CM Punk... heel... tweener... whatever

[We Are Legion]

The controversy involving CM Punk over the past few weeks is something I feel deserves to be addressed considering it started out making little sense, and now after a couple weeks of him explaining himself it really hasn't made any more sense. I also highly doubt this is something that will ever be explained more than it already has. Although it isn't strictly Punk I have the issue with.

First of all, I get the idea that WWE is trying to run with him as a tweener right now, which is why he's attacking both a babyface in John Cena and a heel in Big Show at the end of Raw for the past 2 weeks to strengthen that social stance. Tweeners are rarely successful story line-wise, in face the only time I will concede that it actually did work was with Bret Hart and the Hart Foundation in 1997. That was probably the only angle where a tweener legitimately stood for something and couldn't have worked any other way. Most of the time, tweeners are just a side effect of sloppy booking and desperate measures within the booking department. I don't understand how maybe pitching CM Punk into a match against The Rock 6 months from now (and I say "maybe" because we don't even know for certain if it's Punk that's going to wrestle him yet) automatically means WWE has probable cause to alter the face status of Punk. Typically when something is working well in WWE, they're not so fast to fix something that isn't broken. Fans have been crying for a John Cena heel turn for years and WWE doesn't do it because they have something that works with Cena as that top babyface. With Punk, it just doesn't seem like WWE wants to commit to him, even still after a 9-month title reign, which is a serious red flag for me. As if the fact Cena has been headlining every pay per view over his WWE Championship matches wasn't red flag enough.

Secondly, the people that CM Punk lashes out against in his promos are very inconsistent... to the point where I honestly have no clue whatsoever who his beef is with. After Raw 1000th, it seemed like it was The Rock and only The Rock for stealing his thunder. A lot of people even thought he wasn't turning heel or tweener, that is was just going to evolve into an extremely heated rivalry with The Rock, much like John Cena's rivalry with him was. The next week, he explains that he's upset because Raw didn't end the way it should with the focus being on the WWE Champion, that he deserves the ultimate attention at the end of the show. Ok, I suppose I sort of get that even though it seems like turning Punk into the Paris Hilton attention-whore of WWE, but whatever. Then last night, he takes that grievance out on Cena and Big Show again... which doesn't make any sense. If he's upset because he's not being booked in the last match of the evening and has to face Rey Mysterio during the first hour... how exactly is that Cena or Big Show's fault? Shouldn't he be storming into AJ Lee's office and attacking her? That isn't something a tweener does, that is the act of a full-on heel.

Back to the topic of WWE not committing to him, I know, I just KNOW that when WWE comes back to Chicago, Punk will enter that ring like Julius Caesar returning to Rome like he always does and WWE will make no attempt to get him over as a heel in his home town. I remember when heels would come out to the ring early before the cameras were on, like when Mick Foley (as "Mankind") returned to Philadelphia (where Foley was very popular as "Cactus Jack" in ECW), and they would cut cheap heat heel promos on the town just to make sure they weren't cheered during their match. I know I made mention of the 1997 Hart Foundation earlier, but this isn't an angle about geographical location like Hart's angle was... this is about Punk and Punk alone, and his grievance with the WWE that he takes out on everyone BUT the WWE.

Though Punk has expressed displeasure towards AJ about booking him in a triple threat match... which is yet another thing that doesn't make sense. Let's go back in time a couple months, shall we? Where were all his objections at No Way Out when he was put into a triple threat match for the WWE Championship against Kane and Daniel Bryan? Where were his objections at the fact his match wasn't the last match on the card that night? Why was he not mad at AJ for getting all the attention afterward and not him? The same AJ that has now booked him in a triple threat match at Summer Slam. You would seriously think that this whole new attitude of Punk would have been marked by him giving the GTS to AJ instead of The Rock because AJ seems a lot more at fault for it.

