WWE: CM Punk Needs to Be the Main Attraction in the Company, Not John Cena

Who’s next for John Cena?

Or better yet, what happens to wrestling’s golden boy?

After recovering from the hangover of a poorly executed PPV the other night, John Laurinaitis got what he deserved from Cena in his long-awaited sendoff from both RAW and SmackDown.

Karma rears its ugly head every once in a while.

Now comes the fun stuff. And part of the aftermath of No Way Out is determining what happens to Cena and who will now be next in line to face the moneymaker of the WWE.

Since the writers blew a golden opportunity to have Big Show and Cena carry on their shenanigans for a few more weeks or months, the WWE must now find a suitable opponent for Cena, who has not been in the WWE title picture for months now.

And he still remains the top draw on television and in PPV events. Am I missing something or shouldn’t the WWE Champion CM Punk be the top draw in the wrestling promotion?

Hulk Hogan was the top draw. Randy Savage was the top draw. Wrestlers like Ric Flair, Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes and so on in the NWA were a top draw.

Why isn’t CM Punk?

While it is almost a year to the date since Punk's infamous rant that changed the course of the WWE and turned wrestling on its ear, Punk has been a world champion since November and faced the likes of Dolph Ziggler, Kane, Mark Henry, Alberto Del Rio, Daniel Bryan and Chris Jericho. He seems to come out of nowhere to win and retain his title.

Has he lost some of the zeal that made him so appealing a year ago? Yes.

Has he lost some of the fan base that made him the star he is? Yes.

Part of the reason for this is simple—Cena rakes in cash. Punk is not the moneymaker Cena is. While he is a better entertainer in the ring and great to listen to on the mic, he is not the “cartoonish” character that Cena is, which speaks volumes as to how the WWE continues to use Cena to make money, regardless of where he is in position in the WWE hierarchy.

Punk deserves better.

His bad-ass, “me against the world” attitude and his satirical approach to the business are still appealing, and while he may dig “crazy” chicks and fight the good fight against the best in the WWE, he does not get the due respect from management that Cena does.

Maybe this leads to a heel change at some point. Maybe this leads to him losing the title (which I thought would happen Sunday night to Bryan). Maybe he becomes one of the greatest and longest tenured champions of all time.

But until the WWE puts him front and center and he closes out RAW, headlines PPV events and does not take a back seat to the colorful Cena, he will never be considered a great champion.

Hogan or Verne Gagne would never have stood for that kind of treatment. And Cena continues to remain the top dog.

CM Punk shouldn’t stand for this positioning, and while he spoke a great game a year ago, he needs to make another statement before the WWE title becomes an afterthought.