Vince McMahon Is Only Man in WWE Who Can Save CM Punk Storyline

The CM Punk storyline, which had so much promise after he bolted out of Chicago's Allstate Arena with the WWE Championship less than two months ago, is now on life support. There is only one on-camera presence that can save the angle and it's Vince McMahon.

It's not Triple H and it's definitely not Kevin Nash.

Punk is not the problem. When he was battling McMahon leading up to the Money in the Bank match, there was a genuine feel he was the “voice of the voiceless” going up against a mammoth company. Since Triple H took over as COO and Kevin Nash joined the party, that feeling is gone.

Now the whole angle, especially everything that comes out of Nash's mouth, feels scripted. Other than a hilarious jab at Diesel's role as Super Shredder early in his suddenly resurgent acting career, there just isn't much for Punk to work with.

The WWE Universe can only extend the suspension of disbelief for so far. Nobody truly believes McMahon was relieved of his duties just as they don't think Nash was really fired.

So when Punk goes on the attack about having to fight through Triple H, Kevin Nash and Stephanie McMahon, it just doesn't hold as much weight as when he was face to face with Vince. After an initial surge in ratings following his epic promo, they have returned to expected levels in recent weeks.

The hottest thing in entertainment is suddenly not pulling in the viewers anymore.

Which direction will the Nash storyline go at Night of Champions? Nobody knows and it seems like WWE fans really don't care. Unless McMahon has something big up his sleeve, he would be better off letting Nash fade into the background again.

For the Punk storyline to regain traction and boost ratings, he needs a strong antagonist. That is what Triple H and Nash have failed to provide and is the likely reason WWE rushed Punk's match against the new COO.

The most logical path for the Night of Champions match to play out would be an attempted interference by Nash gets thwarted by Triple H. Punk would then take advantage of the distraction to pick up the victory.

That would allow for several different branching options and, most importantly, it would allow an opportunity for McMahon to return. He might have to cut his summer vacation short, but it's the only way to revitalize Punk's popularity among mainstream fans.

There are a bunch of things wrong with the WWE and the Internet wrestling community has been begging for them to be fixed for a long time. It seemed like the Punk angle was finally the start of some real change in the otherwise stagnant world of John Cena and Randy Orton.

Since Triple H became the resistance to Punk's revolution though, it's just been more of the same. Orton is holding one belt and Cena's still squarely in the title picture on Raw.

While those guys move merchandise unlike most other superstars, the spike in ratings should have told McMahon the television viewers are ready for some changes.

There is just too much talent on the roster for the same two guys to dominate (with relative ease) for such an extended period of time. Guys like The Miz shouldn't have to cut promos against Jared Fogle just to get him on TV.

Hopefully McMahon and the creative team have some big ideas for Punk (and the rest of the dissenters) leading up to Survivor Series or the return of The Rock will completely kill any remaining momentum before going to shoot another movie.

And, as the WWE Universe has heard so often as of late, that's not good business.