Finally, I'm particularly peeved at this swerve for extending Punk's title reign and not giving the real attention to the man who rightfully deserves it: Daniel Bryan. Yes. Yes. Yes. I'm going to pull this card right now and I don't give a damn what anyone thinks about it. Daniel Bryan has been significantly more entertaining than Punk as of late and I honestly feel WWE made a bad call by not giving Bryan the title at Money in the Bank 2012 when they had the chance. The guy is MORE OVER than Punk. I'm sorry, but that is a fact. Even the smallest details like changing his schtick to "NO! NO! NO!", the goat references, Lawler's and Cole's extraordinary commentary chemistry during his matches and relentless wisecracks at his expense, have won that guy over with the fans ridiculously even if they don't know it yet. He has the fans in the palm of his hand. Week after week, I find myself more curious to see what happens with Bryan than anyone else on the Raw roster. This is a guy WWE should be pulling the trigger with RIGHT NOW. Not once Punk drops the title, not 6 months from now after The Rock has his match at Royal Rumble... RIGHT. NOW. The guy is white hot and WWE needs to call an audible before they lose the opportunity with him. I am dead serious about this. He also has good chemistry with the Raw GM, the only person the Raw GM has chemistry with, and isn't the Raw GM usually in business to make the top star's life a living hell? Despite CM Punk's superior mic skills, WWE has something special with Daniel Bryan that they will never have with Punk. WWE might not know what they want with Punk, but they know what they can do with Bryan.

Wrapping this up, I don't feel CM Punk's tweener run will be successful because it's coming at a really weird time (9 months into his title reign after being a total babyface 100% up to this point), it contradicts many things he's done and said over that time (contradictions that are completely ignored), and his motives are too complicated (if they even exist). If I'm a CM Punk fan, who am I against? Who is our enemy? All I would know for certain is that Punk is my guy. Where is the line I hope he doesn't cross? He's already attacked the biggest babyface in the company today, he attacked an Attitude era icon for completely selfish reasons, he berates the innocent babyface commentator... what's the action that finally turns that last cheer into a boo? And if WWE isn't fully intent on turning him complete heel... WHY NOT? These are all unanswered questions that not only make me not like this angle, but really don't even make me look forward to seeing if these questions will be answered. There's a fine line between what is good mystery and what is overly-obscure nonsense, and I sincerely feel WWE is stepping over that line with Punk.

 

[~Fallen Angel~]

I know we're in the minority here but I am going to express my opinion anyway. I will admit that I grew tired of Punk a couple of months ago because I did not think he was a very good baby face and I was tired of watching him retain his title after facing the same guys for 3 months. That does tend to happen when someone is shoved down your throat a lot. I do think he is a good wrestler and quite good on the mic but I got tired of Punk's lame baby face attempt. I didn't think he could get any worse but he has. His heel turn has not been justified properly. He is not amusing me at all. For example, saying "you're a bad GM" did not make me chuckle. I just rolled my eyes. I do not blame this on Punk, I blame this on the WWE.

Furthermore, I think that Daniel Bryan deserves to have the title and to be the top heel in the company. You explained it perfectly well. The fans react to this guy whenever he comes down the entrance ramp, he actually has a connection with the crowd which I have not seen in a long time, he has great chemistry with the general manager which nobody else has and hell, his segment with The Rock was hilarious. I think this is the guy that the WWE should give the spotlight to. Hell, I rather see The Rock vs. Daniel Bryan at Royal Rumble than The Rock vs. Punk because Bryan and The Rock actually have chemistry and Bryan has a valid reason for resenting him. The Rock humiliated him on a very special night right after AJ left the altar. The WWE should go with this and it is very unfortunate that they are not.

They could still have Punk vs. Cena regardless if he isn't champion anyway. Have we seen a pay per view without Cena headlining it? No.

 

[Deezy]

Punk is doin the Bret Hart route, where he thinks the champion should be respected and should be the focal point of the company.

Tweener, heel, face.......All of those are outdated concepts. Get out of the 90s and join the 21st century. People are going to cheer or hate anyone they want, so the lines of black and white have turned grey.

 

[SAL]

Great post. I think I disagree with the main premise, that they're turning CM Punk into a tweener, but I agree that he'd been a weak character for the last few months and that his sudden need for respect doesn't make much sense. Maybe they could have done something, anything, the last few months to tease the "disrespected" angle.

I don't think they're making him into a tweener in the mold of Randy Orton. They're slowly turning the crowd against Punk so he can eventually make a full heel turn, the same way he did in 2009. At Raw 1000, Punk doesn't attack Cena, but he lets Big Show attack Cena without getting in the way. The next week, he pushes Show off Cena's shoulders and kicks Show, not Cena. This week, again, he didn't attack Cena, but he went out of his way to come to the ring and show Cena up. Right now, Punk's just being a dick. Sometime in the near future (Summerslam?), he's going to do something dastardly to keep the title.

