WWE: CM Punk's Wrestling Rant May Be as Real as They Come

Monday night, WWE's CM Punk sat on the entrance ramp, looked at the fans, John Cena and the world watching, and said he was the best WWE had on its roster.

And for some reason, I believed him.

The superstar, who has announced that July 17 will be his last match in the WWE when he wins Money in the Bank and then wins the WWE world title, only to leave the promotion and take his act somewhere else, gave a six-minute tirade about how he is the best and the WWE will miss him when he is gone.

“I am the best since Day 1,” Punk announced as he sat on the ramp. Punk’s comments were made after he interfered in a match between R-Truth and John Cena at the Raw Roulette show from Las Vegas.

While writers have been criticized lately in the WWE for being boring, stories going nowhere, characters needing more personality and feuds that are old, Punk is a breath of fresh air. He says what he means and he means what he says.

Or at least I hope he is telling the truth, because the comments and the stoic facial expressions lead me to believe that Punk is not the only one who is unhappy in the dressing room backstage.

Punk said he was responsible for helping to establish WWE as a force in the past five years, and he has not gotten the credit he deserves. The fact that Cena, The Rock and others have spent their careers kissing Vince McMahon’s behind to get ahead is something that upsets Punk.

He also said he was not liked by fans or WWE hierarchy because of his connection to Paul Heyman, who was a driving force in helping him into WWE and the success he has enjoyed.

Punk is the current leader of Nexus but does a lot of his own work, trying to capture the WWE championship.  He has won the World Championship three times and the Extreme Championship Wrestling title once. Before he came to WWE, he was a Ring of Honor World Champion.

The thing about Punk’s rant is that we do not know if it was real or a plotline in a story. There were rumors that Punk would leave WWE and return. And, yes, even a rumor about a Chicago screw job, much like Brett Hart and Shawn Michaels in Canada.

There have been others who have done such a thing on camera for other reasons. Eddie Guererro sounded off on WCW about how he was being kept down. Ric Flair aired his dirty laundry with Eric Bischoff all over cable. Even Kevin Nash sounded off about WCW screwing him and other older wrestlers.

It makes for great theater.

Now, having been suspended as of Monday evening, the words that came from Punk’s mouth have more power than before. While wrestlers may have been unwilling to voice their opinions, Punk has done so without worry of consequence.

Punk is the closest thing to a current Stone Cold Steve Austin, which is fitting since he gave his comments wearing a shirt representing the former WWE superstar. He speaks his mind, he tells it like he sees it, and he does not give a damn who likes or dislikes it. And maybe since WWE has gotten away from the “Attitude Era” that drove ratings up and eventually helped lead to the downfall of WCW, Punk is the thing WWE needs as its point man in the next few years.

The only problem is the comments have drawn fire with management, and comments made about the McMahon family cannot (if the rant is real) mean good things for Punk, unless it is seen as a ratings boost.

Lately, RAW and SmackDown have been weak. IMPACT has been a better brand, and superstars who should get a push toward stardom are stuck in mid-card status.

With 20 days left until Punk’s departure, it remains to be seen if he is real or another character in the WWE machine. He may return to ROH, may go to New Japan Wrestling or possibly try his hand at IMPACT.

All three are viable options and while he would become a most sought after free agent, his job now at WWE, although suspended, looks like the fire the company needs to make a change again to maintain its perch atop the wrestling peak.