Tell Me He Did Not Just Say That! CM Punk seizes the moment.
Mainstream American professional wrestling seems to have fallen into a pattern in recent years. WWE has become the safe bet, PG content that works to a more or less consistent formula. You know what you’re going to get and, theoretically, you decide whether or not to watch on that basis (except for the several thousand wrestling fans that don’t like the current product but watch anyway in the bizarre expectation that suddenly WWE is going to morph into Ring of Honor). TNA, on the other hand, is utterly unpredictable. Anything could happen, both in and out of the ring but it probably won’t make any sense. Every so often, however, WWE deliver a moment that is utterly unexpected and captures the imagination of even the most jaded fans. Such a moment took place this past Monday at the close of this week’s Raw, when CM Punk took a microphone, sat down cross-legged and proceeded to deliver the most extraordinary promo seen on WWE programming since Joey Styles’ “resignation” speech some years ago.
It wasn’t just what Punk said that stunned everybody. It was not merely the fact that, in just under seven minutes he broke every unwritten rule in the company, from mentioning rival promotions, personally insulting Triple H and Stephanie, referring to himself as a wrestler (again) rather than a superstar and, perhaps worst of all, deriding the business acumen of Vincent Kennedy McMahon himself. No, it was the fact that he was allowed to speak for so long before his microphone was finally cut that has got seemingly every WWE fan asking themselves the same question: was it real? How much, if any, of this was pre-planned? The other question that many are asking is this: was this promo the start of a fundamental shift in WWE programming?
As far as the question of reality goes, I tend to agree with Sean Waltman (who gave a brilliant take on the whole show over on his new website, realxpac.com) and JBL, both of whom posed the question “does it matter?” Rather than worrying about whether or not this was “real”, why not just enjoy the fact that Raw provided us with an utterly unexpected moment and see where it goes from here? Personally, I treat everything as if it is “real”, just like I do when watching a movie. That enables me to enjoy the show. However, if I had to give an answer, I tend in these situations to always be guided by a quote from Jeff Jarrett – “everything you see on television [in wrestling] is a work”. I think that this material was largely, if not entirely, cleared in advance. People may accuse Vince McMahon of being blind to his own failings but one thing is certainly true and has been demonstrated many times over the years: he is aware of the criticisms that are levelled at him and he is not afraid to acknowledge them inside his own programming.
There is no reason to think, at the moment, that this is anything other than a great angle, trading off the facts that Punk’s contract is almost up and he is known to be an outspoken man. The main event at “Money in the Bank” between John Cena and CM Punk is now no longer merely “good guy versus bad guy”, it is “corporate versus independent”, “entertainment versus wrestling” and so much more. Dave Lagana speculated on his podcast that this promo probably sold 50 to 100 thousand pay per views on its own – I agree wholeheartedly. Last week, the main event was a little underwhelming. Sure, it was Punk versus Cena but since Punk has already announced that he is leaving after “Money in the Bank”, nobody would expect him to actually beat John Cena. Now, it has suddenly become must-see. If that was not planned by WWE it was certainly a huge stroke of luck on their part!
By and large, this was a good Raw generally. One thing that I am really enjoying lately is the way that the crowd are getting behind Alex Riley. The huge pop that he got when he finally snapped and battered The Miz a few weeks back does not seem to have been merely a one night deal based on the crowd’s hatred of Miz. It seems to me that Riley is actually connecting with the audience. Thus far, his development has been handled well. He has been allowed to look strong and win more than he loses, giving the fans a reason to believe in him. His tornado tag match this week, with Rey Mysterio against Jack Swagger and The Miz was the best match of the night, and one of the best matches I can remember seeing on Raw in some time. I hope that it continues.
Another thing that I am really enjoying is the push of Mark Henry as an absolute wrecking machine. This is how Henry should have been presented years ago, rather than as the comedy, cuddly figure he too often has been. The man is, physically, an absolute beast and I am loving seeing that utilised so effectively. Henry has lost weight and seems to have a transformed attitude these days. For much of his career he has been a guy that I could take or leave as a fan. The all-important factor in this business is drawing money and I can only say personally that Mark Henry has never drawn my money in the past. This Mark Henry, however, is a man that I will definitely pay to see.
Yet another guy seizing the moment is R-Truth. His heel turn has just been outstanding and he portrays his new character perfectly. The fact that he is talking to imaginary “Little Jimmy” now is just making this even better. If there is one major flaw in WWE at the moment it is simply that they do not seem to have many heroes to match this glorious array of villains. That could change, however. There may be good opportunities soon for the likes of Kofi Kingston and Daniel Bryan. A face turn for Sheamus may well be in the offing, too. Speaking as someone who frequently watched Sheamus playing the good guy back in Irish Whip Wrestling, I think that the big Irishman could be a really effective hero on Smackdown. I just hope that he doesn’t get paired up with Hornswoggle! That’s it for now. I’ll be back soon.
Marshall Law 