The Champ Is Here

There is something different about the WWE these days. Vince McMahon is wrestling-retired (similar to Brett Favre-retired), Triple H is in charge of all the decisions, and CM Punk is starting to move up into that rarefied air of villains who grow so popular, they become heroes. The Rock did it, Stone Cold did it, and last night, CM Punk moved one step closer to doing it. I realize comparing CM Punk to those two is a bit like comparing Kurt Warner to Joe Montana or John Elway. Sure he’s good, but to compare him to the best ever would bring a deserved volley of “What?” from Austin fans, and a request to turn that comparison sideways from fans of The Rock.

 That being said, Punk is traveling down a road that has ended in super stardom in the past. It continued last night with the first guitar chord of entrance music. Living Colour’s “Cult Of Personality” brought out an energetic Punk for his own private sit down in the ring — just him, a mic, and the belt. Once seated, Punk proceeded to rip WWE management, play on the newly discovered vitriol for John Cena, and proclaim his love for the fans. For a former villain hated by fans, that is a check, check, and check for winning over the masses.

Ever since Punk’s now famous rant where he lambasted Vince McMahon to the point of his mic getting cut, he has made a weekly habit of attacking the WWE front office. This is nothing new. Austin did it and everybody started slamming beers together. DX did it and everybody started yelling “Suck It”. Now Punk is doing it with similar results. More and more people are buying Punk shirts, and more and more people cheer when he strides across the runway. The cheers continued Monday as he mocked Triple H in the ring on two occasions. They grew louder as he raised the belt above his head. And they turned up to eleven when he and Cena traded title-belt-raises and music cues to end the show. Cena with his substitute belt, and Punk with the real thing — Punk is becoming Raw. The cheers and support grow louder every week. Just as he stole Cena’s “The champ is here” tag line several times last night, he is slowly stealing the show from John Cena. Whether he is successful or not, will be determined at SummerSlam where, as announced by Triple H last night, Cena and Punk will have a match for the WWE title.

Of course there were actual matches last night too. There was an absolutely-nobody-cares-tag-team match. The current champs, David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty, took down Zack Ryder and Santino Marella. There was a these-four-guys-this-could-be-interesting-tag-match that saw The Miz and R-Truth leave victorious over John Morrison and Rey Mysterio. Current Money In The Bank briefcase holder Alberto Del Rio, managed to notch an arm-bar victory over Evan Bourne in a match that was used to bolster Del Rio’s rivalry with Kofi Kingston. These two will likely have a very good match at SummerSlam. There was also a Diva’s Royal Rumble that saw Beth Phoenix winning, and ten thousand people take a bathroom break.  

As promised before, I have also included an update of the WWE Fantasy League I am involved in. I am currently bringing up the rear thanks to a Big Show Injury and Cena not having an actual match last night. Cena is basically my entire team at this point, and if he doesn’t score big, then I don’t score at all. Hopefully he can pick it up next week, and get me some much needed points at SummerSlam two weekends from now. If not, I’m looking at a very Carolina Panthersesque season in the foreseeable future.