10 Reasons CM Punk's Legal Attack On WWE Was A Mistake

6. The Steve Austin Treatment

The other thing we might see is a WWE campaign to smear Punk. This would be similair to what the company did with Stone Cold Steve Austin in 2002. Much like Punk, the Texas Rattlesnake had taken off from work without permission. He'd left the company high and dry because he didn't agree with creative direction. The WWE responded to Austin's walkout by running a vocal campaign on TV, basically using guys like Jim Ross and The Rock to smear Austin's name. They made Austin look a selfish and deluded coward who "taken his ball and gone home." It was surprising when Punk didn't get this same treatment, when he basically did the same thing this past January. Perhaps WWE always hoped there'd be a change of heart. The policy remained that they wouldn't smear Punk's name, minus some off the cuff comments by Stephanie McMahon. In truth, a policy of silence suited both parties. It allowed the WWE to get on with promoting WrestleMania 30 and the WWE Network. On Punk's part it allowed him to get out of the WWE with minimal damage to his reputation (although eventually fans would decide for themselves that Punk had been in the wrong). Punk has now blinked and broke the impasse. He's thrown the first stone in what could become an ugly conflict. With the 22 page letter threatening WWE business, we might now expect some subtle character assassinations to take place.