CM Punk: What Happened WWE Chicago Raw (And What Does The Future Hold?)
Paul Heymans Promo Was Telling
The moment myself and about fourteen thousand other fans waited to see almost happened at the very beginning of RAW. The show began, they previewed some matches, cameras scanned the crowd, and then, boom. Cult of Personality. Punks entrance theme hit, and the place was up for grabs. However, as soon as the wait for the star to appear became lengthy, people knew something was wrong. And when Paul Heyman came out instead of Punk, many of us realized what was going on. If Punk wasnt going to be there, the WWE had no choice but to address the situation first thing, or risk losing control of their show to raucous fans. But what Paul Heyman came out to say was both telling and ominous. He used a confluence of carefully structured words to not only stay in character, but also subtly break down the fourth wall. When he first came out, he stuck the microphone out toward the crowd as they feverishly chanted CM Punk. His first words were, I believe he deserves louder than that, and the crowd erupted once more. Then, perhaps in a tribute, Heyman sat Indian style in the middle of the ring, and told us he came here tonight to tell you the story of a Paul Heyman guy. The story, according to Heyman, was about a guy who was never truly wanted in WWE, a guy they thought was too small to main event Wrestlemania. A guy who rebelled against the first family so much, that they didnt want him in WWE right now. This is important, because while Heyman may have ostensibly been sent out to address the Punk situation, in reality, he was breaking kayfabe and pointing the finger at management over the issue. And who knows, maybe he was also possibly speaking through the camera to CM Punk himself. He even went on to praise Punk in a manner most didnt find important. But I did. He said Punk wasnt here this evening, but he followed it up with, No one is more upset that he cant see CM Punk perform in this ring tonight than I am. No one. Because if CM Punk were here tonight, he would be doing exactly what he always claimed to do. He would be proving his detractors wrong, and he would be showing the entire WWE Universe that he is the best in the world. Again, this is important. If the WWE wanted to bury Punk, this would be the opposite way of doing it. Instead, Heyman went out and not only expressed disappointment over Punk not being there, but he praised him in the process for all hes accomplished. This is far from burying a guy. The promo took a turn at this point. Heyman asked the question on everyones mind: So what happened? Many of us braced for more honesty from Paul, but instead the storyline kicked in. The breakdown of the fourth wall was over, and Heyman insisted that the reason Punk wasnt here was because of the fans, and because Punk never got over losing to Undertaker at last years Wrestlemania. Whatever. He talked more, Lesnar came out, blah, blah, blah. The segment CM Punk fans had been waiting for was over, and even though we didnt get Punk himself, we probably got the next best thing. Heres why.
