CM Punk & Wrestling's Best Storyline in Years...

ecwclown2 · Post by **ecwclown2** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:06 pm

KEITH FUCKING STONE~!

Kalel · Post by **Kalel** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:07 pm

OK NEVERMIND!

Pizon · Post by **Pizon** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:09 pm

Well, that was a better ending than what I was expecting.

Kalel · Post by **Kalel** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:11 pm

Apparently Punk used "Cult of Personality" as his theme music in Ring of Honor.

BigCat8 · Post by **BigCat8** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:14 pm

GREAT touch using "Cult of Personality". That was his theme music during the original ROH "Summer of Punk", and was a subtle nod to those who have followed his career.

Sylissez · Post by **Sylissez** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:15 am

I got home in time to see the Cena-Rey match onward. So, to me, this wa a great Raw.

Since I missed most of Raw, is JR gonna be back regularly now or was it a one time thing by HHH?

hustler · Post by **hustler** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 2:31 am

too soon for punk to come back. way too soon.

really stupid having rey mysterio fight twice on the same night wtf is that, and for the title no less? if anything it brings cena down even more, essentially gifting him the new "championship".

i dont even know why mysterio won the title in the first place. miz shoulda won it. then cena could get his "rematch" that he'll never get from punk (who left) and fight miz at summerslam. all the while having more and more subtle cm punk jabs like his comicon thing.

but hey, what do i know.

miz and mysterio match was really good though. cena v. mysterio was ok but not as good imo.

A Kid · Post by **A Kid** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 5:15 am

def didnt expect Punk back this week but whatever he's back im cool with it. i thought raw sucked for the most part other than Michael Cole in triple h gear

Brougham33 · Post by **Brougham33** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 8:49 am

Kalel · Post by **Kalel** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 4:37 pm

I think the crowd reaction was more than weak looking back on the video.

Pizon · Post by **Pizon** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 5:07 pm

Hampton, Virginia was a weak city to stage Punk's return. If it were New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, or even Boston, the reaction would have been much, much different. You get the feeling most of those Hampton fans don't follow the off-screen developments like ComicCon.

ecwclown2 · Post by **ecwclown2** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 10:14 pm

WWAAAAAYYYY too soon for me to have any praise for this move. Punk/Cena should have been saved for Survivor Series. That plus Rock coming back could have done a monster number.

Prophecy · Post by **Prophecy** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 11:15 pm

The Bill Simmons Podcast with Punk will be up tomorrow according to Simmons Twitter.

ecwclown2 · Post by **ecwclown2** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:14 pm

Prophecy wrote:The Bill Simmons Podcast with Punk will be up tomorrow according to Simmons Twitter.

This would have been 100% better pre-comeback.

mike eagle · Post by **mike eagle** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 2:12 am

Dave Lagana on the Punk's early wwe days...great read from a former member of creative

http://iwantwrestling.com/2011/07/26/ha ... d-cm-punk/

Sylissez · Post by **Sylissez** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 2:39 am

That was a good read. HBK is someone I've never really been able to figure out. From a lot of stories, he's a douchebag and a total mark for himself. But it seems like he has a great feel for the business and maybe now in his semi-retired state he recognizes what's good for the future of the business.

Funkdoobiest · Post by **Funkdoobiest** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 2:40 am

Lagana's "Formerly Creative" podcast is dope.

I also thought it was too early for Punk to come back, but I thought it was an even bigger mistake bringing Triple H in to "front" or whatever and to involve him in this shit.

Fuck HHH and his wings.

Sylissez · Post by **Sylissez** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 2:52 am

I'm with those who think it was too soon to bring Punk back. I get that they wanted to strike while the iron's hot, but they definitely could have gone a couple weeks with it.

Still, I don't think they've completely Nexus'd the angle yet. There's a lot of ways to explain him being "back" or even what "back" means. And yes, using Cult of Personality is a great touch.

BigCat8 · Post by **BigCat8** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 4:17 am

It may have been a bit soon, but I think if the angle had been properly executed, the reaction might not have fallen flat. Cena didn't look angry or confused or even "Oh fuck, who is this?". He looked like he was experiencing mild bowel discomfort.

