What happens to CM Punk after monday?

[satchmokilnt]

Most have pointed out that there's no guarantee Cena defeats Punk on Monday night, and there are some legitimate reasons as to why he might not. However, I think this thread would've been better served had the OP said "Assuming Cena wins on Monday, what does that mean for Punk?" For me, that's the heart of the thread anyway, and as such, I'll run with the assumption that Cena does win Monday night and that Punk slowly moves out of the WWE Title picture.

The first question I asked myself when considering this thread was "So what?" Why is it such a bad thing that Punk moves away from the title scene after serving as champion since November? His current reign stands at 241 days. During the height of the WWE’s popularity, the company was led by Steve Austin and The Rock. Arguably the two biggest stars the company ever created, neither of them had a single title length that came close to Punk’s current one. In fact, if you add all five of The Rock’s title lengths, the total comes to 262 days.

The obvious reason behind their short title reigns was that so many other stars were big enough to warrant a title run during that era. Besides Austin and Rock, the WWE also gave us Triple H, Foley, The Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, Jericho, Angle, Guerrero, Benoit and Lesnar. Needless to say, not all of them could be in the title picture each month, and because of that, the pay-per view cards were stacked with main event stars wrestling on the mid-card. More importantly, because each of those guys were top-draws, the WWE invested time in them even when they weren’t chasing the title.

That’s the issue here with Punk. Can the WWE go back to the model of investing in non-title feuds – a model that made the Attitude Era so successful? With the current crop of wrestlers, it won’t be as easy as it was 12 years ago … but when you start pitting the younger talent with a proven talent that demands to be heard backstage, it gives hope.

For example, Jericho has a loud voice in the company. Despite the fact that he hasn’t “won” anything recently, his past successes have earned him McMahon’s ear. That will help the Jericho/Ziggler feud. Daniel Bryan is one of the hottest commodities in the company – mostly thanks to his YES chant – and that status should help guarantee a proper build should he – as I suspect – go on to feud with The Miz. And given his recent title length, and the fact that he’s the most “over” wrestler in the company right now, my guess is that Punk’s voice will be heard regardless of who he feuds with following his eventual title loss.

So long as Punk continues to make his voice heard backstage, he will remain relevant without being in the title scene. And when the time is right, I guarantee that he’ll go right back to chasing the belt.

Sorry that my original post was poorly constructed. its what you get for trying to rush off a thought in the last moments before going to work. but as ive stated at the end of my rather shitty post. this is all merely conjecture. im just getting my gripes in before everyone else jumps in at the end of play next monday.

He may very well win. then again, by monday we may all be taken over by nazi aliens sent to put tom cruise in a position of real power. but odds are that wont happen. i'll happily have a bet with anyone here that the likely occurrence is that cena will win on monday. all aboard for the boredom train, next stop wrestlemania. CHOO! CHOO!

You state about how the big names of yesteryear didnt need the belt around their waist. but they had a good team of writers/sane authority figures trying to do their best. And the stone colds and triple h's of today dont get the long or short term masterplans that once wouldve been the staple of that era. in fact, top dog John boy/taker & triple h aside, id be shocked if anyone with any long term value to the company has a clue what next week has in store for them. let alone what mania holds. this is now, that is then.

Take the belt off cm punk what have we gained? not much. as annoying as that may be to punks' fanboys. And a summerslam rematch aside he has to move on. There is nothing bursting out as an obvious next step. for your supposedly #2 guy what sort of message does that send out to the rest of the locker room? I can only hope that all the twitter rants punk goes on against people not lapping up his shit, show us all as fools. maybe there is a grand plan, maybe we will get to see another wwe sponsored summer of punk. id like to be hopeful, but all my hopes been sapped by the last 12 months alone.

 

[Ando]

I honestly do not see Punk dropping the title next week. Too much has been made of the fact that John Cena made history by being in his first Money in the Bank match. They were also overhyping the fact there have been 10 winners and 10 successful cash ins. I think Cena will lose next week via interference. Daniel Bryan will cost Cena the match and contract gone and Cena will make more History by being the first to unsuccessfully cash in the MITB contract.

Then Mick Foley will be announced as the new RAW GM and make a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship at Summerslam.

I agree mostly, but I think Big Show will cost him not Bryan. And the new GM will make a rematch.

