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Hey Scott, wanted your thoughts on something. This is a tweet from CM Punk in response to fans claiming that since he is the champion, he should be in the main events of RAWs and PPVs: Placement on a card determining quality? Y'all need to reevaluate. I'll wrestle @WWEDanielBryan 1st, 3rd, 7th or your precious last... it will ALWAYS be the main event
Not saying he doesn't have a point, but when Punk did that shoot promo last year, wasn't one of his main points that despite being the best, he is never in the main event("Dwayne being in the main event at mania makes me sick!")? Now he's taking shots at his fans who have been behind him even before that promo. He was an edgy character last year, and now he is another goofy babyface in the WWE who spouts out catchphrases and tries to get things to trend on twitter. He says 'WWE Universe' (didn't he cut a promo last year saying how stupid that phrase was and that they are fans?) and he called Daniel Bryan goatface, which obviously Vince told him to do so it could trend. I mean, last summers CM Punk would have never called someone something as lame as goatface. I used to get excited when Punk came out, now I like, eh, well at least the match should be good.
I find it odd that CM Punk has pretty much become the thing he hated so much last year. What happened? Was it the new contract? To quote Vince McMahon from the InVasion angle on Steve Austin, "I want the OLD CM Punk!" Your thoughts?
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Totally agree. His pipebombs have sunk to the point of calling people poopypants. That's why he's the #2 guy without any ice cream bars. He raged against the machine and then just gave up and joined it. I still love the guy but I sure wouldn't buy a PPV just for him any more. Get ANGRY again, Punk!
I was under the impression that "Goatface" was a rib, referring to the very obnoxious internet trend of dubbing wrestlers "G.O.A.T." (Greatest Of All Time).
ReplyDeleteThat seems like something Punk would do.
So, not long after encountering Kevin Nash, Punk finds himself transforming into Diesel. Irony can be so ironic.
ReplyDeleteWould that make Colt the new HBk or the new Razor Ramon?
ReplyDeletePretty much sums up my feelings on him now. That line he kept using when he re-signed about how he can do more good and change more from inside than on his couch was such bullshit. It was all only about improving his own standing instead of really trying to change the culture of that place.
ReplyDeleteHe got what he wanted. A more serious push, a more serious (if botched) run with the "main" world title, and probably most of all a step up to Main Event tier (as I stare at his pic on my WWE cup I got at RAW a year & a half ago where he's lost in the mix of midcarders). He honestly could care less what match place he wrestles, he feels justified and appreciated finally. The only shame is that appreciation in WWE-land is so perverted compared to the rest of the world so while I'm sure it means everything to him, it looks cheap to us.
ReplyDeletePunk may not see it (or want to see it) but his standing has been hurt by all these months of playing second fiddle to Cena, Rock, Brock, HHH, Undertaker.
ReplyDeletePerception counts for so much and whilst Punk has had a long run with the title, not being in the main events of RAW, let alone PPV's, makes him look second rate. At the moment Punk is like the lead singer of a band that, whilst the de-facto frontman, is overshadowed by the lead guitarist. The spotlight isn't really on him.
SPOILER ALERT
I see that Punk is supposedly to face Cena at SummerSlam. That feels like make or break time for Punk's time at the top and whether he ever becomes the man it looked like it would. Lose to Cena at SS and it will just confirm him as not on he level of the 'proper' main eventers. Beat Cena and there's an opportunity to finally make Punk the focus of the show, unless the perception of his main event tending has been irreversibly damaged by that point.
I feel Punk may just be a victim of fucked up political circumstances. Vince will not change his mind that Cena will be the top guy and it doesn't matter if he's feuding with the big stiff of the week or doesn't have the title or gets booed, etc, etc. This is a company that jobbed Brock, the $5m dollar man in his first match just to get Cena over with the booing fans. I don't buy this whole protection angle against Brock.
ReplyDeleteIt's not like Punk can go out and say and do whatever he wants. We gotta remember, his shoot was worked.
I heard Punk was rumored to face Big Show at Summerslam. Of course what would Cena do? So this makes more sense. Cena has been without the WWE title for a year. I would say Punk/Cena III makes more sense for this year's Money in the Bank, as a way of things having come full circle.
