The Chicago Botch

I'll save talking about the HHH/Vince interaction for another night. Right now, I want to talk about the end of the CM Punk drama.

Last night, CM Punk did defeat John Cena to win the WWE Championship. Tonight, it would seem Punk really is gone. A tournament was started to crown a new Champion. As for Cena, who Vince said he would fire if he lost the title, well, let's just say that Cena is not fired.

I just gave you the synopsis, but what was really just accomplished at the end of it all? Because CM Punk's name was not mentioned too much tonight, and definitely not more than Cena's, and because the WWE is already moving on to another publicity stunt, I would assume Punk really is gone from the WWE. The revelation tonight may lead to a swerve where Punk returns, but I am not going to jump all over the place now. What was accomplished? Two weeks ago, I talked about fans who did not want this CM Punk storyline to be "botched". Assuming the storyline is over and a fresh one is starting, do you consider this a botch? Punk wins the title in Chicago and leaves as Champion, but then Vince McMahon announces that a tournament will be held to crown a new one. Doesn't that make Punk's win seem a little less epic? And what happens to the belt he holds? Another "brass ring"? Remember Punk mentioning that in his promo a few weeks ago? I'll admit, leaving the WWE as WWE Champion is an epic "brass ring", but if the WWE is not acknowledging the legitimacy of the title and crowns a new Champion, how much is CM Punk's claim to being Champion worth? About as much as getting that brass ring. And as you can see, it seems the WWE can easily bury the epicness of what went on with CM Punk over the last few weeks by pushing something even more shocking and phasing out the mention of Punk.

What about Cena? He is still centerpiece. It doesn't really matter whether or not he was in the tournament tonight. He does not need to even be near the title to be the most important thing still in the WWE. What did the whole CM Punk feud do for him? Something even I could not see coming. I had said that they were just creating another situation for John Cena to overcome. I had said that this was a means to promote a centerpiece. Much like part of John Cena's angle with Nexus last year, this CM Punk thing allowed Cena to overcome another moral dilemma. Remember how John Cena got fired because he refused to help Wade Barrett win the title from Orton? How did they put over John Cena as a great guy this time? By portraying him as the anti-HBK. Shawn Michaels helped Vince McMahon screw Bret Hart over a decade ago to ensure Bret would not potentially leave the company with the title. John Cena put over how great Shawn was as a worker, but brought up that dark cloud. Pride, dignity, not wanting to be for Vince what Shawn Michaels was in Montreal. John Cena is made to look like the high knight. I did not see that coming, but it does not surprise me that the WWE would do it. In other words, it is the same old crap.

This whole storyline ends up once again putting over John Cena's character. Even in defeat, it looks like a win for Cena. And what is Punk left with? If he is really gone from the WWE, he left with a nice brass ring. If he does come back soon, he will still be under John Cena, who is still centerpiece. Nothing really changed. Punk's buddies in ROH can be ecstatic for all eternity about what happened in Chicago. But will all the WWE fans view this as the WWE botching the storyline? They knew exactly what they were doing. This is no botch.