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In what proved to be the major talking point of this week’s Monday night Raw, CM Punk was seen on the receiving side of a vicious attack from The Shield. And in more than one dimension, this could prove to be one of the wisest decisions from the creative team in recent times.
For starters, in their one year stay at the main roster, this was the first time that The Shield came across Punk with a potential feud in the buildup. The two sides have been involved in matches without much of a backdrop and the new direction adds a much needed fresh factor to the main event scene.
Though Punk is yet to square off with the members of the stable in singles competition, the superstar has some sort of history with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. The United States champion and Punk faced once in the Florida Championship Wrestling, in which Punk emerged victorious with a GTS. Meanwhile Rollins once trained under Punk during his NXT days. But all eyes will be on Roman Reigns who is on his way to greatness following a stand out performance in Survivor Series. His sphere is moulding into a cult finisher that might haunt wrestlers in the future.
The master and his student
Fresh factor apart, another advantage will be the exposure of Shield to a top dog in the business. Ever since their debut, they have been going after big names but the trio will have the opportunity to flourish against the sheer popularity of Punk. Also adding Daniel Bryan into the situation increases credibility to the feud and decreases the numbers game making it more realistic. To top it off, the Shield could break up into singles competitors with Punk being instrumental.
But above all, the most exciting prospect will be the involvement of Wyatt family in the proceedings. The creepy guys have been impressive both inside and outside the ring as a menacing unit. They even managed to reach the level of Shield with much less time due to their captivating gimmick. Though a showdown between the stables was teased, the possibility only came up when Punk was laid down by Reigns. Now the creative won’t have much trouble in materializing the match since Shield is now in direct contact with the Wyatts. Another way that this all could lead is a potential Authority backing for both the Shield and Wyatts to make the Indie darlings suffer. The chaotic situation has a potential for many turns that could hit the bulls eye for the creative. Reigns could turn face and go against Wyatts or Daniel Bryan and CM Punk could go against each other to produce fireworks again. The feud also gives some time for the company to find some new enemies for Punk, who has already faced almost every main event wrestler.
hope the creative doesn’t screw up
With John Cena being jeered by his own home town fans, it’s now safe to say that he is not anymore the face of the WWE. This leaves us with the likes of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan in the limelight. The recent pushes they got clearly suggest that the company doesn’t want them to be so, but they won’t hesitate to make use of the fan backing of these two to make new stars. The ratings dip of Raw after the first hour calls out that this is the only storyline that has caught the attention of fans and with the plethora of possibilities at their disposal, the only thing we can hope now is that the creative don’t screw up like they’ve been doing for the past couple of years. If they pull this out right, Roman Reigns could establish himself as a breakout star, The Wyatts could be the best heel trio in the business, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins could flourish in upper midcard and CM Punk and Daniel Bryan will split off back into the title scene. In all ways the move to feud Punk with the Shield is going to be a profit maker for the company unless they decide to let the fans down like recent times.
