So what does Punk do now?

[Dolph'sZiggler]

Jobs to Santino at Mania.

 

[Mustafar Reginald]

What is there left for him to do? Undertaker would suck, it's pretty damn obvious that Punk won't end the streak given that he's already lost cleanly to Cena and Rock in the last two months. Sadly though, I just don't see any other alternative.

Since when has WWE cared whether or not a feud sucks when booking for a PPV?

Well we're on a wrestling board and I asked a question about what is probably the most relevant thing at the moment. Really don't see anything stupid about it.

Can't get over how stupid the ending was. Why not just have Taker interfere? Feels like the whole thing was set up just to accommodate Cena. Having Punk challenge the streak after three consecutive losses in big matches is just Blue.

Why exactly would Undertaker interfere though? I haven't been watching, but that makes no sense from a narrative point of view. I've been under the impression that Punk hasn't planted any seeds for a match against Undertaker, and has given him no real ammunition to justify Undertaker coming out and costing Punk in the style of a typical WWE heel. Not justifying the way they've booked the finish (granted, I didn't see it) but Taker costing Punk the match just doesn't feel right.

Also, to be honest, if Cena and Punk had a really close match and seemed as such I really wouldn't call it bad booking. Punk had Rock for what, a ten count at the Chamber? Cena couldn't even get a three count on him, so him beating Punk is kind of the definitive way of proving he's improved from a year ago. Yes, it is Cena and they do this stuff a lot, but if you're booking to Rock/Cena II this is how you do it. Cena winning due to interference doesn't put him over as much as a threat as him beating Punk fairly. You may say he doesn't need to be put over, well you can make that same exact argument for CM Punk, as seabs already pointed out. Nothing wrong with the two top guys (full-timers) going against each other and one of them winning fairly. Not saying that it's the ideal situation (an ideal situation wouldn't have Cena/Rock as a possible in my opinion) but I also don't think it's bad booking.

Just going to post what I replied to Rain's PM with:

I fell asleep just before the CM Punk vs Cena segment, so when I woke up I was pumped to see whether it was triple-threat or Undertaker return. I skip to the main event to find Cena going over Punk cleanly... which makes no sense.

1) Punk has beaten Cena multiple times now; why suddenly have him lose cleanly?
2) Ruins any momentum Punk had going into whatever he does at Wrestlemania. If it's triple-threat, he's lost cleanly to Rock and Cena now so who cares about Punk? If it's Taker, he lost to Cena on RAW, how can he beat Taker at WM?

I. Kind of already addressed this above, but to add to what I already written doesn't that make it better for Punk? He already has multiple victories over Cena, what would one more do for him (don't say add him into the triple threat)? I know you specified cleanly, and while I don't think it's exactly the smartest idea to have the first true clean victory in this feud happen on Raw, it still isn't a big deal. Especially if it was competitive match. I mean, Cena/Punk matches always portrayed them as evenly match with most victories being due to some outside source (Vince & Ace, Trips sucking at his job, Nash, etc.), and most given to Punk. Plus, to reiterate, Punk had Rock for like a ten count, and Cena couldn't get him down for a three. Punk is one of Cena's biggest rivals, barely having a focus on him. To solidify that Cena is a big threat to beat the Rock, to continue the fall-and-rise story they have going in the Cena/Rock build, the best way to prove that Cena has improved from where he was a year ago.

And yeah, I still don't think it quite works since Cena barely had any kind of fall but as more isolated incident, it's good booking. If the direction they want is Rock vs. Cena, this is how you do it. You have to make Cena look as strong as possible, you want to show the fans that the Cena of today is better than the Cena of a year ago. That's kind of the whole heart of the angle. Being completely objective here, it's a good booking decision for what they're booking. I think their are superior booking decisions available, but not for the story they're setting out to tell.

II. On Punk's behalf, seabs kind of hit the bullet on the head. Secondly though, you're ignoring a very well possible direction they can be going with Undertaker. His last match was end of an era, he's been wrestling for over two decades, they can try to play his age into it. That he's no longer the Taker of old, and they can easily illustrate this point through the booking. Even if they don't go that direction, the build to the match will most likely make up for any momentum lost anyway. I mean, if Punk didn't lose to THE guy in the company, I'd see more reason to have a valid complaint, but as of now I really don't. Maybe it's because I've detached myself from the product and only skim results (though I will be checking this match out) but I just don't see the big deal.

Punk is one of those guys where he can seem legit at any time, take his feud with Rock for instance. He spent October to December running away from from Ryback but then the casuals at least bought into him as a challenge to Rock. He sells his character shifts that well .

Also Punk jobbed to Cena post Summerslam 2011 so it's not like he was unbeaten against him.

This. Although to be fair, when Cena beat Punk after SummerSlam on Raw, it was due to Kevin Nash.

 

[Leo C]

I'm pretty sure he'll complain and then end up facing Taker. No other place he can go.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

Well we're on a wrestling board and I asked a question about what is probably the most relevant thing at the moment. Really don't see anything stupid about it.

Can't get over how stupid the ending was. Why not just have Taker interfere? Feels like the whole thing was set up just to accommodate Cena. Having Punk challenge the streak after three consecutive losses in big matches is just Blue.

Cena had been losing a lot lately (save against Ziggler ofc) so it makes sense for him to win. Taker interfering? the fuck. Not his style.

Punk doesn't need momentum going into Mania because he isn't winning at Mania. Him jobbing to Taker does more for Punk than beating anyone else.

 

[Super Saiyan Goku]

What is there left for him to do? Undertaker would suck, it's pretty damn obvious that Punk won't end the streak given that he's already lost cleanly to Cena and Rock in the last two months. Sadly though, I just don't see any other alternative.

he did not lose cleanly to The Rock! He beat Rock and then the match was resart at RR and then at EC he has him pin for 20 secord but the ref was knock out! That not clean win! A clean win is what Cena to do to Punk on Raw this past week!

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

damn Ryan just got his ass whooped

 

[Jonathan]

Win or Lose against Taker, you're getting more momentum and credibility (no doubt there'll be a tonne of false finishes/2.5 counts etc) - Facing Taker at Mania is going to get him over more than beating say, Sheamus would. And definitely more than losing in a triple threat where he wouldn't even take the fall.

 

[Lockard 23]

To add on to what Mustafar said, Punk losing to Cena cleanly doesn't hurt Punk or make him look weaker considering how far Cena had to reach deep down to finally put Punk down, not to mention the victories Punk also has over Cena already. I think something called the Ric Flair Rule Of Wrestling applies here - it states that who wins or loses isn't as important as making the people believe that either guy COULD win at any point in the match. (The rule came about because Flair's main strength as a performer was always making his opponents look credible and look like they posed a threat, whether they be veterans, guys on his level, mid-carders or over-the-hill has beens.) Punk lost, but there were 3-4 times where Cena got his shoulder up only less than half a second before the referee's hand slapped the three count. Then there's all the shit that Punk kicked out of himself when Cena was trying so desperately to keep him down.

The rule applies perfectly here, as it was a seesaw match during the last eight of ten minutes or so and either guy taking a loss here wouldn't it make them look bad, although it makes sense from a storytelling point of view for Cena to defeat Punk as a way of providing him with extra confidence in believing he can now take down The Rock.