ReplyDeleteI miss old Punk, too. But I'm still marking out like hell for the guy's matches.
You're thinking too hard. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and a goat is just a goat.
ReplyDeletePart of me fears that we won't ever get Cena/Punk anytime soon; they
ReplyDeletecan't risk putting Punk against Cena since they are refusing to accept
the reality of the situation regarding Cena.
(And the Brock Lesner thing is just retarded; I have to fucking assume
Brock gave up any veto power over his storylines in exchange for his
bullshit schedule where he only has to appear 20 times in the year he's
contractually bound; given how fucking vindictive Vince is, if I was
Brock, not enough money in the world would make me want to deal with/be
at the mercy of whatever eight years in the making revenge fantasies
Vince and HHH have thought up to punish him. I'd take less money and
even suck it up and join the company full time than deal with the shit
they've pulled with the whole Cena angle and now with HHH effectively
making Brock look like the world's biggest failure/pussy, with what I
will only assume will be followed up with HHH beating Brock in 3-4
seconds so that Vince and HHH can hammer home how much they hate Brock
and want to scorch earth his name/legacy by making him look like a total
putz)
As someone said, they'll make Punk drop the belt to Big Show to get it
onto Cena and then, ten will get you twenty, they'll shove the
loserweigh belt (new name for the Smackdown belt since it means jack and
shit) onto him and expect everyone to be happy Punk has that
loserweight belt while Cena has the "real" world title.
(And part of me would not be shocked that we only have Kane sticking his
fat bald head into the Bryan/Punk feud so that Punk and Bryan can still
fuck around with their feud, since Kane would fullfill Vince's
obsession with having one of his favorites involved, so that he will
leave them alone; and given that Bryan supposedly doesn't like AJ
around, I would not be shocked if the AJ/Kane thing is something Punk
suggested to help his friend out)
And yes Punk sold out. Got himself a golden cage and while disgusting,
at least he managed to get a decent pound of flesh for himself in the
process. Better Punk as the number two guy than Randy Orton or freaking
Sheamus.
everybody has a price... period.
ReplyDeletewith the beard he looks like a goat.
ReplyDeletePunk-Cena at Summerslam would almost be fitting. The best shot for Punk as champion to finally be in the main event of a show -- and it's the one show where the Cena match won't be the focus and probably won't be the main event, thanks to HHH-Lesnar.
ReplyDeleteYou really thought he was going to change anything?
ReplyDeleteIt's still real to you damnit!
Not really. But I did think he thought he could. So shame on me for that I guess.
ReplyDeletePunk was a heel when he delivered that pre-MITB promo, I think people forget that.
ReplyDeleteI realise people on blogs such as this (myself included) are always going to find things to complain about, but seriously, Punk vs Bryan was the WWE title match on a recent PPV and some of you are complaining about the current situation? Just think how unbelievable that prospect seemed even a year ago.
The guy can only do so much. Without McMahon or Triple H's say so, nothing's going to change. Who knows, maybe his lack of genuine main event status will result in another 'mad as hell' promo, but that's not something that can be done every week. Phony anger is worse than whatever we have now - and what we have now from Punk is a monthly guarantee of ****+ matches on PPV.
And just to clarify for the guy who sent the email: "Now he's taking shots at his fans who have been behind him even before that promo."? What? Punk was taking shots at his fans during that famous promo. He marks them out for special ire.
Dude, he's a self-described New Memphis wrestler, lying is his stock and trade.
ReplyDeleteI gotta say...I'm with Punk on this one. He's been the top champion forever (by current WWE standards) and he's booked to look very strong most of the time.
ReplyDeleteThe Masked Man had it right on Grantland...there are two WWEs right now: the 80s WWF WWE and the 80s NWA WWE. Because they're the only top North American promotion (sorry TNA fanboys), they have to be all things to all people. Punk is catering to a different segment of the wrestling fanbase than the Cenas and Lesnars of the world are.
