Tommy Platinum

If you've not seen HIAC and don't wish to know the results, don't read on...

I am not one of those fans who complains every time CM Punk loses a match, but it seems like his booking over the past few years has been erratic to say the least. This dates all the way back to his ECW title win, when he lost clean on 3 straight PPVs, looking less than credible in the process, before defeating Morrison. More recently, they decided to give him the World Heavyweight Title, and while there were positives in his reign, such as the clean win over JBL which made him look good, his reign generally made him look like he didn't deserve to be there. This continued when he was screwed out of the title and tamely dropped out of the picture, showing no fire or intensity when it came to revenge on Orton and Legacy, losing to Orton clean.

In the build up to his heel turn, he lost clean to both Umaga and Kane. Yes he ended up winning the Umaga feud, but why did he lose clean to Kane? He went on to cash in MITB on Hardy, and during his reign as Champ, looked weak once again, hardly winning at all and losing on TV consistantly. He then lost the belt at Night Of Champions, and it looked like he was being booked extremely weak once again.

However, this all changed as he defeated Hardy in his kind of match at Summerslam (clean) before banishing him from the company in a cage match (again, clean) the next night. Around the same time, he defeated guys like Morrison and later Matt Hardy clean on TV, making the latter tap out. This was all to make it look like he had a chance against Taker, but at least for a while he was booked half way credibly.

I didn't have any real problem with the BS finish at Breaking Point, because although it would have been better to have Taker pass out or something, it definitely worked and was a good way to get heat on Punk (having him claim he made Taker tap even though he didn't etc) but last night, having Undertaker defeat him so easily inside the Cell really made him look like a bitch.

Because of these two sides of Punk's booking, it really makes me wonder how they see him in terms of the company's future. Sometimes it looks like they want to build the company around him for years to come, then other times they make him look like a complete joke. I'm not saying heels should look like the "better man" all the time, but he could certainly have looked a hell of a lot more credible against Taker, as well as at various other points. He loses far too often and at this stage, I really don't see the point of guys like Taker continuing to look SO dominant....

So, why can't WWE make their minds up and decide whether they want Punk to be a big deal or not?

/hopes this doesn't sound like a typical loser fanboy rant

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iamthedestroyer

Punk has Main Evented something like five straight PPVs on the Smackdown side.

Punk closed the second biggest show of the year defeating arguably WWE's biggest face at the time for the World Championship.

Punk lost to The Undertaker, but it took Taker multiple finishers to beat him. This was the Smackdown Main Event of the PPV.

Does it really sound like they aren't making Punk into being a "big deal'?"

spins40

I totally see where this guy is coming from though, punk is the top heel on smackdown right now yes. But is booking as been so bad that he could easily go back to the us title or intercontinental and no one would even bat an eye. If edge , orton, cena, batista, kane, taker or even jeff hardy got those mid card titles it would be stupid because they are cemented as main event talent. The wwe has done such a bad job with punk he could slide al the way down to the opening match on the card if they want him to and it just wouldn't have that same feel as any other main event status

Crest Fall

I didn't have a problem with Taker/Punk opening, the match was just very anti-climatic---but I'm not surprised as they rushed into it. Also, why not have Punk tap out to the Hell's Gate? Wouldn't that have fit their feud better? He didn't even attempt to lock it in if I recall correctly. The disappointing match on top of a bunch of stream issues just made me turn the PPV off and do something else.

Punk will be fine though. No concerns, I just wish they'd give him and Taker a proper match.

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Bigpapa42

In the long-run, it could work out well. I don't think anyone expects Taker to have a long reign - who does anymore? What I would like to see, personally, is Take feud with Batista (well, its not what I'd like to see so much as what is going to happen) and retain, then face Punk in a TLC match at the TLC PPV where Punk wins it back. Losing to Taker in a relative squash match in Taker's speciality match would be more than countered by a Punk win in what could be pushed as his speciality. The biggest issue with this scenario is how to keep Punk "hot" while the Taker-Batista feud goes on... He needs something to do. A fued with Morrison would be fun, but I don't know how much it would help Punk.

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spins40

I think the only way to keep punk hot would be a feud with kane where he won it clean since kane as been kind of hot as of late. Plus they could use it punk trying to learn how to beat the taker.

Crest Fall

Booking has indeed been weird though, and not just for Punk. While the booking of the World Titles has been fucking weird for a long time now, it looks like they really couldn't give a shit about them anymore. Maybe for some it makes them look more important and credible if they bounce around a lot more, but definitely not to me.

Punk's gotten a tad bit stale though (not his fault) so I'd like to see him get a break from the World Title scene for a bit to get into a feud with someone else.

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Y 2 Jake

Punk made the mistake of being a genuinely intresting heel whilst sticking to WWE's rigid formula. That can't have gone down well with somebody like Randy Orton, who's considered WWE's best heel, but in reality he's a colossal bore. Or maybe somebody like Jericho who's promos revolve around hypocrisy, but who doesn't have half the point that Punk does. Or even Triple H who's unable to change his persona unless he's in D-X, the man is the exact same as a heel or a face.

I'm generalizing and making up examples but basically what I'm saying is that Punk probably isn't very popular with his co-workers and managment. WWE don't want to push him but they have to because they've not really got any option. They probably see him as somebody who's fine for filling gaps in the headline spots when there's an injury or suspension, but he's not going to become their next big star.

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KenTheKiller

WWE seems to be Bi-Polar when it comes to Punk, not sure if they want to give him the big push or not. At least, until this year. Now though, I feel like he is going to continue to be a big thing. He's a 3 time world champion. This year he won MITB clean, was IC champion, won the world title twice, once cleanly in a ladder match against Jeff, banished Jeff, then was in a big program (even though he didn't look great) with Taker. He is pretty much safe as a top guy, I'd say.

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