WWE News: How the WWE Should Book the CM Punk Angle

At the tail end of a Monday Night Raw, CM Punk set the wrestling world on fire. 

Things had been stagnant in the WWE. John Cena and Randy Orton were the respective champions of the Raw and Smackdown brands, which many fans have grown tired of.  

The attempts by Vince McMahon and the WWE to develop new talent had seemingly failed. Sin Cara was botching moves and garnering heat backstage. Karma—in the midst of a monster push—had to take time off because she was pregnant.

Fans have not responding to aspiring upper mid-carders like Drew Mcintyre, Wade Barrett, Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler. The tag division is dead and has been for quite some time. Superstars like Chris Jericho, HHH and the Undertaker are on extended leaves or haven’t resigned contracts. 

In short, things were not looking good for the super power of professional wrestling. 

CM Punk changed that. He didn’t bring in a new stable, beat up Vince McMahon or throw someone through a flaming table. He did it with the truth. 

He sat cross-legged at the top of the ramp after interfering in a John Cena vs. R. Truth match and talked for 10 minutes. He talked about the politics of wrestling, the weaknesses in the chain of command at the WWE, why he was the best wrestler in the company and what he would do with the belt if he won it at the upcoming PPV, Money in the Bank. 

His mic was eventually cut off, but the damage had been done. CM Punk had cut deep with his words and within minutes everything about the WWE was different. 

Over the next few weeks this angle progressed, fueled by the mystery of whether the majority of this was even an actual angle. After all, CM Punk’s contract was set to expire. Was he going to leave? Was he legitimately suspended, as claimed by the WWE? CM Punk became socially relevant and as a result the WWE's calm waters began to stir.

A few weeks later Punk defied all odds—and the majority of the wrestling watching world’s predictions—when he won the belt at Money in the Bank. 

He did not lose the belt immediately after, when Alberto Del Rio attempted to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. He walked out champion and spent the next week with the WWE’s prize possession.

First, he reportedly kept the belt securely stashed in his refrigerator. Then he’s at the Cubs game with the belt. Later we see him at Comic-con taunting some of his former WWE employees, including the new head of the WWE, Triple H, a man he derided as a "doofus."

On last Monday’s Raw, Punk returned with the WWE Championship and held it up in the face of a victorious John Cena, who that night had won the new belt created to fill the absence of the belt lost to them. Triple H then claimed on Smackdown that he had resigned CM Punk.

So now what?

Punk starts a revolution.

I’m not a fan of the WWE bringing back Punk as soon as they did. I know they need their SummerSlam buys, but rather than make SummerSlam a championship defense make it the return of Punk with his greatest weapon—the mic.

Each WWE show has a video clip of Punk with the belt. Make Punk’s messages “must see television."  Let him talk, teasing his return, mocking the product and the belt they had to create. Most importantly, show him flanked by an entourage, adding to the entourage as the clips progress. This would show that CM Punk is starting a cult, something he has in-character experience with. Announce Punk's appearance at Summerslam—not to fight but to address the world.

At the end of Summerslam, “Cult of Personality” plays and C.M. Punk marches down to the ring. Cena challenges Punk to go belt vs. belt “right here, right now.”  Punk laughs it off.

Suddenly people start charging down to the ring from all parts of the crowd.  At first, the camera cuts away—standard protocol when fans charge the ring—and the announcers sell it as such.

Quickly they realize these are not fans, but wrestlers: Colt Cabana, Punk’s best friend; Luke Gallows, former member of the Straight Edge Society; the Kings of Wrestling, Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli of Ring of Honor Fame.

They surround Cena as Punk announces, “Now is when things change.” They attack Cena, who ends up doing a massive blade job and is left with the “crimson mask.” 

Punk picks up the mic and declares, “This is the end of the PG era. Years ago Vincent Kennedy McMahon changed the look of our business. He wanted to cater to kids. He wanted the WWE to become entertainment and gain mass appeal. We could no longer say what we wanted to say.  Well, Vince is gone."

Punk drops the mic and Stone Cold Steve Austin’s music blares. Stone Cold comes out and there is a beer celebration, except for Punk who—of course—celebrates with a Pepsi.

This would effectively graduate the angle from a possible flash in the pan to pure gold. Stone Cold is one of the few personalities that is recognized and lauded by both the savvy Internet crowds—who like in ring action—and the television crowd—who tend to focus on the characters of pro wrestling. 

Triple H would soon learn the mistake he made by signing Punk. Stone Cold would serve as on camera mentor to the new group, occasionally slipping in a stunner when needed and becoming the counter to Triple H. 

Meanwhile, the individual members of Punk’s group would begin to assert themselves in the ring with strong, clean showings, revitalizing the tag division and capturing titles. Attempts to capture either the WWE belt or the World belt—which would be back on Orton at this point—will be thwarted.

This leads to Royal Rumble, where a seed of dissension between Punk and Austin continues to grow.  Punk criticizes Austin more and more and starts to come off sanctimoniously. Austin wants to continue to mentor the group and makes attempts to clean up his lifestyle—which fans would not respond well to.

Punk and Austin team up to eliminate the field. Austin shines with stunners left and right, while Punk becomes more of a spectator than a participant. Finally sick of Austin’s place in the spotlight, Punk delivers a G.T.S. to Austin who falls to the floor but is not eliminated. 

After selling the move for a minute, Austin gets up, stares at Punk in the ring and storms up the entrance ramp with his intent clear in his eyes. Punk fights on with the help of his faction until only himself and Cena left in the ring.

There’s back and forth action until Punk locks Cena in the Anaconda vice, choking him out. Punk lifts Cena and throws him out and begins to drop to his knees to celebrate when Austin drives down to the ring with the beer truck he drove down to the ring in the Attitude era. Austin pops out of the top and douses Punk with a hose knocking him over the top of the rope to win the Royal Rumble.

Finally at Wrestlemania, we are left with two huge matches: Cena vs. Rock and Punk vs. Austin. The surprise of the evening comes when during Punk vs. Austin Vince McMahon storms out from the crowd, knocking out Stone Cold with a folding chair.

What will this booking accomplish? First, it lays the groundwork for next year's biggest storyline: the return of McMahon. Second, it solidifies Punk and Cena as the number one heel and face.

The change in Punk’s character will show how ultimate power corrupts. Brian Danielson and other new faces are also introduced, giving them instant TV time. Most importantly, you change things. 

Gone are Cena and Orton as the belt holders. Gone is the style of storytelling that has become commonplace in pro-wrestling: storytelling for the attention deficit crowd. Gone is the P.G. era replaced by an era where the fate of pro-wrestling is at stake. 

Or, you know, you could just have Cena come back and crush Punk at Summerslam…