If you’re a wrestling fan and semi-active on the internet, you have no doubt noticed the news that’s taking the wrestling world by storm. No, not the Ziggler/Miz Battle for Ohio Match on Raw. I’m talking about CM Punk’s abrupt departure from the WWE.
While the news may have come out of left field, no-one was as surprised by the abrupt departure than the WWE brass themselves, evidenced by the awkwardly long Kofi Kingston/Alberto Del Rio match on Raw. The match had to go longer because there was supposed to be a segment to explain Kane’s actions from the Royal Rumble.
It’s been said (and suggested) time and time again that Vince and Company prefer larger-than-life “Superstars” to be his main-event players, but guys like Punk don’t just come by every day.
Now, I won’t stand here and speculate on WHY he’s gone, or what he will do now, frankly because I have no idea. I don’t know the man personally, nor do I have any inside “sources” with the company. I can’t tell you if he’s going to go to Japan or Ring of Honor, or TNA or a local flea market promotion.
Although to be fair, TNA and the local flea market promotion draw the same crowd.
I can’t even tell you if it was the right move for Punk to make, because I don’t know what happens behind closed doors. But what I can say is, if Vince isn’t able to promise Punk enough ice cream bars to come back to the WWE, then he is left in quite the pickle.
CM Punk is valuable in that he’s extremely over with live crowds, can talk a eskimo with white gloves into buying a ketchup popsicle, and can wrestle a good, entertaining match with just about anyone. Talents like those don’t grow on trees you know. He’s going to have to fill a high roster spot with someone. But who?
Exactly.
The fans have already rejected Batista as main-event face, long before Vince and Triple H royally screwed the booking at the Royal Rumble. His grand and triumphant return was met with polite applause and a few stray cheers. Nothing like the roaring response I’m sure Vince was expecting.
I think this is a chance for Vince McMahon to use some old-school booking logic to create, at the very least, a main-event caliber draw, and maybe even get lucky enough to have a brand new megastar on their hands.
Back in the old territory days, guys moved to different territories all the time. Greg Valentine shows up in Texas and works a year-long program with the Von Erichs, then moves on to Florida a year later to feud with Dusty Rhodes. It was commonplace, and generally accepted, that wrestlers were going to move around from territory to territory, so they always had a guy ready to make a star, should the situation arise.
You take your departing star, put him in a Loser Leaves Town (or other gimmick) match, and have him put over the new talent. Simple formula, really. The new guy gets a tremendous rub, the old guy moves to a new territory to make money with a fresh start, and the fans get some great wrestling matches.
Of course there’s one catch here. Punk isn’t there to put anyone over on the way out. He’s gone. Kaput. Splitsville. He caught the last train to Quit City. So what now? Well, the answer is right under everyone’s nose: Batista.
While I won’t claim to be some big Batista fan, I know that the guy is stale and boring as a face. It was true in the late 00’s, and the same holds true today. Batista – and guys like him – works better as a monster heel. And since the crowd has essentially poo-pooed all over his grand return, it only makes sense to revert him back to his Animalistic ways.
Pictured: Animalism
As far as who to push to that spot, that is entirely up for debate. One major gripe I’ve had with the WWE over the last few years is a very inconsistent mid-card. With all the irregular pushes and sudden halts we’ve seen over the past few years, the few talented guys that they have on the roster have been buried into mediocrity for some time.
Take a guy like Dolph Ziggler, who the fans have gotten behind in the past. He’s been booked so inconsistently and buried illogically that it’s going to be quite the task to get his credibility back. Since Monday, they’ve hinted at a possible face turn for Jack Swagger, but we have no idea how Swagger will do as a face because we’ve never seen it before. Kofi Kingston has been booked as a lower mid-carder for so long that I’m not sure if the fans would be able to take him seriously as an upper tier guy.
“And then Zack Ryder said, ‘I can do it, boss! Pick me!'”
Personally, the best case scenario for all parties is to have Punk come back to the WWE. Outside of Daniel Bryan, he may be the most well-rounded wrestler on the roster, and the fans love him, even through all the weak booking over the past two years. And we know Punk isn’t going be satisfied just sitting at home watching reruns of Three’s Company and nailing AJ Lee.
On second thought…
But if somehow Punk is serious this time, and never returns to a WWE ring again, then Vince may very well have to look into his past in order to solidify his future.
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