WWE: There Is More Truth in Dialogue Between CM Punk, John Cena Than You Think

There is more to the CM Punk/John Cena angle than the quest for a unified WWE champion.

There is more than the war of words. There is more than the “winner takes all” stakes.

There is even more than the idea that Triple H is inserting himself in what is arguably the best storyline of the year in professional wrestling.

What the “more” is happens to be truth. And if you watch the rants and the comedy and the dialogue between the great superstars, you will see there is no denying there is a storyline within the story that we do not usually touch on.

Over the decades, professional wrestling has been about Kayfabe and a fraternity of sorts where the heroes and villains did not speak to each other in open quarters.

Wrestlers had to act like they truly hated each other in the public eye to make it look “real,” while behind doors, they shared beers, meals and the fun of it all.

What CM Punk did when he gave his infamous shoot interview to spill the WWE’s dirty laundry is he spoke the truth. And that eight-minute shoot declaring that he would leave Chicago was as real as anything I have seen in my 35 years of watching the business of wrestling.

Yes, it was part of a work that led to the “retirement” of the Vince McMahon character on television, but it also spoke about the many ills of how the business is really run.

And Punk, who uses his time on air to speak of these ills, should not be faulted for them.

Punk asked for certain perks in a new contract worked bout by company COO Triple H and himself which he wanted more exposure and more of a piece of the WWE pie. In doing so, he gets to make his pontifications all he wants because the power behind the WWE knows he is great for business.

Punk is everything Cena isn’t which for a change is good in this scenario. Cena even commented on his vanilla exterior and his lack of wanting to expose his “heel” side and the fact he may look strange in jorts and red T-shirts and wristbands, but that is who he is and he will not back away from the fans who have worked to help make him a star.

In years past, real “shoot” promos have worked to speak to the problems with wrestling. WCW was infamous for having sudden appearances in the ring with various superstars who speak of how bad things had been with the company and how they were being disrespected, or in other, more severe words, “screwed” by the company.

Even WCW’s staunchest supporters like Kevin Nash spoke of how things went wrong and performers such as Eddie Guerrero got thrown off the bus along the way. Even Ric Flair allowed his real-life hatred for Eric Bischoff and the new regime of executives within the company play out on live television.

This is not a Brett Hart/Vince McMahon angle we are talking about but rather the issues with a business, not an individual.

Never have we seen some question hiring and firing practices of former wrestlers and question the “stones” of authority. It is more dramatic than Stone Cold Steve Austin and McMahon because Austin may not have liked the boss and it was a work, but he never stepped over the line.

It all was scripted and may be scripted now, but there is a fine line between the two angles.

Cena and Punk live in a “PG” era where the company has gotten away from the “attitude” and added milk to the diet. Right now, the milk is getting sour.

Cena will be headed to Wrestlemania no matter what happens, but he is correct in saying Punk has to win Sunday. There is nothing more for Punk in the company if he loses because who is going to run an angle with him without a belt being placed on him?

Momentum is something Triple H needs to focus on and when he said he will do what he thinks is best for the company when he referee’s the match between the two title holders on Sunday, which first caught the attention of Cena and his mouth and then Punk in a great shoot, it is even more real that the COO will be back in the ring in the near future.

And that is the truth.