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John Cena and CM Punk have faced each other numerous times. After CM Punk’s pipe bomb on June 27 two years ago, the matches between these two superstars have come to look more and more relevant. Nothing compares to their masterpiece on that fateful night on July 17. The escalation of the drama and the culmination of that spectacle was an epitome of what WWE should be. Now. Then. Forever.
Their in-ring chemistry has been compared to Hulk Hogan-Randy Savage, Stone Cold- The Rock and Bret-Hart-Shawn Michaels. I would not compare them to these three. I won’t compare them to any other rivalry. In my opinion they are the first and only Cena-Punk. The dichotomy between these two is something special. And it is safe to say that all this has been possible because of THAT promo.
Cena will always have his staunch detractors and his passionate followers and Punk will always be a secondary babyface to the demographic that worships John Cena but to the hardcore fan, who knows about the nooks and details of this business and revels in the fact that he/she is a smart fan, Punk will always be Number One.
Cena has been the marquee guy for the past 8 years or so and up until 2011 nobody could touch him. But then came June 27 and then July 17 and then CM Punk merchandise were making waves and it had become contagious. That cemented Punk’s push and therein cemented the feud between these two polar opposites. For Cena is Superman and Punk never shies away from calling himself Batman.
John Cena has main-evented so many Wrestlemanias. CM Punk has not. The Rock came back as Dwayne Johnson and had Once In a Lifetime and its sequel in the past two years. He was also the headliner for Wrestlemania 27, even though in the capacity of a host.
So what does that tell you about the WWE? It reveals the not-so-secret fact – WWE does whatever’s good for business.
But building their current superstars may not be monumentally money grabbing material but in the long run that is certainly going to help. They have to understand that whatever was novel about professional wrestling ten years ago is not the case in the 21st century or actually after 2010.
Right now, Punk is the best opponent for Cena and Cena is best opponent for Punk. Many might disagree with this exclamation but the fact that they can deliver on the mic and in the ring and the fact that that they always get the desired reaction (cardinal rule of the WWE) and the fact that they had THAT match in the RAW main event, THAT match at Night of Champions and THAT build up to MITB 2011 is testimony to the fact that they are the best in-ring chemistry that this WWE era has to offer.
And for THAT they need to be in a Wrestlemania main event at least once.
