Calling someone the number one anything on a brand isn’t something I’d usually do, unless that man was Edge of course, and for good reason. Everybody has their own opinion on what constitutes someone being the top heel on a brand, hence why we’re looking at this not from a popularity point of view, but rather from a booking point of view, and from a booking point of view CM Punk is getting booked like the number one heel on SmackDown.
First, we need to look at CM Punks success within World Wrestling Entertainment. CM Punk has held two World Heavyweight titles, the ECW title, the Intercontinental title, the tag title and is a two time money in the bank. To say that he hasn’t had the success of a top guy would certainly be a lie, but one does have to point out that all of these titles were originally won when CM Punk was working the role of a face.
The CM Punk/ Jeff Hardy feud has been going on a few months now and has consistently been the top point on all of SmackDown’s cards, along with some involvement by John Morrison, so CM Punk’s role as one of the main stars of SmackDown can’t be disputed, and whether he is considered the number one heel or not isn’t overly important. What is important is whether he is any good in that role.
The biggest point that goes in CM Punk’s favour is his talent to convince. As a heel I can genuinely believe him. Unlike some other badly carried out turns in the past I don’t think ‘wait, last month he was a fan favourite’ but rather I believe that he considers himself better than everyone else. Well, I believe it as much as someone who knows wrestling is fake possibly can.
Furthermore, CM Punk’s heelish persona does bare some resemblance to the good old attitude era heels. His Night of Champions promo was not like the normal promos you would see at a pay per view, and his recent attack on Jeff Hardy was unlike anything that World Wrestling Entertainment have put out recently. While his face routine had started getting stale his heel persona is a refreshing change.
While CM Punk may not be the number one star on SmackDown right now, he is certainly the number one heel booking wise, and if Chris Jericho continues to be used in the Unified Tag Title scene then it looks like CM Punk will continue to be at the top for a while longer at least. Its simply smart booking to give the top heel spot to someone convincing and to someone who can draw heel heat at a potential Edge and Chris Jericho level.
It just so happens that CM Punk can draw that heat, and that with youth on his side there could be a number of World title reigns in his future.
