WWE over the Limit 2012: CM Punk-Daniel Bryan Is What Wrestling Fans Want

Once upon a time, professional wrestling was a business presented to fans as true athletic competition.  Highly trained men and women relied on their abilities, and natural talents, in a sport where wrestlers could either play by the rules, or indiscriminately break them, to further their careers.

The in ring action was the primary focus, and it’s what caused so many fans to fall in love with the industry, and passionately follow it through their childhood years, and beyond.

That was then, this is now.

World Wrestling Entertainment is all showbiz.  The glitz, the glamour, the image, that is what Vince McMahon markets, and that is what sells his product to the masses.  

The focus for WWE is not the wrestlers, it is the Superstars, athletes who are as at home on a photo shoot or a late night talk show, as they are in the ring.  They appear on TV commercials, big budget movies, and seem to spend more time on the mic than they do actually practicing their craft.

No doubt about it, Vince McMahon has ruined the sport of professional wrestling.

Seriously, how many times have you either been a part of that very discussion, or at least jumped in to voice your opinion when you heard it happening around you?

For me, the answer is a lot.  Like, a whole lot.

But, in this day and age of the jaded wrestling fan who would rather debate the evils of WWE rather than take anything positive away from any of the programming, there is hope.

Real hope.  And, it comes in the form of two highly trained wrestlers who just happen to be employed by Vince McMahon.

Imagine that.  A light at the end of the tunnel.

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are two major exceptions to the traditional WWE rule.  They are wrestlers first, entertainers second.  Their characters, though they have merit and a definite place in the company, only enhance what they already bring to the table.

Punk, the outspoken maverick who took WWE by storm with his biting commentaries on the state of the business, became the unlikely hero to many fans who longed for a return to what made the sport great to begin with.  

His humor, his charm, and his ability to get over with virtually every promo, truly establishes Punk as the prototypical WWE Superstar, in every sense of the word.

The fact that he can also work, lights out in the ring, makes him the complete package.  Punk is WWE Champion, not only because of who he is, but because of what he can do.

Bryan is the overconfident, egotistical overachiever, who is oblivious to the world around him.  

He blamed his ex-girlfriend AJ for his World Title loss to Sheamus, and has managed to weasel his way into the fans’ consciousness with a chant of “yes,” though he does not have their support when he is faced with a babyface stronger than he is.  

His smile is nauseating, and his personality is annoying. As far as fitting in with the other Superstars, Bryan is on his way to becoming one of WWE’s top heel performers.

Bryan, like Punk, can also get it done on a very high level in the ring.  He is being given the nod at Over the Limit on Sunday because he will give the champ a great match.

After all, he’s done it before.

Bryan and Punk’s past history in Ring of Honor has laid the groundwork for what we will see at the upcoming pay-per-view.  They are both very familiar with each other in the ring, and they will undoubtedly give fans their money's worth, and then some, on Sunday.

Try ripping on that.

That last line was not meant to be taken literally.  It was just to make a point, that pure wrestling fans like myself who love the business for the back and forth in the ring, have nothing to complain about with this match.  We are getting what we wanted to begin with, and we are getting it with the WWE Championship at stake.

So, no insulting Punk for his perceived lack of drawing power, though he is still one of the most popular Superstars in the company.  No ignorant comments concerning the notion that he has lost his edge since turning babyface, though he consistently has the crowd when other Superstars’ pops rise and fall depending on who they face on any given night.

And, no slamming Bryan for his size, or goofy character, that just so happens to be over with nearly every crowd he wrestles in front of.  Forget the talk that he will not get another title run, and perhaps does not belong on the main event level, despite the fact that WWE is obviously in disagreement, as Daniel always delivers every time he gets the opportunity to shine.

This one proves the critics wrong on every level.  Yes, they have worked together in a WWE ring before, but that’s the beauty of it all, because now they’re doing it again, in a main event pay per view match, with the championship hanging in the balance.

This is what pro wrestling fans want from the business that they love.  This is what WWE is capable of, when they decide to set the showbiz aside, and focus on what led them to the success that they have enjoyed as a company for so many years.

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are both very talented entertainers, and work for the master showman in Vince McMahon, who accepts nothing less from his Superstars.  There is no disputing that.

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are also both very talented professional wrestlers, and work for the man who is still at his core, a promoter, who accepts nothing less from his Superstars.  There is no disputing that, either.

On the Monday following Over the Limit, as fans are surely dissecting the event and criticizing every moment that supposedly could have been done better, there will be another discussion happening that could likely drown all of that out.

The discussion centers around Punk and Bryan, and how they stole the show with a great wrestling match.

That is a conversation that I will be involved in, no doubt about it.