I make no secret of the fact that CM Punk is my favorite guy working in the business today. In every single aspect of the business, from mic work, to in ring work, even on commentary, Punk always brings his a game and always delivers, so that first static noise to declare that Punk is about to come out is always a bit of a thrill for me. And I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch that many of those writing and reading this site agree with that sentiment. So while objectively I can say that Punk has very much earned the next few months of vacation he’s about to take, selfishly, I’m a bit bummed out that he won’t be on my TV every week for the next few months. And to add to that, I won’t be able to gush about how great he is in writing every week. So, because it may be my last chance for a while, this week were going to talk all about CM Punk.
When Punk left last week, he spoke about achieving goals and milestones during his time in the WWE. And he spoke about having hit many of those milestones and wondering what was left for him. The speech was one that very much seemed to echo his genuine feelings behind the scenes as much as his in ring character. He’s successfully held the championship longer than anyone else in the last twenty-five years, though he didn’t win, he was given the opportunity to challenge The Streak at WrestleMania, something that could arguably be the current highest honor in the company. To a lesser extent, he was the only one, other than John Cena, deemed worthy to go against the Rock for the WWE title when Rock was in the title picture. He’s been both a heel and a face, and very successful in both cases. There is genuinely not much new left for CM Punk to do in the company. So what options are there for Punk’s eventual return? As much as we know about CM Punk behind the scenes, it’s very likely that whenever he returns it will be for a storyline that he very much believes in, so what could it be? What will it be like a few months down the road when CM Punk does eventually return?
First and foremost, I find it very hard to believe that CM Punk won’t be returning as a face. For six months the WWE tried to get us to boo CM Punk and it never quite took as much as they wanted it to. Punk committed acts that would easily have turned whole crowds against anyone else, but every time his music hit, there were always audible cheers. Sometimes, more sometimes less, but you could always hear them. Add the fans determination to cheer the guy to the fact that he’ll get the standard returning superstar pop? This guy is going to get a massive pop the night he comes back and I don’t know if WWE will ever fully be able to get it to go the other way.
Obviously the dream reason for CM Punk to come back is to face Stone Cold. It’s a match that both men have said that they are interested in and one that the Internet has been clamoring for since who knows when? This even fits into Punk’s story of leaving because he has no more unaccomplished goals in the WWE. Stone Cold would be an opponent to defeat that he had never gone up against before, and one that could easily be checked off of the wrestling bucket list that Punk has been burning through these past few years. The only downfall to this idea is that if a Punk/Stone Cold match can be arranged, there is no way that it won’t be taking place at WrestleMania, and I don’t want to wait until then to see CM Punk again. Starting at SummerSlam I’m going to be impatiently counting the days.
Speaking of WrestleMania though, there is one other goal that CM Punk could return for. CM Punk has never been the in the Main Event match at WrestleMania. He’s gone into Mania as the WWE Champion and come out of Mania as the WWE Champion. He’s challenged the Undertaker for the Streak but in all that time, he has never been in the final match of the night. Last year when half the Internet was complaining that Punk never ended a show despite being the champion, Punk comment that he always made sure his match was the main event regardless of where it was on the card. And while that it true, and while Punk more often than not made his match the one worth remembering (most of his previous WrestleMania appearances included) the shot of CM Punk holding aloft his newly won belt after an amazing thirty minute match to close out WrestleMania is something we have yet to see, and something worth coming back for.
