CM Punk vs John Cena Money In The Bank

The following article on the CM Punk vs John Cena Money In The Bank is an article in the upcoming TribalWrestling Magazine Volume 1.

On the 27th of June 2011 CM Punk lit the wrestling world on fire with his worked shoot promo on Raw to hype up the CM Punk vs John Cena Money In The Bank WWE Championship match.

In front of the WWE Universe, Punk brought up an assortment of hot topics that smarks have been talking about for years on the internet.

Among other things, Punk brought up the topic of Vince’s death and the political problems he had coming into the WWE. He even mentioned the names Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling, this of course sparked a lot of interest.

As a result of this promo something that hasn’t happened for years occurred; there was doubt. For the first time in recent memory alot of fans that in the past would have immediately brushed the angle off as a simple work were in doubt.

CM Punk Leaves WWE For Real?

Fans that were previously not interested in fantasy booking suddenly started to speculate where WWE was going with the CM Punk leaving WWE angle, if Punk was going to stay or go and how they would book the CM Punk vs John Cena Money In The Bank main event.

However, the 4th of July edition of Monday Night Raw was taped directly after the previous weeks episode and was a let down, killing some of the interest for the angle or, at the very least putting it on hold.

An additional stipulation was added to the match, if John Cena were to lose the match at Money in the Bank, Cena would be fired. This stipulation didn’t have any effect, since it had already been done 8 months before and Cena was back 3 weeks later.

WWE also played a video package at the beginning of Raw, basically killing the shoot aspect of the promo.

Cena also pleaded with Vince to give Punk his shot because, it would devalue the championship and it would be against the first amendment, if Punk never got his shot at the championship. I know it is part of Cena’s gimmick but, in the short term it didn’t help to move the angle forward.

Progression of CM Punk vs John Cena Money In The Bank Storyline

However if CM Punk return to WWE in the near future and upon his return he unites with Cena to take on Vince , then it would make sense but, there are so many things that they can do if Punk returns rather than have him unite with Cena, so the segment didn’t help the angle anyway.

After the show the same fans that were praising the CM Punk’s promo the previous week, were slamming the follow up to the angle.

Many including myself wondered if WWE had dropped the ball on the angle already. This thought was completely warranted, especially when you consider how WWE butchered the Nexus angle which was practically dead by the time SummerSlam came around.

However, the WWE redeemed themselves with their go home show for the Money in the Bank PPV on July 17th . This edition of Raw was live from Boston Massachusetts, however CM Punk was still more over than Cena, granted when Cena performs in Boston, he isn’t embraced like you would expect him to be.

Punk came out with a megaphone incase they muted his mic again and cut a really good promo until Cena came out and surprisingly also cut a good promo, but wasn’t even close to the live contract negotiation.

Everything between the opening and closing segments is completely irrelevant but, the live contract negation was pure gold. The contract negotiation was basically Vince Mcmahon coming out and asking Punk to sign the contract.

Punk said that his lawyers looked over it and they didn’t like it, therefore they drew up a new contract which included Punk receiving his own private jet, collector cup, movie and ice cream bar. The WWE ice cream bar reference got the biggest pop of the night, the crowd went crazy and chanted Punks name and “We want ice cream”.

Vince Mcmahon Apologize to CM Punk

Punk then said that he had just made Vince a million dollars worth of ice-cream sales but, Punk’s biggest demand by far was he wanted Vince Mcmahon to apologize for being a hypocrite etc. and he wanted to be in the main event at WrestleMania 28.

Punk went on to state that Vince didn’t know how to build superstars in 2011, that he didn’t know what the fans wanted and that he fired people like Luke Gallows and Colt Cabana.

The crowd started to chant Cabana’s name. The fans were incredible with the opening and closing segments. It just made it even more affective than they would have been anywhere else. Vince wanted both men to behave like “gentlemen”. Punk came across as a revolutionary and ordered Vince to apologize.

Vince then apologized softly but, Punk was not satisfied. Vince then said forcefully “I apologize you son of a bitch!”. When Vince said that, I couldn’t help thinking that this really wasn’t PG. I don’t know if WWE are just going to quietly move away from the PG rating and would it be good for business? Because WWE would certainly loose some sponsorship but would they gain some viewership in return.

I don’t know but, they might at the very least stay with the rating but, use mild profanity. That could be a possibility because it did add a certain edge to the segment that really made the segment seem like a big deal. The segment ended with Cena coming out and basically saying the usual Cena speech about how the fans matter, they’re the best in the world etc.

John Cean Heel Turn?

But Cena then turned the tables on CM Punk saying that Punk was a hypocrite because, he said that the fans mattered but, was going to turn his back on them and leave the WWE anyway. Punk then responded with a speech that the WWE creative team should have heard quite a while ago and that was that Cena was not the underdog anymore like the Celtics, Red Socks and Patriots.

