CM Punk's Future (Includes Spoilers From Next Week's RAW), Great Worked Shoots & More
– CM Punk's worked shoot interview on last night's RAW sure got the IWC buzzing, with many believing that Punk's interview was a complete shoot. That's the sure mark of a successful promo. WWE taped next week's RAW last night, and Punk's "suspension" was lifted by Vince McMahon at the request of John Cena. For results for next week's RAW, click here.
– Also, from next week's RAW, McMahon threatened to fire Cena if Punk walks away with the WWE title at MITB. Of course, Cena was already "fired" months ago, and I can't see WWE "firing" him again, so it seems likely that Punk will not be leaving the PPV with the title in tow. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that Cena will either, since the MITB winner from earlier in the night may cash in that night.
– For what it's worth, I have spoken to a few people in the company that have no idea if Punk is remaining with the company or not, although one source was very confident that Punk would indeed be gone, at least for awhile after the PPV. The Cena "firing" stip seems to spoil the match, and my guess would be that Punk will be leaving, if not immediately after the PPV, then shortly after that.
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– Punk's promo last night reminded me of some of the other great worked shoot promos in the company over the past 10-15 years. There was the one with Jim Ross in 1996, where Ross made the first declaration on WWE television that Vince McMahon was the owner of the company. The interview ultimately lead to JR being a heel for a few months and bringing in the fake Diesel and Razor Ramon in an angle that everyone would like to forget. You can check out the promo below:
There was the fantastic Paul Heyman worked shoot in 2001 right before the Survivor Series PPV to hype the WCW/ECW Alliance VS. WWF match. Of course, team WWF won that match and the Invasion angle died. You can check out Heyman's promo below:
Finally, there was the Joey Styles worked shoot in 2006. Styles ripped the WWE product on RAW, and left the announce position for good. That was done to make way for Jim Ross to return to the announce booth, while Joey Styles went on to become the announcer for WWE's relaunched ECW brand.
How do you think the CM Punk angle will play out? Do you think WWE will follow through, or will it fizzle out like the angles listed above? Sound off in the "Comments" section below. Once again, here is Punk's promo from last night's show: