WWE: Why CM Punk is Just A Smokescreen for Same Old Story

WWE Money in the Bank was, by all accounts, a perfect show. There were three really great matches even before the main event took place. CM Punk and John Cena stole the show with one of the best and most important WWE matches in a long, long time.

As you all know, Punk won the title and ran out of the arena, leaving Vince McMahon and WWE without a champion. The story should have been about Punk, but it quickly evolved into the same old WWE that he was ranting and raving against a month ago.

CM Punk was doing his best to save the WWE, like Chris Jericho tried to do when he returned in 2007, and he was perfect in his role. He brought the whole company down to its knees with an epic shoot promo that left people in the arena and watching on television gasping at what they had just heard.

This was not just any other angle that we were witnessing, it was something special, the likes of which WWE fans haven't seen in years.

That promo was followed up with one of the best go-home angles in WWE history with Punk's live contract negotiation with Vince McMahon. Punk was absolute dynamite when he talked about why he was fighting for what he believed was right, and was willing to do everything he could to make sure that wrestling fans got what they wanted to see.

The segment ended with Punk ripping up the contract that he had drawn up and leaving the company after Money in the Bank.

That pay-per-view was followed up with another interesting angle: Vince McMahon being forced out of power and Triple H taking over. There was a lot of potential for this angle, which it should have included CM Punk, but if you have watched WWE television for the last two weeks, you have probably noticed that the McMahon family and John Cena are the focal point of everything that is going on.

After Vince was forced out, SmackDown featured a recap of that segment, but made no mention of Punk or the real WWE championship.

Then, last night showed exactly where things stand in WWE. Rey Mysterio won the WWE championship tournament by defeating Miz. He then had to defend the title later on against John Cena, in a match that we all knew Cena was going to win because that's the way things are in WWE.

After the match, Punk made his return after one week off, which made the whole idea of him leaving WWE as champion a complete joke. The fans were into Punk when he walked out, though they had no idea whose music was playing before he stepped out from behind the curtain.

Cena and Triple H were the focal points of this show, and Punk was just the guy who happened to be playing the role of Cena's opponent. It's the same old song and dance that we have seen for the last five years on WWE television.

SummerSlam will be the true litmus test of where things stand, but would anyone really be surprised if Cena pins Punk clean on that show?

Punk needs to be the star of the show because right now he is the biggest draw. He is the reason that people are talking about WWE. He is the reason that casual fans are tuning into WWE shows now.

He is the reason that Money in the Bank was, at least based on early projections, one of the most successful B-shows in the last six years. He is the reason that people are talking about WWE.

But he has not been made to look like the star since Money in the Bank ended. He has looked like an afterthought. With him back on television, that could change. But whenever the McMahon family is involved in an angle, they always take precedence over the real talent involved in the storyline.

The return of Punk opens up a lot of things for him and WWE, but for the last eight days, he has not been the star of the show. The stars have been the same people that have been on top for years that fans have wanted to get off television for a long time.

If this angle plays out with Cena and Triple H as the stars of RAW, like it has so far, we should all just give up on this company, because that means that the people in charge will never learn anything and this pattern will continue until the end of time.