We were all bitching for 4 years about how Punk was underutilized and underappreciated. Be happy he is where he is and just enjoy his work. Based on the tone of his tweet, that's what he seems to be doing...
My complaint about Punk's reign is that while yes, he is having great matches, he should also be closing the show with those great matches. Outside of Mania and Extreme Rules, the fans have not given a shit about Cena's matches closing the show.
ReplyDeleteThen again, I don't know what WWE's reason for closing every single PPV with a John Cena match is, they didn't even do that with Austin when he was on top (outside of the cage match with Vince and the street fight with Triple H).
Also, does anyone else find it interesting that the guys Punk had the most beef with got their comeuppance by another wrestler? Nash got his from Triple H and Ace gets his from Cena?
I'm still a Punk fan, regardless of how his character has lightened, and I don't really get too upset at his card placement. He's the champion, he's having a long feud with Daniel Bryan, and he's putting on the match of the night every time he goes out there. I'd love him to go on last every time but at heart it's just not feasible. Punk's character is based on just that: he's a rebellious punk-rock guy. It's not meant for mass public appeal; it's actually pretty amazing that as many people like him as they do. Punk's said his whole aesthetic is like The Ramones going into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: he wants to be the guy that says "I did it differently than you, but I'm equally as great as you." If that means they don't feel safe building the whole company around him, good. He can still be the best without a bunch of bandwagon jumpers.
ReplyDeletehttp://tsmradio.com/coltcabana/2012/06/20/aow-100-colt-cabana-hosted-by-cm-punk/ By the way if anyone gets time they should listen to Colt Cabana's 100th episode of his podcast, where Punk interviews Colt. Very cool and a very interesting in depth conversation between two friends. And funny.
Punk had a lot more momentum when he was 'shooting' against the WWE, but that can only go so far anyways. In the long run, I doubt Punk would have been much more over or popular than he is now. He's about as over and popular now as he's probably ever gonna be (although his character isn't as interesting.)
ReplyDeleteI personally call for a heel turn since I think he is a more natural heel anyway.
I agree the angry Punk would be more fun but the thing is Punk the character has no real reason to be angry right now. He's been the champion since November which by wrestling standards is pretty damm long and he has gotten to wrestle guys that he respects in the ring in Jericho and Bryan. I heard a rumor that it's gonna be Punk vs Cena at Summerslam so I suppose that they can buil
ReplyDeleteA character can sustain anger for a very long time, if that's what they do. I mean, look at Steve Austin.
ReplyDeleteI think it's sort of interesting that the emailer and Scott both treat this as if this was Punk's decision-that he purposely dropped the angry/outsider thing he had going last summer for the smiling babyface.
ReplyDeleteDo we know that's actually the case though? I'm honestly curious if it was a gradual thing where Punk did indeed jsut sort of transition into the expected WWE mold, or if he was basically pushed into that role.
Imagine if a year ago Vince McMahon came up to us and said "Alright dammit here's my compromise you whiney inbred fucking smark bastards - I'll put the World titles on CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, and one of them will have a reign that lasts at least a year. I'll stick them in a three month + feud with each other and give them 20+ minutes on PPV and plenty of airtime on RAW/Smackdown ON ONE CONDITION.... I get to have John Cena in the last match on each PPV. Deal?"
ReplyDeleteAs people have said, how impossible would that proposal sound a year ago? (I know the proposal didn't actually happen, just saying). we should be grateful, all things considered.
Amazing how Punk's tune changed when Vince McMahon paid him a shit-ton of money to come back after MitB last year.
ReplyDeletePunk has become the indy version of Cena.
While that e-mail is spot on (especially the "WWE Universe" part), to a great extent Punk is between a rock and a hard place. Yes, people now are saying "be angry again Punk!" but remember, when Punk WAS angry against guys like Triple H and Johnny Ace, people were saying that he was a whining bully who really had no right to be angry. And I could easily see people turning on him in the same regards now ("Let me get this straight.....you've been WWE Champion for almost a year and you've been feuding with guys like Jericho and Bryan, and you're crying because you're not the last match of the night?")
