John Cena vs. CM Punk: Night of Champions 2012 Will Define CM Punk's Legacy

When John Cena squares off against WWE Champion CM Punk at Night of Champions Sunday night, how his legacy will be defined will be hanging in the balance.

Punk has been the champion for over 300 days, making him the 10th-longest reigning champion in WWE history.

The problem—as Cena correctly pointed out in his promo on Monday—is that most of that time, THE champion has been irrelevant.

As much as the smart wrestling fans loved the feuds with Chris Jericho and Daniel Bryan, those men didn’t put fans in the seats and didn’t headline pay-per-views.

That’s why Punk must win on Sunday and retain his title.

Cements the Heel Persona

After over a month of build towards Punk’s full-blown heel turn, this will be the first huge match since he became the bad guy. What better way to cement a heel than by having him destroy Cena?

Punk must retain his title against Cena to continue the momentum built by the change to a heel persona, but it can’t be a normal victory over Cena where he still looks super strong. The WWE champion must use help to win (or loss by DQ and retain the title) and destroy Cena postmatch.

The object of letting Punk win and having him beatdown Cena is not just to build him as a heel; it will help the WWE Universe believe that Punk could be a viable threat as the company’s top draw.

Building a Top Star

Wrestling is a business first and foremost, and the object of the business is to build superstars that fans want to watch. If WWE Universe loves a superstar, they will buy PPVs, merchandise and anything else to show their support.

The WWE needs CM Punk to be a John Cena–level star.

If the WWE is dead set on making Punk the next face of the company or at least as big as Cena, they must allow Punk to continue this title reign and prove that he is the best in the world.

Beating Cena at Night of Champions and retaining the title until the Royal Rumble is the kind of validation that will cement Punk’s legacy as one of the biggest superstars of all time.

Building to The Rock

While there is no confirmation—just rumors—the plan is likely to have Punk retain until the Royal Rumble where he would lose the strap to The Rock. After that match, The Rock would be built to face Cena at WrestleMania 29 with Cena winning the title back.

If that is the plan, Punk will not only win Sunday at Night of Champions, he will win all the way through to the Royal Rumble in January; that would make his title run at that PPV 434 days.

If Punk becomes the fifth-longest reigning champion in WWE history, there will be no way anyone could question just how great of a star Punk really is. The company would have built themselves their new face.

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