What if it was Hardy instead of Punk???

[SynysterLove]

Hardy is clearly more over with the crowd than Punk. However, I don't think either one of them is really that spectacular in their performance. Hardy botches a lot of moves and pretty much never wins unless he's flying off of something. CM Punk does way too much kicking, he reminds me of a jackrabbit. In terms of who deserved it more, Hardy has come a long way and although he made mistakes that got him suspended, he paid for it enough with his whole house tragedy. Punk already got a huge treat by being drafted to RAW, so maybe it should've just stayed at that and they could've had him work his way up. Really I think they both deserved it, Punk just got to it first because Hardy had just returned.
I think if Hardy had won, there wouldn't be as interesting of a storyline. Punk has way more big name stars to compete with on RAW, so that's probably why he got to win it.

 

[Dark Blaze]

Hardy is clearly more over with the crowd than Punk. However, I don't think either one of them is really that spectacular in their performance. Hardy botches a lot of moves and pretty much never wins unless he's flying off of something. CM Punk does way too much kicking, he reminds me of a jackrabbit.

I agree here, with the fact that Hardy botches, but he has a very spotty and aerial style so that is to be expected and he hasn't in a while and on Smackdown currently, they can edit those botches out if any. However I disagree with you complaining about CM Punk's kicks, those are part of his moveset and gimmick, that's like saying Stone Cold who was built up as a brawler shouldn't have punched so much.

In terms of who deserved it more, Hardy has come a long way and although he made mistakes that got him suspended, he paid for it enough with his whole house tragedy. Punk already got a huge treat by being drafted to RAW, so maybe it should've just stayed at that and they could've had him work his way up. Really I think they both deserved it, Punk just got to it first because Hardy had just returned.
I think if Hardy had won, there wouldn't be as interesting of a storyline. Punk has way more big name stars to compete with on RAW, so that's probably why he got to win it.

There would have been a much more of an interest in Hardy in winning, especially with how over he is and it could simply be built as Hardy after years in the WWE finally winning the big one, simple. However, even if Punk has big name stars, what's the point when he looks completely outmatched against them? CM Punk wasn't built up enough, simple. He only beat Edge to shock the world.

 

[MarkMaddenSuperFan]

I don't really think that Hardy would have been a good choice for WWE based on how he has been booked in the past. It's clear that giving CM Punk was an attempt by WWE creative to kind of mix things up and gage whether this would draw. I think it was a good move to help restore that "anything can happen" on live TV. I don't like the way how they are booking Punk. If anything they should have had him cut a promo like he did on PPV where he said that he's not like other wrestlers in the company and is his own person.

 

[iwin122]

if it was hardy theyd be getting a lot better ratings, a lot better sales, a lot less people complaining....hardy might not have mic skills but he never really needed them hardy vs cena or hardy vs the psychotic kane or hardy vs jericho would be just soooo much better than punk vs jbl or punk vs batista
hardy vs jericho would be a great main event in my opinion

 

[iwin122]

hardy is more popular anymore than just about anyone with the fans and kids HHH needs to lose the title soon and im saying hes going against taker and i wouldnt be surprised seeing hardy vs taker
remember back to their ladder match in my opinion thats one of the best maches ever

 

[psykohurricane]

Yeah, Hardy is more over than punk, everybody knows that and it wouldn't become of factor anyway because mcmahon doesn't love to push small guys. If hardy wouldn'T have won the title instead of Punk, he probably would have been book the same way punk is being push right now. It's always been like this and it will continued to be like this until mcmahon retires. Punk is getting the same treatment that Rey mysterio and RVD got when they were world champions.

 

[Danmen001]

Yeah, Hardy is more over than punk, everybody knows that and it wouldn't become of factor anyway because mcmahon doesn't love to push small guys. If hardy wouldn'T have won the title instead of Punk, he probably would have been book the same way punk is being push right now. It's always been like this and it will continued to be like this until mcmahon retires. Punk is getting the same treatment that Rey mysterio and RVD got when they were world champions.

