushed despite being a former world champion that in the month before his promo shoot had been feuding with some of the top names in the industry. He compains about small guys not making it big despite guys like Rey, Sin Cara, Cody Rhodes, and Christian all having a significant amount of success recently. He claims that Vince is out of touch but he's had a handle of things for years. he bitches about The Rock main eventing WM despite The Rock earning the respect from the fans for years and becoming a huge name. He complains about Colt Cabana not being successful in the WWE despite the fact that theres nothing special about him. He complains about Cena being a bodybuilder before coming to the WWE, not realizing that just because one person has one profession it doesnt mean that they cant have a passion for another and actually succeed at wrestling (ie- Chris Jericho's music and wrestling).

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

They want him to play a revolutionary face character but its obvious that he has nothing to complain about. He complains about not being pushed despite being a former world champion that in the month before his promo shoot had been feuding with some of the top names in the industry. He compains about small guys not making it big despite guys like Rey, Sin Cara, Cody Rhodes, and Christian all having a significant amount of success recently. He claims that Vince is out of touch but he's had a handle of things for years. he bitches about The Rock main eventing WM despite The Rock earning the respect from the fans for years and becoming a huge name. He complains about Colt Cabana not being successful in the WWE despite the fact that theres nothing special about him. He complains about Cena being a bodybuilder before coming to the WWE, not realizing that just because one person has one profession it doesnt mean that they cant have a passion for another and actually succeed at wrestling (ie- Chris Jericho's music and wrestling).

See, this is all why I think he's a "wolf in sheeps clothing" right now. He's going to act like he's on the fans side, and they're going to make HHH look questionable, but at the end of the day, it's going to be all about CM Punk trying to spread his viewpoints. Smarks will love it because he'll basically be their spokesperson, and the normal people will boo him for the reasons you stated.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

So, what do you think? Is WWE trying to turn Punk into an antihero babyface or is he just going to be a strong heel in the longer run?

Myriad, this thread is actually pretty awesome. Opening post is awesome, and you know how much I value you as a poster, and I am sorry so many crap replies have been posted dude. I'll try and get it back on the right track.

"The Voice of the Voiceless"

Whether it be a majority he speaks for a minority that disagree with the product the WWE showcase, he speaks for said group. CM Punk is labeled this because the guy is basically for one, probably, the best microphone worker the company currently has for one. Second, after the promo you have this cult like following behind him who'll agree with almost everything he says, that said, Punk is also being exhibited as the anti-status quo. For one hes gone on record to speak down on Sports Entertainment, he isn't interested on being anything else but a wrestler he has said he feels like some people are getting what they deserve and that some people don't get the chance to exhibit what they have.

In his interview with WWE Magazine, one of the best parts was, "...well, this week like Kofi, but the next week we'll like Dolph" why not just choose once and exhibit them," and that is how some people feel. WWE aren't consistent with who they push. Those minorities or whatever that feel that way are the "Voiceless" he speaks for, and the status quo he objects, he is their "Cult of Personality." The contrast to the status quo.

In essence, he plays himself. If people followed his Twitter page, what he says on television hes been saying for about a year now on Twitter. Remember when Stone Cold Steve Austin was scheduled to appear and Punk went to Twitter and said, "CM Punk and Steve Austin in the same building... sure WWE will screw it up somehow," he's basically taken that attitude and brought it to television.

WWE don't really seem to be what decides what Punk is, it's more-so, Punk has been done an Austin and WWE have handed him the ball and told him to roll with it. And the thing is, where as people say, well "Stone Cold isn't comprable to CM Punk because Punk hasn't gone over right" you are morons. Steve Austin spoke the words, "Austin 3:16" and it was everywhere, CM Punk says he's the "Best In The World" and I've seen three people now walking down the street with it on. It took Austin over a year to cement his position as "that guy" in the WWE, Punk has had... Two months? Yeah, might want to be fair before the actual conclusive comparison is made.

Punk is booked as a face; Punk faced R-Truth whose a heel, who had another heel The Miz in his corner. He's objective to Kevin Nash whose a heel and has more support from crowd reactions that Triple H on RAW. Yet, him insulting people is seen as being heel, it comes across as rude and all that, and that is what makes people think he's a face.

