WWE: Could A.J., Kane or Daniel Bryan Spell the End for CM Punk's Title Reign?

Since November of last year, CM Punk has enjoyed a lengthy WWE Championship reign. Over the course of the last seven months, he has defeated everyone from Alberto Del Rio to Mark Henry to Chris Jericho to Daniel Bryan. He has done so in a number of different gimmick matches and has traveled across the globe with the belt (yeah, I went there Vince) around his waist.

On Sunday, June 17, however, he faces a challenge he may not be so lucky to escape from. Not only will he be faced with the challenge of defending the WWE Championship in a Triple-Threat Match against Bryan and the “Big Red Monster” Kane, but he will also have to keep an eye out on the increasingly unstable A.J., who is sure to be lurking at ringside or just behind the curtain.

With all of these factors surrounding the WWE Championship match at No Way Out, one has to question whether Punk can successfully retain his title for yet another month or if his time as titleholder is coming to an end.

Kane has had a very inconsistent 2012 thus far. Returning in December of 2011, he immediately set his sights on John Cena. After beating up on Zack Ryder for weeks on end, Kane came out of the feud with Cena on the losing end.

From there, he turned his attention to Randy Orton. After an impressive, unexpected win over Orton at WrestleMania XXVIII, Kane would lose the rematch at Extreme Rules. Since then, he has been focused almost primarily on Punk and Bryan and has been impressive in showings against both.

After a few very bumpy months to start the year, Kane appears to have shaken any ring rust and is focused on having quality matches with two of the best in-ring performers the sport has to offer. His upcoming title shot could be just what he needs to continue his 2012 renaissance.

Bryan has had an unexpected 2012. Many expected he would lose the World Heavyweight Championship to Sheamus at WrestleMania and then fade into the obscurity of the WWE mid-card. That did not happen.

In fact, the “YES” chants of the former world champion remained so popular, and Bryan himself was so over with the crowd, that sending him back down the card was no longer an option.

After a hellish Two-Out-of-Three Falls Match against new World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus at Extreme Rules, Bryan remained in the main-event scene. Rather than challenge for the title he won then lost, he set his sights on the WWE Championship, held by fellow Ring of Honor alum CM Punk.

The two had a phenomenal, hard-fought contest at Over the Limit in May that saw Punk narrowly retain his title by countering Bryan’s Yes Lock into a pinning combination.

Bryan has proven himself as a top performer in today’s WWE. His storyline with A.J. has proven to be one of the most interesting of the year, despite the fact that it has been on a secondary program for the last three months.  

With the A.J. story poised to conclude at No Way Out, and management firmly behind him, there is no reason not to believe Bryan could leave East Rutherford, N.J. with the WWE Championship in tow.

More so than either challenger or champion, it is A.J. that holds all the cards when it comes to who will leave the June pay-per-view spectacular as the WWE Champion.  Since being dumped by Bryan shortly after WrestleMania XXVIII, she has shown affection (or at the very least, interest) in all three Superstars.

After appearing to be obsessed with Bryan, even after the split, she turned her attention to Punk. Then, on Monday’s RAW, she exhibited signs of adoration for Kane. Only truly spurned by Bryan, it will be very interesting to see who A.J. aligns herself with and whether or not she helps or hinders them in the title bout.

With two high-quality challengers and a potential distraction like A.J. making her presence known, it would appear as though Punk’s WWE Championship reign is in great jeopardy. All signs, however, indicate otherwise.

Punk’s title reign is the longest of any heavyweight title reign in five years. It is highly unlikely that it would be sacrificed to further an angle on a B-level, barely-hyped pay-per-view event that only die-hard fans and households with disposable income are going to buy anyway.

Punk has been built as a true champion, defending the title against whoever is put in his way. When he does finally drop the strap (yeah, did it again Vince), it should be a bigger deal than it would be in this situation.

Bryan will remain a top star with the company by sheer will power and the ability to stay over. Kane, for all of the character retools he has gone through, remains a favorite of the fan base and losing will never hurt that. Why waste the title change?

Regardless of who wins and who does not, the Triple-Threat Match at No Way Out has everything necessary to steal the show. Two of the best professional wrestlers in the world and one of the more talented big men in the history of the sport will clash over the richest prize in the game (not including Cena’s merchandise royalties, but really, that’s another article for another time).

And with a card that is severely lacking of what one could call a pay-per-view quality match, Punk and Co. may once again have to provide a show-saving performance.