So I suppose you all have read just about everybody’s thoughts/opinions/predictions on the CM Punk fiasco. Oddly enough, you haven’t really heard mine because I posted my article merely hours before the story broke last week, thus rendering my post-Rumble article quite useless. It’s okay, these things happen. But, if your eyes will allow me, I will now give you every single thought I’ve had on the matter and, barring any new development, I will not speak of that horrid week in wrestling for a very long time.
Hopefully my longtime readers know by now that I try to play devil’s advocate for all sides of a particular story and that’s what I plan on doing this time around (hence the name of the column this week).
*Disclaimer* There are no actual facts in the following column because nothing has been confirmed, acknowledged or dismissed. I do not claim to have any “inside” information and pretty much anybody that’s not a WWE representative or CM Punk is probably full of crap. This message is brought to you by the RAGER legal team which consists of just Chris and his extensive law knowledge that he picked up from Aaron Sorkin movies and his roommate that’s in his third year of law school.
First off, we start with what happened (allegedly)
Prior to the January 27th episode of Monday Night Raw, CM Punk left.
That’s really all we know for certain, that’s the one truth that everyone seems to agree on thus far. Well that and the general knowledge of Punk’s contract ending in about 6 months or so.
Initial reports were that CM Punk was angry because he wasn’t written into that show because to sell his altercation with Citizen Kane during the rumble match. Later, reports were changed because a “source” said that there was a loud altercation that led to Punk’s departure and the writers had to scramble to write him off the show.
Both sides have been completely silent on the matter ever since, leading to a lot of wrestling fans to ponder and panic as to what is going on, why this is happening and whether or not this is actually real.
Theory 1. Punk left because he got banged up at the Rumble which adds onto everything else that has to ache on CM Punk by now. Punk reportedly exclaimed at WWE producers/writers that he wasn’t going along with some sort of concussion explanation that may have allowed Punk some time off to heal. So when Punk refused to go with that route, they decided that the walk-out route was the best way to write him off for a bit to heal up. Punk returns, beats up Authority people, cue the music.
Theory 2. Punk left because of his displeasure towards probably not being the big main event draw at Wrestlemania 30 but instead getting a presumed match against HHH. This plan was discouraging to him and made the realization that he’s practically back in a similar situation before his contract ran out back in 2011. Punk leaves to possibly try to force WWE into changing for the better and if they don’t change things, he’s reached the point in his career that he can walk away.
There are plenty of other theories floating out there but they tend to be a derivative, in some way, of the above two. But it leads me to a question that I’ve been wondering since I watched Raw this week:
Who rightfully gets to be enraged by this?
CM Punk? The guy has been treading through seemingly insignificant stories since his feud with Heyman ended with a fizzle (I still blame Ryback and Axel). Being faced with such a creatively stagnant situation would cause anyone to become burnt out on something that takes such a toll. Plus, it’s no secret that being the main event of Wrestlemania is the last big mountain Punk wants to climb before he hangs it up (which he’s stated plenty of times that he’d like to relatively soon). Being regulated to probably a mid-card match against HHH for WM30 has to feel like a punch to the gut, especially after his epic championship reign as well as his great match against Undertaker last year. However, if this is really the case, he probably should’ve tapered his expectations for Wrestlemania 30. If there were to be any Mania that featured a long list of part-time/returning legends to fill the card, it would be the big 30th anniversary. In some ways, it might be considered a victory for any full-time roster member to even be on the card at all. Whether or not this’ll make for a crappy Mania isn’t the point. Also, I’m sure facing off against HHH would simply feel like they’re rehashing their feud in the fall of 2011. The only difference would be that HHH is firmly a heel character now.
HHH? You’ve had an incredibly successful wrestling career and now you’re the new leader, the partial heir to the WWE throne whenever Vince hands it over either by choice or death. You’ve been touted as the right guy to carry the company into a new era and praised for projects such as NXT and the Performance Center. You’ve already been able to bring big names back into the good graces of the company, names that probably would never have come back if they had to deal with Vince. And now, one of your top guys bail because he allegedly sees working with you on your biggest show to be a downgrade. Yeah, I’d be a little pissed too. I know HHH will keep to the “business is business” mantra but that’s still gotta bug him a little and that’s probably a major reason why Vince is reportedly the only one talking and negotiating with Punk directly. On the other hand, HHH is apparently the go-to guy for creative these days and there’s still time to adjust. Wrestlemania plans don’t necessarily need to be etched in stone just yet.
Vince? If we’re to believe that Punk really was going to leave in 2011, you really shouldn’t be surprised that this is happening again. Sure, there has to be some part of Vince that’s upset about this especially since they invested over a year on Punk with the championship and reportedly developed a relationship with him (as he’s known to do with all of his major guys). Vince and Punk are both guys that apparently have very small inner circles and yet somehow managed to be in each other’s. So Punk leaving again has to feel somewhat personal to Vince but, like I said earlier, it’s probably good that Vince is the one reasoning with Punk now and probably trying to appeal to him on a personal level. I don’t know if Vince would be the enraged one in this scenario, if anything, he’s the negotiator.
The Fans? Nope. Chant as much as you’d like but let it sink in that you’re chanting for a guy that doesn’t want to be there right now. It’s easy to paint WWE has the big bad guy that drove Punk away or it was their decision to kick him out of the company. CM Punk is no victim in this case and WWE’s hands are clean. Chanting “we want Punk” isn’t going to change the fact that the only person responsible for Punk’s absence from WWE programming is Punk himself. Whether or not that was the right thing for Punk to do is up to him but it’s time to stop blaming WWE for it. Remember when we believed Punk would be gone for most of 2013 and yet returned 3 months later for Payback in Chicago. Do you really think that it was Punk’s decision to cut this rare vacation time short? Probably not. WWE has been incredibly eager to feature Punk on as much of their programming as they possibly can. Even if they don’t have much of storyline for Punk to work with, WWE still tries to feature him in at least 2 segments every Raw. I will say that WWE isn’t necessarily doing their image any favors by keeping this quiet, not addressing it, taking Punk signs from fans (reports of Punk supporters being ejected from Raw were later proven false) and purposely trying to dampen any Punk chants. Of course, WWE’s policy has always been to stay quiet on these matters until they can no longer afford to but I get the feeling they’re reaching that point very soon and will NEED to say something.
But yes, the fans can cheer whatever they want and if they still want chant and support Punk, by all means. I am, in no way, damning Punk and discouraging anyone from supporting him because I’m still and forever will be a huge fan of his. All I’m saying is that this is not the same as the Daniel Bryan “Yes Movement” where the fans helped ensure that Bryan is prominently featured on every show. The fans hold absolutely no power in the Punk scenario and WWE can do nothing but nervously pace until Punk decides to return.
But IF you’re in the audience and you want to make noise to support Punk, you’re gonna have to do better than that weak attempt by Omaha. It was just embarrassing.
I apologize if this was too much rambling but, like I said, this is every thought I’ve had on the situation since it first happened last week. My CM Punk fandom sincerely hopes that this is all an elaborate work because Raw is so much better with him included in it and I don’t think any of us are ready to relinquish that. However, regardless of what any of this is or isn’t, I really don’t believe we’ve seen the last of CM Punk in WWE. More of that guarded optimism.
Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do twice,
Chris
The Answer: When I was younger, I was convinced that muscly dudes just didn’t grow body hair.
I was a dumb child.
