^I think that's the role he'll take, however, I think people need to be reminded that this story will translate into the real world at some point, so Vince wants Hunter to be as visible in this role to the public as possible so that when the transition really happens, people will take it in stride.
I do believe we're in line for a Punk/HHH angle, but I think it'll come more towards the Rumble with them possibly facing off at WM. I'd much rather have Punk/Austin at WM, but I'll settle for Punk/Hunter, for sure.
Last night was actually executed fairly well, imo. You bring back JR who can sell a character better than almost any commentary guy in the history of the biz, so whatever happens with Punk/HHH, I'm sure JR's presence will make it all the more incredible.
Hunter being a face last night was him selling immediately to the crowd trying to draw people back in to the product... Raw's been doing good numbers of late, bringing back some old audiences, so it's good for business to do what they did last night. BTW, even if I felt it wasn't good to do it, that Trips/Truth segment more than settled in my mind that we just saw one of the funniest segments in the last decade (that shit toppled the best DX moments) and in turn, it really helped twist Truth's character and develop him, and hopefully does push him some more.
I also like how it builds a feud with Triple H and Miz right now... as this could be what Miz needs at this point in the year since they're not putting the strap on him. It also gives Miz some steam if he does turn face if they make Triple H look like the bad guy eventually. I think you have the potential to make both Punk AND Miz two of the most badass tweeners in the history of the E, and have it go down at the same time. That alone would make any possible Punk/Miz encounter all the more incredible as well.
Of course, I'm partially speaking on the basis that whatever business they're rumored to be doing with RoH is real... because an invasion angle with RoH could be the ultimate sell... but I think it's possible to pull all this off even without a deal with RoH... especially if Punk plays up to having the crowd and appreciating them. I still want a lot of the straight edge stuff from him (especially if there's ANY chances Austin comes into play at all) but I think him being a face/tweener would really be beneficial right now, even if Hunter is only a Heel when he's standing across from Punk... afterall, there were nights where Vince gave the audience EVERYTHING they wanted except giving Austin his title shot.
