Posted in: Mr. Tito
MR. TITO STRIKES BACK - CM Punk is WWE's Loss and UFC's Gain (Thanks Triple H!)
By Mr. Tito
Dec 7, 2014 - 12:07:32 PM

Follow Mr. Tito on Twitter.com: @titowrestling

Here we go again... ANOTHER CM Punk based column. On this fine Sunday morning, I had no intentions of writing yet another column CM Punk. Last thing I want is the impression that I'm a "CM Punk" groupie. But I'm getting hounded by you, the readers, to write on CM Punk's signing with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) organization that broke last night. Geesh... What is it with CM Punk that makes him such a magnet for attention by wrestling fans?

Oh wait, he's REALLY popular...

And that's what WWE decided to flush down the toilet. They had CM Punk as the next big superstar in 2011 but they flushed him down the toilet. Then, when they had opportunities to rehabilitate his character and right the wrongs of past bookings, they gave him a lackluster WWE Title reign that just set him up for the Rock to seize. If you want to argue that WWE Title reign point with me, then go count the amount of times that CM Punk, as WWE Champion, actually headlined (a) Pay Per Views and (b) Monday Night RAW. Yep, there goes your argument down the drain.

Fast forward to 2013, and the WWE gives CM Punk 2 matches with the Rock, 1 with the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, and then the match with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. What was CM Punk's record in each of those 4 matches? 0-4 baby! We also have losses to John Cena and Kane to factor in just before Wrestlemania as well. For 2014, the WWE wanted to give CM Punk a "present" by having the honor of wrestling Triple H at Wrestlemania 30. Why is CM Punk getting the honor of wrestling all of these part-time wrestlers?

Fact is that WWE could have had a major wave in popularity following the Money in the Bank 2011 Pay Per View. Punk was originally booked to LOSE that match to John Cena. To WWE's credit, they saw the rising popularity of the "Pipebomb" promo from June 2011 and made a snap booking decision to let CM Punk win the WWE Title at Money in the Bank 2011. They did that, of course, once CM Punk signed his new 3 year extension. CM Punk's contract was legitimately running out through July 2011 and Money in the Bank 2011 was supposed to be CM Punk's last "job" for the WWE. But the "pipebomb" promo changed everything and it should have been for the better.

The WWE Creative Team built up Money in the Bank Pay Per View nicely and it was on the fly. However, the Creative Team and Vince McMahon had NO PLANS on what to do after that event. What happened was this: (a) new WWE Title Tournament as held, per new "COO" authority figure Triple H. (b) Rey Mysterio becomes the "new" WWE Champion but is forced to defend it immediately against John Cena and loses. (c) CM Punk returns to RAW after John Cena wins the WWE Title and we're getting Title vs. Title at SummerSlam. Because that was such a great string of ideas, we needed to add Triple H to that SummerSlam 2011 match as a "special guest referee" as a cherry on top.

OH WAIT - The WWE actually did have plans for 2011. It was immediately decided after Wrestlemania 27 by Vince McMahon to make Alberto Del Rio become WWE Champion. Vince loved Del Rio back then (probably doesn't now) and was determined that Alberto was going to be the next star of the company. Plus, there was a big Mexico tour coming up in the Fall of 2011 that Vince wanted Del Rio to headline as WWE Champion. If you'll recall, Alberto Del Rio was actually challenging over the World Heavyweight Title on the Smackdown brand through Wrestlemania 30 and shortly thereafter. WWE moved him to RAW to make Vince's dreams come true. Then at SummerSlam 2011, CM Punk beat John Cena but was immediately attacked by Kevin Nash. Then, Alberto Del Rio cashed in.

