Four Members And The Group Still Goes Nowhere

Joey Mercury, surprise surprise, is the other guy in CM Punk's Straight Edge Society. Most internet fans probably knew this. Only little kids who did not watch WWE years ago may have no idea who this guy is. I could say I am glad to see him back, but I would not be telling the truth. I could say I hate it, but that isn't true either. I'm indifferent. Joey Mercury? Why? The guy was part of a well-treated team/stable years ago. He was not incredibly over. Of all the people to rehire, him? I would rather see Cryme Tyme reunite and get a title run. Instead, it looks like that team can end up released by this time next year. That is another topic.

As for the whole stable, they have a feud going with Big Show. What other top face really had free time to feud with Punk? Months ago, I talked about how I did not like how the members under Punk were being built. Before that, I talked about how it was good that Serena was getting involved in a stable like this. Punk was a main-eventer. He was feuding against DX and Rey Mysterio. He was doing awesomely. He could give Serena and Luke a good rub! Nope. More than 6 months after her debut on Smackdown, Serena has yet to have an official diva match. Even Rosa Mendes didn't have to wait this long. Luke Gallows seems to be just there. A while back, they teased some friction in the group. Just like when they teased Gail Kim turning heel last year, nothing has really come of that friction. Now they add another sidekick? All these two guys can do is beat jobbers? I doubt they will have these two really get one over on Big Show himself. If anyone, Punk will get that benefit. I am not saying Punk does not deserve it, but enough is enough. The WWE is not investing in the other members. Punk is the kind of guy who can invest in himself, but they are not having him really invest in his followers well enough. All he really does is push his own superiority over them.

What can be done to really spread the wealth? Have attention shift to at least Luke Gallows better. Instead of having him get a win over a jobber, have him, the biggest guy in the stable, really be the one to shine against Big Show, the largest man on Smackdown. If the IC title was on a face, I would say that either Luke or Joey could start feuding for that. Nope. And Serena? How about having her trying to recruit some of the face divas to the SES? Have McCool and Layla play with the toy that the Women's Championship has become. And Punk? Have him oversee all this. Give him something to be proud of. It does not have to turn into the SES show, much like ECW was somewhat the CM Punk show for a while, but it can be more entertaining and do more for the members.

End Of SES Near?

While CM Punk is unable to compete, the WWE still gives his stable an interesting storyline, and with Punk very much in the center. Last week, they teased the end of Serena's membership. This week, Punk passed sentence. Serena is still in. However, Luke Gallows did not look too happy.

They are doing an angle about the potential break up of SES. I do not think now is the time to start breaking the entire group up. Punk has hardly really propelled the careers of his minion. They have just been his lackeys. Pretty much the point in a way, but even Orton won the WWE title a few times when he had his stable last year. SES has hardly accomplished anything great for Punk. Luke Gallows would die without being near Punk.

On the other hand, I would not have cried if Serena was let go from the group last week. Seeing her actually start wrestling would have been worth it. She can still wrestle while in SES, true, but the WWE is not doing that either.

In the end, SES is not going to die in a day. They are going to develop this angle a bit. I hope it leads to something more for the members than just them going their separate ways, and with Punk probably being the only one with a bright future.

Pour You Another, Punk?

CM Punk's stable, Straight-Edge Society, has been doing pretty well for the few months that they have officially been in existence on Smackdown. It also seems to be still growing. Luke Gallows, Serena, the masked guy, and maybe Rey Mysterio. Lose your hair or gain a new member?

How many members does still stable need? One of the things you have to realize about this group's "success" in terms of either wins or straight entertainment value, it is tied to Punk. Punk is definitely the center of attention here. That gives the other members a rub, true, but how much longer can they continue across this path?

Compare it to Legacy. Randy Orton had two henchmen. Initially, the group was pretty much just messing around with what Orton wanted after they were officially formed. Rhodes and DiBiase looked pathetic at times. That is not happening to Gallows and Serena yet, but something is also not happening for them yet. Rhodes and DiBiase went on to get some real attention back on them when they feuded against DX. That was huge. I believe there was at least one event where the feud between these two teams trumped Orton's own feud on a card. This was great for Rhodes and DiBiase. They were no longer in Orton's direct shadow for those few months.

Again, Gallows and Serena are not exactly being brought to tears or humiliation being in the shadow of CM Punk, but when are they going to get that period in which they really branch on their own? Obviously, they will not be going for the tag titles with each other. Serena can go for diva feuds. Anti-Diva? Is that supposed to be an excuse to keep her out of matches? Doubt it. Gallows can team with the new member to go for tag gold, but I doubt this team will look as good as Rhodes and DiBiase when they feuded against DX.

Is four enough? Punk can compete for the World title. Two guys for tag gold. One woman for diva gold. One of the guys can try for the Intercontinental Championship. They may also add another member to take that belt. Seriously, I do not want to see this stable with ALL the gold. Even Evolution never had all the gold. In case you have forgotten, no one in that stable held the Women's Championship.

I guess I am just waiting for when they stop trying to add members to the group, but start actually building the members under Punk better. One of the arguments against this is that it will turn into the "Straight-Edge Show". If each member had a unique storyline going on, other midcarders and divas may be getting shafted. Adding more members to the group will not exactly lead down a path in the opposite direction. It may make things worse. I would like to see less angles that involve CM Punk as the main star and the rest of his minion as straight sidekicks. I want to start seeing less storylines that revolve around spreading the same straight-edge message. I will admit that there are a lot of creative possibilities there, but why play them all out now? I would rather see more angles building up people who are not CM Punk.