Superstar Spotlight: CM Punk – Return Of The Straight Edge Savior?
The biggest news coming from RAW’s 1000th episode is that CM Punk turned heel when he left John Cena for scraps and attacked The Rock. Did he actually turn heel though? Jerry Lawler added fuel to the fire by saying Punk “turned his back on the WWE Universe” but I think there is more going on than in that final segment. The way I saw things, Punk showed a range of emotions, from not wanting to pin Cena after Big Show’s interference, to being confused as to whether he should help Cena. He turned his back on Cena, and as much as WWE wants us to believe it (or shove it down our throats), John Cena is not the WWE Universe.
Punk looked like he was sick of Cena’s presence, and he is probably just as sick of “Dwayne” coming back and stealing the spotlight. We all hear about the “dirtsheet” rumors that Punk is displeased with things backstage, not to mention all the times he was “in the doghouse” with management. I think Punk lost his cool, and finally grew tired of the two guys he has been constantly overshadowed by over the better part of two years. Punk feuded with Cena and voiced his displeasure, but he has also been a bit of prick to Rocky on television too.
Cena’s constantly in the main event, getting higher profile matches than Punk, the WWE Champion for 248 days and counting. Punk has had classic matches with Chris Jericho and Daniel Bryan on pay-per-view, and he’s looked great in countless others. He had a match with Big Show several weeks ago that made Show look really dominant, but Punk found a way to win. I remember reading on several different blogs and websites, this one included, that Punk sold it really well and his comeback was really believable. All of this effort is there, and Punk is busting his ass, for what? To be overshadowed by Cena vs Big Johnny? I am a firm believer that the championship should be the main event, and the champion should come out last. With certain exceptions, like Cena/Rock at Wrestlemania, the championship match should be last at every event. (You could make a good argument for/against Cena/Lesnar at Extreme Rules, too)
Punk dropped his infamous pipebomb a little over a year ago, and he promised change but nothing is drastically different. We have a group of newer stars getting time, and we are seeing more WRESTLING than in the past, but that’s not really what Punk wanted. Cena’s still on top, and he sees Cena (and “Dwayne”) preventing him from making wrestling fun again. I saw a man who was fed up and frustrated on Monday, and he fought with himself until he couldn’t hold it in anymore. I don’t see Punk as a heel, not only because he hasn’t responded yet, but because it was all in his facial expressions. Punk didn’t want to win dirty, but he still made the cover. Punk didn’t help Cena, but he looked bothered by the fact he didn’t. After he clotheslined Rocky, he left with a blank stare on his face. You could say Punk made a statement that “Dwayne” couldn’t walk in and take a title shot based on reputation; he needed to earn it again. You could say he surprised himself, he was satisfied, angry, or whatever. We really won’t know until next Monday. (Cont’d…)
