photo courtesy: wrestlingrush.com
You would be wrong.
Despite holding the title for seven-plus months and stealing nearly every show since capturing the title from Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk has been cast out of the spotlight in favor of the face of World Wrestling Entertainment.
I should take this moment to explain that this is not another in a long line of articles criticizing John Cena. I am actually a fan of John and believe he is a far better professional wrestler than anyone gives him credit for. That aside, it is hard to argue that his placement at the top of every pay-per-view this year has significantly hurt the stock of the current WWE Champion.
By the time CM Punk cut his now-infamous shoot promo one year ago, and started down a road that would make him the hottest commodity in the sport, fans had grown tired of John Cena’s act. When Punk seized the opportunity and found his television time increased and his profile in the company changed overnight, fans thought the company may have finally found the guy to rival Cena for the top spot in the company.
At Money in the Bank, Punk defeated Cena for the WWE Championship and fan interest in the company reached levels it had not seen in years. Rather than capitalize on the increased interest, Punk was kept off television and Cena won yet another WWE title. They would meet to crown an undisputed champion, a match won by Punk in somewhat controversial fashion.
By the time Survivor Series rolled around in November, Cena was off interacting with The Rock in preparation for their tag team main event and Punk was programmed with Alberto Del Rio. In a heated match that had the Madison Square Garden audience on the edge of their seats, CM Punk defeated Del Rio and captured his second WWE Championship of 2011.
With Cena’s attention focused elsewhere, it appeared as though WWE had finally given Punk the ball to run with. Finally, someone other than the 11-time WWE Champion would become the focus of WWE programming and pay-per-view marketing.
TLC was CM Punk’s showcase. Cena was nowhere to be found and the entire show had been built around him. The show, by most accounts, was a quality one with Punk closing out the evening perched atop a ladder, the WWE title in-hand.
Since that show, and a low-rated Monday Night Raw the following night, Punk has taken a permanent backseat to Cena.
Now no one begrudges Vince McMahon, the creative team, or anyone else for focusing on John Cena during the build-up to his pay-per-view showdowns with The Rock and Brock Lesnar. Those are big-money matches that any company would be crazy not to hype to the fullest extent.
But it is difficult to defend Cena’s placement at the top of any pay-per-view card when he is having heartless matches against the likes of Kane, John Laurinaitis, and Big Show while the WWE Champion is stealing the show in tremendous professional wrestling matches.
Do the fans purchase pay-per-views to see John Cena? Absolutely. He is the company’s top draw. With that said, does it really matter if his match is second or third from the top?
CM Punk is a rarity in today’s wrestling world. He is a champion who has been allowed to enjoy a long title reign in an attempt to bring legitimacy back to the championship. His matches with Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio and Kane have been show-stealers, and on many occasions have had the most vocal crowd support of any contest on the card.
He is in the middle of the hottest streak of his career, out-performed by absolutely no other WWE superstar, and putting in the work any professional wrestling promoter would look for in a champion. Unfortunately, that hard work is reserved for the undercard of pay-per-view and televised events while John Cena enjoys top billing.
The shadow John Cena casts over the WWE Universe is far-reaching. In many ways, the entire show revolves around him. As the company’s top babyface, its top merchandise mover, and its “golden boy,” that should be expected.
But at what point do you risk negating all of the hard work your champion puts in by relegating him to segment two of Monday Night Raw or forcing him onto the undercard of pay-per-views? Doing so not only devalues the work, it devalues the same championship that you are attempting to build up by keeping it on Punk for as long as you have.
Will CM Punk ever escape John Cena’s shadow? Probably not. All he can do is continue to steal shows, work hard and garner the respect of fans across the globe while Cena works the headlining matches.
For as long as CM Punk is on the same show as John Cena, he will never be able to step out of the darkness of Cena’s shadow and into the unfiltered spotlight he deserves.
source: bleacherreport.com
