WWE SummerSlam: The “Quest of CM Punk’s Vengeance” Story

cmpunk SummerSlam is less than two weeks away, and it is shaping up to be one of the best ever. The thing people have been talking about most has been Daniel Bryan, who became WWE€™s €œPeople€™s Champion€ after the fans unanimously nominated him as the chosen competitor for the precious WWE championship against John Cena at the second (more like third) biggest wrestling PPV of the year without Vince McMahon€™s consent. Everyone is speculating what will happen at SummerSlam, asking questions like €œWill John Cena win?€, €œWill Daniel Bryan win only to be screwed by Vince€™s envisioned €˜corporate€™ champion Randy Orton?€, or €œWill they allow Bryan to live his boyhood dream by putting the WWE title around his waist?€ In some way or another, everyone is talking and writing about this angle. Hell, I even wrote a column a few weeks ago about what McMahon€™s shrewd plan is with Daniel Bryan, which, I must say, seems to have been spot-on so far. There is no doubt about it. We are all very excited about this match. However, everyone seems to be overlooking the other big match on the card. I am talking, of course, about €œThe Beast vs. The Best€: Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk. For the past couple of weeks, it feels like nobody is talking or writing about this match. The minute after Lesnar surprisingly implanted himself back into the WWE universe, just about every wrestling fan salivated over a potential CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar dream match, as it would seem to be the perfect mixture for a €œDavid vs. Goliath€ classic on paper (which makes it even more remarkable how much it has been overshadowed). And regardless of WWE booking Brock Lesnar ineffectively as a beast during his feud Triple H feud, both he and Paul Heyman have done a fabulous job in keeping the character as credible as possible. It is truly a testament of both their exceptional talents that the character still has a smidgen of his unbeatable aura left. Punk and Lesnar€™s conflicts three weeks ago and tonight did their job in exemplifying what the tale of the tape was going to be. Both times, Lesnar was booked as a force to be reckoned with, while Punk was booked to be the gigantic underdog that will not go down easily thanks to his pride and desire for retribution. The malevolent intimidator will be challenging the courageously resilient anti-hero at SummerSlam, and both are being impeccably booked in their roles. However, the storyline is not just about Punk and Lesnar€™s grievances. It has a more significant piece to it: the conflict between CM Punk and Paul Heyman. The hatred between all started when Paul Heyman ruined his erstwhile best friend€™s opportunity to become a three-time Money in the Bank victor by callously smashing an unforgiving ladder into his former best friend several times, as Punk looked helplessly into Heyman€™s immoral eyes. Punk€™s facial expressions told the whole story, showing confusion and bewilderment over why his mentor had turned on him. Even though Punk was too attached to his supporter, Heyman€™s motive was clear as day. After coming up short it in breaking Undertaker€™s unblemished WrestleMania streak, Punk took a league of absence from WWE. That was up until Paul Heyman booked CM Punk, without his consent, in a match against Chris Jericho at Payback. Punk showed up, but he was completely different from the CM Punk that left. He looked, wrestled, and acted differently. The reason was that he was no longer a heel. He was a face. In order to enforce his rehabilitated ways, he asked Heyman stop coming out with him because he wanted accomplish things by himself. Certainly, WWE recognized that they had to separate Heyman and Punk from each other in order to turn Punk into a fan favorite, and they did it in the best and most realistic way. Punk wanted to be friends with Heyman; he just did not want him giving him an unfair advantage in his matches anymore via cheating. Not surprisingly, Brock Lesnar F5€™d Punk the day after it happened. Punk furiously called out Heyman the week after, but Heyman manipulated Punk into believing that Heyman had nothing to do with the attack. The €œGood Friends, Better Enemies€ story has been recycled throughout wrestling for decades, but Paul Heyman and CM Punk have demonstrated that any hackneyed story can be effective if its told and done correctly. The only ingredients it needs are believability and heat. This feud has all that and then some. It has effectively created the impression that the two truly do loathe each other, and it is all because of both Heyman and Punk€™s resounding acting facilities. Speaking of Heyman, he been doing the best work of his onscreen career ever since his return last year. The fact that I am saying that is a surprise even to me because Heyman€™s preceding allocates have solidified him as one of the greatest managers of all time. The specific reason I believe Heyman is doing his most superlative onscreen work is because it seems like he is having the best time he has ever had in wrestling. He is using old-school philosophies and intertwining them into a new-school environment to piss fans off. He is working with people he likes being around, and he has nothing to worry about. He is not afraid of someone taking his spot or being fired. All of his contributions to WWE the past year have been an unsung treat and a pleasant surprise from someone I never envisioned being in WWE again. And when it is all said and done, it just might solidify him as the greatest manager of all time. The story might be simple and to some overdone, but the participants in it have made it something really special. The story has been lucid and the hatred off the charts. In fact, I€™d dare to say that it has been the most well articulated and heated story in WWE since Chris Jericho and HBK€™s bitter feud in 2008. It also has consistently been the most well built angle going into SummerSlam, and it has the potential to deliver one of the greatest matches ever. Everyone is excited to see Daniel Bryan as the centerpiece in an enormous match, but €œThe Beast vs. The Best€ storyline has been some of best work done in WWE in a long time, and it should start getting the attention it rightfully deserves
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