WWE: 8 Ways CM Punk's Departure Will Change Everything
7. Adult Viewership Will Decline
When you take into account the PG friendly rating that whether we like it or not is here to stay decrease in blood, unprotected chair shots, less excessive profanity, and Saturday morning cartoon reminiscent characters like Cena, its clear why some longtime older viewers lost interest during the late 2000s. Upon dropping his now legendary pipe-bomb, CM Punk blurred the lines between reality and kayfabe in ways that probably had Bret Hart blushing. Those burnt out on the predictability of the product finally had something new to get excited about. Punk instantly became the Stone Cold Steve Austin of the modern era which felt like the intended goal considering that Punk coincidentally wore an Austin T-shirt while delivering his iconic promo. He had single handedly expressed frustrations that not only he had, but some of the same issues older viewers had. The only difference is that outside of sending a Tweet to WWE Universe which could very well end up being read by no one, viewers really have no say in the creative process. CM Punks promo was a worked shoot, but there are multiple nuggets of honest truth to be found within. That one promo felt ripped out of the Attitude Era and was just enough to give major story-lines a sense of importance. Adult viewers that had reached their breaking point watching Cena dominate the entire roster night in and night out slowly started tuning back in to see what the Austin/McMahon 2.0 fuss was about. And ever since then, Punk oozed charisma and has gone on to deliver memorable promo after memorable promo, defy safety regulations pulling off banned moves like a Piledriver on Cena, and generally put back some of the Attitude in wrestling. Many feel that the much desired Austin/Punk dream bout would make for a fantastic piece of storytelling since it would entail a straight-edged jerk with a superiority complex vs. a beer drinking alcoholic redneck, and theyre right, but truthfully theres more to it than that. Much like how Cena is the yin to Hulk Hogans yang in heroism, both Punk and Austin as characters represent rebellion for their generations. They are two sides to the same coin. There are some superstars left Daniel Bryan for starters - that adults still adore, but losing Punk is a huge blow to that demographic. He was unpredictable and outspoken; a trait that makes for riveting television.
