CM Punk to UFC, Finishing Moves, Dolph Ziggler and More from the Caged Mailbag

The most significant name in professional wrestling has been nowhere near a WWE ring in almost a year. No, not Brock Lesnar. CM Punk.

Punk continued his headline tour by announcing he's joining the UFC. And the pro wrestling crowd went wild. Again.

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@ThisIsNasty CM Punk going to fight in UFC? WOW. Did you just see that? :o

— Steven Curd (@stevencurd) December 7, 2014

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The entire combat sports world "saw that," as it has monitored everything CM Punk has said, done and Tweeted since his Thanksgiving tell-all on the Art of Wrestling podcast. I can't help but think CM Punk joining the UFC was the culmination in a shrewdly planned sequence of events designed to keep his name at the forefront of wrestling news before the shocking announcement was made.

Punk was the hottest name in pro wrestling before his jump to MMA, and the wrestling audience that hung on his every word became privy to his UFC bombshell. By no means was that a mistake. Despite being away from WWE, Punk drew so much attention that his comments were addressed by Vince McMahon himself during a rare interview. It couldn't have worked out any better.

If UFC wants the CM Punk experience to work out, the 36-year-old former WWE Champion will first need to make it through a top-level camp without getting hurt. Punk has never stepped inside a cage for a mixed martial arts fight, period, so his first opponent should either be a novice or a borderline tomato can. Maybe even call up the guy who fought Mickey Rourke and teach him how to throw a leg kick.

I think CM Punk will no doubt garner a large audience for his first fight strictly out of curiosity. I know I'll be watching. UFC has been in need of more casual viewers since Brock Lesnar's departure and the product's subsequent overexposure upon signing with Fox. The only way this story can get bigger is if CM Punk's first opponent is Triple H.

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@ThisIsNasty is Ziggler leaving #TLC with the IC title? If not where does he go from there? #WWEMailbag #Mailbag

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"— @RealColinGinter (@RealColinGinter) December 10, 2014"

I'd be surprised if Dolph Ziggler didn't leave TLC with the Intercontinental Championship, partly because I don't see Luke Harper being able to climb to the top of a ladder.

The decision to put the title on Harper always seemed forced in the midst of a hard sell for Survivor Series during the free month of WWE Network. At the same time, after rallying to become the sole survivor of Team Cena, Ziggler seemed destined for bigger and better things than another run with a secondary title .

If Ziggler regains his Intercontinental Championship, it almost discounts last month's closing moments of Survivor Series where it seemed he had finally arrived in the main event. Despite The Authority being out of power, things have seemed status quo over the past few weeks. Ziggler returning to the midcard is just another example.

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@ThisIsNasty Would you agree the lack of dynamic finishers are keeping some young talent from progressing up the card?

— Coach Solomon (@Oasis3457) December 10, 2014"

This is a good point and speaks to a larger problem of professional wrestling constantly competing with its past. The WWE Network is basically built around nostalgia, and for years WWE has conditioned fans to anticipate the next big return from yesteryear.

Almost everything has been done before—and more often than not, WWE is ripping itself off rather than recreating itself. Seth Rollins' Curb Stomp is the most unique finisher among the rising stars, and WWE has done a good job building it up as Rollins has taken out Jack Swagger, Randy Orton and Dean Ambrose with the move.

Outside of the Curb Stomp, few (if any) WWE Superstars have cultivated a finisher that is worthy of a match-long buildup. But the finisher is just one of many aspects where talent needs to be more original, and they must learn to seize the audience's attention.

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