 

[dakikko049]

I can see the rock having some sort of a role in this match he tweeted about how hes coming back for the WWE Championship and i cant see him just coming down to deliver another promo he surely has to be involved in some sort of capacity in this match i no its sad to think but i think they are building towards Rock vs Cena 2 at Mania'29 completley contradicting "once in a lifetime"

You mention the Rock, and honestly the Rock is the only thing that makes me feel Punk might NOT lose the title. A lot of Rock's tweets and statements about the championship have been answered by Punk and I think I remembered hearing Punk say if he could have a match against anyone he would like the Rock (or Stone Cold). It's true Cena and Rock may have potential unfinished business but I think it would be a disappointment to see a Punk vs Rock feud for the championship wasted.

 

[Shakin' Abe]

And what if, because Cena being the Company man that he is, loses to Punk, say by DQ, due to the Big Show or someone like that? Maybe Cena will chase Punk for a while. The Rock's gonna be there. Maybe he'll be the ass-clown that he is and do a run in....hmmmmm

 

[HillBilly]

If Punk loses, why wouldn't he get a rematch at Summer Slam? Why would he be left without an angle?

I think Big Show might be looking for revenge. Don't forget Cena hit him with the briefcase at the end of Raw.

He could slide over and challenge Sheamus for the WH Championship.

Either way, it is time to shake things up. Don't let Cena win clean. Have a heel turn by someone, create a new alliance, have someone interfere to create new feuds and story lines.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's an interesting question. I don't believe Punk will drop the title to Cena on Monday. Like others, I feel the primary reason for giving Cena the MITB briefcase was so that the WWE would have someone who could cash in, fail to win the title and not suffer any loss of credibility or stock. Cena is already much bigger than MITB, he doesn't need MITB to become champion again. He's a legit contender to anybody at anytime. Having him regain the title via MITB would be a waste of the concept itself.

As for how it goes down, I'm fairly sure Big Show will play a role in it. I could see Big Show attacking both men before the match starts, thus nullifying Cena's attempt to cash in the contract, and leave them both laying. This could be used as a set up for Cena cashing in at SummerSlam instead for a title match. Another possibility is that Show could somehow cost Cena the match, thus giving him a reason for losing. Even though Cena doesn't need it, it'll still help him save face upon failing to cash in successfully. Another scenario is that Show interferes and costs Punk the title for the purposes of him going after Cena for the title rather than Punk. The one I think will happen is Show somehow intefering in the match and costing Cena the match, though the interference is something that won't make Punk look weak in the process. I can see Cena still getting another title match at SummerSlam in which Show sticks his nose into things again, thereby making it a threeway feud between Punk, Cena & Big Show.

I think a threeway feud is pretty certain, the only real question is who will be the champion heading into it. As I said earlier, it'd be a waste of the MITB concept in and of itself for Cena to win the title after cashing in because he doesn't need it. I think the reason they've made something of a big deal about Cena winning MITB is so that he will indeed be the first one to cash in and fail to win. If Cena does win the title this Monday, I'll be personally disappointed but let's not go overboard and try to suggest that this loss would render Punk's 8+ month long WWE Championship reign as meaningless. That's an extreme, not to mention unrealistic, point of view to say the least.

 

[rokuma]

I will say this,
If there was ever a great setting to turn Cena heel, it's Monday. All eyes watching, up against the #2 Face in the company, would make you have to tune in the next week(s) once you saw it.

If he did turn heel and screw Punk out of a title, the Summer Slam rematch would be one for the ages. Punk would be hero #1 and Cena Villan #1.

But none of that will happen and Cena will most likely win and they will fight again at the PPV.

I'll be honest, I've watched 1 Raw after Backlash and that was when DDP was supposed to appear. I thought that Raw was horrible. In fact, I turned it off once DDP left my screen.

That being said I will be tuning in for the 1,000th Raw...and if John Cena turned heel in the main event, I would ABSOLUTELY tune into Raw the next week to see what happened. Unless they just blow me away with this Raw, I don't really care to watch WWE anymore. To me, TNA has a better in-ring product, I'm a huge fan of Aries, Roode, AJ, Daniels, and Sting and I can honestly say there isn't one wrestler in WWE that makes me feel like I HAVE to watch. But if Cena turned heel, it would certainly peak my interest.

 

[dotty_84]

I think he'll drop the title on Monday, maybe Bryan/AJ interferes in the match costing Punk Cena wins, but say Cena is clean out and this shit happens so it does Cena good as in he didn't know of foul play. Then it makes Punk get a rematch he'll lose maybe due to Bryan/AJ then Punk focusses on Bryan some more. While Cena gets the big summer angle, something with Rock and you get Trips/Lesnar.

