Wrestlezone.com is exclusively reporting that John Cena has been topped as WWE’s top merchandise seller by CM Punk. For the first time in five years, a regular wrestler has topped John Cena. The Rock had previously accomplished this during his short return, but in addition to topping Cena, Punk has also topped the single day sales record of the Rock. This is the first time in 5-years anyone has topped Cena from within the company and not only has Punk done so at WWE Shopzone, but also at live events Punk is the merchandise king.
All of this, of course, begs the question of what the hell is going on with Raw? In addition to homogenizing Punk and taking away so much of what made him special, the show is entirely focussed upon Triple H. Punk was wildly successful as an anti-hero, the anti-Cena. Since then, he has jobbed to Triple H, been teaming with Cena, and falls for every generic heel trick. He’s also been marvelously mediocre on the mic, as he now utterly lacks direction that was so stong in driving his character. He’s still over, but he’s now so much less so than he was that he’s limited to being the third wheel in Cena and Del Rio’s feud, despite having a stronger issue with either than they have with one another. Add in the de-emphasis of his character, Raw was entirely about who the COO is, and I can’t help but wonder how this company is trying to profit or really staying behind a guy who’s making them a ton of money? Punk worked for years to get over enough to be a top guy, apparently, but Triple H, who sells less, works less, and is less over is the focus of the show. Anyone care to explain this in a way that doesn’t involve Stephanie McMahon or WWE prefering a certain look?
