There are a couple of reasons I can see Punk winning at NOC:
1) He's on the cover of WWE '13.
2) We've seen Cena-Rocky once (and there's a strong rumor we will again at Mania). This pushes forward even more the idea we could see Punk-Rocky at the Rumble. Of course, Cena beating Punk at NOC doesn't mean that we couldn't see Punk-Rock at some point.
3) WWE has a history of not letting people win in their hometowns. I'm thinking the last time Cena had a world title match in Boston, he lost. The exceptions to that "rule" (as far as big-time matches go anyway) were Wrestlemania X-7 in Houston (where every Texan on the show won, including Stone Cold beating the Rock) and MITB 2011 from Chicago (when, as we all recall, Punk won the WWE Championship from Cena).
I think the best thing about this feud is that these two guys are going to play it at a level that they won't tease us with clues as to who wins at NOC (at least if Cena and Punk have anything to do with those decisions). It also wouldn't surprise me to see them tease us in the wrong direction (have Cena standing tall at the end of the "go-home" show, then win the title at NOC or vice-versa, as an example).
I also think that most of us do believe Cena will capture the title at NOC. I think Cena's going to win at NOC. But, we do get some great TV for the next few weeks with Punk and Cena playing off of each other. No matter who ends up winning (and I am rooting for Punk to carry the title for a year or more), I think it's going to be entertaining.
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Stopspot said:
You know Punk will pass Cena's reign on Monday right?
Cena's second-longest reign was 280 days, which Punk will surpass by next Monday (he's currently at 275 days).
Cena's longest reign (begun in 2006 in Unforgiven) was 380 days. So Punk still has to carry the title for another four-plus months to pass Cena's longest title reign.
Due to the fact that Punk's on the cover of the video game, I can see him carrying the title all the way to the Rumble, but I don't think that's the plan.
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