John Cena: How CM Punk's Heel Turn at RAW 1000 Will Benefit WWE's Top Star

While most wrestling fans are only considering how CM Punk's heel turn at RAW 1000 will help him in the long run, there is no question that his main rival, John Cena, will receive a considerable boost from what promises to be a major storyline as well.

Cena has had the same character for years upon years without much change. While many people enjoy that, there are equally as many who have grown tired of his act. The WWE seemed to have a good opportunity to shake things up by having him cash in his Money in the Bank contract after a Punk match like almost every other Money in the Bank winner has ever done.

The creative team opted to do what it normally does with Cena as he announced that he would cash in the honorable way in a pre-scheduled match against Punk at RAW 1000.

Rather than adding a dimension to Cena's character, the decision was made to transition Punk from the company's No. 2 face back to the top heel, just as he was prior to Money in the Bank last year.

Turning Punk heel seemed like a curious choice at first, since he has built so much momentum during his long title reign and is unquestionably second only to Cena in terms of crowd reaction, but it makes plenty of sense upon further review.

Eve and Big Show made reference to Punk being overshadowed by AJ, Cena and others in recent weeks, so Punk is clearly fed up with playing second fiddle.

He didn't come out and attack Cena on Monday, but when Big Show did, Punk simply turned his back and walked away. The Rock made the save for whatever reason, but then the heel turn truly happened as Punk hit Rocky with a huge lariat before delivering the most thunderous GTS he ever has.

That was another example of Punk not wanting to be upstaged. When he was dressing down Daniel Bryan earlier in the night, The Rock came down to the ring and announced that he would be facing the WWE Champion at Royal Rumble. With that in mind, Punk's entire platform figures to be him doing everything in his power to be the undisputed top star in the company.

This angle is obviously going to help Punk for tons of reasons, but Cena will be a major beneficiary as well. Cena and Punk are clearly going to have a rematch at SummerSlam due to Big Show's interference on Monday, and while Big Show may be thrown into the match as well, his involvement isn't really of any consequence.

The entire basis of the feud is going to be that Cena has gone unchallenged as the company's top star for years.

Punk has been WWE Champion for more than 200 days, which should technically make him the No. 1 guy, but Cena continues to get main-event slots and high-profile feuds. It would be fantastic to have Punk make mention of those things and turn actual business decisions into a storyline.

Cena has already feuded with pretty much everyone, but nobody has seemed like a true threat to this point. Punk is a guy who has one of the longest title reigns in recent memory and defeated Cena at both Money in the Bank and SummerSlam last year, though. If Punk is built as Cena's equal or superior, then things will get very interesting regarding Cena, as he may have met his match.

In reality, Cena won't be supplanted until the day he retires, and a heel isn't likely to be the face of the WWE, but in kayfabe terms, this type of feud makes a ton of sense and should be extremely interesting.

Even fans of Cena have to admit that the way he always overcomes the odds is a bit tiresome. Cena's character is much deeper and more intriguing when he is facing a real challenge, and Punk certainly is one.

A face Punk vs. face Cena rivalry and match at SummerSlam would have been solid and entertaining, but what we're going to see instead is so much better. Punk is going to be booked to do everything in his power to destroy Cena, and Cena is simply going to be that much better by virtue of it.

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