So it's been a few weeks since C.M. Punk made his historic promo. One I'm still not sure if it was a shoot or worked promo or a combination of both. It was legendary. Punk came out and said his feelings about the things that bothered him in WWE's current state. It was everything that fans have wanted to say for years. His biggest topics being John Cena as champion (all the time) and Vince McMahon himself.
I sat there and watched in amazement. It was everything I've felt about WWE for a while now. As a fan I used to never miss an episode. Now I'm happy with seeing the clips the following day on the website. C.M. Punk has changed that.
I've been a fan of Punk since he arrived in WWE. I'm not sure what it was. There was nothing too spectacular about his match. It was a quick squash match building Punk as a force to be reckoned with and a win streak that would go on for a while. He had a few good moves, the best being his finisher the Anaconda Vise (Vise being a play on the fact that Punk is straight edge). But something kept me coming back every week to watch. Back then his promos where showing the hint of things to come.
Punk's rise was pretty meteoric. He changed his finisher to the Go To Sleep and racked up more wins. It didn't take long for Punk to become ECW champ, even though there was a great championship chase. After ECW tanked he went on to RAW. It didn't take long for Punk to win the Money in the Bank and eventually the World Heavyweight title. As much as I like Punk I was pretty shocked that they gave him the title. He was fairly new in WWE and they've had a history of taking a while to put the belt on someone. Punk's first title reign was pretty uneventful. It's when he won his second Money in the Bank and cashed it in on mega babyface Jeff Hardy that I really started taking notice.
After a hard fought ladder match against Edge, Jeff won the title. Suddenly, Punk's music hit and he cashed in his Money in the Bank case against Jeff, who was barely able to stand. He hit the GTS on Jeff and became a heel champion, moving him to Smackdown. His most notable feud was with the Undertaker. I was shocked to see him rack up a win against Taker with the Anaconda Vise, but he eventually lost it to him the next month.
At this time I kinda cooled to Punk. He went through a storyline where he formed the Straight Edge Society and became a cult type leader. Punk cut great promos, but it was nothing too special. Then Punk got moved to Raw again. It was here that I took notice of Punk again. He started off as a announcer, due to an injury, and he was pretty impressive. While this was going on a group called the Nexus was running rampant on Raw. Their debut was pretty impressive, but they had kinda cooled off a bit. Enter Punk. Their leader Wade Barrett was off t.v. due to an injury and Punk stepped in as leader. When Barrett came back he of course took exception. Punk outsmarted Barrett in taking leadership by offering to help him in a cage match, and when Barrett took his hand, Punk kicked him in the face. I saw it coming, but when it happened I thought it was very cool. Punk brought the Nexus back to it's former glory. Making them earn their place in this New Nexus, which punished them and told them that he was the boss.
It wasn't until recently though that the world stood up and took notice. Punk's promo changed everything. Punk had recently announce his contract was up on the 17th and he planned on leaving with the tile. Punk was in a "What can they do, fire me?" mentality. Instead McMahon suspended him, effectively keeping Punk from his title match at Money in the Bank. John Cena fought for Punk to get his shot though causing McMahon to reinstate him, but with the threat that if Cena lost he'd be fired. Punk returned to cut another cutting edge promo that caused the fans to get behind him even more.
I thought that's where the awesomeness would end. Seeing that Cena is the WWE's golden boy I thought that he'd pull out the win and be Vince's hero. Instead someone in WWE had brains. After Vince tried to pull out another Montreal Screwjob (Look it up) on Punk, and Cena stopping it, Punk hit a GTS and left the WWE with the title.
I watched, actually watched, the next episode hoping to see Punk return as champion. Yet again, someone had brains and Punk was nowhere to be seen. Instead the only thing that's been seen of Punk is an appearance at Comic Con to heckle the new guy in charge, Triple H, and say he was happy to be unemployed.
What a great angle it's been and someone has been smart enough to continue it. I know now Punk's hasn't quit and that this is all storyline, but it's kept me interested. During one of Punk's promos he said all he's wanted was a microphone because in his hands it's a pipe bomb. With all that's going on I believe it. Punks promos has been cutting edge and just the kind of thing I've wanted to see in WWE. And it hasn't stopped there. There's been talk that WWE is going forward with a few edgy story lines to capitalize on the popularity of Punk's now infamous promo.
There are those wrestlers that are fun to watch and do great things and then there are those that change the landscape of sports entertainment. I think Punk has been moved into that column. He used his pipe bomb and it's brought down the foundation of the WWE.
Comments
Post a Comment