The CM Punk saga: Is it the biggest staged return in WWE history?
Has CM Punk reached the levels of Stone Cold Steve Austin?
It’s a pretty sensitive question for all those wrestling fans out there and has plenty of room for a never ending debate. The truth is, Punk is not anywhere near Steve Austin at the moment. Before all those lovely CM Punk fans tweet death threats to me, the keyword in that sentence is “at the moment”.
Recently, Punk broke the internet better than Kim Kardashian when he redefined the word podcast alongside Colt Cabana. After hearing the two hour long marathon from Punk, a majority of the WWE Universe gave up even the tiny bit of hope they had of seeing him in a WWE squared circle again.
It’s completely natural to feel so but just like all those Hollywood films out there, this whole scenario has a big twist to it.
WWE has seen many superstars in the main event scene after the Attitude Era but none reached the glory that Steve Austin achieved (now John Cena fans can send in the death threats). He was the ultimate rebel that everyone wanted to be and the routine of Vince McMahon during Austin’s run was probably eat – sleep – fill pockets – repeat.
There was always a need to create a new Steve Austin once the real one retired and since it wasn’t something money could buy, the company struggled. Of course, Cena was there, but he was the hero that WWE fans wanted not the one that they deserved, Cena was just the batman we liked not the Joker we loved.
Okay, enough with the Dark Knight references. The thing is, no one filled in the void that Steve Austin left. However, all that could change thanks to this CM Punk story that has been going around.
This is going to sound crazy but here goes: this entire Punk saga is leading to a biggest staged return in WWE history. ‘The’ Biggest return ever. It’s not only going to break the internet, it will make Punk equal to Austin himself. Maybe that was the plan all along.
Vince knows very well that controversy creates cash. At the same time there wasn’t any other name in the roster that had the aura of Austin. The whole thing is like a modern art painting where we can interpret different meanings, but the way both parties handled the situation only points at a well-executed plan.
The factors will start falling pretty well into place if we look closely. First of all, the company needed a new Steve Austin to pick up their business. It should be classified as some kind of desperation instead of need but let’s be a bit light on Vince here.
But they couldn’t just turn Punk into the next chosen one without attracting a great deal of mainstream attention. Well, they got just that.
Ever noticed how the Colt Cabana podcast was sponsored by WWE 2k15? (So much irony there). Knowing how rabid the internet fans could be once they get something to chew on, once the podcast was out there, it was sure to be taken to even the deepest corners of the globe. That is how you use the internet to your advantage.
It doesn’t end there; Punk chose an interesting time to reveal all this. He was so good enough to wait till Triple H. (Good guy Punk). If he actually wanted to make his message loud and clear he would’ve come out a bit early while the Authority was still going strong, still Punk didn’t, smell anything?
And later on the Network, Vince comes out and apologizes to Punk that too in the presence of Steve Austin. This is the same man who said ‘Bret Screwed Bret’ by the way. Something more surprising is the silence of WWE on legal grounds.
They are yet to make a move against Punk who quit while he was still on contract. They still sell his merchandise, he is still a big part of the 2K15 game, heck he is even in the new WWE Flintstones movies that is coming out.
So who lost in all these? No one did.
Daniel Bryan became the focal point at WrestleMania, Colt Cabana got his podcast top the charts, CM Punk got a much needed break from wrestling, Vince McMahon got the main stream attention he wanted and plugged in the Network cleanly, and Triple H completed his Authority tenure and didn’t feel the fans’ wrath.
Austin was a rebel, but he didn’t cause the amount of controversy that Punk managed to stir around, also, Punk had something that Austin didn’t: The Internet.
What will happen in the future? It’s pretty simple. Punk will return in the future. His return will get a go mainstream; the tabloids will be like ‘The Biggest return in professional wrestling history’.
That’s what Vince wants to keep his ship afloat. Lucha Underground is catching up fast; TNA will be in a new and improved version from 2015, Vince needs to stay ahead of the competition and the ammunition he has: CM Punk.
Punk will return like a war hero who just came back home, the folklores will praise Punk for being the biggest rebel in the business, bigger than Steve Austin.