WWE: CM Punk Has Skill Set to Be the Next Stone Cold Steve Austin

Before getting started, I want to reference a very good column written by RIZE a few weeks ago that finally pushed me to write this column that I’ve been mulling over for some time now. Titled, "Time is Now: Is it Time to Alter CM Punk’s Character?", RIZE wrote toward the conclusion of his column: 

“I ask that you don’t take my words as if I’m labeling CM Punk as the next Stone Cold Steve Austin.” 

I won’t put words in his mouth. I’ll say it myself.

CM Punk, if properly booked, is the next Stone Cold Steve Austin. It isn’t Orton. It isn’t Anderson over in TNA.

The individual currently working for a major wrestling promotional in North America with the greatest potential to be the biggest star on the planet is CM Punk. 

Don’t get me wrong—I’m a big fan of Randy Orton. I think the kid has a lot of talent and if he were allowed to cut promos, use catch phrases and develop his own character further, he would be a monster star right now.

The RKO is a great finisher and he tells a story in the ring as well as anybody. He doesn’t require big flashy spots to pop the crowd. It comes down to good pacing, excellent timing and a feel for how to work the audience. 

The biggest misstep for Orton came when he was asked to begin incorporating Austin characteristics into his matches. He started hitting the Lou Thesz press, stomping mudholes and even ditched his trademark corner pose in favor of the to index fingers straight in the air, just two digits away from Stone Cold’s classic middle finger salute.

The crowd pops for the moves, but it isn’t because they are great moves—it’s because they think of Austin. There is a significant difference between being inspired by another wrestler and mimicking their style. When it crosses that line it has gone too far. 

That’s why CM Punk is a more apt comparison to Austin. He came up the hard way—not through WWE Developmental, but instead through the indie scene, learning how to work different crowds and draw with an array of opponents. By the time he signed with WWE, he had already sustained long runs as both a heel and a face. 

Punk arrived in WWE, making his first real run on ECW where he quickly became one of the top draws on the show, but in the grand scheme of WWE programming, his matches with John Morrison and Elijah Burke were PPV curtain jerker matchups.

He embraced the opportunity to put on great technical matches, and it was through this work he earned support from the crowd on merit, not extensive commercial push. His rise was organic, something we rarely see any more. 

His natural, biting humor, his quick wit and nuance is also something few peers possess. In the day and age of a neutered John Cena targeting small kids and Big Show drawing big pops for being the World’s Largest Teddy Bear, Punk is a different breed.

While creative is pushing Orton as the young adult alternative—which he is if the other option is Cena—it's actually Punk that has a more pure connection with the young adult fan base. 

Many were upset when WWE nixed the Cena-Punk feud in favor of Miz-Cena and Orton-Punk for WrestleMania, myself included, but I can see the silver lining.

First, I do believe that these are two money matches, rather than one. Cena gives Miz a better, long-term rub than Orton would.

But more importantly, I believe it means WWE recognizes that come the WrestleMania WWE Championship Main Event, on the company’s biggest stage for its greatest prize, the crowd would certainly turn on their richest draw in favor of Punk and later reign down jeers when Cena inevitably vanquishes the supposed bad guy in the match. 

To some this may be heresy, but think back to WrestleMania XIII. Think about "The Match". You know which one I’m talking about. Arguably the most important match since Hogan bodyslammed Andre.

Bret Hart entered the night as a babyface while Steve Austin was meant to be the heel. By the end of the match, the crowd was chanting Austin’s name. Mid-match, the two men switched booking roles and Hart recalled his rule-breaking tendencies from early in his career and truly made Austin a star. 

Not to correlate Orton’s storytelling ability with Hart’s nearly unparalleled technical ability, but we could very easily see this same transition occur at this year’s WrestleMania.

If Orton is the savvy veteran that grew up in the industry, as we think he is, he will recognize early that there is a substantial pro-Punk contingent in the stadium that night. As the match goes on, there will be Punk chants. There will be an ovation for a guy that is supposed to be the enemy.

And since this is professional wrestling, it’s more entertainment than sport. Punk doesn’t have to win. The match can end with him eating an RKO in the middle of the ring, finishing the night looking up at the lights listening to a three count. It won’t break his momentum at all. In fact, such a performance would only elevate his stock. 

WWE has a monster on their hands in CM Punk. He has untold potential just waiting to be tapped.

One of the company’s greatest weaknesses during this lull has been an inability to build main event-caliber face draws. Cena and Rey Mysterio are the only two long-running faces, both with acts that are geared toward selling merchandise to kids under the age of 10. Evolution alumni Batista and Orton along with Edge have all played better heels during the latter half of the decade.

The 100-pound weight hanging around WWE’s neck from the perspective of the IWC is the PG-rating that has turned the Dr. of Thuganomics into a bowl of Fruity Pebbles telling poop jokes.

As we saw Monday night, if Cena were allowed to cut old school raps, chuck full of sexual innuendo and obscene insults, he can be as entertaining as anybody in the industry. Austin got over giving people the finger and selling shirts that say F*CK FEAR.

Punk has the chops to hang with any of these legends on the mic, and he has proven that he doesn’t need to use profanity to get over with the crowd. He does it with body language, with snappy lines and a straight forward delivery.

Punk is the ticket to that unlimited cash cow that Vince has in his back pocket. Whether he knows it’s tucked away there or not, it’s waiting to be punched.