WWE: CM Punk Was the Leader of a New Era That Never Was

"CM Punk!"

"CM Punk!"

"CM Punk!"

The crowd is whipped into a frenzy at the old Rosemont Horizon in Chicago on the night of the Money in the Bank extravaganza. We are witnessing the birth of a new star to head the WWE in a new direction, just like John Cena, The Rock and Steve Austin before him. The audience in mass is increasing the decibel level in the arena beyond safe levels.

CM Punk wins! He is the new WWE champion! And here he goes, escaping through the crowd after blowing Vince McMahon the kiss of death. A transcendent, cult of personality has been birthed by the love and adoration of a large and growing contingent of fans who desperately wanted and now discern a tangible renaissance of the company they grew up watching. CM Punk has been appointed King by the WWE Universe. He was going to right the wrongs of a corporation mired in its static ways.

Snapped out of this reverie, and what may or may not have occurred on that fateful day, I'm left wondering if any of what I described actually happened at all. It all seemed so surreal, so vivid, and so promising in its execution. CM Punk was going to rid the WWE of its poisons, flushing them out, leaving in their place a brand new palace, a paradise of sorts where wrestlers and fans would have "fun again."

It was CM Punk and the fans versus the WWE brass.

The boss of the brain trust, the Mr. McMahon character, did his part by yielding to Punk, making him look right, just and heroic. And what was supposed to be the final blow striking McMahon with Punk's heavy words was actually delivered by the new COO, Triple H, who literally showed up right out of the blue.

Summerslam then arrived, ending in Punk losing the WWE title, due to a "jackknife" that had conspiracy written all over it with Triple H seemingly holding the pen. Week after week, Punk reminded viewers that Kevin Nash and his buddy Triple H were not to be trusted, that they were in cahoots, sure to show their nefarious ways—Triple H, specifically—at any moment.

The bombshell about who texted Kevin Nash was subsequently dropped. Of course, who texted Kevin Nash but Kevin Nash himself! A mind-twister, or a dud of deflating proportions? Surely Triple H still had to be in on the whole thing, as CM Punk was adamant about not letting fans forget. Punk's reputation among fans was staked on it.

Enter Night of Champions, the PPV that would presumably justify CM Punk's words of warning all along. After a thrilling back-and-forth encounter, with fans split right down the middle, the recently fired Kevin Nash came to the ring...and attacks not just Triple H but both men. But wait, he wasn't the only "run-in," as Miz and R-Truth make their way to also attack both men. Triple H, who hasn't seen action since WrestleMania 27, just happens to edge Punk in a grueling match that saw no advantage to either man.

No doubt the possibility of a conspiracy was solidified here, but not the kind that would prove CM Punk's words right, while in retrospect we're left to wonder if his "pipe bombs" were empty words with no backing to them.

The tattooed crusader was proven to be erroneous so much so that he essentially apologized to Triple H at the beginning of the RAW broadcast. Who was he to doubt Triple H, who is now the central figure in the conspiracy-laden storyline—one in which CM Punk's character started but was ultimately discarded from.

And to make matters worse, Punk was officially extricated from the focal storyline, the one in which he was supposed to fight against the powers-that-be for the betterment of the fans and wrestlers. CM Punk, by decree of the COO Triple H, was now back in the WWE title picture...this time without the intrigue, excitement and evocation it had just two months prior.

Triple H, a largely inactive wrestler, became the new starring and heroic character of a saga that was to be CM Punk's part. A character acting as the establishment, a man railed against for sustaining the status quo, was exonerated and lifted to the heights that should have been CM Punk's. Instead, Punk lost his footing with an audience that was willing to believe in him every step of the way until they no longer could.

Triple H, the character and the man, should have taken the fall as the villain to Punk's savior. Sadly, the opposite occurred and Triple H, the man in suit and tie, is the hero to be rooted for, leaving his contemporary CM Punk, the man who previously galvanized the disillusioned, to be suddenly regarded as persona non grata.

The "King of Kings" is back in all his refulgent, loving glory

...and so is the status quo.