CM Punk - 365 Days and Counting

[Troy]

What I can't figure out is who do people want Punk to drop the belt to other than Rock?

This is a record breaking title reign, the longest of the modern era so surely you can't finish with a bog standard title change like Cena winning it or Daniel Bryan winning it. Surely it must need something spectacular to end it so that it finishes with a bang rather than with a whimper. Rock beating him for the title is the only good option out there right now that I have read and it would end the title reign is fantastic fashion.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

Cutting it short? If him losing the belt at the Rumble is cutting it short then i'd love to hear how long he should hold it. Punk is seriously stale as fuck and is doing absolutely nothing for the title and hasn't done for the vast majority of his overrated reign. Mick Foley fucking nailed it dead on when he cut that promo about him being a statistic etc because that's all his reign has been now for the longest time, accumulate more days. He is so stale right now it's not funny, every week it's the same damn thing and that's mention the word respect and say how long he's been champion for. He needs to lose the belt and stay away from it for a while and do something to freshen himself up because he's easily one of the most stale guys on the roster.

I honestly don't see anyone who Punk can drop the title to and people will be happy about it. Rock, part time wrestler. Cena, main event hog doesn't need the title. Ryback, too early to win the title. Sheamus/Del Rio/Orton similar reasons. I honestly think people would only be happy if he lost the title to some no mark like Dean Ambrose or in a 60 minute iron match against Bryan.

I'm not entirely sure what dates Rock has got booked but I know he's got a majority locked in already, but they can easily have him win the title and the Rumble and then the RAW side of the Elimination Chamber can be for the #1 contender if he isn't available for the show, not that I think he should wrestle on there even if he is available.

If you would have read the discussion between me & Troy, the scenario was Rock winning the belt for CM Punk to regain it at Mania. So cutting it short is definately the right terminology. As for the rest of your post, WWE needs to try something different, ignore the fact that Punk holds the title for a minute and understand this thought.

For the 5 years I have been on wrestling forums, the most common complaint has been transitional champions, over the last year 2 title reigns had good length behind them, one loss put a guy who had been floundering in mid-card limbo since way back in '98 into the main event scene and makes him look like the legitimate threat he should have always been, the other reign has gone on for over a year, and instead of pushing talent into the main event by having them end an impressive reign, people want a retired wrestler, turned actor who is already considered one of the top guys the company has ever seen to get the big win here.

Win, lose, or draw, The Rock is selling tickets before the match even starts, so really, where is the payoff in having Rock as champion?

 

[Troy]

If you would have read the discussion between me & Troy, the scenario was Rock winning the belt for CM Punk to regain it at Mania. So cutting it short is definately the right terminology. As for the rest of your post, WWE needs to try something different, ignore the fact that Punk holds the title for a minute and understand this thought.

For the 5 years I have been on wrestling forums, the most common complaint has been transitional champions, over the last year 2 title reigns had good length behind them, one loss put a guy who had been floundering in mid-card limbo since way back in '98 into the main event scene and makes him look like the legitimate threat he should have always been, the other reign has gone on for over a year, and instead of pushing talent into the main event by having them end an impressive reign, people want a retired wrestler, turned actor who is already considered one of the top guys the company has ever seen to get the big win here.

Win, lose, or draw, The Rock is selling tickets before the match even starts, so really, where is the payoff in having Rock as champion?

Because if Rock wins then more people will tune in to WWE programming over the next few weeks/months/however long he holds it for. Plus more people will pay to see who can take the title from him. Rock appearing at the Rumble is all about setting something up for WM, it is basically one big promotional tool to set up a mainevent match at the biggest PPV of the year. It isn't just about that one night.

 

[Embrace Thou Maryse]

Not to mention Rock as Champion will get back the ratings that Punk can't. As good as Punk is, he's a ratings killer. And theres no new potential Champs/Stars that WWE could have go over Punk and get the rub. They've ruined Del Rio, Sheamus was the worst WHC in years, Ziggler has been booked terribly, Bryan is busy, Ryback doesnt deserve it and going back to the 'status quo' of Cena as Champion after Punks long reign would be terrible.

 

[Troy]

I wouldn't call Punk a ratings killer, the three hour format is killing it but Rock will be able to draw more viewers in. That also gives others a chance to shine as they will be exposed to more fans on a weekly basis.

I just look at the other options and they are all a bit bland and boring. The only other decent way to end the title reign would be inside the Elimination Chamber with some sort of spectacular finish after Punk had to go from start to finish.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

What I was trying to get at, was if Rock is sticking around, he will still draw in everyone he could without the belt. Most of my friends stopped watching wrestling around the time Eddie died(some stuck it out until Angle jumped, or the Benoit incident), and no matter what they do with superstars from that era, they will never watch it again, one friend was a huge fan of APA & Lita, think I could get him to watch just the Lita vs. Slater match? Do you think he would have watched if Lita was Diva's champ & APA were tag champs?