The major part of your post that's dead-on is that, while WWE will flip anyone else's heel/face status on a dime, John Cena's the one who hasn't wavered in the least since 2005. Punk's first heelish act wasn't hitting Rock, it was refusing to go out of his way to help Cena the way Cena helped him against Show. Seriously (let me kayfabe for a minute), what prominent babyface would want to be held to Cena's standard of morality? If I was Punk I'd have kicked AJ in the face months ago and gotten it over with.

And Bret Hart was never a tweener. He was a 100% heel in the U.S. and a 100% face everywhere else, which was a fascinating setup but not really what we mean by tweener.

 

[Mr. Krueger]

^I agree with him that it's not exactly a tweener turn for CM Punk- right now, he is just being a dick.

Also, I disagree with this not being in conformation with what he said after he attacked The Rock. Even that time, he said he attacked Rock because he was stealing the thunder, which should belong to the WWE champion. Last week also, he said that he did what he did because he didn't like the ending as the spotlight should be on the champion. Is it that hard to see the connection? In no way is this weak/not making sense.

The story definitely makes sense, however they could have done it in a better way. I would rather see Punk sit on Lawler's table and rant like a dick rather than getting into an argument with AJ.

More asshole moments for him can definitely be added to make it look stellar.

 

[Deezy]

Well the point of him now just being a dick doesn't hold water, the guy himself said lastyear when everyone was supposedly watching him, say he is going to say things people won't like.....You know pipe bombs being the phrase of the day.

CM Punk doesn't really stray far in his persona, if he was to do dastardly things, he basically just says he's better than you and straight edge.

Not a real difference than being the best in the world.

 

[PHX]

Don't see how his attitude doesn't make sense it makes perfect sense going all the way back to 2011 where during his rant it was basically about the lack of respect he had been shown from Vince just now it's lack of respect while being the champ. This has pretty much been boiling for months and months with him getting overshadowed while having a historically long reign. One thing I'm not really a fan of during this storyline is him trying to get out of the 3 way. Don't want them having that as apart of his character. Outside of that I like his blurred heel/face actions as he's different from anyone else. Seems like they are gonna let the fans decide where they stand with Punk hence why he hasn't once attacked the crowd.

And as far as the Daniel Bryan thing I like the guy a lot and agree with most of what you've said about him but to say Punk doesn't have anything special in him like they do Bryan is just something I can't agree with as they both are have something special about both of them in their own regard. As I've said before I actually wish they would put the WHC on Bryan as long as they have Punk rather than have Bryan as WWE champ.

But anyways regardless of me disagreeing with some stuff you said in your post it is a pretty good post either way.

 

[The New F'n Show]

I'm not sure I agree with all of it but there are some really good points you bring up here. I don't have much to add just wanted to applaud a well thought out post, we need more of those.

 

[We Are Legion]

Punk is doin the Bret Hart route, where he thinks the champion should be respected and should be the focal point of the company.

Tweener, heel, face.......All of those are outdated concepts. Get out of the 90s and join the 21st century. People are going to cheer or hate anyone they want, so the lines of black and white have turned grey.

That's bullshit and you know it, deezy. That concept may very well hold true in the modern indy scene, but there is still very clear black and white in the WWE. Aside from Cena, people who are meant to get cheered and the others get booed. Even though the babyfaces in WWE still maintain a modicum of "ruthless aggression" and "attitude", most everybody in WWE is either a "babyface" or a "heel". CM Punk is clearly off-beat with that formula, and not in an original or intriguing fashion.

And I don't see the Bret Hart comparison at all. Bret wasn't even champion yet when he started in with the whole "Canada vs USA" angle. Whether or not Bret was by definition a "tweener" is subject to debate, but I'll save that for another thread another time. Frankly, I don't consider a "tweener" the wrestling equivalent of an "anti hero" (as Austin was). In my opinion, a tweener crosses the line a lot more and Bret certainly did that. "Anti heroes" have more honor.

Great post. I think I disagree with the main premise, that they're turning CM Punk into a tweener, but I agree that he'd been a weak character for the last few months and that his sudden need for respect doesn't make much sense. Maybe they could have done something, anything, the last few months to tease the "disrespected" angle.

I don't think they're making him into a tweener in the mold of Randy Orton. They're slowly turning the crowd against Punk so he can eventually make a full heel turn, the same way he did in 2009. At Raw 1000, Punk doesn't attack Cena, but he lets Big Show attack Cena without getting in the way. The next week, he pushes Show off Cena's shoulders and kicks Show, not Cena. This week, again, he didn't attack Cena, but he went out of his way to come to the ring and show Cena up. Right now, Punk's just being a dick. Sometime in the near future (Summerslam?), he's going to do something dastardly to keep the title.

