NOTES FROM THE WRESTLING CHICK 7.24.08

NOTES FROM THE WRESTLING CHICK
Punk Wins! Punk Wins! Punk Wins!
By Elif Bayrasli



On the night of June 30th, I didn’t bother to watch Monday Night Raw. I was tired and I went to bed early. When I turned off the light, I assumed Raw would be any other and that maybe it wasn’t worth taking away some more hours of sleep. Call me an idiot! I should have known better considering what had happened on the previous Monday’s draft.

The draft shook things up and left Raw with a roster of new talent. J.R. was replaced by Michael Cole. Triple H left for Smackdown. Batista joined the Raw roster. The most important addition, in my opinion, was CM Punk. I see this young wrestler as the future of the WWE. I was glad to know that he would be moving away from ECW, but a little worried.

The yearly movement of what is known as the WWE draft has, in the past, left some young hopefuls high and dry. Take for London and Kendrick for example. I remember watching Smackdown as they were the tag team champions. I loved to watch them wrestle, because they had reminded me of the earlier days of the Attitude Era tag team glory (a la The Hardy’s and Edge and Christian). Obviously L&K are different, because they had their own flair. Once they moved to Raw, I swear I haven’t seen them since. Sadly enough, Carlito was caught in a similar situation. Carlito had a wonderful place in Smackdown where he carried on a very memorable rivalry with John Cena. Since moving to Raw, he hasn’t gotten much face time. Hell, I can’t even remember the last time he was in a big storyline.

I was hoping that CM Punk wouldn’t be caught in that predicament. Smackdown seemed like a better place for a young talent. Now Smackdown seems like a totally different show since they have pumped it up with a lot of star power. Thinking about it now, it’s a good thing that CM Punk didn’t move to Smackdown. He might have been drowned out by all the older and more popular talent on that show. He might have not been given that chance to shine.

Tuesday morning I woke up, took a shower and turned on the computer. I was in total shock when I found out that CM Punk had won the World Heavyweight Championship. I quickly tried to find clips online of Punk winning the WHC and played it over and over again. I wasn’t expecting him to cash in the Money in the Bank so soon by the way that the company had handled him. He hasn’t been in any kind of real solid storyline in recent months. Punk made small appearances on Smackdown and Raw since winning MITB. He had a short tag team run with Kane. However, CM Punk wasn’t utilized for his vocal promo talent. I would see short glimpses here and there. I enjoyed the banter he shared with Edge on one episode of Smackdown. Sadly, he has to follow a script. He isn’t allowed to rip as he did in the ROH days. If one searches for CM Punk on youtube, one is bound to find tons of CM Punk/ROH promos. Punk is a very talented man on the mic, especially when he is a heel. I think that CM Punk is at his best when he acts as a heel. He has a certain type of charisma and arrogance that oozes out of him when he speaks. He can make any crowd love to hate him. That is probably why CM Punk has a faithful following. Wrestling fans know what he is capable of and continue to cheer him on even though his natural talent is being held back.


CM Punk is now being presented as the underdog, which isn’t a bad thing. It bothers me a little, because I feel that the WWE is presenting their World Heavy Weight Champion as weak. The match against Batista at the Great American Bash was a decent match until Kane got involved at which it ended in a double disqualification. This past Raw ended the same way with JBL interfering in the round 2 Batista Championship match (which by the way was a good match). The fans weren’t interested in either match. There was hardly a pop, except for a few cheers and jeers at the beginning and ending. This feels very troubling to me. This should be a moment for CM Punk to shine.
For whatever reason, CM Punk isn’t being utilized to the fullest…at for now. I don’t know what the plans are for him. The WWE recognizes the talent of Punk, otherwise why would they give him the win for Money in the Bank. Maybe, all this is a set up for something bigger. At least this is what I am hoping. Maybe, they are putting a leash on him at moment and later letting him go to roar in further glory. I think a rematch with Batista when he can beat him 1…2…3…will be a good push for Punk. Who knows when that will happen?
I am a hopeful person. I’m glad that CM Punk is getting a lot of face time on Raw. People who weren’t familiar with him are getting to know him better. Once the WWE can let him be, the fans can finally see the true champion that CM Punk is.