So, the correct label of alignment, is a tweener. Much like Austin was, which is why people make the comparison. Because Stone Cold said all these things and did all these things and portrayed an image most people wished they could play. On the Monday Night Wars DVD, Jim Ross says it perfectly, "Steve Austins Stunning Vince McMahon, is like what every man wants to do. Go in and beat his boss up," CM Punk saying these things and standing up to the authority is what a lot of people want to do, so therefore it forms a connection because Punk is a rebel and rebels are directly drawn to the human mind.

CM Punk is a tweener, definition of a tweener. He says things he shouldn't, but supports the fans and is booked as a face. His personality, is him. It's CM Punk. Phil Brooks. Whatever you want to call him, his promos now are similar to that of what he did back in the Summer of Punk, they riled the fans up, they were poetic and they were well spoken. The dude is playing himself, he just adds charcteristic things and some things he says break the realm of realism which immediately draws the mind. Hence why Punk is a tweener, whose being portrayed as such, which can be described easily as an anti-hero.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Generally speaking, I'm not sure WWE is ultimately trying to "define" what sort of character CM Punk is at the moment. According to reports, Punk is basically given a free hand when it comes to his promos and Punk is someone that's generally a lot different from what would be thought of as a clear babyface.

I don't think that there's any real singular answer right now, just different points of view. For me, CM Punk comes across as a rebel that's on this crusade to fight the power. There's long since been a tradition of admiring people that try to buck the system in the United States especially. The WWE in this case is painted as the huge corporate juggernaut of wrestling that can demolish careers and it's all about the egos of those that are in charge of said juggernaut. Americans have also had a very long tradition of, generally, being against big corporations and all of that plays into this role. Punk is someone trying to fight the system but that doesn't necessarily make him a "good guy".

Like a lot of other people that claim to want change or want to "make this fun again" or "make things better", Punk's character is someone that wants all that to happen according to his own personal designs. I like that Triple H talked about this in their contract signing because it adds a ton of realism to the situation. Punk's character might want change but only as long as it's change that HE thinks is right, that HE wants, that HE thinks is ultimately best. In the broader scheme of things in society, much the same can be said about anyone who comes along and says "I wanna change things". They might want to change things but only as long as that change is exactly what they want. Otherwise, they'll sometimes do what they can to sabotage said change if it doesn't reflect their own personal views. History is full of individuals, heads of state, kings, emperors, etc. that all thought along the same lines. In a nutshell, Punk's character does come across as sort of an arrogant guy that believes his vision of what should be is the best and trumps all others. But, as I said, since he's fighting the corporate power, and all the other factors that go along with that, he's gotten lots of cheers and support even during a time in this angle in which he was clearly meant to be a heel.

In a nutshell, CM Punk's character very much appeals to the IWC because he sounds like an internet smark. Like a hardcore smark, Punk's character wants what he wants exactly the way he wants it. He'll accept no substitutes, he sees the powers that be as these soulless monsters and he believes that only his view can change things. As I said, classic internet smark. The chief difference is that, unlike a lot of internet smarks, CM Punk is someone with a great deal of credibility, first hand knowledge of the business and a lot of respect within the business on all different levels.

 

[Workrate]

Punk's promos remain fantastic, I think some people are just blinded by the angle he's in right now. Objectively speaking, this whole angle got botched a while ago and is sort of just hobbling along now. It was botched the minute they threw together Punk/Cena at SummerSlam. They rushed it together, now they're dragging it out, so naturally his promos don't seem as good as they did before -- the storyline itself has grown stale.

See, the Punk storyline was all about the WWE Championship. That's what made the storyline, that he had the belt and left. So they should have left him off TV instead of bringing him back, completely removing the belt from the equation, and sticking him into a feud with HHH. The storyline people loved Punk in isn't the same one he's in now, that's where things got all messed up.

And the fault for that lies on everyone who had input, Punk included. He should have stayed off TV and done the viral thing for a while, then come back and wrestled Cena. Punk/Cena was the money match and the pay-off for the whole thing, but they just jumped into it too quick and then didn't have anywhere else to go once it happened.