The major part of your post that's dead-on is that, while WWE will flip anyone else's heel/face status on a dime, John Cena's the one who hasn't wavered in the least since 2005. Punk's first heelish act wasn't hitting Rock, it was refusing to go out of his way to help Cena the way Cena helped him against Show. Seriously (let me kayfabe for a minute), what prominent babyface would want to be held to Cena's standard of morality? If I was Punk I'd have kicked AJ in the face months ago and gotten it over with.

And Bret Hart was never a tweener. He was a 100% heel in the U.S. and a 100% face everywhere else, which was a fascinating setup but not really what we mean by tweener.

I definitely agree that there should have been some prelude to Punk's attack on Rock, and I even mention that after Raw 1000th when that whole segment just took me by surprise. It seemed like the whole thing was executed on the fly, like literally that night. Like CM Punk just walked into the arena in St Louis and someone said, "Oh hey, by the way... we're turning you heel tonight, how do you like that?"

That's why I feel that something got shaken up in WWE's plans and they suddenly felt the need for another heel in the main event scene. Almost as if someone suggested Punk was the most expendable babyface to turn, which I think is Blue considering he's the WWE Champion.

And I agree that Punk will likely get more and more heelish in coming weeks, I'm just not sure there's anything he could possibly do at this point that will make people be like, "WOAH! How dare he!" I hope for his sake that it is AJ he plans to kick in the head, because not many people are going to boo him if he wigs out and goes after Cena.

Don't see how his attitude doesn't make sense it makes perfect sense going all the way back to 2011 where during his rant it was basically about the lack of respect he had been shown from Vince just now it's lack of respect while being the champ. This has pretty much been boiling for months and months with him getting overshadowed while having a historically long reign. One thing I'm not really a fan of during this storyline is him trying to get out of the 3 way. Don't want them having that as apart of his character. Outside of that I like his blurred heel/face actions as he's different from anyone else. Seems like they are gonna let the fans decide where they stand with Punk hence why he hasn't once attacked the crowd.

And as far as the Daniel Bryan thing I like the guy a lot and agree with most of what you've said about him but to say Punk doesn't have anything special in him like they do Bryan is just something I can't agree with as they both are have something special about both of them in their own regard. As I've said before I actually wish they would put the WHC on Bryan as long as they have Punk rather than have Bryan as WWE champ.

But anyways regardless of me disagreeing with some stuff you said in your post it is a pretty good post either way.

Bro I really don't see how you can claim this has been "broiling for months". The guy has shown absolutely zero dasardly inclinations up until Rock's first segment on Raw 1000th when he looked annoyed at Rock during his promo. I understand that you dig the *tweener* (just calling it this for now since I honestly have no idea what else to call it) attitude because it's something that makes him different from the rest of the roster. But there was nothing to suggest he was unhappy until he snapped. And honestly, I don't even get the whole "no respect" attitude, it's just a stupid angle all together. How does the order of the Raw segment show card indicate he's not respected? How exactly does that even work? Obviously people are still lining up left and right to challenge him for his title, so clearly he has respect. But my beef is the fact that he takes that out on the wrong people. He doesn't take this aggression towards AJ, Vince, or WWE... he just acts a damn fool seemingly just to piss other wrestlers off... wrestlers who clearly do respect him. It's the angle I have the problem with, not CM Punk.

And as for Bryan, I didn't mean that CM Punk has nothing special to offer. He does and he's shown it. What I meant was is that Daniel Bryan has something completely different that WWE could exploit and possibly even surpass Punk's level of success because I believe he has that capability. I just think WWE is hesitant to really pull that trigger with him because it would mean one of these other guys in the main event picture that WWE is trying to commit to will get knocked down in the process. Mainly either CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler, or Sheamus. Even if Punk, my favorite of those 3, had to spend a year in mediocrity just to give Bryan a chance, I would be satisfied knowing that at least WWE tried. I haven't forgot about Bryan's WHC title reign, but I honestly don't think WWE had found their groove with him yet during that run and had other things lined up for Sheamus months before they unceremoniously took that belt off him at Wrestlemania.

