Punk-Cena Fallout Possibilities (Post SummerSlam)

Spoilers ahead. You are warned.






WWE Summerslam 2011 is officially in the books. The main event match for the Undisputed WWE Championship between John Cena and CM Punk was truly unique. Both men have just as many supporters as haters. It's the tweener line between good guy and bad guy one doesn't see too often in the WWE. Throw in HHH, another person who has those staunch supporters and naysayers, in the mix as the ref/head man in charge and a fan had all the makings for something huge. And huge did happen. No doubt the ending left some people happy, some anger, some excited, and some confused as there are definitely more questions than answers leading into WWE RAW.

To give a basic wrap up: CM Punk wins the grueling battle with Cena. A match where HHH called it mostly right down middle. Punk celebrates alone int he ring when out of nowhere, really out of nowhere (great camera work), Kevin Nash is in the ring. He powerbombs CM Punk and leaves. HHH sees this and seems surprised. Moments later Alberto Del Rio runs down and cashes the Money In the Bank contract in on a groggy Punk. A quick kick to the head and Punk is out. Del Rio covers and is the new WWE Champion.

So is the Punk-Cena story over? No quite. I do think this is a nice cliff hanger ending to this part of their story. However some big questions remain.

Did HHH see Cena's foot on the rope? Well, obviously he did not. But one has to think it becomes part of the story.

Did Alberto Del Rio hire Kevin Nash? It's a possibility. There's no connection between the two other than Del Rio has money and Nash loves money. He could have been hired as Del Rio muscle. Nash has played the role before.

Did HHH hire Kevin Nash? Hunter and Nash are old buddies so I doubt if it would surprise anyone to find out "The Game" had a back up plan to get the title away from whoever won the Cena vs Punk match.

How long does Del Rio hold the title? Hard to say. My gut feeling is a couple of months. He will a have a match with Cena and a match with Punk, then I have to think they'll be busy in there own story. But there are enough contenders with Rey Misterio, The Miz, John Morrison, and even R-Truth to keep him busy until the Royal Rumble should the WWE want to establish him.

What happens with Punk and Cena from here? Your guess is as good as mine.

This what we know for certain. John Cena vs The Rock will happen at next year's Wrestlemania. Grant it, that is a long time away. But one would think Cena goes into the match as champion. Could Punk had a nice long run with the title where he berates his opponents and have entertaining segments and quality matches? Sure. And it would have worked. Except Del Rio has the MIB contract and has to use it before Mania. Why not cash it in sooner than later and see if Del Rio can hold up to the spotlight. The move makes sense.

This could be the first step in a Punk and HHH saga which ends with a match a Wrestlemania, giving Punk his Mania Moment and rehashing an Austin vs MacMahon story from years earlier. Maybe even throw in a little Corporation 2.0 angle with Nash. Hunter could sign Punk's best friend Colt Cabana on the condition he sides with the Corporation and must fight Punk. Perhaps Shawn Michaels gets involved some how. Maybe Punk and Cena join forces to battle this Corporate regime. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

This is what comes off the top of my head. Again your guess is as good as mine. I'm hoping this ends up being a great trilogy. We just witness the red hot first novel that provided many fans with great enjoyment. The next covers the SummerSlam fallout until the Royal Rumble. The last from the Rumble to Mania.

While the outcome of SummerSlam wasn't all the pleasing in the short term for me; the long term effects could pay off big time for the fans, the workers, and the WWE. The only thing I hope doesn't occur is CM Punk going back to random midcard feuds. That would be a great waste of talent and stories.

Future Endeavored...

Often fans see the blanket statement released from the WWE. "We wish (insert wrestler here) wish me the best of luck in my future endeavors”. The reasons behind firing are numerous. Many times it seems because creative doesn't have anything for the worker at the moment. Which also brings up the question, shouldn't the creative team be fired for not coming up with anything? I wont get into that discussion right now.

This is why when I see guys in the WWE on the verge of breaking through the glass ceiling constantly getting stopped or ignored by creative, well it just simply annoys me. Doesn't the WWE want them to suceed and make money for the company? My focus today is on one person from each WWE brand that I feel creative is dropping the ball with.


