WWE: Impact of Punk's return

WWE Payback kicked off from Rosemont, Illinois and one of the major bouts on the card wass between Chris Jericho and a returning CM Punk. In the weeks leading up to the match, Jericho pushed Heyman over the edge in an attempt to make him accept the challenge of Jericho on behalf of CM Punk, and Heyman agreed to it. What followed was Jericho mocking Heyman, and Heyman repaying the favor by playing mind games on Jericho. At Payback, two of the greatest performers in the history of the industry faced each other once again to find who ‘The best in the world’ truly was.

CM Punk and Chris Jericho were engaged in a bitter feud last year, with Jericho claiming that Punk had stolen his ‘gimmick’, and that he was the true ‘Best in the world’. WWE has gone back to Jericho’s bitterness over Punk to bring back the Straight Edge messiah into the storylines, and WWE knows that Punk will be the most over superstar along with Daniel Bryan in Chicago, which has always been the case, and the WWE has two alternatives to choose from. They can either go with Punk – Heyman duo by introducing Punk as a heel, or they can do something that will create a buzz in the WWE, by making Heyman turn on Punk.

With the ratings of the WWE on a constant decline, the WWE management has gone into damage control, thus bringing Punk back before his scheduled return. With Punk back in the WWE, the card looks much stronger, with the likes of Daniel Bryan and Dean Ambrose climbing the ranks soon. Punk had his best year in the WWE in ’12, holding the WWE title throughout the calendar year, and for a record 434 days, the longest reign in 25 years in the company! With CM Punk taking an extended break, WWE found it hard to fill the void created by his absence, something that couldn’t be filled by any other superstar on the roster.

So with Punk back in the WWE, the management is planning on doing something big with Punk for the Summer. This Sunday, Punk will face Jericho, and rumor has it that Jericho will be turning heel in the process, along with Paul Heyman who will betray the Second City Saint. With the fact that Jericho will be taking an extended leave from the WWE to tour with his band ‘Fozzy’, the only logical explanation coming out of this match would be to turn Heyman on Punk and aligning himself with Jericho. With Punk starting a feud with his former manager, Heyman can bring his other client, Brock Lesnar to take on CM Punk at Summerslam, something which the WWE creative is in favor of doing. If that happens, we’re in for a very interesting period ahead in the WWE, as Punk will fill the role of a mega face in the company, while Heyman can concentrate on Axel and Lesnar.

The other possibility would be Punk staying as a heel and tweaking his character a bit. He can start a feud with the likes of Cena and Daniel Bryan, taking things from where he left off. With the plans of Cena and Bryan feud being finalized through the summer, CM Punk can be directly inserted into the title picture, especially with the history he has with both the competitors. With the faith WWE had shown in Punk for nearly two years, one has to wonder how Punk will be utilized as a heel when he returns. And with the ratings going down the slump, WWE needs to do something spectacular with Punk’s return.