WWE, CM Punk Preparing for an Indy Invasion? One Fan's Hopeful Scenario

Any pro wrestling fan, and many who are not fans as well, could easily talk about how CM Punk has begun to change the face of WWE for this generation.  What many originally thought was going to be Punk's farewell, going out in a blaze of glory, has since turned into one of the most defining moments in the "PG" era.

It all started back on the June 27 episode of Monday Night Raw, when CM Punk ended the show with a promo that shook the wrestling world.  Punk let everything off his chest about John Cena, the WWE and the people who run the company.  He also informed everyone that his contract would be expiring at midnight on the night of Money in the Bank.

This promo promptly created a buzz unlike anything else and was mentioned everywhere, from Twitter to ESPN.  Among other things, Punk broke many "rules" of professional wrestling, including using using wrestlers' real names, breaking the fourth wall and mentioning other wrestling promotions.  Through his delivery, Punk delivered a much needed shot in the arm to WWE.  

The casual fans got excited for the pay-per-view, but the Internet fans we're going nuts about Punk "breaking character."

The next day it was announced that Vince McMahon had suspended CM Punk for his rant the previous night, and that his scheduled match with John Cena for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank was off.  Through the persuasion of John Cena at the next week's Raw, including his threat to walk out of WWE, CM Punk was reinstated and the match at Money in the Bank was back on.

On Monday Night Raw in Cena's hometown of Boston, six days before the pay-per-view that would be held in Punk's hometown, Chicago, Vince McMahon did his best to try and get Punk to sign a new contract.  After discussions of private jets, WWE ice cream bars and John Cena's personal two cents, CM Punk ripped up the contract he had brought to the ring to sign.  

Everyone was wondering what was going to happen that coming Sunday; even the Internet fans we're stumped.

At Money in the Bank, the hometown hero defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship, despite Vince McMahon's attempt to fix the match.  Punk took the title, blew Vince a kiss and took off through the fans and left the arena.

While it seemed that CM Punk had left WWE for good and Internet videos popped up of Punk at independent shows, he returned just a few weeks later, right after John Cena was crowned as the new WWE Champion.  Since then, he has waged a war of words against John Cena and new WWE COO Triple H.  Even John Cena has begun to "break character" and mention things that were previously never spoken about, including the Internet talk about his "5 moves of doom" and "letting his heel persona show."

Internet fans continued to get excited about the ways that WWE was trying to appeal to them.

So what is the point of me mentioning all of this if I'm not trying to hype up SummerSlam?  Well, take a closer look.

Everything that has happened in the past month or so has created the biggest buzz the IWC has seen in a very long time.  Superstars are now going out of their way to create an appeal to the Internet fans.  It's sort of like a Disney movie.  The product is entertaining to it's main viewers (children/PG crowd), but there are things placed there for the older crowd (parents/IWC).  Has Cena ever mentioned these things that the IWC has been berating him about for years?  Of course not, so why now?

Take a look at what else has happened since this whole CM Punk thing has started.  In a big surprise, Daniel Bryan, one of the biggest indy stars to ever break into WWE, won the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match.  Meanwhile, WWE has quietly gone about acquiring (or so the rumors have said) two of Ring of Honor's biggest stars, The Kings of Wrestling, Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli.

Here I sit with this information, wondering if someone in WWE creative is silently creating something that will make IWC fans like me jump for joy.  What if SummerSlam is that start of something great?

Now this likely will not all go down this Sunday (if at all), but SummerSlam would be the perfect place to put this all in motion.  Three main things could be on the verge of happening.

• Punk retains, sending John Cena packing and preparing for his non-title match against The Rock at WrestleMania.
• The Kings of Wrestling debut and bring credibility and something interesting back to the tag team division.
• Daniel Bryan goes against his word, cashes in his Money in the Bank contract and turns heel.

Think about it.  Where WWE dropped the ball with Nexus, they could pick it back up with even greater force with an indy superstar invasion.  WWE could have four champions who were all former Ring of Honor champions, instead of superstars who were perceived as wrestling rookies, running the show.

It could all start with Triple H at SummerSlam.  The New Chief Operating Officer could turn on Cena, knocking him down a peg, saying that CM Punk is indeed the future of this business and that there will be more like him joining soon.  Cue the Kings of Wrestling, or maybe even Seth Rollins—former Ring of Honor Champions—to take over the tag team and mid card divisions.  Daniel Bryan could go against his word, break up the monotonous main even scene on SmackDown, take the World Heavyweight Championship from Orton and turn heel in the process.

You now have a group of superstars who can be feared the same way Nexus was, but you can have them as champions on both shows.  Not only that, but you have just set up one hell of a Survivor Series squad.  Sure, it runs parallel to the Nexus thing that was done last year, but so what?  WWE recycles ideas all the time.

Oh, and I'm forgetting one important thing.  This would appeal to both the IWC and the current younger generation of WWE fans.  Typical wrestling fans would see it as just another heel stable trying to rule over WWE.  The IWC will see it as their dreams coming true.

There's no denying that WWE is trying to cater to the IWC.  Look at what Punk and the promos he has been involved in have brought out.  Do you really think that the things that were said were not cleared by WWE's writers, Vince and/or Triple H beforehand?  Even Vince McMahon himself has gotten in on the IWC thing, calling CM Punk "Phil" in front of the Monday Night Raw crowd in Boston.

WWE has always paid attention to the Internet and what the fans have been saying. Only now, they may have found a way to make those fans happy, while still maintaining their loyal fanbase of younger fans, the ones who buy the t-shirts, toys and other souvenirs.  Like I said earlier, it'll be like a Disney movie, with a little bit of something for everyone thrown in.

But does this really seem plausible, or even possible?  I can't really say.  Maybe my mind is just still running on high octane because one of my favorite superstars in now in the spotlight, and I keep craving for more.  Maybe I'm just playing out crazy scenarios that only seem to make sense in my head.  Whatever the case is, WWE just made sure that this member of the IWC is going to purchase SummerSlam.