WWE Raw: How the "Summer of Punk" Could Have Been the "Summer of R-Truth"

"The truth...has set me free."

Those words serve as the intro to R-Truth's current entrance music. What's interesting is that they were taken from a promo R-Truth cut as a heel on the April 25, 2011 episode of Monday Night Raw—where he explained why he attacked his former tag team partner, John Morrison. The promo is where R-Truth's imaginary friend, Little Jimmy, was born.

Except, Little Jimmy wasn't Truth's friend at the time. 

In his promo, R-Truth explained to the fans that rapping and dancing had done nothing for his career and that he was done entertaining the fans. When the fans booed him, he told them to "shut up." When the fans would say "What" after every sentence he spoke, Truth would become angry and tell them what they could do with their "What" chants. R-Truth's promo was fan interaction at its best.

Many fans would agree that R-Truth was highly entertaining as a heel and that he had the potential to be a main eventer. It started to look as if Truth had become a main eventer when he started feuding with John Cena for the WWE Title, but after losing to Cena at Capitol Punishment 2011, Truth lost steam.

It's a shame, considering the "Summer of Punk"—a phrase that sums up CM Punk's rise to the top after cutting one of the most shocking promos in recent history, could have easily been the "Summer of Truth." Just as CM Punk's promo was full of very real frustration, R-Truth's heel turn was likely full of very real frustration. Just watch this promo.

After feuding with Cena, Truth started teaming up with Miz. The two had potential as "Awesome Truth," but were squashed by John Cena and The Rock at Survivor Series. Shortly after, Awesome Truth was broken up after Miz attacked Truth. In reality, Truth had been suspended 30 days for violating WWE's wellness policy, so WWE needed a plan to write him off of TV.

R-Truth returned from suspension as a baby face and has remained a baby face ever since. Besides being in the Raw Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Title, R-Truth hasn't done anything very memorable. Truth is currently half of the tag team champions with Kofi Kingston.

As for the reason why Truth and Kofi tagged up in the first place, your guess is as good as mine.

Ultimately, R-Truth had great potential as a heel (not as a mentally ill heel, but as an angry heel) but he unfortunately lost steam. He had all the charisma and catchphrases needed to be a star.

"You should be booin' yourselves!" "What's up?... Shut up!" "Y'all are pissin' me the hell off!" "You gon' get got!" 

Will R-Truth ever get another chance to be a main event superstar? You tell me.