The Changing CM Punk: From Capitol Punishment to SummerSlam & onwards

Everything can change in a month, two and the whole landscape of a show can be whipped clean. Go back to June and the internet, as ever, was full of rumours. Rumours not of apparent opponents for the WWE champion John Cena, not of news of who may or may not be fired or be given a job, but that a superstars contract was due to expire. CM Punk's contract was apparently in its dying days, no longer months left but weeks and the wrestler was said to be taking a break due to fatigue and general frustration of where his character was heading. Punk was considered a known name on the roster but he wasn't a €œtop guy€, he wasn't a John Cena or even a Randy Orton. The months prior to these rumours popping up, Punk had been wandering aimlessly through the midcard of WWE's flagship show, Monday Night RAW. He wasn't placed in new and fresh storylines but rather a rehashed rivalry with Rey Mysrerio, and with the burden of carrying the New Nexus. These contract expiration rumours were addressed by Punk €“ on television. The night following the Capitol Punishment PPV on RAW CM Punk announced that he was planning on leaving the company the day of the Money in the Bank PPV, and he was going to take the WWE title with him. He was granted a championship match in his hometown of Chicago by the (forever) anonymous RAW General Manager. This seemed to confirm that he was gone, that Money in the Bank was very likely to be the last time the WWE Universe saw the straight edge wrestler. A sadness loomed, despite largely taking a back seat Punk was still one of the most entertaining men on the roster and it seemed a Chris Jericho style break was on the cards. Between that original announcement and the pay-per-view an explosion happened in the wrestling world. A moment that is rare and only happens every few years, the now infamous €œworked shoot€ It was impossible for a wrestling fan to avoid seeing talk of the promo. Twitter was full of praise from the biggest of fans to Steve Austin, forums went crazy, did they really let Punk say that? On the edge of his departure from wrestling and after five years in the WWE was this CM Punk's crowning moment? Was this Austin 3:16 moment? Only time will tell the true impact of the promo. He was set on a path of becoming a €œtop guy€ each week following he was gaining more and more speed, CM Punk fan signs were more frequent, CM Punk chants louder. RAW every week was fresh, interesting and attention grabbing. It was can't miss television €“ everyone wanted to see what CM Punk would do next. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OS9wZGb_3g He won the WWE title. The crowd was electric, the match fantastic and the result perfect. Just as he said on RAW, Punk left as champion out of the back door and well, went home. Punk took a two week vacation from the WWE, with fans only hearing from him via Twitter and Comic Con. The internet was full of complaints, it was too soon, two weeks isn't enough time away. But how could someone with that much momentum be kept off of television? How could someone with that much momentum be kept of of SummerSlam? Simply he couldn't. The CM Punk going into the main event of the second biggest event of the year, was far different from the one going into Money in the Bank, and almost unrecognisable to the Punk of years past. The lines between face and heel, good and evil were being blurred. Punk hadn't changed much at all since Capitol Punishment aside from cutting off the dregs of the WWE in the New Nexus away from his side, yet chants of his name could be heard before and after his matches, sometimes during the matches of the other wrestlers. The biggest difference between post and pre Money in the Bank Punk is a best selling t-shirt and being dubbed the €œvoice of the voiceless€ And not forgetting a new theme in €œcult of personality€ Punk turned face after being heel since 2009. Other than the tattoos the CM Punk of current day 2011 and 2006-2009 aren't very similar much at all. The original face CM Punk character was bland and had little to no character. There was nothing to him other than he liked to wrestle and be happy. He was very much no difference to Kofi Kingston or Evan Bourne. Good wrestlers but not interesting at all, but even then Punk wasn't having stand out matches, or any matches of note at all. The fans liked him because he was a good guy, nothing more, nothing less, or they were Ring of Honor fans that felt the need to cheer Punk because they were previously fans of him and happy that he had broken the glass ceiling and made the big time. Watch the WWE now and Punk as he so proudly says says and does what he wants, he takes a microphone and doesn't just speak into it, he turns it into a pipe bomb. He creates a spark. SummerSlam came and went and so did another classic match between Cena and Punk. Though this time storylines came out on top. Punk retained but then was attacked by a returning Kevin Nash. Money in the Bank briefcase holder Alberto Del Rio took advantage of this and cashed in, and beat Punk within ten seconds. Once again fans were upset, Punk had just been given the ball and it was swiped from under his feet. Realistically though does someone with such momentum, with such popularity need to be champion at this point? With or without the championship CM Punk will still be a main event player on RAW, along with John Cena the focus of the show. Being champion would be a great reward for the amount of work as well as how popular he has become. It is also clear that WWE has plans away from the WWE title for Punk at the moment, and even if he did it seems highly unlikely that Alberto Del Rio will lose the championship as RAW in Mexico looms near. Once his involvement with Nash, Triple H and whoever else gets thrown into the works is over, it seems very unlikely that at some point in the near future CM Punk won't have the WWE Championship around his waist once again.