On the 1,000th episode of Raw, WWE Champion CM Punk shocked the WWE Universe not once, but twice: The first time, by standing by and watching John Cena get dismantled by Big Show, and the second by giving The Rock a jaw-jacking Go to Sleep.
Though your reactions on Tout ( Tout.com/WWE), Facebook ( Facebook.com/WWE) and Twitter ( Twitter.com/WWE). reflect universal surprise, opinions on whether or not Punk was justified in his actions are mixed.
With The Rock and John Cena being arguably WWE’s two most popular Superstars, it’s no surprise that many members of the WWE Universe are demonizing the still-WWE Champion. However, a socially active sector of the WWE audience was equally quick to point out that Punk was just being Punk.
To gain insight into what may have motivated Punk, one only needs to revisit the words of The Second City Saint’s infamous “pipe bomb” tirade on Raw from a little more than one year ago. ( WATCH)
“I don’t hate you, John (Cena). … I hate this idea that you’re the best, because you’re not. …I’m the best. I’m the best in the world. There’s one thing that you’re better at than I am, and that’s kissing Vince McMahon’s ass. … I don’t know if you’re as good as Dwayne [“The Rock” Johnson], though. He’s a pretty good ass-kisser. (He) always was and still is. … The fact that Dwayne is in the main event at WrestleMania and I’m not makes me sick!”
In that very main event at WrestleMania XXVIII, The Rock defeated John Cena in their “Once in a Lifetime” matchup, giving The Brahma Bull perhaps the biggest win of his career. Fast-forward almost four months later to Raw 1,000, and The Great One’s announcement that at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January, he would challenge the WWE Champion … who was still CM Punk at the end of Raw 1,000.
After months of making movies, The Rock will once again be in the main event of one of WWE’s most high-profile events, this time presumably against Punk himself. Based on what the WWE Champion said last year, was giving The Great One a taste of what’s to come when they meet for the title really surprising?
Punk watching Cena get punished by Big Show may be a little more puzzling. Cena became the first Superstar ever to cash in a Money in the Bank championship contract and not win a championship despite not losing the match. In fact, Cena won by disqualification when Big Show attacked him. Regardless of how the match ended, though, the fact of the matter is that Cena had one, and only one, opportunity to cash in and challenge for the WWE Championship. And now that opportunity is gone.
Officially, Cena is not due a WWE Championship rematch. However, with the “unpredictable” AJ now the General Manager of Raw, there’s no guessing what she might do with the WWE Championship situation, or anything else for that matter. If Punk saw Cena as the greatest threat to his championship reign, perhaps he also saw Cena taking a beating at the massive hands of the near 500-pound behemoth as a strategic advantage. Was it the honorable thing to do after Cena chose to give Punk a week to recover from his Big Show beat down seven days earlier? Probably not. Was it the best thing to do to continue his tenure as WWE Champion? Most likely.
Should Punk’s priority be doing what is right morally or what is right to keep the WWE Championship — and all the fame and fortune that comes with the richest prize in our history? What would your priority be? What would you have done?
Please share your thoughts with the WWE Universe and the world via Tout ( Tout.com/WWE), Facebook ( Facebook.com/WWE) and Twitter ( Twitter.com/WWE).