WWE Fatal 4-Way: Five Ways Straight Edge Could Lead CM Punk to Gold

With WWE's latest pay-per-view event, Fatal 4-Way, just four days away, the buzz around the evening's two world title bouts is building by the hour.

Sure to be the last match before Raw's main event is the World Heavyweight Title match between champion Jack Swagger, Rey Mysterio, Big Show, and CM Punk.

While it's surely hard to pick a favorite in a fatal fourway match of any sort, CM Punk is surely one to keep your eyes on.

Here are five reasons the Straight Edge Superstar could walk out of Sunday's pay-per-view event as world champion.

Luke Gallows

Any advantage in a match with three other superstars gunning for the same goal is a golden ticket, and CM Punk is the only one with reinforcements heading into Sunday night's title bout.

While Serena usually doesn't get physically involved, Luke Gallows is a difference-maker of the purest form. No matter if he accompanies Punk to the ring or not, Gallows is the match's X-factor. If he gets involved in any way, the odds swing heavily in favor of CM Punk.

The Anaconda Vise

You forgot about CM Punk's devastating submission finisher, didn't you?

The Anaconda Vise predates the Go To Sleep–it's a move Punk has been using since his days on the independent circuit. As the only man in Smackdown's main event with a submission finisher, Punk can end the match with two very different finishers.

Big Show, Mysterio, and Swagger cannot say the same thing.

Jack Swagger Isn't Ready to Be Smackdown's Top Heel

At no fault of his own, Jack Swagger just isn't ready to become Smackdown's top heel. Yet.

There's been no history of battles involving Jack Swagger and the world title...or Swagger and any long-term feud with a top-tier superstar. Punk has battled with Jeff Hardy, Edge, and The Undertaker.

Why does this matter? Smackdown is in need of a top heel now that Edge and Chris Jericho are on Raw. While Swagger may be that man one day, that day isn't Sunday. Putting the World Heavyweight title back on CM Punk would establish him as the show's top heel while simultaneously giving the Straight Edge Society even more heat.

The Straight Edge Society's Future

Since The Legacy broke up this spring, WWE has been without a major stable. On the brink is the Straight Edge Society, but they're missing something: a world championship leader.

DX had Shawn Michaels. Evolution had Triple H. The Legacy had Randy Orton. At the peak of those respective factions, each of the aforementioned men had reigns as world champion. The Straight Edge Society has plenty of heat, but hasn't seen its leader adorned in gold.

Now is the time creative can, and should, push the SES to the forefront of Smackdown with its leader, CM Punk, as world champion.

CM Punk's Career Future is At A Fork in the Road

CM Punk has the potential to become one of the biggest draws in recent memory, amongst the likes of Edge and Randy Orton. But if WWE creative wants to take Punk to that level, now is the time to do it.

Smackdown's roster has been depleted of the names we've come to know and love (or hate). With Jack Swagger still too new to the game, Punk seems to be the only man with some semblance of star power left to take the reigns as the brand's top heel.

Those efforts will forever be hindered without the World Heavyweight Title, and what better time than now to give Punk the strap?

It may seem a little early in Punk's main-event career to say he has reached a fork in the road. Punk's character could take the road traveled by The Million Dollar Man and, to a lesser extent, pre-TNA Rob Van Dam: that is, a road of top billing without the lasting legacy. A strong 2010 title run would prevent that from ever happening to the Straight Edge Savior.