Brock Lesnar vs CM Punk: Battle of the 'Paul Heyman guys'

This past Sunday, the WWE Universe witnessed the return of a superstar who has been the face of the company for the past two years. In his hometown of Chicago, CM Punk received a hero’s welcome when the place came unglued as the superstar’s music hit, and a loud ‘CM Punk’ chant ran through the night. Punk defeated Chris Jericho, and during the match, Paul Heyman tried to get involved, and Punk told him not to. ‘I don’t need your help. I’m the best in the world!’ was what Punk said, and that sowed the seeds of animosity between the former mentor and his protégé. As the night ended, Punk put on yet another ‘Match of the year’ candidate along with Chris Jericho, and in the end, Punk stood victorious in the middle of the ring, soaking in the atmosphere.

This past week on RAW, CM Punk returned to Monday Night RAW to confront the new World Heavyweight champion, Alberto Del Rio, and during the segment, Punk challenged ADR to a match, to which Paul Heyman interrupted and said that can’t happen. Punk told Heyman that he’s not his ‘manager’ and Punk wasn’t his ‘client’. Punk made it clear that he’s his own man, and works on his own terms. He told Heyman that Lesnar and Axel were his clients, but Punk was his friend. Punk went against Heyman’s wishes and competed against Alberto Del Rio during the main event of the show. Punk also told Heyman not to accompany him to the ring. As a dejected Heyman looked on, Punk went to the ring alone, which furthered the feeling of tensions brewing between Heyman and Punk.

I had originally predicted Heyman to turn on Punk during Payback PPV, and even though that didn’t happen, the next night on RAW, with Punk going against Heyman’s wishes, it looked as if Heyman would do something to show Punk just why Heyman is known as the ‘Evil genius’. As the main event concluded, Punk stood in the middle of the ring when the all too familiar music of Brock Lesnar hit, to which the crowd roared! Brock Lesnar returned to Monday Night RAW, and walked down the aisle and got into the ring. Lesnar asked for a mic, and as it looked like Lesnar would have a war of words with CM Punk, Lesnar picked him up and dropped him with a huge F – 5, which all but confirmed the rumored feud between two of the biggest names in the history of the WWE. When the rumor started that WWE was planning on a feud between the two ‘Paul Heyman guys’, the WWE Universe and the professional wrestling fans wanted to witness the encounter, and now, it seems like all the cards have been played, and WWE indeed has plans for a Punk – Lesnar feud.

What can we expect from these two? If you thought Lesnar – HHH feud was good, this can blow the fans away! You have the guy who literally bulldozed his way through the WWE in 2 years in Brock Lesnar, the guy who is undoubtedly ‘The best in the world’ on the mic, in the ring and even on commentary, CM Punk, and the ‘evil genius’, the person who can touch anything and turn it into gold, Paul Heyman. With Heyman’s role still not clear in the attack by Lesnar on Punk, it will be interesting to see where Heyman stands. If the WWE creative puts in a little effort, this can be the feud of the year, and can turn things around for the WWE.

In recent weeks, WWE has seen a steady decline in the ratings, and this was the reason the WWE management decided to bring back CM Punk a little earlier than expected, and within the very first week of his return, CM Punk showed the world why he’s the new franchise player in the global organization. With everything falling into place, one can only imagine the impact Punk and Lesnar can create. CM Punk vs Brock Lesnar is expected to happen at Summerslam, and with quite some time left for that, anything can happen between the two. With Paul Heyman being the reason for Lesnar’s attack on Punk, will Heyman take responsibility for it? Or will Heyman play innocent till he turns on CM Punk, and make his intensions clear? There are a lot of possibilities, and this makes the feud all the more intriguing. I for one cannot wait to see how this feud unfolds.