WWE: Why CM Punk Is the Most Important Wrestler in the Company

Over the past three decades, there have been plenty of "most important wrestler in WWWF/WWF/WWE" candidates.

Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, and John Cena were all, at one time or another, the most important wrestler in the most visible and recognizable sports-entertainment company in the world.

They were the standard-bearers in the sport, the men who carried the promotion. These men were backbone of Vince McMahon's wrestling empire, the proverbial batteries that allowed the machine to operate.

And while some will argue that John Cena still is that man, it simply is not the case.

CM Punk has taken over the mantle as most important wrestler in WWE, and for good reason.

The once thriving wrestling company is in a state of limbo. More than ever, it seems as though the chairman of the board and those in his surrounding creative team do not know what it is the current wrestling fan wants.

John Cena is trotted out in a never-ending line of main events and given multiple reigns with the WWE Championship in an effort to cover up the fact that he has become stale and boring.

Twists and turns exist in storylines only for the sake of a shock. Muscular-yet-boring rookies are called up from developmental to waste time on television, despite odds of them succeeding being limited.

CM Punk understands fan frustration, largely because he was, and still is, a wrestling fan.

When fans voice their displeasure with nonsensical storylines and goody two-shoes babyfaces, his voice is heard as well. He, like so many, knows wrestling is no longer cool. Fans do not feel the need to tune in every week to see what will happen. 

The emotional roller coaster that fans once found so enthralling is nonexistent.

Punk has the opportunity to make wrestling fun again. Like Shawn Michaels and Triple H in 1997, Punk can bring about change in the current wrestling product.

When Vince McMahon's empire was facing extinction at the hands of the villainous Eric Bischoff and WCW in the mid-1990s, Michaels and Triple H went to McMahon and demanded a change in creative philosophy.

Gone were the days of honorable good guys and, in their place, were the shades of grey that defined the Attitude Era. Without the insistence of HBK and the future "Game," we may not be having a discussion about Vince McMahon's wrestling company.

Punk has his finger on the pulse of the wrestling fan. As a relatively young talent, who has finally achieved main event stardom—not unlike the previously mentioned Michaels—he has the brash attitude that often rubs those in power the wrong way but, at the end of the day, is aware of what the wrestling fan of 2011 wants.

Now, with increased merchandise sales and main event status, he has the political pull to go to Vince and voice his opinion.

It is clear John Cena and Triple H, perhaps the two most powerful performers in the company not named The Undertaker, do not understand what today's wrestling fan wants to see.

WWE needs CM Punk to be the literal "voice of the voiceless." He needs to assume the same role that the much criticized Michaels and Triple H did in 1997.

And if he has to become a villain in the process, if he has to rub certain people the wrong way or upset others in the locker room in the process, then so be it.

The future of the WWE just may depend on it.