CM Punk needs to turn heel, and soon

CM Punk – A heel worth many

“I am the best wrestler, I am the best talker, I am the best technician, I am the best brawler and I don’t say these things from a place of insecurity and I apologize for your lack of self-confidence but I say it because I am it.” – CM Punk

That was the CM Punk of 2012. He was the man who held the top prize, WWE Championship, for more than a year. He was the man who believed that winning was everything and could have gone to any lengths in order to achieve it. He was every word of the man he claimed to be in the above-mentioned quote.

2013, on the other hand, has been a different story altogether. The year began for CM Punk with a loss at the hands of The Rock, which saw the latter stripping Punk off the title. What followed the loss at Royal Rumble was a string of losses at the hands of The Rock, at Elimination Chamber, and John Cena, on Raw.

At WrestleMania, Punk was pencilled in to challenge the Undertaker for his unbeaten streak. Even though CM Punk came within inches of breaking the streak, he just was not able to do the job.

Heel throughout this period, CM Punk delivered some astounding promos against his opponents, especially against the Undertaker, where he used Paul Bearer’s demise as a weapon in his arsenal.

After losing his match against the ‘Deadman’ at WrestleMania, Punk took a much deserved sabbatical from WWE.

It was all well and good till then, as the Punk that took a break was the man who was a heel in every sense of the word. By then, the WWE Universe loved to hate Punk, and that is what every heel in the industry dreams about.

It was not until his return that things went the wrong way.

At WWE Payback, CM Punk made his return in his hometown of Chicago, in a match against Chris Jericho. And that was when Punk changed his ways and started his journey on the ‘face’ path.

After Payback, CM Punk was involved, and still is, in an angle with his mentor Paul Heyman. Brock Lesnar, Heyman’s other client, was also introduced to the angle, which later on led to a showdown between Punk and Lesnar at SummerSlam.

After putting up a brave fight, CM Punk succumbed to defeat at the hands of the ‘Beast’, marking his fourth PPV loss of the year. What followed SummerSlam was a programme between Heyman, Curtis Axel and CM Punk, which led to a match at the recently concluded Night of Champions.

Punk was slated to face Paul Heyman and Curtis Axel in an Elimination Handicap match. And guess what, Punk lost that match as well, albeit an assist from Ryback.

So, that begs the question – how does a man go from reigning the WWE Universe for 434 days to losing five PPV matches in a calendar year?

The answer lies in Punk’s character itself. He is not a face, he never was. The guy is a fiend off the screen, how can he possibly play the good guy and do justice to it on the screen?

Amongst all these losses this year, the only thing Punk seems to have lost is his guile. He is not the Punk we saw last year, being a pain in the laurels of top WWE superstars and legends alike. He is not the Punk who disrespected everyone who dared to walk past him. That CM Punk was a true outlaw, a cad who only cared about the respect he truly deserved.

The CM Punk we now see is a farce, or as John Cena would like to put it, a phony.

What the WWE Universe needs is a Punk that stands up and does things, irrespective of the cost. A Punk that fights when it is time to fight. A Punk who is thoughtful and not driven by emotion. A Punk who knows how to get under the skin of his opponents.

WWE are missing a trick here. Imagine what they could have done by keeping Punk as a heel all this while. A super-faction led by Paul Heyman, that included both Brock Lesnar and CM Punk, comes to mind. Imagine if they had aligned CM Punk with the Shield, or better, the McMahons in the ongoing Corporation saga.

The possibilities are endless, and all of them would have made a good viewing for the WWE Universe. Let the guys like John Cena and Daniel Bryan handle the ‘face’ division. The ‘heel’ needs CM Punk.

Will the real CM Punk stand up now, please?