Chris Jericho Hits Hard Against CM Punk

That segment they had between Chris Jericho and CM Punk after Punk beat Miz was so similar to what happened to Mickie James against Michelle McCool, I had to talk about it now. Jericho brought up the reality about why Punk does not drink. He talked about his father. It was real and it was personal. Of course, it was part of the storyline feud. CM Punk sold it by acting upset, much like Mickie James did in 2009 when McCool called her fat.

I'm glad I talked about HHH vs. Taker a few days ago, saying it was a feud between equals. This feud between Jericho and Punk is a feud between equals. Last year, I compared CM Punk to Chris Jericho, and I was not talking about their abilities or the fact that they call themselves the best. I was talking in terms of how the WWE treated them. They were both at the same level in terms of how the WWE used them, as well as both being very over and great in the ring and on the mic.

Both equals, so why have Jericho take such a hard hit at Punk? This feud already has the title on the line, as well as the hype over who the best in the world really is. Did it really need to get even more personal? Looking at the build for this feud so far, Jericho has looked the best physically, since he attacked Punk badly a while back and pinned him recently, but CM Punk has pretty much all the momentum on the mic. Jericho came back and said everyone was trying to be like him. Punk pretty much made Jericho look foolish. Jericho did not invent everything. Did they really feel they had to give back Jericho momentum in the promos? Well, they definitely did that.

I want to reiterate why I do not like what the WWE did with Mickie James against Michelle McCool. It is why they were doing it and the intensity and timing in how they were doing it. Rather than repeat everything I have ever said about it, let me just follow the path I just mentioned. Taker and HHH are equals to the WWE. Jericho and Punk are equals to the WWE. Mickie and McCool were not equals. McCool was the centerpiece and Mickie James was a credible jobber. While the four men I just mentioned are all very over with the fans, McCool, a woman they wanted over, had trouble getting a reaction. Mickie James, a woman they did not make to be as over as she was and was never treating properly, had no trouble staying connected with the fans. They were blatantly using one to benefit the other, in my analysis of the situation. They attacked her very image. Bullying in wrestling is one thing, but you have to draw the line somewhere. And doing it at a time when Meltzer was saying that Mickie James was being punished for her weight? The WWE pushed it with so much intensity, some people believed that the reports of her being punished were true.

Is what is happening with CM Punk a punishment? Obviously, it is not. I already said that this looks like a strong way to get Jericho back some strong momentum in the promo battle. It is for the storyline. Makes you wonder, taking another look at what dirtsheets said about Mickie James being made fun of back then, what if that really was a storyline as well? I mean, CM Punk did act the same kind of way after Jericho hurt him with his sharp words that Mickie James did in 2009. Of course, the difference is, as I just mentioned, what the overall goal of the WWE with the storyline is. And it all boils down to how the WWE views the workers involved. Running the same kind of storyline with CM Punk as the victim does not bury what the WWE did to Mickie James. For one thing, I don't think this will be damaging to Punk's overness at all.

Just because I don't feel they are punishing Punk, that does not mean I like what they are doing. First, as I mentioned before, is it really necessary? I think there was already good hype and directions they could have gone. Second, the idea that Jericho will cause Punk to start drinking after losing the title is kind of a stretch. Punk has been World Champion many times before. He has won and lost titles. If he was going to ever start drinking because he lost a title, he would have done it already. Obviously, it is just meant to be another mind game from Jericho. CM Punk obviously agreed to have this storyline go like this, just like Mickie James obviously agreed to the bully storyline she had with McCool. But if he has no problem doing it, why should I? It's not a huge problem for me. It won't hurt Punk and will help Jericho look stronger. Still, I feel it is respectable to draw the line at some places. Was this one of those places? Maybe? Maybe not? End of the day, it doesn't make me change my view of what they did to Mickie James.