WWE Over the Limit 2011: What's Next for CM Punk and Mason Ryan After Losing?

WWE’s Over the Limit pay per view on Sunday night saw Big Show and Kane retaining the tag team championships against CM Punk and Mason Ryan of the New Nexus.

I have to say, this was not exactly a match I was looking forward to.

WWE’s penchant for not formulating true tag teams is well documented. Basically, the scenario of two guys who have nothing to really do at the moment end up tagging together happens all the time.

This is, apparently, Vince McMahon’s definition of tag team wrestling.

At the very least, Kane and Show have done this before. This is their second stint as tag champs, and they do seem to fit together.

Of course, their characters have virtually nothing in common. One is a big freak of nature, who as a child hung out in a funeral parlor. The other is, well, big.

But, again, they look strong and scary together, and they work well as a team, so we will just agree to let that one go.

On the other side, there is CM Punk, who suddenly seems to be doing much of nothing these days, and his partner, Mason Ryan.

Since he first set foot in WWE, Mason Ryan has conjured up memories of a younger, hungrier Dave Batista. He’s big, he’s strong and there is a definite physical resemblance between the two.

So, the million dollar question, besides what is next for these two: How long before Ryan turns on Punk?

This New Nexus seems to be on its way out. Their level of importance on RAW has diminished in recent weeks, and the angle has perhaps worn out its welcome.

Punk no longer seems to be the main event threat he used to be, and no one in the group has any championship gold.

Ryan, while physically intimidating in the ring, is an unproven commodity. What can he do, how would he respond if given a singles push up the ladder on RAW?

The truth is, Ryan looks the part. He is ripped, intense, powerful and everything about him screams WWE Superstar. On the surface he has everything it takes to be a success in that company.

But the question is, what is underneath? Does he have the heart? Is he committed to being in for the long haul and doing everything asked of him in order to go somewhere in WWE?

While the uncertainty regarding Ryan is obvious, there is one thing that is crystal clear. If anyone can turn him into a star, it’s Vince McMahon. He’s done a lot more with a lot less.

CM Punk, on the other hand, has been a main event guy in recent years with the company. But his feud with Randy Orton did him no favors, as he instantly came out of it a second- or possibly even third-tier Superstar.

Rumors concerning Punk’s possible to desire to leave WWE due to the fact that he has never really had a break may have played a part in their decision to place him on the decline. At this point, it does seem at times as if he’s just going though the motions of being on TV.

CM Punk and Mason Ryan are two Superstars, who, while partners under The New Nexus banner, could not be in more different places in their careers. Tag team gold eluded them on Sunday. And while Ryan may very well see gold in his near future, Punk’s future is not as evident.

I, for one, want to see Punk stick around. But, he has to have incentive to do so. Being pushed back down the ladder is surely not the outcome he‘s looking for. Neither is being the leader of a faction whose best days are long behind them.

What’s next for Punk and Ryan? Perhaps a second shot at the WWE Tag Team Titles? Maybe this time WWE can make me care about it.