Wrestling fans the world (well, the ‘net) around are in an uproar. CM Punk is finally turning heel. WWE even seems like they’re willing to let him do the “Straight Edge means I’m better than you†gimmick. The Internet is finally happy. Our guy is getting the push we demanded and getting damn near Edge-like heat in the process. Wait… our guy? The push we demanded? And WWE is doing this? Since when does that happen.
Since this feud has begun, Jeff Hardy has been every bit as heelish as CM Punk. He whined about Money in the Bank being used illegitimately. He attacked Punk’s injured knee on Raw. Last night he had no problem regularly breaking rules, even poking Punk’s eye in a backfire that immediately lead to the finish. The fans still adore him, but Jeff has been every bit the heel Punk has thus far.
This being the case, why not tease and tease the Punk heel turn for months, turning everyone they can against him, then do the swerve double turn. Let Jeff ally himself with Edge and Matt (and maybe even Christian) in a huge heel beatdown. Punk then becomes a super-face, battling insurmountable odds and any opportunistic actions he’d then take would make him into a mix between Bret Hart’s underdog and Steve Austin’s rebel.
Who is expecting that at this point? The ‘net fans never get exactly what they want, so this would be something new and a different twist, swerving the audience and raising the curiosity factor, which has been shown time and again to raise ratings. I don’t know. Maybe the WWE is just doing the obvious here, with the best slow burn they’ve managed in years… but maybe…
