Welcome to the dungeon!
This past Monday night, everyone in the WWE Universe wondered whether we’d see CM Punk return to Raw – and the WWE – from his hometown in Chicago. Despite all the rumours, he didn’t show and apparently, he was never meant to.
The question is this – did it really matter?
Once again, the WWE showed that no superstar is bigger than the company. It doesn’t matter who you are or how much of a big star you are (or think you are), the WWE will carry on with or without you. CM Punk needs WWE more than the company needs him.
Raw from Chicago was brilliant, from start to finish. The WWE were smart to wear out the fans in the first hour with what seemed like non-stop action and big moments to excite, and distract, them.
Paul Heyman’s promo was fantastic and it was a good move to talk about Punk, instead of ignoring the situation. The fans were able to chant Punk’s name as loud and as long as they could to show support for their hometown hero. That was until The Usos won the tag-team championships, and the Wyatts and The Shield tore the house down yet again. Distraction was the key to the WWE’s success on Monday night and it made for an exciting show.
If the WWE were able to distract a Chicago audience from hijacking the show, imagine how good Raw would be if they put as much effort into the show every week?
CM Punk became a second thought during the broadcast. Many of us were expecting to hear his name chanted non-stop for 3 hours and to have the now regularly heard random chants and waves throughout the show. Yes, it makes for a fun show to watch, but at the end of the day, the WWE knows how to work the fans if they need to.
CM Punk walking out isn’t the first time we’ve seen this situation. The same thing happened with Stone Cold Steve Austin, and he’s gone on to say that he regretted it. Instead of jobbing to a new star at the time in Brock Lesnar, Stone Cold went home. It’s understandable why he didn’t want to lose to Lesnar as he was the biggest star in the company and Brock was a rookie.
Again though, did it really matter? The answer is no. The WWE moved on without Austin and it didn’t slow them down. They’ve always been able to move on when a big star leaves or walks out, even when Hulk Hogan left.
Hogan’s arguably the biggest wrestling star of all-time and when he left in the mid-90s – along with Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Randy Savage – it hurt the company. Ratings were low and the company had to go through a transitional period for a few years but they survived – and survived well.
When CM Punk walked out, most fans agreed that he was justified in doing so since it looked like he wasn’t going to main-event WrestleMania again.
He’s always worked hard every time he’s stepped in the ring to entertain the fans, and there’s no doubt he’ll be mentally, and physically, tired. He’s been a consistent top performer for years and he deserves a championship match at ‘Mania. No-one can deny that.
But…he’s gone about it the wrong way and even though I’m a big fan of his, with every week that passes, I can’t help but think that he doesn’t deserve to come back. He basically turned his back on the fans who admire, respect and pay to see him, and he’s also turned his back on the company that made him a household name.
If he was unhappy, tired and hurt, then he could have told management he wanted out and had the opportunity to say goodbye to the fans in a professional way. By spitting his dummy out and going home, he’s only hurt himself in the long-run. The fans will soon get bored of chanting his name and he’ll soon be an afterthought.
Time is running out for Punk to make respectable return as there are plenty of future superstars ready to take his place.
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