WWE: Did They Head in the Right Direction with the CM Punk Angle?

A few weeks back at Money in the Bank, CM Punk beat John Cena for the WWE Title in a match that was probably the most anticipated match in recent history.

The build-up to that match was great, as CM Punk delivered a couple of promos on Raw leading up to the "big match" that voiced his and many fans' frustrations with the current product.

In becoming the "voice of the voiceless," CM Punk became the WWE's anti-hero and became arguably a bigger fan favorite than John Cena over the summer months.

Now the question begs, after all of this hype and hoopla surrounding CM Punk and the departure of Vince McMahon as CEO of the company, aren't you a little bit disappointed where the angle has gone as of the current moment?

I realize that Summerslam is several days away and something can happen that would sway my opinion, but as of the current moment, I feel like there was room for so much more potential.

I know that some people will feel that after reading this article that I'm one of those people that are just never satisfied with the product.

Far from it. I wrote an article a few weeks ago talking about a "new era in the WWE" and how this CM Punk angle has interested me like no other angle has in years in the WWE.

I am still interested in this angle and I enjoyed the back-and-forth banter between Punk and Cena on this past Monday night's Raw, in which I felt for once, Cena got the better end of the exchange.

But I can't help but wonder what could have been.

I am sure I'm a little bit late to this party and I'm assuming somebody on Bleacher Report has already written about this subject. This feud was is good, but it had the potential to be so much better.

I was reading another writer's thoughts on the subject and he brought up how the WWE should have gone in another direction with Punk, where basically he's an "outsider."

Now, before people have NWO flashbacks and berate me for constantly bringing up the past, it would have been perfect considering the situation.

Think back to the WWE Championship tournament on Raw a few weeks back. Have the championship tournament laid out over the next two or three weeks of Raw, except in this case, it's a No. 1 contender's tournament.

Have John Cena cash in his re-match clause for a title match at Summerslam, due to the fact that he was screwed over at Money in the Bank.

Continue having Punk crash random WWE-related events to make the public continue to believe his contract really is up and to continue his persona of that of an "outsider" or "anti-hero."

In this situation, with how prevalent the Internet is in people's lives these days, although Punk hasn't appeared on WWE television in a match since Money in the Bank, he'll still be in the people's consciousness by the time it comes to Summerslam.

In the main event at Summerslam, whomever the WWE crowns the No. 1 contender for the title, let's just say Rey Mysterio, faces John Cena for the title.

In the course of the match, have CM Punk lay out both men with the "real" WWE Title, ending the match in a DQ and leaving the fans to wonder what's next and who really is the WWE Champion.

By having Punk return just a week after Money in the Bank, it took away from his "aura" that he had built up in the events leading up to Money in the Bank.

Yes, he's still the same guy. He says how he feels, he gets on people's nerves, he doesn't like the company and he doesn't like Cena.

What gave him his aura is the perceived belief that he was leaving the company and taking the belt with him creating the persona of an "outsider."

By having him re-sign with the WWE under Hunter's direction, he may still be an anti-hero, who goes against what corporate thinks and wants, but he's still a WWE employee.

Had the WWE gone the "outsider" route with Punk, there would have been a lot more intrigue in the feud right now, like there was in the weeks leading up to Money in the Bank.

Rather, it feels like the WWE "settled" for a hot angle for the sake of producing a buyrate for their second biggest PPV of the year, Summerslam, rather than creating what could have been a "classic" angle that would have been remembered for years.