Rock vs Cena - The CM Punk factor

Ever since Cena lost to the Rock last year at WrestleMania, a rematch was planned. The story was simple for this one. Cena, who was the face of the company, lost to the guy he replaced in the WWE, and thereby, lost his ‘mojo’. And for Cena to get back at the helm in the WWE, he has to defeat the Rock at WrestleMania, the same place where Rock defeated him the last time. And what would be the cherry on the cake? To epitomize and signify the importance of Cena’s win over the Rock, Cena would become the WWE Champion at WrestleMania. The story is good to hear, as it goes on a redemption chase, something similar to what used to happen in the old days.

Back in the time when wrestling was still an art and not what it has become today, the storylines used to signify the journey of the good guy, his hurdles and how he overcame them to become the champion once again. You have a guy losing to someone, and thereby starting all over again from scratch, fighting the odds and finally, after years of battling the demons, he comes out on top once again in a feel good victory, and all the fans cheer their hero. This is the same story and the same route that the WWE has taken with Cena and Rock, and is one of the more sensible, and good storylines WWE has come up with in years.

Now, the feud between Rock and Cena needed something different. Both these guys were once one of the greatest talkers in the business. Rock was known for electrifying the audience with his catchphrases and his entertaining antics on the mic, and the same applied for John Cena. But forward to 2012, these guys were mere shadows of their former selves. Rock stayed in 2002, using the same catch phrases over and over, coming up with ridiculous names (Barney’s turd? Seriously Rock?), while Cena’s promos have become repetitive. Both these guys were never known to be the best of wrestlers either; their last match at WrestleMania was sloppy and boring, with Rock showing a lot of ring rust and Cena, well, is Cena. Unless paired with a good opponent, Cena fails to deliver in the match. So, something was needed in the feud, something that would make it interesting. Cue the savior, CM Punk

CM Punk, for the past 2 years especially, has been the most entertaining aspect in the WWE. Whether you talk about his anti WWE promos, or his face run or his heel turn, CM Punk always delivered. It was almost a given since his Indy stint that Punk delivers when it matters. Whether the crowd was 500 or 50,000, CM Punk always brings his A game. As Punk said, for years in the WWE, he has proven time and again that he was the best on the mic, in the ring, or in commentary. There was no one else better than CM Punk when it came to the whole package.

Cena’s journey started with a loss to CM Punk at Money in the Bank. That was when the wheels started rolling. Cena was unable to capture the WWE title since then, and at the biggest match of his career, Cena lost to the Rock. So, this past week, it made sense for the WWE to have Cena facing Punk, the one guy he has been unable to beat in the recent past. So, before Cena could try to complete the circle, he had to put in the missing piece, a win against the Straight Edge Massiah. It was one of the most carefully threaded stories by WWE, or they were really lucky for the pieces of the puzzle to fall into place.

And so, on this week’s edition of Monday Night RAW (Hey Cole!), Cena took on Punk in what transpired to be one of the better matches in recent memory. That’s the thing with CM Punk; you put Cena and Rock together, and the match turns out to be a mess. You put Rock and Punk together, and the match becomes really good, and you have Punk – Cena, whose matches have always been really good to great. I guess you found the common piece – CM Punk. Punk can make anyone look good to great in the ring, and that’s what makes him the best in the business.

As the night rolled on, Cena defeated Punk to remain the number 1 contender for the WWE title at WrestleMania. So the pieces are almost in place; with a win over CM Punk, Cena can put the rest of his demons to rest, and march forward to the only thing that can make the circle complete, and that is a victory over the Rock at WrestleMania. And to make things even sweeter, he will become, once again, the WWE Champion. After all the storylines and the chasing of the WWE title, expect to see Cena having a long run as the WWE Champion. It’s quite sad that WWE banks on Punk more than Rock or Cena to make the Rock – Cena feud look good. And that is the mark of CM Punk. Although, I am not looking forward to seeing Cena and Rock have another boring match, where Rock gets blown out with in the first 3 minutes and Cena has to carry the Rock through the rest of the match (Oh the horror!), I’m looking forward to the rumoured match between Punk and the Undertaker. Since Taker returned at the past live event, the rumours have grown stronger about the match.

The end deal is, WWE finally has come up with a really good storyline, stitching all the stories carefully for over a year (They have to, it’s the movie star for heaven’s sake!). The fact that WWE banks on Punk for the main feud to deliver shows the stock Punk has in the business. Whether you love him or you hate him, even the Rock – Cena feud is all about CM Punk.