WWE: Why CM Punk's Return Should Have Waited Until Survivor Series

It’s fair to say that no angle in recent memory in the WWE, or the wrestling world in general, has come close to matching what CM Punk has done over the past month. In terms of intrigue and entertainment value; the WWE has hit a proverbial home run with this particular storyline.

With that said, some of the recent developments have me a bit worried that the WWE has jumped the shark a bit.

For any wrestling fan who has been living under a rock, the angle started last month when CM Punk announced that his contract with the WWE was expiring following the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Punk then won a No. 1 contender match to earn a shot at John Cena’s WWE Championship.

Punk went on to interfere in a tables match between Cena and R-Truth on RAW. After costing Cena the match, Punk cut one of the best and most realistic promos in a long, long time. In the promo, Punk said that he was going to beat Cena for the title at Money in the Bank and then leave the company with it.

He mentioned rival companies like Ring of Honor as well as independent stars like Colt Cabana. He also said that the WWE would be better off after Vince McMahon died.

On the ensuing episode of RAW, Punk was “suspended indefinitely” by McMahon. Cena demanded that the match happen, however, and McMahon obliged with the caveat that Cena would be fired if Punk left Chicago with the title.

The following week, Punk and McMahon engaged in contract negotiations. Punk made a number of ridiculous demands and just as McMahon was ready to sign the contract, Cena interrupted.

This led Punk to rip up the contract and reiterate that Money in the Bank would be his last hurrah in the WWE. The pay-per-view itself was a classic, particularly the Punk/Cena match. Punk’s hometown crowd was overwhelmingly in favor of the challenger, which made for an incredible atmosphere.

The match was a back-and-forth affair that saw Punk escape Cena’s finishers on a number of occasions. The blow-off came when McMahon and John Laurinaitis came to ringside in an attempt to reenact the “Montreal Screwjob.”

Cena refused to allow it, however, and Punk took advantage by hitting Cena with the Go to Sleep and winning the title. Punk escaped into the crowd with the viewing audience left to believe that neither he nor the WWE Championship would be seen again on WWE television.

McMahon held a tournament for the WWE Championship the next night on RAW and pretended like Punk never existed. Cena, of course, didn’t get fired as Triple H stepped in and “relieved Vince of his duties.”

This past Monday, Rey Mysterio won the tournament only to lose the title back to Cena in the main event. It seemed as though we would be back to square one with Cena as the champion.

After the match, “Cult of Personality” blared over the loudspeakers, however, and Punk came down to the ring. Both he and Cena were holding WWE Championships and the crowd roared when Punk raised his higher than Cena’s into the air.

As awesome as Punk’s return was, I can’t help but think it happened much too soon. Obviously the goal is to set up a title vs. title match at SummerSlam between Punk and Cena.

Considering how good their match at Money in the Bank was, the rematch will allow the WWE to score some major pay-per-view buys in all likelihood.

As a fan I’m excited to see this match and to see what transpires over the next few weeks, but I think the WWE could have benefited more from keeping Punk off of television for a few months.

If Punk hadn’t returned on Monday, there would have been endless possibilities to keep him relevant. He could have continued to make talk show appearances like his cameo on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

He could have also continued to make appearances at indy shows like he did recently at an All American Wrestling event in Illinois. This would have certainly kept wrestling fans interested and abreast of his whereabouts.

Punk also could have stayed in the news by appearing at big events such as San Diego Comic Con last week. Punk’s interruption of Triple H’s press conference at the event was masterful as it was made to seem as though Punk just showed up on his own accord.

Of course, it was carefully coordinated, but the casual observer wouldn’t know that. Punk could have crashed WWE-sanctioned events over the next few months with his title in tow just to let everyone know that he was still the champion.

The WWE could have swept Punk under the rug on all their programs and pretended like he never existed. This would have allowed Cena to go on as if he were the true WWE Champion and entered into a feud with Alberto Del Rio for SummerSlam.

Punk could have made his triumphant return during the weeks leading up to Survivor Series and he and Cena could have staged their epic rematch there. Of course, this would have just been delaying the inevitable, but it would have accomplished a couple different objectives.

For one, it would have allowed Punk to take a couple months off from in-ring action. He’s perfectly healthy at the moment as far as I know, but seeing as how much of a workhorse he’s been for the company, it would have been a nice reward to give him a little time off.

Holding off on Punk’s return until Survivor Series also would have built anticipation. With each passing week fans would have been wondering if and when Punk would be coming back. This may have actually increased interest in the product more than hot-shotting his return on Monday did.

The biggest reason why Punk’s return should have waited, though, is because all of the build up toward Money in the Bank is now essentially useless. We were led to believe that Punk would leave with the title and never come back, or at least not come back for quite some time.

That obviously hasn’t happened. We were also led to believe that Cena would be “fired” if Punk left with the title. That also didn’t happen.

Instead, McMahon just acted as if Punk winning the title never happened and immediately enacted a tournament to crown a new champion. It made essentially no sense since Vince was hell-bent on stopping Punk from leaving with the title.

It’s difficult to believe that he could just act like it never happened and not even care that Punk was out there with the actual title in his possession.

Basically, everything leading up to and through Money in the Bank was pure gold. Everything since, however, has been a bit mismanaged in my opinion.

A Punk/Cena rematch would have been so much sweeter if the WWE had allowed Cena to reestablish himself as the “true” champion. This would have blurred the lines of who the “true” champion really was when Punk eventually returned.

As it currently stands, however, Cena has no credibility as a champion and essentially everyone views Punk as the real WWE Champion.

I have no doubt that their clash at SummerSlam will be fantastic and that this angle will continue to be entertaining, but I can’t help but think that it could have been so much more had the WWE brass had a little more patience.