Why CM Punk Will Keep the WWE Title Going into Wrestlemania

CM Punk won what is officially being called his second WWE Championship last month at Survivor Series, and many fans felt like the title win was long overdue. 

Though Punk had won the WWE title by defeating John Cena in the best match of the year back at Money in the Bank in July and once again in another great match at Summerslam, he never really got a legitimate run with the belt. 

Punk’s contract situation, the fact that he “left the WWE” with the WWE Championship in hand and then the storyline where there were two WWE Champions prevented Punk from ever getting going as the holder of the most prestigious title in the WWE. 

But it looks like the WWE will make up for that this time around. 

After Punk’s victory over Alberto Del Rio at Survivor Series that saw him capture the WWE title in front of a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd, Punk opened up the following night’s episode of Raw with a bold proclamation that you can watch in the video below: 

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"And now that I have the WWE title, I want you all to know that the little game of WWE hot potato is over. This title is where it belongs. It sits on the shoulder of the best in the world, and it’s gonna stay there."

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I actually think that the WWE has no choice in the matter this time around. 

Forget that the argument that the “WWE needs to stop passing around the WWE Championship like a cheap hooker.” While we may care about the company’s habit of hotshotting the title, the fact is that the creative team and Vince McMahon don’t seem to. 

But, even if WWE officials don’t want to give Punk a long title reign simply to buck the trend of one-month-long runs with the strap, they are going to give Punk a lengthy WWE title reign because they’ll be forced to. 

Though John Cena seems to be gunning for the WWE Championship at the moment, he’s not actually directly involved in the title picture, and my guess is that he’ll be completely out of it once The Rock returns to build up to their epic encounter at Wrestlemania 28. 

Given that I don’t think WWE officials are dumb enough to put the WWE title on the line in the Rock/Cena bout, that essentially eliminates Cena from the WWE title scene until after the granddaddy of them all. 

Okay, so what about Del Rio winning the belt back by Wrestlemania 28? Well, I don’t see that happening. 

According to a report by WrestlingNewsWorld.com—sorry, it’s only available to premium subscribers—Del Rio’s push will be “noticeably scaled back on WWE TV.” In other words, Del Rio is headed for that mid- to upper mid-card area and likely won’t be challenging for a WWE title anytime soon once WWE TLC is over. 

In essence, that leaves Punk, The Miz and the skyrocketing Dolph Ziggler as the only three members of the Raw roster I could see WWE officials seriously consider putting the WWE title on come Wrestlemania time.

Of course, we could add Chris Jericho to that mix if reports that he’s returning to the company on Jan. 2 turn out to be true.

Even if Jericho does return, however, it’ll still likely be Punk and three heels—Miz, Jericho and Ziggler—who are gunning for the WWE Championship. 

My guess is that Punk will win at WWE TLC, move on to defend his WWE Championship against The Miz at the Royal Rumble and then face either Ziggler or Jericho at Wrestlemania 28, depending on what happens with Y2J. 

The WWE usually likes to have its World titles on its biggest stars come Wrestlemania time—with the only exception in recent years being The Miz in 2011—and with Cena slated for a match with The Rock, Punk is undoubtedly the biggest Raw star the company could have the title on.

In many ways, he has become the top baby face in the WWE, and aside from Cena, there are no full-time, main-event caliber faces on Monday Night Raw at the moment. 

The only reason I question why Punk might not hold the title all the way until Wrestlemania 28 is if the WWE brass decide to have him win it at the pay-per-view instead. 

But—given his vow to hold onto the WWE title, his lack of new challengers (only The Miz and Ziggler) and the fact that Raw has so few main event baby faces—it seems like a certainty that Punk will walk into Miami as the WWE Champion.