Wait a second....you're honestly trying to say that CM Punk isn't genuinely over with the crowd??? Not to quote the Miz intentionally but, really??? That observation pretty much kills any credibility to your argument all by itself. When you watch Raw, SD! or ppvs and see thousands of people chanting Punk's name at the top of their lungs or hear this loud roar of approval from those same people once his entrance music hits & he walks out onto the stage, can you not hear them??? Sorry man, but you're absolutely delusional if you're honestly going to say that R-Truth sometimes gets better crowd reactions than CM Punk. If CM Punk was someone who was really only over with the IWC then he most certainly wouldn't have been the longest reigning World Champion in WWE for more than a quarter century. Vince McMahon doesn't give you a strong push if you're someone who doesn't connect significantly with the majority of WWE fans. The IWC is a minority, a pretty small minority at that, so it's natural that Vince isn't going to cater to them. Otherwise, wrestlers like Shelton Benjamin or Evan Bourne would have been multiple time WWE Champions long before now as they're two internet darlings.
As for your "formula", you think that a catchphrase or hand gesture is seriously going to get you a "real ovation"? Here's the thing with RVD, his hand gesture is the very limit of his charisma and personality. RVD is pretty entertaining inside the ring and his use of various flashy high spots has been a key to his popularity. However, if you're suggesting that his popularity with fans outstrips that of someone like CM Punk, especially because of something as generally trivial as a his signature gesture, then I don't know what shows you're watching.
It takes more than a catchphrase to get you over as a babyface or a heel for that matter. If you want fans to connect then, the VAST majority of the time, there has to be some level of depth to their character and they have to show that via personality. It's really why promos are so important in pro wrestling. If you have lousy skills on the mic, then you're most likely not going to make it as a major player in a top organization. Every once in a blue moon, you'll have someone who isn't good at promos rise to be a top guy, such as RVD or Rey Mysterio, as they've been able to forge some level of repoire` with fans despite having poor mic skills. Those guys, however, are the exceptions to the rule rather than the standard.
When it comes to popularity on the level of someone like Stone Cold Steve Austin or The Rock, it's like catching lightning in a bottle. It's extremely rare and doesn't happen very often. The fact that Austin & The Rock showed up with the right sort of characters at the right time a major factor in their success just as it was for Hulk Hogan well over a decade earlier. You're also simply not going to have some wrestlers get as much of a pop as others. Christian, for example, has always gotten solid responses from fans whether he's a face or a heel. Sometimes those responses are more pronounced depending on what sort of program he's in and who he's working it with.
