WWE Hell in a Cell 2011: Why CM Punk Stands No Chance to Win WWE Championship

Make no mistake, CM Punk as the WWE Champion is an entertaining prospect, and I would support it 100 percent, but of the three combatants in the triple threat match for the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell on Sunday, I feel as though Punk is by far the least likely to win.

Obviously, you can never count out John Cena. He enters the Hell in a Cell match as the incumbent champion and is booked to beat the odds time after time. It will certainly be discussed that Cena is at a disadvantage since he can lose the title without being beaten himself.

If this match has a clean resolution, then there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Cena will be victorious. Punk has been built up nicely as a quasi-face, but even his singles victories over Cena at Money in the Bank and SummerSlam were controversial, with Vince McMahon's interference and Cena's foot on the ropes.

Clearly, Alberto Del Rio has no prayer of winning cleanly, but I do view him as the favorite in this match, even though most would consider him the decided underdog. Knowing that Kevin Nash hasn't been seen since Night of Champions and that The Miz and R-Truth haven't been seen since being "fired," I expect them to interfere in the main event.

With keys in hand, John Laurinaitis will allow Nash, Miz and Truth into the cell where they will primarily beat down Punk, but they will also work over Cena while leaving Del Rio unscathed. This will allow Del Rio to score the pinfall victory, presumably over Punk, and win the WWE Championship for the second time.

I feel like this will begin the formation of an impressive heel stable that is meant to overthrow COO Triple H. Laurinaitis will be the leader with the likes of Del Rio, Nash, Truth and Miz doing all of his leg work. Even if it doesn't play out exactly that way, though, I don't think there's any question that Nash, Miz and Truth will have some hand in the ending.

They very well may lay out every competitor in the match and leave the ring, allowing Cena to still win the match, but that isn't the most likely scenario. The only way I could possibly envision Punk winning is if the creative team provides us with a swerve where Punk aligns himself with Laurinaitis.

With his continually-rising popularity, however, I don't think that the WWE brass would be so quick to transition him back to a heel. The more likely result is that Punk and Cena will align themselves with Triple H in an effort to destroy Laurinaitis and his cronies. 

This will ultimately lead to a big match at Survivor Series where Triple H's and Laurinaitis' teams will battle for WWE supremacy. The only way this can conceivably happen, though, is if Del Rio leaves Hell in a Cell as WWE Champion.

Anything can happen in the WWE, but the chances of a Punk victory are so minuscule that you shouldn't get your hopes up.