Christian
After nearly twenty years in the business the man finally won one the big titles, The World Heavyweight Championship, at the Extreme Rules PPV. He then dropped the belt to Randy Orton on Smackdown a few days later, in a really good TV match.

Sure it could be part of bigger storyline. Christian may turn heel, he may stay face and battle the new poster boy of Smackdown in Orton. There are many ways the story could evolve. Perhaps even leading to a Chris Jericho return. But more than likely Christian will NEVER be as hot as he was after the PPV when the guy finally obtained his dream of becoming a WWE Champion.

Christain is all around good guy to have the roster. The man can work in the ring. He can talk. Why not give him a couple months and see what happens instead of cutting his legs off before given a chance.



Zack Ryder
This guy has taken a mediocre character and transformed into the most entertaining worker you never see on TV. He took it upon himself to try and get noticed by make a YouTube show, Z!, True Long Island Story
, which gets a tremendous amount of hits. It's usually five minutes of pure gold. Yet he cannot get put in a storyline or even a match on RAW. He seems to have the support of his co-workers. And many fans are clammering to see this guy on TV. They want him. Now.

Zack could be a great mid card act. But he is being ignored by creative. A sad affair.



Fans have voiced their opinions via Twitter, Facebook, and other outlets getting behind these workers. The writers should pay attention to social media. It's a vital part of today's society, especially with the all important 18-35 male demographics.

Give the fans want they want.

WWE Draft and Brand Loyalty

I dislike the WWE Draft tremendously. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the concept of a wrestling draft but I cannot stand the execution by the WWE.

The reason is simple. There is no brand loyalty in the WWE. The cross over of wrestlers on each show happens so frequently that it doesn’t really matter if a person is on Raw or Smackdown. Yet last night I see wreslers wearing red and blue shirts and cheering with great ferocity at the workers coming to their brand. On the same show I watched John Cena be the first person drafted to Smackdown and proudly wear the blue, only to toss it on the ground as an afterthought when we was redrafted to Raw at the end of the show.

The WWE wants to pretend it’s a simulation of a sports draft. It’s not. The WWE Draft is a cheap way for writers to move wrestlers to different brands. End of story. It doesn’t need to happen every year. But it does and whatever I say won’t make the WWE change its mind.

If given the opportunity how would I change the draft? The whole process starts with brand loyalty. Keep wrestlers on Raw or Smackdown and don’t let them come on the other show unless there is a good reason. The exceptions are the Tag & Divas Champions who can compete on both shows (not Michael Cole) and building up to Wrestlemania and Night of Champions PPV.

If the writers need to switch a character have GM’s trade talent (which means scrap the silly anonymous GM story) or have a worker’s contract run out. This way when a worker changes from one show to another it means something. Its more than a worker wearing a red or blue shirt and switching it during a show.

And the stories to be had from setting things up this way are numerous. Plug in several sports related stories and turn them into wrestling angles. Bidding wars for a free agent wrestler. Contract disputes when a wrestlers rising through the ranks. There’s a lot of real life sport issues the writers could take a jab at and make witty commentary about.

So now we come to the Draft. You have a huge crop of talent in the developmental system. Maybe every year it’s a rookie draft. Put it on Superstars. Make up vignettes for some of the workers. Make a can’t miss rookie or the top diva or the guy with great ring skills or the talented prospect with personal demons. Again, instant storylines that practically write themselves. Ones that sports fans see all the time. Have each show draft 4-5 wrestlers each year. We’ve seen a lot of new faces on NXT, here’s a second chance and easy opportunity to reintroduce these workers.

Such a simple solution to a meaningless wrestling draft for two shows which have little distinction and too much cross over.


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I'd like to thank Jim and Tom for allowing me to contribute on the Two Spot Monkeys Blog from time to time. It may actually get me to write some more of my wrestling thoughts down. But for now, it's great to be a part of the team and feel free to leave feedback.

Sean
www.seankimmel.com
(My one time website plug)