Fine... Del Rio is champion, but as long as CM Punk got revenge on (a) Kevin Nash and then the person behind that attack, (b) Triple H, things could have been OK. In fact, it was supposed to be CM Punk vs. Kevin Nash at Night of Champions 2011 and then eventually build to CM Punk vs. Triple H at Survivor Series 2011. Long story short, Kevin Nash couldn't pass a physical and thus the Punk vs. Triple H match was rushed to Night of Champions. Even though Kevin Nash couldn't pass a physical, he interfered heavily in that Punk vs. Triple H match and HHH scored the win over Punk. That prompted my "Triple H Just Buried CM Punk" Column to be posted because I saw it coming weeks in advance and the WWE "yes man" fans needed a hard kick to the groin. BUT... Maybe CM Punk could get revenge for this cheap win? Oh, that's right... There was NO REMATCH for the rest of 2011 and CM Punk didn't even interact with Triple H until late 2013. But hey, CM Punk did tag up with Triple H at Vengeance to lose to the "Awesome Truth" team of R-Truth and the Miz in which CM Punk took the pin.

After Alberto Del Rio bombed hard as WWE Champion, they gave the WWE Title back to CM Punk. The damage was done, but the WWE could have built Punk back up. Instead, the focus remained on John Cena. CM Punk did not headline the majority of Pay Per Views or RAW episodes as WWE Champion and by a margin. That's a fact that nobody can deny between 2011-2012. And what big name did he beat during this time that actually meant something? He was a placeholder for the WWE Title until the Rock could capture it and then John Cena at Wrestlemania 29. WWE officials will try to blame CM Punk for "not drawing as champion", but how can you blame him when he didn't main event shows during his 1 year plus title reign?

CM Punk had enough of the spoonfuls of bullshit being delivered to him that by the night after Royal Rumble 2014, he had enough and left the WWE. Vince McMahon tried to calm the situation down, but much of the issue remained with the "doofus son in law" in the room, Triple H. CM Punk confronted him on the cooling of Punk's momentum during 2011 and only thought that Triple H, only, would benefit from their match at Wrestlemania 30. Punk left, settled with the WWE, and is now free to do whatever (probably with some no-compete implications for the next year).

Last night, it was announced that CM Punk had signed a deal with UFC. Punk was there at last night's event, spoke at a press conference, and even posed with his wife AJ Lee in front of many UFC logos. AJ Lee actually tweeted that picture on his WWE Twitter account, UH OH! Can you say BELLA BURIAL anyone?

Now, UFC and its president, Dana White, are laughing to the bank. They assume NO risk... If Punk succeeds, they win... If Punk loses, they also win. That first Pay Per View with Punk on it will sell huge! And if Punk loses, UFC doesn't care. They made their money and Punk is now "damaged goods" as he leaves UFC. Thus, CM Punk's possible return to the pro wrestling business won't matter if he fails in UFC. UFC could probably give a damn if CM Punk returned to the wrestling business if Punk proves to be successful in UFC. Why? If Brock Lesnar's WWE return can't boost RAW's ratings well above 3.0, then how could CM Punk? Checkmate on that one... UFC is loving the additional eyeballs on their events.

What could have been... After CM Punk won the WWE Title at Money in the Bank 2011, he should have purposely tried (a work, of course) to defend the WWE Title on the independent scene. Meanwhile, utter chaos occurs on the WWE brand and the focus becomes on the Smackdown World Heavyweight Title as the "legit" world championship of the WWE. That's your true Title vs. Title match. When Punk eventually comes back, you could easily merge the titles there...

But what the WWE had after the "Pipebomb" promo was the dawning of their next "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. At King of the Ring 1996, Steve Austin cut an amazing promo on the religious returning Jake "the Snake" Roberts by saying "Austin 3:16 says I just whopped your ass". Immediately, it made Steve Austin an overnight sensation in the WWE and fans responded. Difference between Punk and Austin is that Austin received favorable booking... Austin was put in a major program with Bret Hart and nurtured to become the #1 guy through 1997 to then explode for 1998. WWE didn't actively try to destroy Steve Austin with bad booking, at least not until 2001 or 2002. They let him grow and grow...

WWE actively destroyed CM Punk during 2011 because he wasn't their preferred superstar. However, Punk was the fans' choice and the WWE ignored them. Now, UFC will steal those fans and laugh to the bank on a big name they've just acquired. UFC is competition for the WWE, indeed.

Maybe UFC can sign Daniel Bryan, too?

SO JUST CHILL... 'TIL THE NEXT EPISODE!

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