That statistic makes up over 70% of my group of friends, with the remainder still watching, or who have never watched it. Judging on that, the former demographic that cared durring Attitude, is constantly growing smaller, its not going to have the "Hollywood Hogan Effect" of drawing in people who have stopped watching. I have no doubt that Rock being at the last couple Mania's helped out the buyrate, and that Rumbles will be better than the last few years, my doubt is in him winning the championship drawing in additional viewers.

 

[Troy]

That is fair enough but I still think that the surprise factor of him winning will easily gain them more viewers. Everyone knows that Rock is only back for a couple of matches so practically everyone assumes that he will wrestle and lose because there is no way they would put the title on a movie star. That is where you get them and shock the hell out of fans. Fans always say that they want shocks and surprises, in the Attitude Era anything could happen and people loved that and this is WWE's opportunity to test that out.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

But thats the thing, everyone is thinking Rock is going to win this. Where is the shock there? Have Slater beat Taker at Mania if you really want a shock.

Looking back at this thread, I am in a minority wanting Punk to retain. I gave ideas for a great EC Match, that would utilize 6 of the biggest names from today, and the attitude era, that worked with the feuds all 6 had going on at the time and in the past, and would promote their newest videogame too.

The best booking I can think of to use the Rock properly, would be having him win the Rumble, enter into the EC(with Punk, Cena, HHH, Lesnar, & Taker) and win the WWE title, then go on to Mania to face the WHC and unify the belts. Then I can see the payoff.

 

[Dale]

But there's no logic in him entering the Elimination Chamber after winning the Rumble, he's already got his title shot at Mania.

Also I just think the situation needs to be looked at as a simple as possible. Rock on TV is intriguing in it's own right, but Rock on TV as WWE Champion adds even more intrigue and everything else business wise.

 

[The New F'n Show]

But then there would be no point in him winning it at the rumble and you would be hot shoting the title.

Their is a point. The publicity him as champ would bring. I said I don't want to see it but hot shoting the title wouldn't be that bad for business in this case.

 

[Darth Shizzel]

There has to be a way for Punk to lose without falling away to midcard because of how long he's held that title only thing I could see is if Punk retains the title at the Rumble but loses the title at Wrestlemania in a triple threat match with Cena and Rock.

 

[Keith]

Because if Rock wins then more people will tune in to WWE programming over the next few weeks/months/however long he holds it for. Plus more people will pay to see who can take the title from him. Rock appearing at the Rumble is all about setting something up for WM, it is basically one big promotional tool to set up a mainevent match at the biggest PPV of the year. It isn't just about that one night.

Not if they don't think he will be appearing on those shows.

 

[Chris]

I agree that Rock as Champ would generate a good ratings spike, but what about afterwards? Short-term decisions like that don't do sit afterwards most of the time. They need to be thinking about what they're going to do for the long-term since they're obviously in a rebuilding stage. Punk may not be that guy, but Rock isn't either.

 

[Troy]

Not if they don't think he will be appearing on those shows.

WWE would need to advertise him and I am sure that if he wins the title they would tell the fans when he will be on the show.

I agree that Rock as Champ would generate a good ratings spike, but what about afterwards? Short-term decisions like that don't do sit afterwards most of the time. They need to be thinking about what they're going to do for the long-term since they're obviously in a rebuilding stage. Punk may not be that guy, but Rock isn't either.

As I said before, The Rock winning would be a short term decision but could have long term impact if done right. If Rock wins more people will tune in, WWE should use that opportunity to showcase the midcard/uppermidcard talent on the roster. More people will be seeing what Kofi Kingston, Damien Sandow, Cody Rhodes etc. can do and maybe they will see something they like and will stick with the show even when Rock leaves.

Basically if Rock gets the title WWE creative need to book a series of incredible shows that showcase the entire roster to try to show fans that there are other things to tune in for other than The Rock.

 

[Chris]

As I said before, The Rock winning would be a short term decision but could have long term impact if done right. If Rock wins more people will tune in, WWE should use that opportunity to showcase the midcard/uppermidcard talent on the roster. More people will be seeing what Kofi Kingston, Damien Sandow, Cody Rhodes etc. can do and maybe they will see something they like and will stick with the show even when Rock leaves.

Basically if Rock gets the title WWE creative need to book a series of incredible shows that showcase the entire roster to try to show fans that there are other things to tune in for other than The Rock.

I just can't see them doing that though if Rock wins the belt. If they did that, then it would be great more than likely, but I just see Rock, Cena, Punk & probably Ryback as well being the focal point of the whole show with a little other stuff in between with no actual payoff like it is now.