Wrestling Wrap Up: CM Punk Quits the WWE

I know there's been a tendency as of late for big news to break right after I post the Wrap Up on Tuesday afternoons, but this was ridiculous. Just hours after I wrote that, assumedly, Punk hadn't appeared on RAW in order to sell Kane's Royal Rumble attack, reports flooded in that Punk had walked out of RAW and quit the WWE.

So it's now a full week later. So much has been reported on, and speculated on, that I'm just going to try and give you guys the basics. We've all had time to get most of our hysterical grieving out of the way (which in the Internet age lasts approximately 16 to 20 hours, depending on the individual) and now everyone's gone into Charlie Day "Pepe Silva" crazy conspiracy board mode.

So let's start with this: Punk is a bitch to work with. He himself even admits it. He's moody, myopic, and goal-obsessed. That being said, he's also very vocal about lame booking (among other things) and has, of all people, Vince McMahon's ear. And for months now he's been hurting, burned out, and dissatisfied with his storyline. And there are reports that many folks backstage are "not unhappy" that he's gone...

...whoops. Might as well throw one of these up. It's been a while.

So last Monday, Punk was there backstage. But he left before the show started, telling Vince that he was "going home." He was slated to lose to Antonio Cesaro (via Kane distraction) so that Cesaro could be in the Elimination Chamber, setting up Punk vs. Kane at the PPV. Which would then lead to, as has been planned for months, Punk vs. Triple H at WrestleMania. Okay, forget for a second that Punk vs. Daniel Bryan should be the Main Event of 'Mania 30 - for the WWE World Championship. I was fine with Punk vs. Triple H. I was looking forward to it. One of the things I warned you all about when it came to the title unification was that there was going to be less room at the top. Two guys were gong to lose out on almost every PPV. And, for better or worse, there'd be more mid-card matches built around storylines. Well, Punk didn't like this storyline. He saw fighting Triple H at 'Mania as Grade-A Suckitude.

Because Punk wants the 'Mania main event. It's part of his weird bucket list thing. And what seems to drive him the most is achieving certain benchmarks. And top-lining 'Mania was probably the last thing he wanted to do.

Which brings me to the fact that it being the last thing he wanted to do in the business probably hurt his chances of ever doing it. Because he's openly said he's wanted to retire. Retire soon. And many believed, despite rumors of a huge push this summer against a heel Batista, that Punk was going to leave the WWE in July when his contract was up anyhow. So then if that was the belief, why put him in the 'Mania main event? Why invest in him if he was going to leave within months anyway? So it all became a double-edged, straight-edged, sword.

Now comes the Royal Rumble, which pissed almost all of us off to a next-level degree. Just poorly conceived in so many ways. And very much reminding me of what Punk said back in his infamous "Pipe Bomb 3:16." That because the WWE, for the most part, is "the only game in town," it'll make money despite itself. People will watch no matter what. And so there's very little motivation for Vince, Hunter, Steph or creative to listen to the fans the way they used to when they were, say, struggling to beat WCW. We all wonder how they can ignore "YES!" chants by not giving Bryan an actual run with the title and it's because they don't have to do anything we want. They throw us a bone now and again, but this is pretty much their show now.

Last week, I wrote that the only power we had then, based on what we witnessed at the Royal Rumble, was our power to chant over segments and matches. To actively disrupt Orton vs. Cena because it represents so much or what frustrates us. To chant over the "Choice of the Choiceless" Batista. This was the only consequence that the WWE might take notice of. I was wrong.

A bigger consequence fish-slapped us, and them, right in the face.  The Royal Rumble booking was not only many of our tipping points, it was Punk's tipping point. HERE was the hurtful consequence. Punk leaving due to the direction of the booking and the direction of the company. And him being gone hurts all aspects of the business. Us and them.

The bottom line here (and everyone from Steve Austin, to JR, to Mick Foley has now weighed in on CM Punk - making my words more meaningless than they usually are) is that none of us want Punk to wrestle if he doesn't want to. But we do want him at WrestleMania 30. So it's a pickle. The show just feels incomplete without him. So the consensus seems to be that, under a "best case scenario" header, Punk should have just ridden out the rest of his contract.

More on CM Punk leaving, the chants, and what it all means in the grand scheme of the universe on Page 2...

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com