Characters in Wrestling (Chapter Three, P1)

So here i come to my final and probably most controversal chapter of my 'characters in wrestling' trilogy. The first two represented both extremes in personal character growth, while today will focus on WWE's biggest shade of grey character.

Chapter Three : CM Punk

Unlike the first two chapters where i ran an analysis of the character's on-screen back stories in relation to their current pushes, this'll adapt a more spitfire approach as i go through the list of pros/cons on both the relevance and appeal of CM Punk's major character transition shift in that four week build up to 'Money In The Bank', the moment wrestling became engaging again. Everything from the characters evolvement to the keyfabe factors surrounding that evolvement as Phil Brooks took it upon himself to usher in an era of any kind.

Okey doke, i'll naturally start with the pros so i can leave a bad taste in all your mouths lol ..... first off, the second Punk began generating the electricity like only name dropping Lesnar and Heyman can, he automatically deserved admiration for crossing a barrier WWE had handicapped on it's own mid-card for an entire generation, a handicap WWE naively brought upon themselves with their crippling abuse for the integrity of their belts. In this lost and confused era, CM Punk prior to even his SES days had been given probably the most broken push in WWE history, with Sheamus running a close second (i only wish that was an exaggeration). Though his character at the time was unique enough not to get seriously affected, what WWE threw at him was nothing short of a creative joke. Winning no less than three world titles, an IC title and Tag Title before creativity getting his feet off the ground??? Ridiclous. But it was just an unfortunate side effect of the climate he was working in, countless others in WWE's mid card suffered similar fates (and still do), but for him to engineer himself out of that state of limbo deserves massive props. And that leads me nicely onto the next positive....

Throughout the more recent eras, you can really sense when a wrestler himself has put alot of effort into his own gimmick and transition into his next one. Though we all know now, even at the time you got the feeling HHH was almost entirely responsable for his own transition into 'The Game'. Then there's "The Miz" whose said publicly that he created that alter ego some time ago off his own back. Then you reach the epitome that is "Y2J" Chris Jericho who basically writes himself. Well taking aside all the keyfabe teasers throughout that MITB feud with Cena, you do get the feeling that Punk himself engineered that situation to get himself out of the dumps rather than have WWE ruin him any further. He did in four weeks through reality what Nexus couldn't do in 12 months through fantasy. And further more, he read the current state of WWE and played to it perfectly, exposing the chasm sided elephant in the industry and WWE's pathetic attempts to dress it up and sell it off - with a quick jab at those stupid enough to buy it lol

But the one shining light out of Punk's lightening fast ascention is it's long overdue capability of producing a credible Cena alternative. As an admirer of wrestling's fictional elements, i will NEVER get behind a character like Cena regardless of whose around him, but that's just me. For others who look at wrestling from a more flexable standpoint, people who don't particuplarly like Cena but find solace in other parts of the business, a character in CM Punk's mold was fast becoming a necessity. If you're gunna commit to having a character as one-dimensional as Cena spearheading your company, you've got to balance him out with an anti-Cena figurehead ..... Superman needs Lex Luthor, Batman needs The Joker, Spiderman needs The Goblin, Hogan needs Piper and The Warrior, etc... and John Cena needs a rebellious nemesis. Not someone he has to constantly confront, just someone there to give the product a sense of balance. All fantastic so far, yes??? Wrong - it's pipebomb time!!!

Continued in Part 2