While I think it was a bit soon for my tastes, I think if they'd held off beyond Summerslam, people would lose interest. Those watching specifically for Punk's antics would tune out until he returned, myself included. They made the move that holds the ratings steady instead of waiting for the big blowoff.

I don't think Punk being "back" precludes him from crashing other events and further playing into what he called "The Reality Era" on the Simmons podcast. There are plenty of storyline ways for him to do whatever he wants and show up wherever he wants without consequence.

Also, I'm wondering how they're going to reintroduce Colt Cabana, and whether or not they'll tie the Kings of Wrestling into this particular angle.

battlecatmeowstab212 · Thu Jul 28, 2011 2:57 pm

"Cult of Personality" currently #140 on iTunes.

Pizon · Post by **Pizon** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 9:36 pm

BigCat8 wrote:While I think it was a bit soon for my tastes, I think if they'd held off beyond Summerslam, people would lose interest. Those watching specifically for Punk's antics would tune out until he returned, myself included.

They could have kept doing stuff like ComicCon and showed the footage on Raw (though I get how that would "cheapen" the story of Punk being unemployed).

My boy said it would have been great if a Raw main event was CM Punk versus Doink the Clown for the WWE Title at some random high school gym.

Galvatron78 · Post by **Galvatron78** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 10:06 pm

BigCat8 wrote:Also, I'm wondering how they're going to reintroduce Colt Cabana

Cabana should have been a star by now, dude is/was hilarious.

BigCat8 · Post by **BigCat8** » Fri Jul 29, 2011 3:45 am

Pizon wrote:
BigCat8 wrote:While I think it was a bit soon for my tastes, I think if they'd held off beyond Summerslam, people would lose interest. Those watching specifically for Punk's antics would tune out until he returned, myself included.
They could have kept doing stuff like ComicCon and showed the footage on Raw (though I get how that would "cheapen" the story of Punk being unemployed).

Unfortunately, they kinda put themselves in a corner week one by no longer acknowledging Punk. Crown a new champion, pretend Punk didn't exist. They didn't acknowledge his SDCC appearance on TV, nor his AAW appearance, nor his Twitter commments.

The other issue with that is viral videos still won't translate to ratings, because you don't need to tune into Raw to see those things. And if you do, it doesn't exactly follow the "reality era" theory- at least, not as I see it. The whole angle so far has been about bleeding over into other media. You can still do that AND get the ratings from his appearances with him back. Otherwise, people can follow the angle completely via Twitter and YouTube.

I like this take on it:

http://withleather.uproxx.com/2011/07/t ... -raw-725/8

Galvatron78 wrote:
BigCat8 wrote:Also, I'm wondering how they're going to reintroduce Colt Cabana
Cabana should have been a star by now, dude is/was hilarious.

Yeah, his NWA title run was cut criminally short. He's kinda made a niche for himself, though, with his podcast/comedy/media ventures. It's a shame he's never had a chance to be "the" guy.

A Kid · Post by **A Kid** » Fri Jul 29, 2011 6:15 am

Cabana will be tagging with Santino in no time

battlecatmeowstab212 · Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:02 am

BigCat8 wrote:
I like this take on it:

http://withleather.uproxx.com/2011/07/t ... -raw-725/8

Great read.

mike eagle · Post by **mike eagle** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 1:03 am

that was a great read.

its really interesting that vince is doing so much to appease the internet wrestling nerds that he has despised for so long.

Sylissez · Post by **Sylissez** » Sat Jul 30, 2011 1:28 am

mike eagle wrote:that was a great read.

its really interesting that vince is doing so much to appease the internet wrestling nerds that he has despised for so long.

Either 1)Vince has admitted that he's been wrong by being indifferent to the IWC or 2)He's letting someone else call the shots on this.

Neither scenario seems likely, so yeah, this is kinda weird.

ecwclown2 · Post by **ecwclown2** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 12:34 am

I've heard Hero and Claudio are WWE bound, probably to join in the angle as well.

Pizon · Post by **Pizon** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 1:34 am

What will Chris Hero's name be? With Jericho returning at some point, I don't know if they'd want there to be another Chris.

A Kid · Post by **A Kid** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 8:32 am

judging by the names of the most recent stars theyve been signing the King of Wrestling's names in WWE will probably be Chet Hampton and Mark Richter