Got thinking whether the WWE are missing him or not, and all day coming back to it here and there I still haven't come to a conclusion.
Obviously in an era where so few have a trace of dynamism on the mic he truly was a diamond in the rough. Equally in an era cursed with the shadow of it's previous era - CM Punk was the only character who had any credibility when making comparisons. And with the exception of ECW Punk (which in hindsight is just as painful and a crime against wrestling as Rocky Marvia), he was always associated with something interesting.
But at the same point I'd have zero faith that WWE, if they'd even have him back, would do him justice. Now that he's been gone for a few months and I can distance myself from him a bit. I can honesty say without exaggeration that CM Punk is/was easily the worst pushed wrestler in WWE's history, and the fact he ever amounted to anything is a true testament to Phil Brooks. Every single one of the characters accomplishments is tainted somehow (seriously, every single one, it's actually scary), his face to heel flips never originated organically and bordered on ridiculous in particular his last heel one, and despite having tons of charisma a lot of what he actually said was such a pile of garbage most of the time. Just thinking of his 15-20 minute promo on The Rock just before losing the title, my god that was horrendous.
What do you guys think? Cos I have no idea where I stand here.
Thoughts on CM Punk
posted on 6/9/14
Exactly saying that, I just thought of one feud where WWE got it right with him and his opponent. Against Jericho
posted on 6/9/14
Just as Vince had Stone Cold waiting around every corner, I'd love to see Punk becoming a cancer to Triple H.
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Not quite sure the dynamics of that would work to the same degree as Austin/Vince or even HHH/Bryan. Punk is very much viewed as an Austin light, and HHH in this incarnation isn't even close to Vince McMahon.
I've always seen Punk filling more of a Jake The Snake role myself.
posted on 8/9/14
hmmmm
For me, Punks rise was more to do with modern fans.
They love a rebel. I suppose it all started with Stone Cold Steve Austin. He made a heel "cool"
It's no surprise that we see the likes of Bray Wyatt and Cesaro for example being cheered on when taking on the faces like Sheamus.
I'm not sure what WWE does to address that - or whether it needs to be addressed at all.
With regards to the push when he was champ - I thought it was one of the more prominent title reigns in modern WWE history. He held the title for hundreds of days, breaking records and was even paired by the top mic guy in the industry - Paul Heyman.
Anyone who followed Punks career long enough would know that technically, he's nowhere near as good as people make him out to be.
For me, Seth Rollins is a better wrestler than CM Punk - although not as good on the mic. Although Seth is still in his early days - But there's no doubting that The Shields introduction to the WWE has been a very very good Contingency which has made the mourning of Punk.., minimal
posted on 8/9/14
It's not that the heel is 'cool' in the modern era, it's that WWE for whatever reason are incapable of booking their top baby faces as attractive propositions. Fans will rally behind a face worth rallying behind, see Daniel Bryan as the recent example. Equally fans will have no problem resenting the heel if he's in the way of the baby face, see Dave Batista. One way WWE can address this imbalance quickly is identify which of their wrestlers are perceived by the fans to be held down by their outdated methods of creative operation - cos in this era you can guarantee that individual is going to be a face, and on the flip side anyone whose perceived to fit that outdated mould is going to get heel heat. It won't sort out everyone's role but it's a start.
Seth Rollins is an interesting one. He's certainly not Punk on the mic, wouldn't exactly call him a donkey on the mic either. If he ever makes it to the heights Punk did he'll have to chain wrestle more than he currently did, he's still somewhat stuck in spot monkey mood for now. But WWE do seem behind him for the moment, the fact he bares an obvious resemblance to Punk in look and background can only help him while that wound is still fresh.
posted on 10/9/14
punk's straight edge crap waspoor and so it didn't work for me. we miss punk but not that version
posted on 10/9/14
Punk Hope he comes back. Gone tired of seeing the same old crap matches each week.
posted on 15/9/14
Only person in WWE close to Punk overall right now is Ambrose. And he'll probably be another wasted talent.
Starting to go off WWE again.
posted on 16/9/14
wwe has been pretty good recently, doesn't really miss punk
posted on 16/9/14
Starting to go off WWE again.
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wwe has been pretty good recently, doesn't really miss punk
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I agree. In fact, I don't think the roster has been this strong in years.
posted on 17/9/14
The product does feel like it needs something. It's been going in the right direction the last few years, but because the overall roster isn't reaching it's potential like it's done in previous eras they're having to rely on one angle or one talent to gel everything else together so often. At this precise moment they've not got that and it clearly shows.
What's a crying shame is that talent could've been Bray Wyatt.