CM Punk On Top Of Raw, For Now

Before Raw a few days ago, I talked about the ratings and mentioned that the WWE should try pushing something new in the main scene of Raw, much like they were doing with Mark Henry on Smackdown. For the second week in a row, CM Punk was the top face in the closing segment of Raw. Cena was still on Raw, but he was not involved in the main event. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about.

It looks like the WWE may be taking a good look at what making things a little more fresh and intriguing can do for Smackdown. Try the same thing on Raw. It makes that segment John Cena had with Miz and R-Truth a few weeks ago in the main event even more unnecessary. John Cena is not in the main event now at all, R-Truth will most likely not be in the main event when he returns, and even though Miz is in the main event, the angle that developed for him from that segment a few weeks ago is not even relevant in his feud with CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio. They really should have just started pushing the major focus on Punk since then. No harm done. Prior to that segment, I could understand the WWE not wanting to put focus on Alberto Del Rio feuding with CM Punk. The Rock coming back was worth more than that. But now that CM Punk is WWE Champion and Cena has a storyline going on for him in which he does not need to be in the title hunt, it would be smart to give CM Punk a good chance as top face.

Of course, this is John Cena I'm talking about here. Will the WWE find some way to sneak him back into the title match for TLC? Even better, think back to around this time last year. While John Cena was involved with Nexus, Randy Orton was given a WWE title reign. Orton had good focus on him for a while, but he soon became pretty much a pawn in Cena's bigger storyline with Nexus. I'm not crying for Orton, he still got to look good. Point is, Cena was not held down for long. He did not even need the title to still be given more major focus. Doing that now to Punk would not be giving him a fair chance, in my eyes. Lastly, keep in mind that Cena will definitely have to come back into major focus again in a few months. His feud with The Rock will definitely trump pretty much whatever else is going on in the WWE. Until that time comes, it would be nice to keep Cena and his current storyline out of the main event for a little while.

Will CM Punk deliver? You have to consider that. If the WWE pushes Punk hard and he fails to deliver, can you really blame them for bringing Cena back in when the time is right? This is not an issue of whether Punk will get a great reaction. The guy is already delivering when it comes to selling shirts. He is definitely over. But will he draw. Will he bring any noticeable increase in ratings? However you want to explain it, there was a rise in ratings for Mark Henry, which was not there while Orton was undisputed centerpiece of Smackdown. If Punk can deliver fabulous ratings, that may lead to the WWE possibly changing direction. If Punk could do better than Cena, why continue to monster push Cena? Ignoring Punk would be stupid. Do I think Punk will deliver with this push? No. I'm not saying that simply because I am not a CM Punk fan. I'm not even saying that simply because Raw's ratings dropped this week. I am saying that because I do not feel Punk can really draw a wide variety of fans out there. He is definitely over in many circles. He is a god to some fans of the indies and a lot of people on the Internet. Overrating himself a few months ago has led to him becoming more over. Among the core fan base, he is definitely there. But can he really connect to bring the ratings of Stone Cold Steve Austin? That is a whole other topic. Just comparing him to Mark Henry, only half the formula is there. They pushed Mark Henry as a fresh guy on Smackdown. They are pushing Punk as a fresh guy on Raw. They had Mark Henry dominate, be extreme and violent, and actually bring something exciting. What are they doing with Punk? He is mocking the Raw GM, still overrating himself, and ice cream, yeah, can't forget the ice cream. He should talk about ice cream more. He is pandering to those who are already regulars. I do not feel him doing anything to really draw in fans who want to see something more. He is trying to be charismatic, but I do not think it is enough to really draw.

Nevertheless, give the WWE some credit for trying something different. They could still be pushing John Cena to end every show. They see low ratings on Raw, so they realize they have to try something new. They see some measure of success on Smackdown by depushing the regular centerpiece and pushing a well-built heel, so they are trying to push a fresh face in the main event on Raw. I cannot compare the last two weeks for CM Punk back to how he was treated in 2008. So far, the WWE is giving him a better shot. But will it work?