ComingToCinemas

Three Champions in one night?!

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, 07-26-2011 at 02:25 AM (6484 Views)

Last night saw not one, but two new WWE Champions crowned and the return of the biggest commodity in professional wrestling, CM Punk, to Monday Night RAW.

It made for a great episode of RAW, and for once Cena being WWE Champion is interesting. Pretty much everything was in place and seemed relevant (if you excuse Michael Cole being put into a match, snore). Rey versus Miz was a great match which saw a dominant performance from the most must-see WWE Champion of all time (a rare occurrence, sadly). They followed this up with Del Rio attempting to cash in his Money in the Bank contract (showing the hunger from Del Rio that seems to have manifested in his character from day one), and also a backstage celebration from Rey which, in a way, threw me off of the scent of a Cena rematch. This was partially due to the lengthy rivalry Punk and Rey have had and the fact I never saw Punk's return happening so soon. Also, Del Rio had been rumoured for a WWE Championship match at SummerSlam which would also be appropriate with Rey as champion.

Rey's victory looked almost believable, which is why Cena's rematch was a good thing. It was a genuine shock to see Cena being put back on top of the mountain so quickly, and he actually performed (twice in three weeks, WOW!). It seems that Cena is starting to lose his 'underdog' image and I quite like it. That's not to say I like seeing Cena as champion, but I like seeing him do more in the ring (it puts an end to him crushing his opponents' momentum).

Then there was the surprise return of CM Punk. The real WWE Champion. As nice as it was to see Cena dejected and almost admit that he was in fact a fraudulent champion (he did not defeat Punk and it has not been more than 30 days since Punk last competed for the Championship), I feel like this came far too soon.

WWE had a major chance to shake up the image of their company and give it a little edge again. This is not to say I want the Attitude era back again (I loved it but it has had its time), but I would have liked to see a few months build up in a WWE storyline for once. Punk could have taken two to three months off and returned to a bigger pop than he got last night, and it would have truly shaken the WWE's core to have two champions after seeing someone else parade around with a replacement title for three months.

Don't get me wrong, I see the downsides to a longer absence from Punk. Three months of a WWE Championship being competed for only to have it mean nothing would piss off most of the WWE's fan base, and there is every chance the story could go sour in that time (not that I think it would). I just think Punk's return, although appropriate once Cena had the gold again, was premature.

It now looks like the Punk/Cena feud is on its way to ending at SummerSlam, although I would love to see WWE prove that prediction wrong.

Thank you for reading. I would love to hear your opinions so please comment.

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Tags: punk, raw

Categories: Thoughts and Opinions

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Comments

amsrock - 07-26-2011 12:09 PM
All i have to say is if there is a punk/cena match at SS, then punk better win, I dont think anyone here wants cena to be the champion for to long make him go for a non title feud... even the best wrestlers back in the day had non title feuds than and punk id more deserving than cena is at the moment

Updated 07-26-2011 at 12:14 PM by amsrock
Blinker - 07-26-2011 01:08 PM
I agree completely with Punk returning a little prematurely. I understand why they would want him back now, but I feel they should have waited. I really feel that he should have made his return at the Royal Rumble. Maybe have Punk make sparadic appearances at Raw just to remind people he's still around. He could hint at a Rumble Return. I'm all for seeing him again on TV. Fingers crossed that he can stay badass and they don't screw it up. Give him the mic and let him go.
nrb6304 - 07-26-2011 01:31 PM
I disagree with the premature comments. I mean maybe it's because the WWE wasn't in a "hot" city. (Chicago,Philadelphia,New York, etc.) But honestly, when Punk came out from the curtain the crowd wasn't as loud as I thought it would be. Which means that the "heat" of the angle was/is dying off.
Sure we here in the IWC are buzzing about it, but the WWE provides entertainment for the MASS audience not the....300 maybe 500 people that are on a forum.
The general audience obviously wasn't exactly as ecstatic to see CM Punk as WE or the WWE was hoping so yes I think last night was the perfect time for WWE to bring in CM Punk. Not to mention that Albert Del Rio has the MITB briefcase and he's obviously gonna try and cash it in via surprise. So why the hell do we need a "feud" to set up Cena/ADR for Summer Slam? The fact that ADR screwed Cena out of the WWE championship is good enough feud.
Not to mention, after that classic match at MITB I'd much rather buy CM Punk vs. John Cena II over Cena vs. Del Rio.
Blinker - 07-26-2011 03:04 PM
I would much rather see and Punk/Cena II instead Cena/Del Rio. No arguments out of me.

The reason I feel it's to soon is because there was no time to really miss Punk. Basically think about when a wrestler gets injured. When they return it's HUGE. Remember when Edge returned at the Royal Rumble. The crowd went nuts. He wasn't that over before he left. In time he was gone, people realized how good he was and he really was fun to watch. Think about how big of a pop Jericho gets when he returns. That's because we miss him and want his great ability back in the ring. If either of them would have returned within a month of leaving we would have only had a luke warm reaction. Yes, we would be happy to see them, but it's not they were gone for very long. That's just my thought of the subject.
AOF666 - 07-26-2011 03:17 PM
Punk said he's back but his profile is not on the WWE website, so I think it was another invasion to remind people who is the real champ. Let's be honest, WWE don't want to keep him away to long and it just ruins the story.
Blinker - 07-26-2011 03:21 PM
Originally Posted by AOF666

Punk said he's back but his profile is not on the WWE website, so I think it was another invasion to remind people who is the real champ. Let's be honest, WWE don't want to keep him away to long and it just ruins the story.

I'm hoping you're right.
NaterD4 - 07-26-2011 03:28 PM
Originally Posted by Blinker

The reason I feel it's to soon is because there was no time to really miss Punk. Basically think about when a wrestler gets injured. When they return it's HUGE. Remember when Edge returned at the Royal Rumble. The crowd went nuts. He wasn't that over before he left. In time he was gone, people realized how good he was and he really was fun to watch. Think about how big of a pop Jericho gets when he returns. That's because we miss him and want his great ability back in the ring. If either of them would have returned within a month of leaving we would have only had a luke warm reaction. Yes, we would be happy to see them, but it's not they were gone for very long. That's just my thought of the subject.

Well said.