ReplyDeleteAnd for what it's worth, I think there's some much needed context behind Punk's Twitter comment. I do believe it's piggybacking off of something else he had said, when he remarked that he'd rather be having great matches for the WWE Championship at the top of the hour than pouring condiments over a ring commentator at the end of the show. And I do believe he is being sincere there.
I'm not sure they need to turn him heel -- I think that could actually be a mistake, because fans (and the live audience) ARE attaching themselves to him -- but I do think they need to be more careful about how they book him. The stuff with Punk and John Cena was brilliant, but the booking behind his feuds with Triple H and Johnny Ace did him no favors. I'm not even talking about him losing to Triple H -- that was bad, but not a deal breaker. They just had Punk playing this "anti-authority" character against authority figures who didn't seem to be doing anything wrong. The Triple H feud, in particular, could have worked quite well if they had just done the sensible thing and turned H heel and revealed that he was out to get Punk. Then Punk looks like a savvy guy who's two steps ahead of the mastermind (similar to Batista) instead of a paranoid baby.
ReplyDeleteAnd the irony behind the Johnny Ace thing is that when they did finally turn him heel and say "Yes! He WAS evil all along!" Punk was removed from the story and John Cena was inserted.
I think a big reason why Cena's matches have gone on last is that his matches have the (supposed) cliff hanger. They'd rather end the show with "Why did Big Show turn?" and "Johnny Ace has been fired!" than "Punk retains again!" I'm not saying I agree or disagree, but there's the logic, I'm guessing.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't see why Cena/Kane closed Elimination Chamber. If anything, I would've thrown Smackdown a bone and just given them the last match of the night honors.
If you change what you claim are your basic deep-felt values to accommodate personal convenience or to foster affluence hypocritically, you have sold out. CM Punk has not sold out. He has been accepted by WWE on his own terms, because he would not change for them or anyone else. He doesn't drink with the boys. He's not the prototype body-beautiful type. Because he cares about the product, so he goes out and does what he can for the team. The fact that they are using him as a more traditional face right now hasn't hurt his popularity with the vast majority of live audiences.
ReplyDeleteI listened to him hosting Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast this morning, and you get the CM Punk, the real guy. A wrestling enthusiast who was nervous hosting a podcast, is passionate about his friends and his interests. He put Cena over repeatedly as someone who cares as much or more than anyone about the business, which would probably only confirm many people in their feeling that Punk has "sold out", but remember that even in his most famous promos he said, "I don't hate you, John. I don't even dislike you. I like you a hell of a lot more than I like most people in the back."
Why will CM Punk be #2 to Cena for awhile? Here is one big reason:
ReplyDeletehttp://sports.yahoo.com/news/john-cena-make-a-wish-300-requests-pro-wrestling-wwe.html
Over the course of reading these comments an analogy occurred to me. If you're a progressive, CM Punk is the President Obama of professional wrestling. Both are phenomenal orators, who used that ability to circumvent the conventional means of ascension, by appealing directly to the audience. Both began their reigns confronted by unrealistic expectations. Both unexpectedly revealed themselves as pragmatists, and not idealists, by ingratiating themselves with the established machinery, rather than attempting to revolutionize it. For that, both have suffered a backlash from their core constituencies. But both, with some objective distance, have accomplished more than could possibly have been expected prior to the prospect of their ascension. I just hope that Punk inevitably jobbing to Cena at SummerSlam isn't foreshadowing November. Both would do well with more time on top, and it can always get worse.
ReplyDeletei think it was better with ace playing tbis ambiguous quasi heel character thst you boo in a knee jerk reaction cuz he is the boss but he doesnt do anything overtly evil. just cuz he was middle mgmt and thrusted into a role that overwhelmed him.
ReplyDeletelike his first appearances were good. when he called his wife and asked her did u see me on tv. that was the kind of thing that they should do.
he was a corporate suck up and got handed this position. he just tows the company line and then start to smartly... subtlely... fuck with the babyface all under the guise of mgmt. that probably would have been too high brow but i would have liked it.
spot on.
ReplyDeleteAppropriate to be analogizing two Chicago natives. Eric S. would be proud.
ReplyDelete