 

[ForzaItalia]

It's an interesting question. I don't believe Punk will drop the title to Cena on Monday. Like others, I feel the primary reason for giving Cena the MITB briefcase was so that the WWE would have someone who could cash in, fail to win the title and not suffer any loss of credibility or stock. Cena is already much bigger than MITB, he doesn't need MITB to become champion again. He's a legit contender to anybody at anytime. Having him regain the title via MITB would be a waste of the concept itself.

As for how it goes down, I'm fairly sure Big Show will play a role in it. I could see Big Show attacking both men before the match starts, thus nullifying Cena's attempt to cash in the contract, and leave them both laying. This could be used as a set up for Cena cashing in at SummerSlam instead for a title match. Another possibility is that Show could somehow cost Cena the match, thus giving him a reason for losing. Even though Cena doesn't need it, it'll still help him save face upon failing to cash in successfully. Another scenario is that Show interferes and costs Punk the title for the purposes of him going after Cena for the title rather than Punk. The one I think will happen is Show somehow intefering in the match and costing Cena the match, though the interference is something that won't make Punk look weak in the process. I can see Cena still getting another title match at SummerSlam in which Show sticks his nose into things again, thereby making it a threeway feud between Punk, Cena & Big Show.

I think a threeway feud is pretty certain, the only real question is who will be the champion heading into it. As I said earlier, it'd be a waste of the MITB concept in and of itself for Cena to win the title after cashing in because he doesn't need it. I think the reason they've made something of a big deal about Cena winning MITB is so that he will indeed be the first one to cash in and fail to win. If Cena does win the title this Monday, I'll be personally disappointed but let's not go overboard and try to suggest that this loss would render Punk's 8+ month long WWE Championship reign as meaningless. That's an extreme, not to mention unrealistic, point of view to say the least.

This is exactly what I think will happen. Someone will in fact screw Cena this week. Think about it: Punk's enemies are both basically faces as this point. Cena still has many enemies lurking around and The Big Show is one of them that will want revenge for what Cena did to him last Monday. It makes all the sense in the world for Cena to be the first guy to fail a cash-in. It wouldn't do anything to damage his career and at the end of the day he'll stilll be John Cena. To give him no chance next week of winning is just ridiculous, especially against John Cena. You guys are forgetting that Punk is basically set as a main eventer for the rest of his WWE career. They now also have to protect Punk's momentum as well as Cena's momentum. They invested a lot in Punk such as being on the cover of WWE 13 and getting his own DVD. You guys are completely forgetting the bigger picture here. Punk has been built up as a top babyface of the company this entire past year. He basically took Randy Orton's spot as the number two babyface of the company. Cena has nothing to gain or lose from winning this Monday, while Punk does. He has everything to gain or lose. If Punk loses this Monday and then at SummerSlam, then what do you do with him? He can't chase Sheamus for the World Title. He'll be floating around doing nothing significant, while Cena gets another pointless title reign that he doesn't need.

Punk's image with the company is very important as well. He will not lose clean next week to Cena. That would destroy the credibility of his entire reign if he loses clean to Cena. The only way Cena will win is if he turns heel or someone screws Punk, which again neither will happen. Punk has no enemies. Jericho and Bryan are faces now. Cena does have enemies. You guys need to remember that Punk is an important, huge part of the WWE now as well. He won't turn heel. He brings in too much merchandise and there's more money to be made with this new video game coming out and his DVD. Punk has become watered down, but this will all change very soon starting next week. Punk will remain a face and retain the WWE Title, regardless of what some people are reporting or writing articles about. You have to remember that the WWE needs to protect Punk as a babyface as well and the only this happens is if someone costs Cena this match.

 

[TheManTheyCallRalphus]

I made an account on here just to reply to this thread. My idea is a long process that begins with the start of RAW 1000, and evolves throughout the next year.

