WWE: Who Will Be the One to Beat CM Punk When He Eventually Returns?

With WWE finding critical praise with its current CM Punk storyline from many people who have criticized the creative direction of the company, there are questions that must be asked.

Where does WWE go with the storyline? How long do they let it play out? How far do they go in terms of CM Punk appearing at other venues outside WWE? And one question no one seems to  be asking is: who will be the one to beat CM Punk in the end?

Whenever the WWE builds someone up there always comes a time when the person gets knocked off their pedestal by someone else.

No one can sit atop the mountain forever, and even though this seems to just be the beginning for CM Punk and his rise to greatness, there still needs to be a person to beat him eventually.

The perception among everyone is that CM Punk is not signed to any kind of deal with WWE at the present time, but that does not mean some kind of deal is not in place. Vince has been known in the past to operate on handshake agreements, could this be another of those situations?

There have been rumors swirling lately that WWE and ROH have some kind of untalked about relationship. WWE has taken some of Ring of Honor's top stars in recent years. Daniel Bryan and Punk are not the only ones from ROH to spend time in WWE.

Colt Cabana wrestled as Scotty Goldman for a short time, and WWE tried to recruit the man now known as Desmond Wolfe back when Bryan was brought on board, but the decision was made not to pick him up and he made his debut in TNA shortly afterwards.

So the question remains, even though the plan is to build CM Punk into a mega star, who will beat him when he eventually makes his way back to WWE?

John Cena

The man who lost the WWE Title to someone who was leaving seems like an obvious choice. The man who never gives up will no doubt feel the need to redeem himself when Punk reappears.

Cena was never even close to being fired, but with HHH in charge now it will be interesting to see what the onscreen role he takes will bring for Cena. HHH and Cena have been allies and enemies in the past and with HHH now the man making the decision on screen, we could see Cena have a new enemy to deal with.

It is still unknown when Punk will make his first real WWE appearance again, but when he does it will no doubt be a memorable moment. Chances are good that during next week's WWE Championship match between Rey Mysterio and Miz we could see him do a run in, but I doubt they will bring him back to TV that soon into the storyline.

Stone Cold Steve Austin

Everyone knows that Punk and Stone Cold have been in a mini feud off screen that has had people begging for a WrestleMania match. Some say it would be bigger than Cena and Rock's match.

I am one of the people who despite wanting to see this match believe it won't happen simply because Austin is busy with filming movies and Tough Enough, as well as the fact that he has not been in the condition to perform for an extended match for awhile now.

This would be epic of course, and we could see them do something similar with how they handled Bret Hart, with Stone Cold basically hitting his signature moves a few times after Punk gets beaten by someone else.

Austin is a legend who could make anyone famous with a few simple promos, but this could be one of those dreams that will just never comes true.

Randy Orton

Punk and Orton have fought in the past and their matches have always been great. Orton is the second top guy in WWE right now next to Cena, and he could be the one to bring down Punk after his return.

Orton has been the Champion on Smackdown for the majority of his time on the brand since he was drafted, but having recently lost the title to Christian, he could be spending some time without a belt.

Christian is someone who no one thought would win one, let alone two World Titles, but I don't see him having a long reign. Mark Henry could finally get his first World Title with the current push he has had, but I don't see it as a strong possibility.

I think a great storyline would be Punk trying to win the World Title from Orton to re-unify the titles. Orton is a top level talent who could easily carry this storyline when Punk comes back into the fold.

Undertaker

We all know his time in WWE from here forward is short, and we could see his final match be at next year's WrestleMania with how his injuries have been piling up.

These guys have had matches that have stolen the show and with Undertaker not having an opponent for next year's Mania like Cena does, he could be the guy to take down the straight Edge superstar once and for all.

Undertaker is the kind of guy who I could see WWE actually letting retire as World Champion simply because of all he has done for the company over his illustrious career.

Some say he should lose his last WrestleMania match as way of passing the torch to someone, but who would that be? I don't think anyone right now has the argument to support someone beating Taker at Mania, which is why I think at next year's Mania we could see a Punk and Taker showdown.

Someone unexpected?

There are so many young guys in WWE who are the future of the business who could be argued as the perfect choice to take on Punk when he returns.

Guys like Daniel Bryan who just shocked everyone by winning Money in the Bank, Cody Rhodes who is having a great run with his current gimmick, Ted DiBiase who is in need of something to jump start his career, Dolph Ziggler who many say should have beaten Edge at the Royal Rumble for the World Title and Kofi Kingston who is always on the edge of a main event run could be the next big thing.

There are other guys like Evan Bourne, Zack Ryder and Wade Barrett are favorites of those on the Internet, but their chances of being the person selected to take down Punk would be slim.

I would like to think WWE would take this storyline and use it to help get others over as well, but I think we all know that when push comes to shove the WWE uses its top guys to do the job, which is understandable from a business standpoint.

Someone outside of the WWE?

I know this is unthinkable and impossible, but what if WWE wanted to take this storyline even further and have Punk lose the title in a promotion outside WWE.

ROH and New Japan were mentioned in Punk's famous promo, could someone there be chosen to hold the gold on a temporary basis?

Again, this is extremely unlikely, but it would be even more epic than what has happened already. If WWE wants to push the envelope then they need to just do whatever people say is the last thing they would do and they will create a buzz.

I think the likely choice would be Cena, but I am curious to see who will be the person to take down Punk once he is back in the ring.

Who do you think it will be?