No he would not be booked the same way as Punk. Look at Hardy now, just this week on Smackdown he basically had his match with the the Great Khali won if it hadn't been for the interference of MVP. He did have the match won in fact, The Whisper in the Wind followed with the Swanton Bomb, all he had to do was get the pin. That is being booked as competing with the big guys.

Hardy has not and will not get the same treatment as Punk. Hardy is so much more over, the fans are still in love with him and he is bound to win the title soon enough.

Just because McMahon doesn't like to push all small sized guys doesn't mean that he will treat Hardy the same. Hardy, the Charismatic Enigma was and still is moredeserving than Punk. Although I don't have a problem with Punk myself Hardy was better off.

 

[psykohurricane]

No he would not be booked the same way as Punk. Look at Hardy now, just this week on Smackdown he basically had his match with the the Great Khali won if it hadn't been for the interference of MVP. He did have the match won in fact, The Whisper in the Wind followed with the Swanton Bomb, all he had to do was get the pin. That is being booked as competing with the big guys.

Hardy has not and will not get the same treatment as Punk. Hardy is so much more over, the fans are still in love with him and he is bound to win the title soon enough.

Just because McMahon doesn't like to push all small sized guys doesn't mean that he will treat Hardy the same. Hardy, the Charismatic Enigma was and still is moredeserving than Punk. Although I don't have a problem with Punk myself Hardy was better off.

The fact is that yes, Hardy is being book to look strong against the big guys, but so was RVD and REy mysterio before they got the belt, All am saying is that Hardy as over as he is right now would now be any different that all the other smalller guys if he was world champion. Mcmahon never like having a small guy as champion and outside of HBK and bret hart, most of the smaller champions were push to look weak. Like i said before, just look at how badly REy misterio and RVD were book during their title reigns and these two guys were as over as Jeff Hardy is. So for me to say that Hardy would be in the same position as punk right is mostly accurate since the wwe doesn't look as are over you are because if that was the case, Evan bourne would be ECW Champion right now, it look at how big you are and if your not a big guys and you get a chance to win a world title, you're going to be book like a underdog like just like what Punk is going trought right now.

 

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

I would much rather see Jeff Hardy as a World Champion as opposed to C.M. Punk. The bbieng because WWE was really high on Hardy mostly because even as Intercontinental Champion he still received a push by defeating Triple H at Armageddon to become the #1 contender for the WWE Championship and ended up losing against Randy Orton at Royal Rumble when the gold was on the line. And also lost the #1 contender Elimination Chamber match, but if was only because he was going to win the Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania still as the Intercontinental Champion. If it wasn't for the suspension, he wouldn't have lost the title to Y2J. He would have both the IC title and the briefcase, and lose the title to someone else just to cash in the breiefcase and win a World Title. Now if you look at C.M. Punk, since losing to the ECW Championship, he's done absolutely nothing which is why I don't get why the WWE decided to give Punk the win when Hardy was suspended. In my opinion Carlito, Mr. Kennedy, and Chris Jericho would have made better choices than Punk.

 

[My$terio_Fan]

I think this angle would have went alot better if it was Hardy who had won the belt instead of Punk. The reason why is because Hardy is very over and the fans would care more. Punk gets an alright reaction but nowhere near as good of pop as Hardy. So I think the fans would be more invested in this storyline but Jeff still may have gotten the same treatment as Punk(ie. made to look weak). But maybe not since Hardy has gone head to head and feuded with the company's "best" (hhh, orton, ect) whereas punk has only feuded with the likes of Morrison, Big Daddy V, and now JBL. I just think if it was Hardy who had one the belt there would be a higher level of excited than Punk.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

I doubt Hardy would've been booked the same way. Hardy was on a roll with his wins while Punk was in a slump. Obviously, they were trying to make Hardy a credible and legitimate contender, while Punk, they didn't care too much for. And you can't make the argument that Punk was only losing because they wanted to help the likes of Palumbo lol.

