WWE: How to revive CM Punk

Pipe bombs are a thing of the past for CM Punk. His ongoing feud with Paul Heyman is a textbook example of creative writing gone wrong. How much can the company harness from mid cards like Curtis Axel and Ryback. Punk is without a doubt an A player, both technically and on the microphone. He deserves an opponent who can match his in-ring ability and also challenge his mic skills.

434…Never forgotten

His June 27, 2011 shoot promo on RAW melted our television sets. In his six minute speech, he dissected the establishment and set the ball rolling for an eventful pay-per-view. The tension was much like that of the infamous Montreal Screwjob. Only in this case, the challenger to the WWE Championship had threatened to walk away from the company with the belt. The pay-per-view delivered, and when he went on to beat Alberto Del Rio at Survivor Series to win the championship, there was just no stopping the ‘BEST IN THE WORLD’.

Punk held the WWE title for a record 434 days, the longest reigning champion in the past 25 years.

A mid-card again?

Fast forward to mid 2013, and Punk is a changed man. He is not the champion anymore and is far off the radar to earn a WWE title shot.

Brock Lesnar and Punk’s differences were signs of a long term feud which could have assumed numerous angles. But it was cut short due to Lesnar’s commitment issues with the company. His sporadic appearances reflected only on ratings. Surely, fans would want to see more of The Beast but that might not be possible for now. Now he has to make do with opponents like Ryback and Curtis Axel who are anything but crowd pullers. Punk’s segments are a regular feature on RAW. He does use the microphone quite often, but what can he do to make a pipebomb out of it when the storyline has no meat.

The right opponent

Fans believe that Daniel Bryan could have been the perfect opponent for a memorable feud. Currently, Bryan is involved in the company’s main event storyline with Triple-H and Randy Orton. So as for now, Mr Goatface is out of the equation.

This leaves Punk with limited options. Distinguishing features in all of Punk’s feuds are the shoot promos. Though controversial verbal segments are not a regular in the PG era, but Punk does his best to show fans glimpses of the attitude era.

However, there is another wrestler who according to many has the talent to rub shoulders with Punk. He is Damien Sandow, the intellectual saviour of masses who leaves no stones unturned to infuriate Baby face supporters. Sandow embodies all the characteristics of a perfect heel who fans love to loathe.

He also won Smack Down’s Money in the Bank match but cashed it in against a resilient John Cena resulting in a disappointing loss. Here, WWE could have ‘cashed’ in on a promising story angle in which Sandow would defeat Cena for the Heavyweight title and then go on to challenge Punk or vise-versa.

With Sandow’s promos which invariably develop into a debateable angle, it will be most appropriate for Punk to challenge him in the upcoming weeks resulting in a war of words between the two.

Paul Hayman is almost certain to return in the next few weeks and if the company wants to build on the Punk-Heyman feud, they must introduce an element of interest. A feud with Sandow will not only rebuild Punk’s character, it will also elevate Sandow as a top wrestler.