WWE: 5 Potential Reasons The Rumble Broke CM Punk
5. Generic Babyface
This falls under the overall creative direction that Punk had been under for the past few months. If we know anything about CM Punk, its that he does his best work when he is faced with adversity. Whether that adversity is a pseudo-shoot against WWE management for holding him back from ascending to a higher card stature, or its facing an insurmountable WrestleMania foe like the Undertaker, Punk needs something to be fired up about. The direction-less babyface persona offers nothing for Punk to really sink his teeth into, and it provides nothing for the fans to invest in beyond the already existing interest in his character.
Virtually every angle that Punk had been involved in featured him in situations where he clung to ideals that placed him in the minority then jammed it down your throat to prove a point. He debuted as the Wrestling is my addiction babyface for ECW, turned heel for the self-righteous Straight Edge Society, continued those sentiments in an angle with the self-destructive Jeff Hardy, and finally fought the system in 2011 with his demand for talent recognition and ice cream bars.
The latest incarnation of Punk has been quite meandering and disinterested. It was only recently that his character was brought back into the fold in an angle against The Authority. However, the direct target for the angle has been WWE mainstay Kane. Punk has been swimming in this purgatory for the past 6 months where his character maintains a high level of interest from the crowd, but his direction is non-existent. For a performer thats feeling the ill-effects of life on the road and reportedly losing faith in the company, a lack of character motivation does nothing to remedy the situation.