There's also the issue of popularity. The WWE is very, very, VERY stubborn at times when they want someone to get over and the crowd just isn't buying it. Snitsky is an example. If they want someone to be popular, they'll try so hard that it comes off pathetic. Remember those video packages when Cena was being booed by the majority, but they still wanted him to be the #1 guy? All of them were trying to beat the idea into our head that he was someone we should cheer. Though the WWE is stubborn about "the fans don't like who we want them to", they're definitely not stupid enough to ignore when the fans actually DO like someone. What happened when The Miz was voted to challenge Punk at Cyber Sunday? He started being booked as a winner. Thusly, if the WWE was to give Hardy the title and the fans would erupt like they normally do, cheering like all hell broke loose for him, I doubt they'd try to make him look like he was inept. Punk doesn't get that great of a reaction, so they have no qualms about booking him to look like a loser. Hardy = Money. Money = Push.

Having Hardy (or even Kennedy) would be resulting in much better main event matches on Raw's side.

 

[RatedRFan]

i really think J. Hardy could have brought himself and the WWE to a new level. he is one of the best faces in all of pro wrestling (WWE/TNA). he would have been more believable than cm punk, because as you guys metioned, it would have been his 2nd title match and he was on a huge role at the time of MITB. imagine if he was the champ and he was taking on all the top heels and some faces too, but if he could beat a few good names (PPV wins with memorable swantons from high spots)and then they could angle it so everyone is trying to take his title away, and his high-flying style cant be beat, his heart is the size of a watermelon and he'd never quit. he would be so over. he would not be seen as reckless any more and become legit ME star. that would also skyrocket his clothing sales, which he is already around top of best selling wrestler
IMO he is also one of the only faces that gets cheers from kids and adults alike. what i mean is, when john cenas music hits, the kids go crazy and the adults boo. ya know what i mean?

 

[Dead Kennedy]

Jeff Hardy hasn't been booked to look like an underdog (he's gone over Triple H) and works as a heel in addition to being 4 times as over as Punk is. CM Punk as a face just...doesn't work. If Jeff hadn't screwed up, his WWE Championship/World Heavyweight (depending on what would have changed with the Draft) run would be welcomed by just about everybody (except you annoying zealots who claim Jeff is a spotmonkey) and he would be approximately 14 times better than Punk. No offense to Punk, but to WWE's booking.

Jeff still has his shot, and I suggest they give it to him. Hell, they gave title shots to Steiner when they had him. If the wellness policy was in effect then, Steiner would be gone in 90 days, if you get me. Jeff Hardy kicks ass, plain and simple. Oh yeah, and in case you couldn't read my boring text, I'll summarize it; Punk bad, Jeff good. HOORAH?!?

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

Yeah, Hardy is more over than punk, everybody knows that and it wouldn't become of factor anyway because mcmahon doesn't love to push small guys. If hardy wouldn'T have won the title instead of Punk, he probably would have been book the same way punk is being push right now. It's always been like this and it will continued to be like this until mcmahon retires. Punk is getting the same treatment that Rey mysterio and RVD got when they were world champions.

He only lost both titles immediately because he got caught smoking pot while driving. Vince McMahon is not gonna let a casual drug user remain champ. Now, most of us were aware that RVD smoked ganj well before this point, but once it became official, that was the end of his push.

But apart from that i'd have to agree with you. Guys hovering below the 250lb mark are not going to be used well as Champion, unless there's another talent with similar attributes for them to fight with frequently ie HBK and Bret Hart.

Now if WWE ever have Punk defend against Y2J, we may actually get to see that same sort of chemistry as HBK and Bret had (though hopefully without the hatred).

Would Jeff's run be any different? Probably not, no. I think Jeff would make a great champ, don't get me wrong, but WWE's attitude is: If the champ is a small guy, or just smaller than the challenger i.e Khali, then the challenger tends to whoop the champs ass for a month, and then the champ always manages to pull the win out at the very end.