 

[PHX]

I don't mean boiling as it showed in his actions it has been boiling as in the things he has his gripes about that has him in this attitude he is in now has been happening for months. Him not getting his respect as champ didn't just start with Rock on the 1000th Raw. They alluded to all this a little while back with Eve's promo with Punk. So it wasn't some obvious build where you could have obviously called this shift in attitude was gonna happen months in advance but the ammo for the lack of respect he is speaking of has been going on for months his promo in the post match for Cena/Bryan pretty much explained it and it's better they did it this way so it wouldn't be predictable.

And for the Bryan point I get what you mean now guess I just read it the wrong way originally.

 

[Weez]

Bret Hart was turned heel. He says on the Greatest Rivalries DVD with HBK, that the idea was to turn him heel. He turned heel.

He's a Hart. He's not going to get booed in Canada regardless. Canadiens would cheer for Lance Storm, who has about as much charisma as the computer chair I'm sitting on. They keep after their own.

Why is the internet so hung up on "Tweener" this and that? He's turning heel. The Unclear nature of it is the WWE rehashing his Slow-burn heel turn on Jeff Hardy from 2009(ish.) When the "Big reveal" happens, knowing Punk's heel history, it won't be the "Bad guy beats up good guy because he's a dick" angle, but probably something with respect, or being beneath him, or something that fits Punk's Ego, which doesn't waver regardless of his "Face" or "Heel" status, which, as Deezy said, and I said in the OTHER thread about this, are dated concepts that are largely irrelevant in modern wrestling.

WWE turned Christian heel last year. Do I remember reports of them using canned heat to quiet his facepop when he'd come out? Why did the Miz get a fairly large facepop when he won the IC title a few weeks ago? Daniel Bryan? Jericho(Who, honestly, I don't know WHAT the hell they're doing with HIS booking. omg)?

People cheer for who they like, boo who they don't. Thank Cena for that, who made it fashionable.

But, to get back on topic. It's a heel turn, slowly. The uncertainty gives plausible explanation to why he's being this way, and keeps the (s)marks on the internet talking.

LOL(S)marks, amiryt?

 

[Keith]

I know we're in the minority here but I am going to express my opinion anyway. I will admit that I grew tired of Punk a couple of months ago because I did not think he was a very good baby face and I was tired of watching him retain his title after facing the same guys for 3 months. That does tend to happen when someone is shoved down your throat a lot. I do think he is a good wrestler and quite good on the mic but I got tired of Punk's lame baby face attempt. I didn't think he could get any worse but he has. His heel turn has not been justified properly. He is not amusing me at all. For example, saying "you're a bad GM" did not make me chuckle. I just rolled my eyes. I do not blame this on Punk, I blame this on the WWE.

Furthermore, I think that Daniel Bryan deserves to have the title and to be the top heel in the company. You explained it perfectly well. The fans react to this guy whenever he comes down the entrance ramp, he actually has a connection with the crowd which I have not seen in a long time, he has great chemistry with the general manager which nobody else has and hell, his segment with The Rock was hilarious. I think this is the guy that the WWE should give the spotlight to. Hell, I rather see The Rock vs. Daniel Bryan at Royal Rumble than The Rock vs. Punk because Bryan and The Rock actually have chemistry and Bryan has a valid reason for resenting him. The Rock humiliated him on a very special night right after AJ left the altar. The WWE should go with this and it is very unfortunate that they are not.They could still have Punk vs. Cena regardless if he isn't champion anyway. Have we seen a pay per view without Cena headlining it? No.

Well right now Punk is far more over than Bryan which is too be expected considering how long hes been up there compared with him and because of what his natural flair for character. His chracter has been weak in recent months but there is down to the booking of it. I am all in favour of this change.

 

[We Are Legion]

Well right now Punk is far more over than Bryan which is too be expected considering how long hes been up there compared with him and because of what his natural flair for character. His chracter has been weak in recent months but there is down to the booking of it. I am all in favour of this change.

That is highly debatable.

 

[Chris]

That is highly debatable.

I agree, Bryan's matches always have the hottest crowd at the moment, especially now that they figured out they can make Bryan pretend to not like the "YES!" chant after it got so big, so people chant it to piss him off.

 

[We Are Legion]

I agree, Bryan's matches always have the hottest crowd at the moment, especially now that they figured out they can make Bryan pretend to not like the "YES!" chant after it got so big, so people chant it to piss him off.

He's unbelievable. It's hard to believe PWI and every other wrestling critic was slamming the fuck out of him up until he signed with WWE because he "couldn't connect with a crowd/wasn't marketable". Bet all of those people feel like humongous douchebags now.