When RAW starts out on Monday, DX calls out Lesnar. Instead of Lesnar's music hitting, it's Punks, and he stands up on the ramp, saying to DX, but Triple H the most "I'm sure you'll get your answer by the end of the night, so don't worry about it." Punk leaves, and DX continues on having their way in the ring. In the second hour, they show a limo pull into the arena, and out walks Heyman, but no Lesnar. Matt Striker asks Heyman if we'll get an answer from Lesnar, but Heyman gives us an evil smile for an answer. Then around 10:25, the main event starts. It's a back and forth match and around 10:50, Punk puts Cena on his shoulders for the GTS. Punk turns and Cena's legs hit the refs head, knocking him down. Cena then gets off of Punk's shoulders, and delivers the AA to Punk. He then locks in the STF, when all of a sudden, we see Paul Heyman run down the ramp, and he gets on the ring apron to distract Cena. Cena then knocks down Heyman off of the apron, and is ready to turn his attention back to Punk. When he turns around, we see Brock Lesnar standing in the ring, and he delivers the F5 to Cena. He places Punk on top of Cena, and wakes up the ref, who gives the 3 count. Punk gets up, acts confused, but then embraces Heyman and Lesnar. Lesnar then makes his announcement that he'll face Trips at SummerSlam, and if he wins, Heyman is then in control of the WWE.

Punk then loses the title at SummerSlam to John Cena, (Setting up Rock vs. Cena II at Mania), and Brock pummels HHH. Triple H returns around the Royal Rumble, seeking vengeance, aiming to give control back to the McMahon family. He gets Undertaker's help to face Lesnar at Mania, and Triple H will face CM Punk. (I don't see Austin facing Punk at Mania 29.) He'll get somebody else's help to face somebody else who has joined the Heyman stable. Whoever has the most victories at the end of WrestleMania will get control of the company. Team Helmsley/McMahon goes up 1-0 when somebody he chose faces somebody who joined Heyman's group. Team Heyman ties it when CM Punk beats Triple H. But in the end, Team Helmsley/McMahon gains back control of the company, when Undertaker beats Brock Lesnar, ending Lesnar's second run with the company.

 

[Jaywake90909]

after Mondays show with Big Show telling Cena now is the time to do it with Punk knocked out and Cena not doing so. I see Cena losing and you cant forget The Rock is going to be in the building maybe Punk by DQ

 

[Longtimeviewer25]

I agree with AMC1350 as ive already posted i really believe that someone im thinking a legend of some sort will come out and interfere in the match causing Cena to lose the match and his briefcase..But with the new GM being revealed that night I am wondering if that person will turn around and give the case back to Cena if a an interference happens? Who knows guess we all will in 4 1/2 days!!!

 

[hatehabsforever]

What do I think that CM Punk will do after RAW 1000 this Monday night? My guess is he'll move on to defend his WWE Championship at Summerslam, after successfully defending his title against John Cena, making Cena the first guy to unsuccessfully redeem his MITB title opportunity. Which he will lose cleanly with no outside interference.

But don't feel too bad for Cena. He'll have his hands full with the Rock at Summerslam in Rock/Cena II, where he'll even the score, setting up the rubber match for next year's Wrestlemania.

 

[machokingmooney]

Well one would assume that regardless of the ending his Cena feud isn't over. Maybe add big show for summerslam. I don't want big show in the main event scene but he'll be around a while. I think most people (myslef included) more than anything want to see some resolution to his relationship with AJ. But they may be saving that for later. A feud with the rock would be cool but probably dangerous as the rock is rusty on the mic and I doubt punk would pull any punches.

 

[ForzaItalia]

Well one would assume that regardless of the ending his Cena feud isn't over. Maybe add big show for summerslam. I don't want big show in the main event scene but he'll be around a while. I think most people (myslef included) more than anything want to see some resolution to his relationship with AJ. But they may be saving that for later. A feud with the rock would be cool but probably dangerous as the rock is rusty on the mic and I doubt punk would pull any punches.

Does it really matter though, if we never see anything resolved with AJ and Punk? There was never anything between them to begin with. They are obviously showing us that the entire focus of that storyline was between Bryan and AJ. It was never about Punk. He was just caught in the middle of it. Plus, they got Punk out of that storyline for a reason. The entire storyline was basically ruining Punk's cool-factor. Sure, he didn't have much left anyways ever since losing to Triple H last year, but this storyline was ruining what little "cool" Punk still had left in his character. The point is, this type of storyline did not really fit Punk's character ever. It made him look like a fool.

None of it made sense for Punk's character. He's a solo guy. A rebel if you will. Not some couple's therapist for AJ and Daniel Bryan. I said this before that I never liked this AJ storyline to begin with. It was interesting at first, but when AJ really started to overshadow the WWE Title and the actual WWE Champion, I lost my interest and couldn't wait for Punk to move on. Thank goodness Punk did move on and it should stay that way.