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We’re just a week away from the next WWE PPV, Payback, which will take place at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. Traditionally, Chicago has always been one of the best places for professional wrestling, with passionate wrestling fans making the shows memorable. Who can forget the Money in the Bank PPV in 2011, when the hometown hero CM Punk defeated the then WWE Champion John Cena? The place was absolutely electric, and they cheered on their favorites and made the show the best PPV of that year. In 7 more days, we can witness that all over again, as WWE rolls into Chicago one more time. The matches announced so far for the PPV include the WWE championship match between Cena and Ryback, in a Three Stages of Hell match, along with Fandango vs The Miz vs Wade Barrett for the WWE Intercontinental championship and the World Heavyweight championship match between the champion Dolph Ziggler and the challenger, Alberto Del Rio. But perhaps, there is one match that has left all the fans salivating, a match that involves the local hero, CM Punk.
CM Punk has taken time off from the WWE after WrestleMania, to catch a break and heal from his nagging injuries. The WWE Universe felt the void left by Punk, and since then all the fans have been waiting for the return of the Second City Saint. Couple of weeks ago, Paul Heyman came out as a guest on Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel, and during the course of the segment, Jericho challenged CM Punk, and Heyman accepted the challenge on Punk’s behalf. Last week, Jericho and Heyman were involved in yet another segment, this time for the contract signing. The match has been made official, and the fans will get to witness yet another classic between two of the greatest performers in the history of the industry. WWE wanted to bring Punk back soon because of the abysmal ratings RAW has been dragging in. But the interesting question still remains: Will Punk come back as a crowd favorite or as a bad guy?
Punk, unlike most others can play both the characters to perfection. Punk finds it easier to not tweak his character to get booed, and the same goes for his ‘face’ reception. But one can argue that Punk is at his best as a bad guy, something he has displayed through the course of the past 5 years in the WWE. Punk has been the number one heel in the company for the major part of those 5 years, and that has made him a valuable asset for the company. At this moment, there are very few faces in the WWE, as guys like Dean Ambrose and now, Bray Wyatt can fill the slots of the bad guys. With the talk of Orton turning heel, this would leave a void in the face department, as WWE can only bank on Cena and Daniel Bryan to fill it. With Punk making his return in Chicago, he will undoubtedly receive the biggest pop of the night, which might put WWE in a dilemma.
There have been talks about Punk facing Heyman’s other client, Brock Lesnar through the Summer. Interestingly, Punk recently had a verbal duel with Heyman’s newest acquisition, Curtis Axel on Twitter. Although that might not mean anything, it has been reported that WWE is planning a Punk – Lesnar feud going into Summerslam, which would only imply that Punk will be turning face upon his return. With Daniel Bryan reportedly being pushed into the main event picture to feud against John Cena, Punk will be left with no meaningful feuds other than the one against Brock Lesnar. So this Sunday at Payback, we might get to see Punk turning on Paul Heyman, thus becoming a good guy once again.
No matter what might happen, the fans cannot wait to witness yet another match between Chris Jericho and Punk. Last year, these two were involved in one of the best feuds of the year, with Punk being the WWE champion and Chris Jericho being the heel. They had some great matches together, and there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that they will repeat it once again. Although, there can be a swerve and Punk might not participate in the match, as it will depend on the kind of return WWE and Punk want it to be. All we can do is wait and see how things unfold.
