WWE Night of Champions 2011: Why Triple H and CM Punk Must Make Magic

At Night of Champions, CM Punk and Triple H will be staring down something far more important than the outcome of a grudge match. They’ll be staring down the future of the company.

Blink first and they’ll have wasted a golden opportunity. Do it right and the WWE will flourish on the long road to WrestleMania 29.

THE WORST STORY EVER TOLD 

The task is unenviable. How do Triple H and Punk right the ship on a story that has no villain and settle a grudge match that has no grudge? They have stood tall in the ring as recent as Monday night and attempted to tell the world that their feud means something, but all fans see is a muddled back and forth that is more contrived than born out of real anger. 

At the end of the day all Triple H has done, to the best of CM Punk's knowledge, is replace Vince McMahon, hire Punk back for more money and fire his best friend in the best interest of what CM Punk brings to the table. 

Punk's offenses? They can be boiled down into one category: “stupid stuff CM Punk says.”

Yes, he insulted Triple H’s wife. Certainly an offense no man would take kindly too, but the idea that he would risk his secure and enviable position over a comment not only makes this match feel flimsy, but it makes Triple H look like an idiot, and it’s hard to buy into a match propelled by the actions of an idiot.  

GOOD GUY/BAD GUY vs. GOOD GUY/BAD GUY 

If Punk and Triple H are going to swing the momentum of a dying storyline in their favor they are going to have to pick a side in their feud. Perhaps CM Punk is too cerebral to want to commit himself into a role. Perhaps Triple H is married to the idea of embracing social media and the Internet to the point where a philosophy is born that the abstract leads to discussion and that’s a good thing for dirt sheets and message boards. 

Yes, it’s a good thing for those places, but the WWE is fueled largely by a fanbase that is too young to think that esoterically. The other half of the audience is capable but frankly doesn’t feel it’s worth the bother. 

At the end of the day a feud must be between good and evil. You can’t have two opposing forces fighting when you aren’t clear they are in direct opposition. While the WWE is attempting to pull away some of the antiquated storytelling that has hampered the product for so long (at least that's my hope) they must understand that they cannot strip it away from the tenets that make for good storytelling in the first place. 

CAN’T ROOT FOR THE SUITS 

If the WWE is going to make a full fledged heel out of one of them then it must be Triple H. Yes, I’d love to see Punk swerve things for the sake of conversation but unless it truly removes Triple H from power it’s a wasted angle. The fact is that under no circumstances can the good guy be, at least in a long sustaining feud, the corporate leader.

There was a reason why McMahon has been the bad guy for all these years. It’s what makes sense. Everyone loves a good underdog and the WWE can’t sell a good guy with every inherent advantage. It makes rooting too easy because there is no threat of failure.  

TAKE, TAKE, TAKE 

On Sunday Triple H and CM Punk must deliver more than a great match—they must deliver a great finish.

We can smell the swerve coming a mile away. Nash’s release was as suspicious as his arrival. No one believes for a second he’s out of the picture. He’s likely to show up and play a big part in the matches outcome. It would seem foolish for Punk and Nash to unite, but there have been worse finishes. Nash and Triple H would be all too predictable but again, there has been worse. 

At the end of the day the most important thing that must happen is someone has to have something taken from them. Punk had a reason to hate Nash. He took away Punk’s World title (at least indirectly). McMahon tried to take Austin’s job, his title and his pride back in the day. Punk or Triple H, whoever the victim, must have something taken from him. If Triple H is to be the face then it’s going to take more than Punk screwing him out of his job. It’s going to have to come from up above. Triple H will have to be betrayed by his own company. McMahon, or his wife Stephanie, will have to emerge as the puppet master. 

If Punk is going to lose he must lose his pride. It won’t be enough to beat him because his inexhaustible voice will still be heard. He needs to be crossed, then beaten, then have hope removed of ever getting back to the top of the mountain. A good swerve by Nash would do it, but it would be better coming from a more powerful, more active source. Help from Cena would be ideal, but unlikely. Perhaps a superstar like the Miz would be in order. 

At the end of the day there must be something done. There must be more at stake after this fight then there was going in. Only when true lost occurs can a real feud begin, and a real feud is needed to save the WWE.