I'm loving this Cena/Punk feud and yet...

[BorneAgain]

Part of me wants an actual heel involved somehow. (Not HHH or Ace) I know, I know its blasphemy, Punk and Cena are doing best promos ever, adding someone else to make it a three way would just ruin/dilute it, cool tweener vs. controversial face is cooler than face vs. heel, etc.

But in their promos tonight, it struck me how both guys have such legitimate viewpoints, its really hard for me to really cheer against anybody. Trust me, I know its sounds absurd to really mess with such an interesting back and forth by adding a seemingly unnecessary stock heel character, but I don't know, part of me thinks it could really make things even more interesting.

Call me foolish, but in a feud with Punk fighting for his people, Cena fighting for his people, there's in an instinct in me to see somebody in there fighting for no one but himself because screw the people.

[Apricots And A Pear Tree]

Cena's the heel,duh

/sarcasm

[cool guy]

Initially, I assumed Del Rio would fill that role. I guess not.

[Deleted]

Nah, a heel would just be "in the way" in this feud.

[rnrk supports BLM]

I think that's why Johnny Ace has been brought in as an onscreen authority figure for this angle, so that we can have someone who's irredeemably loathsome who fans on either side of the Cena/Punk issue can agree needs an ass-kicking.

[joshhtx]

Face - Face feuds are welcomed by me as long as they are entertaining, and this one definitely is, even if it feels like HHH is constantly trying to pop my balloon of marking out during every promo showdown.

[Deleted]

I think Miz is gonna stick his nose in this eventually by the way he's been talking lately.

[Piccolo]

I like it when wrestling feuds are between two guys who realistically could be acting that way. There are some wrestling heels who are just ridiculous... like, they'd be criminals in real life. I think Cena has some heelish qualities here, and I think Punk does as well, and that works fine for me.

[Azrael from Outerspace]

It's just imitating life and it's refreshing. Not very often do you have some over the top villain everyone despises. It's usually two sides making logical albeit leaning points and it's up to you do decide who you want to cheer and boo.

[BorneAgain]

Aug 8, 2011 22:43:55 GMT -5 @nichotine said:

I think Miz is gonna stick his nose in this eventually by the way he's been talking lately.

What's funny about Miz is that in kayfabe he could point out that if anyone's been oppressed, its him. While Cena had the support of the office, and Punk had the adoration of a vocal minority of the audience from day one, he had neither. Perhaps saying that unlike those two he doesn't owe the fans anything, and doesn't give two craps if they think he's a "phony".

[Deleted]

Aug 8, 2011 22:49:04 GMT -5 BorneAgain said:

Aug 8, 2011 22:43:55 GMT -5 @nichotine said:

I think Miz is gonna stick his nose in this eventually by the way he's been talking lately.

What's funny about Miz is that in kayfabe he could point out that if anyone's been oppressed, its him. While Cena had the support of the office, and Punk had the adoration of a vocal minority of the audience from day one, he had neither. Perhaps saying that unlike those two he doesn't owe the fans anything, and doesn't give two craps if they think he's a "phony".

That's kind of why this feud is so great. Literally every character could have a part in this, there's a ton of guys who could want CM Punk to shut up and earn his stripes, there's a ton of guys who's had it worse than Punk. There's a list of guys who could come out of nowhere and tell Punk "you complain about not getting your shots but before Money in the Bank you already were a multi time World Champion! What about my opportunities!?[/i]". You got R-Truth calling the whole thing an inside job, you have your Miz's and Del Rios who just want to make it about themselves.

This angle can last forever and there's so much room for breakout stars to make things interesting along the way.

[Cyno]

That's the thing: the beauty of this feud is that neither man is really the clearly defined face OR the heel. Punk has a lot of valid points, as does Cena. The WWE for once is letting its audiences decide who to cheer or boo instead of shoving "THIS IS THE FACE, THIS IS THE HEEL" down people's throats.

[kingbookermark]

Aug 8, 2011 22:46:52 GMT -5 Azrael from Outerspace said:

It's just imitating life and it's refreshing. Not very often do you have some over the top villain everyone despises. It's usually two sides making logical albeit leaning points and it's up to you do decide who you want to cheer and boo.

Definitely the most intriguing storyline in a long long time. But Cena makes a good point, it is a match CM Punk has to win!

[BorneAgain]

Aug 8, 2011 23:07:17 GMT -5 Cyno said:

That's the thing: the beauty of this feud is that neither man is really the clearly defined face OR the heel. Punk has a lot of valid points, as does Cena. The WWE for once is letting its audiences decide who to cheer or boo instead of shoving "THIS IS THE FACE, THIS IS THE HEEL" down people's throats.

What I'm curious about is how long it'll be that way. Face/face feuds don't last too long in WWE, either one turns or some other element gets introduced. I have my doubts about them turning Cena heel, and Punk will get pops even if he goes full blown heel, so I'm just left to wonder.

[cabbageboy]

I think Del Rio will end up being that heel. In fact I wouldn't be shocked if the winner eats a Pedigree at the PPV and then ADR cashes in immediately there after. Miz is too depushed at this point to matter in that role.

[cactussam]

The thing about this is that at least in my opinion they are both faces and heels, it just depends on the audience right now. And to give credit to WWE they are going with it. To the kids and women the face Cena and the heel is Punk, but to the men and the IWC it's the other way around. It seems to me to be in a similar vein to Bret's run in 1997 when whether he was a heel or face was entirely dependent on where he was at.

[percymania]

I love this feud. This is the best work they've done in years. The story is so much deeper than just "I hate you CM Punk!" and "I'm better than you John Cena!"

I love that both guys are playing face right now. Then they brought in the Rock tonight - who is Cena's opponent, but also a face. And HHH the COO... also a face. I like it. Usually you have a group of power heels running amock. I like this situation much better - with lots of different faces in which the fans can choose who to cheer for.

[Long Live the Stream]

See, but the fact that they both have such legitimate viewpoints is what makes this so great for me. That's what makes it feel so real. So often, in real life, nothing is black and white, good and evil. It's all grey area. If it was good vs. evil, it would feel like a normal wrestling feud. One's right, one's wrong, one's mean, one's nice, blah, blah, blah. That would work because we're watching two of the very best at their craft (craft being: selling a feud). But, because it's so much grey area, it feels so real and fresh. Which is what I think wrestling needs.

[Deleted]

That's what Johnny Ace is there for. At any time he can just appear and do nothing but be a heel. He's the perfect target for Punk or Cena at any time. He doesn't need to be built up or pushed, just being there and looking serious works.

Whenever they want to make some sort of backstage point, Ace can just be there. Regardless of whether or not he's responsible for it, he can be booed anyway.

[Mozenrath]

Ace is filling the role nicely enough for now, but I'm sure they'll end up having Ace endorse someone down the line. Hell, maybe even have them use the Crusher.