In case you missed it Monday night, CM Punk is back! Punk has officially “re-signed” with the WWE and will make his WWE championship debut at SummerSlam 2011. CM Punk vs. John Cena will headline the event in a battle of “champions.”
Well that didn’t take long did it? CM Punk took a grand total of one week off from RAW to sell this angle, which looks like it is coming to an end in two weeks. As fun as the last four weeks are concerned, the main storyline here is over, CM Punk is back, and John Cena has a championship. It’s almost like none of the last four weeks even happened.
That said, the WWE could abandon Cena’s WWE championship next week on RAW. Unless Cena is preparing for a heel turn, he is likely going to relinquish his version of the WWE title next week on RAW. Otherwise he would look like more like a heel, walking around with a cheap belt and calling himself champion, in the face of the man who just beat him a few weeks ago.
Cena and Punk had arguably the WWE Match of the Year thus far in Chicago. Dave Meltzer gave the match five stars. I disagree, but everyone is entitled to their opinions. I would be shocked to see a match anywhere near their Money in the Bank bout at SummerSlam. It will be good, but I would absolutely be stunned if anyone gives this match five stars given the drastic changes in dynamics.
In my opinion, the atmosphere made their Money in the Bank 2011 match, not the guys. Wrestling in Chicago with the threat of Punk leaving with the WWE championship created one of the greatest crowd moments in pro wrestling history. The angle is over and the guys will be wrestling in Los Angeles, a much different crowd. I expect a hot crowd, but it won’t be nearly the same without the threat of Punk leaving with the belt nor it being Punk’s hometown audience.
Let’s face it. CM Punk got that match and angle over with his “shoot” promo on RAW Roulette. Yet I don’t think they can go down that road again. It makes Punk look like a hypocrite if he continues to shoot on the WWE after re-signing with the company. Additionally, he looks like a bit of a liar after showing up only two weeks after he threatened to take the title everywhere but the WWE.
The shame of all of this is that the WWE had a very exciting angle that they ruin once again due to their impatience. At some point they are going to try and recreate it and it won’t be nearly as powerful as this one. Their continued lack of follow-through with big time match stipulations is a killer. Considering that two weeks after threatening to fire John Cena and lose their champion that both are back as if nothing ever happened, I can’t imagine anyone buying their next big stipulation match.
Nothing else has been confirmed yet for SummerSlam but I could offer up a few guesses. I think Randy Orton vs. Christian in a No DQ match is a given (although adding Edge as a special guest referee is an option). I know these guys have been matched up to death but I love this feud. I have no problem seeing another match and it should be a great one, theoretically being their final match of the series. Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz and John Morrison vs. R-Truth will probably be added from the RAW side. Other than that, I’d say the rest is all up in the air.
Not that it matters because at the end of the day this one is more about Cena vs. Punk 2, than anything else.
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Eric G.
Eric is the owner and editor-in-chief of the Camel Clutch Blog. Eric has worked in the pro wrestling industry since 1995 as a ring announcer in ECW and a commentator/host on television, PPV, and home video. Eric also hosted Pro Wrestling Radio on terrestrial radio from 1998-2009. Check out some of Eric's work on his IMDB bio and Wikipedia. Eric has an MBA from Temple University's Fox School of Business.
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