That's pretty much a fact. I would be shocked if HHH's match with Khali on Sunday doesn't consist of 20 minutes of Khali chopping and stomping on HHH, maybe a quick flurry by HHH here and there, then the Pedigree out of nowhere to counter the Vise Grip.

Apparently WWE don't think their fans would be willing to suspend their disbelief enough to entertain the notion that David could actually beat Goliath without taking a huge beatdown beforehand and Goliath loses focus and that's what costs him.

 

[Shawn"HBK"Michaels 92]

1st of all.. i dont hat CM Punk, He is doing a fucking great job as the WHC and i think he deserve to be there, But not more then Jeff Hardy.

As soon as I saw "Breaking News: CM Punk Wins WHC on Raw" the first thing i thought about was Jeff Hardy. It should have been Jeff Hardy's title.

Jeff Hardy is over like a Motherfucker. Proof of this is that even after Jeff suspension, he is still the hottest star that the WWE has right now. 99.999% of Wrestling fans love him. I cant remember the last time i didnt hear a Jeff Hardy POP... Unlike Punk who after Wrestlemania, quickly lost momentum, as well as fans. With clean losses to Chris Jericho & William Regal. Not that losing to Y2J or Regal is embaressing. However if WWE is planning to push talent in the future, not the right way to go i reckon.

CM Punk is very good on the microphone, but Jeff Hardy isn't too shabby either these days. Jeff's mic/promo skills have improved greatly since this time last year and I predict that they'll only go up & up.

And anybody who thinks CM Punk is a better In Ring Wrestler then Jeff Hardy, I think they're pretty fucking insane. CM Punk is great, but jeff hardy is a verteran when compared to Punk. In a big match situation jeff knows how to pull out something special. ESPECIALLY IN GIMMICK MATCHS, EG.. LADDER MATCHES (Obviously). Except for his suprisingly exciting bout against batista at GAB, I'm yet to see CM Punk really blow me away, granted Hardy has had about a decade headstart thought.. I think punk needs to start using the pepsi plunge and the anaconda vice again.. the GTS is a bit gay in my opinion.. by anyways.. now im off track.. Jeff Hardy has done so much more then CM Punk, Jeff has provided me with more exciting, amazing, breathtaking, showstealling , moments which i will remember for ever...

Especially in everyone of jeffs matches against RVD..

I cant wait to see hardy vs. punk. For the title would be pretty sweet too (although that almost definatly wont happen.)

I would have been much bigger for Jeff to have won. I really wouldve like to have seen Jeff Hardy Vs. Chris Jericho at some point in the main event for the title, but it'll likely be Punk vs. Y2J instead... JBl vs Hardy wouldve been alright, aswell as hardy v cena and hardy v rko again... (I love their fued together)


The only reason i am glad it was punk instead of Jeff is because i really want to see jeff win the big one in an actual match.. A carrer defining show stealing match...

 

[wwefan49]

Lets be fair to CM PUnk people. As great as Jeff Hardy is I see no problem with CM PUNK as WHC right now. Would you rather have JBL? What about Batista? Rey Mysterio...that worked well. Kane or Jericho are better options but Kane must be built up first. He's not winning enough matches to be considered a contendor yet. Now as far as Jeff Hardy he would be a pretty good World Champ but my question is this? Are his mic skills any better than Punk's? They are actually worse because Punk isn't amazing on the mic but he's pretty good still. Jeff sounds boring and unexcited and his voice just sounds weird. Jeff sells like a motherfucker true. But Punk sells very well as well. Jeff wouldn't be considered an underdog if hes proven himself like you all have said right? He beat everyone on Raw except Orton so he is legit while Punk had a chip on his shoulder from only being able to prove himself against ECW talent which he dominated. Plus Punk had recent beef with Edge while Jeff hasn'r had problems with Jeff in what 6 years? I would have no issue with Jeff as champion but I am perfectly content with CM Punk as champion.