So the rumored CM Punk return didn't happen, much to the disappointment of that tremendous crowd.
I was pumped, and felt cheated when he didn't show up. Good job, WWE.
This is where I reveal myself to be a true nerd -
But this whole Punk think has given me a new appreciation for John Cena as a wrestler/employee. Details haven't come out, but it certainly seems like Punk didn't like where things were heading for his character and he decided to take his ball and go home. His dispute lies with HHH, who has a history of backstage politicking which questionably led to a few burials.
Cena? He's the biggest name going, and the only thing he does is do what's asked of him - Does the job when he should do the job, wins when he needs to win. Half the crowds vehemently boo'ng him and he doesn't ask for a change. Just keeps his head down and does his job
This whole thing makes me dislike Punk as a person even more (he always came off kind of selfish to me).
Here’s a guy that’s been given so many great opportunities. Here we have a guy who has had a longer single championship reign than anybody in the modern era other than Hulk Hogan at 434 days. That’s longer than Cena, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, The Rock, Stone Cold, Bret Hart, etc. And he probably had a great chance of ending up Top 5 in the modern era for combined reigns had he stuck around.
Here’s a guy that has probably headlined more pay per views over the last few years other than Cena. He’s headlined over a dozen pay per views and got to face the legends like The Rock, The Undertaker, as well as John Cena. How many guys on the current roster have faced both The Rock and The Undertaker?
Here’s a guy that’s been given so much, but still not happy because he’s not headlining WrestleMania and because he doesn’t have the biggest spotlight on him. It’s like if Tim Duncan got mad that somebody was always more popular than him, from Shaq to Kobe to LeBron, even though he was still always one of the most respected and best players in the game and was always working hard. Just face it, the Finals you headlined didn’t draw the ratings the other guys did. And even though we put you in a lot of national TV games, we’re sorry that we feature the Heat and Lakers more than you, but they just pull better ratings.
There’s nothing wrong with being the Macho Man to John Cena’s Hulk Hogan, but he can’t take it. Unless this all really is just a work, which some people think it is (though maybe that theory took a little bit of a blow when he didn't show up on Raw last night...)
I dont know the REAL story, but from what I've read, I have to disagree.
Punk did not leave because he doesnt have the main spotlight, well, part of the reason is that.
From what I've read, he left because he got fed up having part timers (started with the Rock) being gone for years, comes back, and jumps over the main event scene. I think the Royal Rumble was the last straw.
As much as people hate it, everyone is behind Bryan. And everyone wants to see DB at WrestleMania, and from what I've read, Punk is behind that. Why not? The people want to see it. But they are force feeding us Batista and Orton. Batista, who have been gone for four years, all of a sudden gets main event spot at the biggest show of the year. Pretty much the exact same thing as the Rock last year.
Is it unprofessional? Sure. But his name is Punk for all things, and I think this is some sort of a protest not just for himself, but for the hardworking men in that locker room that has been there all the time, that deserves the spot even more than part timers. And that includes him, banged up, broken ribs and messed up knees and all and he still shows up, gives an awesome match.
I don't blame him from walking out one bit. Shoot or work.
And as for Cena. I respect what he does, the IWC does too. He gets booed because his character is stale. And he doest ask for change because despite facing Bray Wyatt in WrestleMania, he and every WWE watchers know that at some point he'll be back in the top.
He doesnt have to worry about that spot, it's a matter of time. Compare to the guys like Ziggler, Bryan and slowly building, Cesaro, who paid dues, worked as hard, fans loved but WWE keeps ignoring because "they dont sell T-Shirts". Business side, I understand, but Creative wise, isn't that their fault that they couldnt build a much interesting storyline for these guys so people would be more hooked up on them than they already are?
Oh I agree with what you’re saying about Cena, the direction, and the part timers (though I think it’s wrong of him to get mad about The Rock because he’s just so over and put in a lot of work in the past, Lesnar and Batista he can get mad about though), and we don't know the real story, etc.
To me, part of it is the overall direction of the company, and part of it is his role.
Personally, I think it’s a lot more to do with his role, than the direction. I wouldn’t even be surprised if he was using the whole direction thing just as an excuse to make it seem like he’s not just looking out for himself.
He’s complained about not being the main event at WrestleMania before, he said he didn’t want to face Undertaker at WM29 (because he couldn't win, and some believe because it wasn't the main event). (Though granted if you ask me for hard sources on this stuff, I’ll probably come up blank.) He’s just a guy that always complained, even before the current wave of part timers were coming back to wrestle.
He complained about The Rock hosting WM27, before he was even wrestling part time again. That comes off as bitter and selfish to me. CM Punk might know how to wrestle and work a mic, but has no clue how to run a wrestling business. Wrestling is 100% about the buy rates, the gates, and the merchandise sales. Why doesn't he go back to ROH? When you get to the big stage, you need to understand it’s a business. If you sell, you’ll be heavily featured and in the main events, if you don’t you won’t get pushed as much and they’ll try to bring in somebody who does sell.
Featuring part time talent and bringing in outsiders is nothing new, it’s been happening in pro wrestling from the beginning of the modern era. From Mr. T to Big John Studd to Zeus to Hulk Hogan wrestling only PPVs, to the Ultimate Warrior to NFL players to guys switching promotions and going right into the main events to Vince McMahon to Mike Tyson to Floyd Mayweather, etc. If Punk doesn't like it, he’s either an idiot or a jerk, because this has been going on in wrestling from the beginning.
You know he wouldn't be protesting if he was facing Batista or Lesnar in the main event. That tells me it’s more about his role than the direction of the company.
But still, Orton vs Batista
Ok maybe I’d be frustrated too lol.