The only problem I had with this is that they should have had Punk just go out there and cut his promo, instead of playing an obvious heel because even when he was trash talking Boston’s sports teams, the fans still wanted to cheer him to a certain extent.

 Cena then punched Punk in the face. This was an obvious heel move especially when Cena is supposed to be an advocate for freedom of speech, yet when people talk trash against him he punches them in the mouth?

This very well may be one of the first steps on the John Cena heel turn, where they could reveal Cena’s ethics to be nothing more than a farce.

Say Goodbye to CM Punk

Punk then walked up the entrance way and said that when Cena hit him the answer came to him and that the reason he is leaving is because, he is tired of Cena and that he is just tired of this place (the WWE). Punk then said that at Money in the Bank the WWE will say goodbye to Punk, Cena and the WWE championship.

This was a great go-home show for the main angle and it really leaves you thinking of possible situations at Money in the Bank.  The WWE have an opportunity to turn around the entire direction of the company, with just one major angle.

Yes the WWE has had similar opportunity’s in the past, they’ve even had similar opportunity’s in the last couple of years, such as the Nexus angle but, none of them have been as big as this. This kind of opportunity only comes around every 5-10 years and they have done the best job at hyping the pay-per view.

John Cena vs CM Punk Money In The Bank Booking Scenario

As for the what will happen at the WWE Money In The Bank PPV, I can’t say for sure but, I have thought of a few possible situations but its all speculation at this point. However I thought it would be interesting to see how close people can get to guessing the actual finish and if those ideas turn out better than the actual finish, so I thought I would share some of my ideas.

I don’t think that there is really a possibility of WWE having Cena win clean over Punk as this would kill the angle and kill any interest for their product, plus there are so many other situations that you could book even if Punk is legitimately leaving, that you wouldn’t need to have that finish.

I think if they have Punk win the match even if its not clean then its almost certain that someone will cash in their brief case but, that is not necessarily the end of Punk’s title reign. If somebody cashes in on Punk, they could have Punk hit the GTS and retain the championship.

WWE could also have Vince force one of the Money in the Bank winners to cash in the Money in the Bank only to have Punk hit the GTS and then have the other Money in the Bank winner win the title. They could even have Punk beat both Money in the Bank winners and walk out champion. This situation however is flawed because, then the Money in the Bank briefcases would become devalued and it
would kill the entire concept.

But, if Punk is going to stay with the company, a situation that I think would work well is, would be if they have the Christian vs. Orton match, have Christian win it only to have Daniel Bryan cash in after winning the SmackDown Money in the Bank.

You could then have CM Punk win the WWE championship; Vince would come out and order the Raw Money in the Bank winner to cash in; he would run down the ramp but he would get attacked by Daniel Bryan.

After the beat down he would be thrown into the ring and the match would start. Punk would then win with the GTS.

Punk would then obviously form an alliance with Bryan in the ring and they would cut a promo saying how they came from ROH and are now leaving with the championships. There are some obvious problems with the angle but, I think it could work.

However if they have Punk win clean and then let him take the title to New Japan or Ring of Honor for a while, then they should only have one championship. I think it would work plus it would add more prestige to the championship and its something that has been needed for a very long time.

There are so many possible finishes for the show that it would be difficult to pick the actual finish. I think it also depends on Punk’s actual future with the WWE and how WWE feels about a partnership with other promotions.

I suppose they don’t necessarily need to send Punk to Japan or ROH but, instead they can bring ROH to Punk by bringing guys like the Kings of Wrestling, Cabana etc. They could even bring in some Japanese talent if they wish to do so.

With everything aside we can only assume that Punk resigned a contract with the WWE by the way the angle is going but, Punk could be legitimately leaving this month for all we know.

It may just be a coincidence but, the first ROH TV taping is in Chicago and lands at a pretty convenient time. ROH have already started to book the card and there is no sign of any big angle but, depending on the Punk situation he may return to Ring of Honor for a while.

It may be a part of the storyline or Punk could have legitimately left the WWE, it seems that only time will tell with the CM Punk angle. It could turn out to be one of the biggest let downs in recent memory or it could open the flood gates for wrestling’s next boom period.

n a weeks time people will either be talking about John Cena vs CM Punk Money In The Bank as of the biggest disappointments in wrestling history or how this could turn things around in a major way and that my friends does not happen very often.

The above article is an entry in the upcoming Tribalwrestling Magazine Volume 1. If you like it, comment below or recommend the article using our sharing icons below.

CM Punk vs John Cena Money In The Bank:

Written by Ryan Clingman