The Biggest Misconception of CM Punk (MITB)

[vanboxmeer]

A lot of people seem to believe that CM Punk would've never won the MITB had Jeff Hardy not failed the wellness policy. And somehow all of CM Punk's success is due to this. I am going to attempt to abolish this thought process.

When Jeff Hardy failed the drug test, the general consensus was that either Chris Jericho or MVP would be getting the MITB, but they swerved it and gave it to CM Punk. Who is to say that even with Jeff Hardy in the match, that the company WOULDN'T HAVE STILL DONE THE SWERVE to CM Punk?

Just look at another match on the same show which they swerved the result and tricked the audience. Orton/Cena/HHH: the expectations of the fans was that Randy Orton was losing his belt, and the company knew the fans were thinking this so they decided to give the fans a surprise and have Orton retain. Afterall, this was Wrestlemania and is where surprises SHOULD come in. If they were willing to swerve this match, they could've easily swerved another important match on the same card, which they did anyways with MITB where an unexpected winner came out.

Jeff Hardy has always commented that he was disappointed in missing Wrestlemania, but he nor the company has ever said that Jeff Hardy was winning the MITB or even put out this stance. The fans convinced themselves that this was a "fact", because that is what they expected; where this swerve would've worked perfectly. In fact, by my process of thinking, CM Punk winning with Jeff Hardy in this match, it would've elevated both guys. CM Punk would've been the beneficiary of winning the match and the title shot and the prestige of winning an important match at WM. The extreme, unexpected loss for Jeff Hardy would've garnered him even more momentum because the fans would get behind him even more to get another title shot and then a title victory because they would not be sure he would be getting another chance because he didn't win the shot he was "guaranteed" to win.

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Even if you were to believe CM Punk is nothing without the Jeff Hardy messup and that somehow Jeff Hardy, true MITB Winner, is a fact. Many instances in wrestling have resulted into "plans" being changed. Yet, people move on and deal with what is the reality.

Had there been no Madison Square Garden - Kliq event, Triple H would've won the King of the Ring and gotten his mega-push instead of Austin 3:16 being born from Stone Cold beating Jake Roberts.

Had Brock Lesnar never left, there would be no JBL, or at the very least no JBL world title reign and no quick-super pushes for John Cena, Batista, and Randy Orton in the year he left.

Had Eddie Guerrero not have passed away, there would be no wellness policy.

Had Chris Benoit not have killed his family and himself, as well as CM Punk being the only star in the company willing to work and put him over in a hotshot manner, John Morrison would not have been ECW Champion.

The only reason some individuals cling on the "Jeff Hardy - True MITB, CM Punk is undeserving philosophy" and not accept true reality, is because it's CM Punk and is simply an excuse to downplay any sort of push he is getting.

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Some CM Punk WWE Facts for those people who think he isn't being used effectively at all:
Has had the most televised matches this year.
Has had the most televised wins this year.
Has worked the greatest amount of shows this year.
In his 2 years with the company has given:
John Morrison, The Miz, Chavo, and William Regal the biggest wins of their respective WWE careers.
Won the ECW belt in his first year.
Made his WM in-ring debut and was given the face heat in the match and was the unofficial runner-up in the most star-studded MITB in history.
Won the 2nd MITB he was in.
Won the WHC in his 2nd year
Most televised matches and televised wins in WWE:ECW Brand history.
Debuted in the WWE:ECW in memorable fashion.
Debuted on RAW in memorable fashion.
Was a part of the 15th annual Raw Anniversary show despite having only been on the show 2-3x times.
The most over guy that has debuted on TV in the past 2 years. (Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy have a decade of TV ahead of him.)

Is working the entire IWC with his willingness to do unusual jobs, I guarantee he has an inkling of how the a lot of fans are feeling about him and he is getting off on it by offering to get pinned realizing a lot of people will react strongly to it. (Ex. Getting pinned on ECW this week, despite being the most over guy in the match by a landslide.)

[orcheon]

I like CM Punk. I didn't like his title reign.

[brettappedout (BLM)]

That was a really good read.

[Jedi-El of Tomorrow]

I remember the general consensus after Jeff Hardy got suspended was that Punk or Jericho was going to win the Money in the Bank. At least those were the 2 names that I saw thrown out there the most after Hardy got suspended. Money in the Bank was Hardy's before the suspension. He was the guy getting the massive push. Hell I think most people called it in November after he and Triple H won the Survivor Series match by themselves.

Oct 9, 2008 0:18:07 GMT -5 vanboxmeer said:

Had Brock Lesnar never left, there would be no JBL, or at the very least no JBL world title reign and no quick-super pushes for John Cena, Batista, and Randy Orton in the year he left.

The JBL thing may be true, but the others aren't.

John Cena - Main evented the Smackdown side of Backlash against Brock Lesnar, had a feud with Undertaker, was over massively, and was well on his way to the WWE title.

Batista - Was already in Evolution, was the reason that Team Bischoff beat Team Austin, and had a feud with Shawn Michaels.

Randy Orton - Was in Evolution, started the feud with Foley in 2003, beat HBK at Unforgiven 2003, main evented Summerslam 2003, and won the IC title. Orton probably wouldn't have gotten the World Title as soon as he did.

They weren't super quick pushes for those 3. The push for each was started before Lesnar left.

[Topher is Human]

Despite him doing and getting soo much, people refuse to accept that WWE has made Punk a success

[Lionheart]

Nice. I don't care what the reasoning was, just the fact that Punk was champ is good enough for me.

[Mozenrath]

I think the idea that Lesner leaving made JBL rocket to the top may be a little unfair. It helped speed it up, but it was going to happen, anyhow.

JBL cutting his hair and shaving his Sam Elliot 'stache, coupled with the realization the man was loaded, meant that being the APA beerdinking cowboy was an illfitting gimmick. Coupling that with Farooq retiring, and you had the seeds for a heel turn.

And, while not wanting to get political and hurt the thread, JBL's image of a rich Texan happened to come along when another rich Texan was taking a nosedive in popularity, hence JBL's cabinet.

JBL started getting a lot more mic time, and the fact was, he had main eventer written all over him. Size, ability to draw heat, and mic skills aren't uncommon, but main eventers are partly made from timing, and his was perfect for what WWE needed.

[parder]

Good post. I'm glad you mentioned the Austin case. In fact with Austin he might never have got the 'Stone Cold' gimmick in the first place if Ted DiBiase hadn't left for WCW. It's also notable that I don't think Austin and Hunter have ever really got along that well, though it may have gotten better by the end of Austin's full time wrestling career.

Wrestling is pretty much littered with original plans that go down the drain for whatever reason. The fact is what matters is how the guy who does get the push takes the ball and runs with it in order to show he should've been the first choice all along. I think Punk has done a decent job of that so far, as shown by how over he is at the moment. They've created a new star, and WWE is in desperate need of that with the product looking stale. Although I think they should be careful about jobbing him out too much if he's going to look credible against guys like Orton in the future.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

Also, note this: Batista and Cena both spent longer periods in the midcard than Punk prior to winning their first world titles.

[Mozenrath]

Oct 9, 2008 9:35:23 GMT -5 Clash, Never a Meter Maid said:

Also, note this: Batista and Cena both spent longer periods in the midcard than Punk prior to winning their first world titles.

That's true. It's kinda easy to forget Deacon Batista and short tights Cena.