Following the February 24th edition of Monday Night RAW, the majority of the WrestleMania XXX card is nearly full. Whether the matches are official or not, the writing is on the wall for the big matches which are going to occur. If CM Punk is going to return for the monumental event, his options are seriously limited. Here’s how the card is shaping up so far:
-
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Randy Orton (c) vs Batista -
The Beast vs The Streak
Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker - Daniel Bryan vs Triple H
- John Cena vs Bray Wyatt
-
World Tag Team Championship
The New Age Outlaws (c) vsВ The Usos -
United States Championship
Dean Ambrose (c) vs Roman Reigns -
Intercontinental Championship
Big E (c) vs Cesaro vs Swagger
That’s seven matches, and that doesn’t include Sheamus, Christian, The Rhodes Brothers (BRhodes), The Wyatt Family tag team, Big Show, Mark Henry, Titus O’Neil, Darren Young, Seth Rollins or any of the Divas.
So what does CM Punk get involved with at this point? Before he took a break, he was involved in fighting The Shield and was unjustly taken out of the Royal Rumble by the already eliminated Kane. He was also critical of The Authority. Based on that, here are the areas he could get involved:
Under Utilized Spots Not Worth Returning For
Kane
Clearly we saw the issues CM Punk would have with Kane, but this would be a step down the card for the guy who held the WWE Championship well over a year, and was arguably one of the top three guys in the business leading up to his hiatus. Kane was just summarily dispatched by Daniel Bryan on RAW, and based on how things went between Bryan and Kane, it’s easy to assume that’s how things were supposed to go between CM Punk and Kane to this point and that HHH was Punk’s ultimate goal.
Seth Rollins
Even as high profile as The Shield has been over the past year, this is just as much a step down for CM Punk as if he were to fight Kane. Fighting Roman Reigns would be a decent option, but it’s obvious that he’s set to face the United States Champion to capitalize on the heat they’ve built up between he and Ambrose.
Anyone Else Added To The Authority
Sure, Triple H could publicly endorse someone like Sheamus or Christian or Mark Henry or Big Show, and then CM Punk could fight the newest stooge, but it wouldn’t be anyone he has any real heat with up to this point, and it’s certainly lower down on the card than if he were to fight Triple H himself.
Hulk Hogan
There are only four people I can think of who could put on a great match with Hulk Hogan, and while CM Punk is one of them, it doesn’t fit into his anti-Authority storyline he had been building, and it would under utilize him because of the heel turn it would necessitate.
The Only Real Option
Assuming that Daniel Bryan vs HHH is going to happen and that it isn’t going to be a three-way match, which is a fairly safe assumption, the only place you can put CM Punk on the WrestleMania XXX card В is actually the perfect place for him.
Make the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match a triple threat and put Punk up against Batista and Orton.
As of this point, most fans are underwhelmed by Orton vs Batista. For multiple reasons, the majority of fans don’t have someone they want to cheer for in that match. Despite the fact that they’d rather see Daniel Bryan placed in there as a three-way, there’s not going to be a ton of booing if CM Punk gets the spot, especially with Daniel Bryan attempting to kill the hydra by taking on Triple H instead of just looking to cut off another head.
The addition of CM Punk to the title match allows for a faster-paced match, giving both Batista and Randy Orton the opportunity to rest outside the ring or in a corner while Punk fights the other opponent. This minimizes the negative impact of Batista’s lack of cardio and slower style.
Triple threat matches for a world title at WrestleMania does have precedent. It occurred at WrestleMania 20, 22, 24 and 25. Given that it hasn’t happened in five years, that makes it all the more likely to occur this year. Three men were also involved in the title picture at WrestleMania X, though they opted for two separate matches on that occasion.
This would be the second time CM Punk would face Randy Orton at a WrestleMania, and Randy having won their previous match, this would be the perfect time for Punk to get comeuppance.
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