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It is easy to speak in hyperbole while in the midst of something great or shortly thereafter, as it’s simply human nature to believe that an event fresh in our minds is better than anything we’ve ever seen before. I tend to shy away from this line of thinking, allowing experiences time to breathe before giving such a lofty evaluation. But even I, with each passing moment that I watch CM Punk, can’t help myself from feeling that no one has ever played the villain role better in professional wrestling’s history.
More specifically, I believe that this particular run since he turned at Raw 1,000 last July is the best stretch of heel work ever. Yes, that includes Roddy Piper, Vince McMahon in the Attitude Era, and even Triple H from 1999-2001, whose run as a bad guy was done so brilliantly that I put it right up there with Darth Vader. Furthermore, it’s better than even Punk’s own previous works from his final months at Ring of Honor and the Straight Edge Society stable.
However, what puts the current CM Punk ahead of all the others, though, is that he just keeps evolving.
When he attacked The Rock last summer, he stayed in that gray area, where he wanted us to believe he wasn’t really bad, but that he just didn’t like Dwayne Johnson. He then slowly shifted from ‘tweener (in between good and bad) to heel as he began to demand respect from all those around him. Paul Heyman became his sidekick to add an additional wrinkle to the mix. Punk’s begs for respect from the WWE Universe then permutated into making those same fans quite aware of his lengthy title reign. And now that he is no longer champion, in an ironic twist, the man who constantly demanded respect has become, by and large, the most disrespectful person in the company. If he was a student, he’d be majoring in villainy and minoring in inappropriate interruptions…and it is all absolutely masterful.
This is what makes the CM Punk character so enthralling and why fans grew so tired of John Cena a few years back. Cena’s portrayal of himself has been basically the same since its babyface inception. There is no change there. (This is not a knock on him; Cena-bashing is so 2008.) On the other hand, there is a constant metamorphosis with Punk that keeps viewers on their toes. Whether you love Punk or hate him, you almost certainly have to be infatuated by him.
In regards to the excellence he has shown of late, it is even more amazing when you put into perspective how good his work was before the heel turn happened. And how white hot he was before that when he cut the “pipe bomb” promo. And the content he was putting out prior to that moment. And so on and so forth. Every time you think he can’t do something better, he does.
This time around, it is as if he kicked it into a gear we didn’t know was even possible. He has been so good that he’s almost underrated at this point. By comparison, he is the LeBron James of WWE in a sense that his performance is at such an unreachable level that people begin turning a blind eye and making arguments on why others are better just to make things interesting. Also, like LeBron, we really might be witnessing the greatest of all-time, in his prime, and we can’t quite grasp that concept even as we are watching it.
Punk’s unequaled attention to detail is something else that generally flies under the radar. Whether it’s telling a story with a match, providing well-placed improvisation in a promo, throwing a wink and a nod to wrestling’s past to get an angle over, or more recently, interrupting a moment with such perfect timing that it draws the loudest reaction from the crowd, it’s that little extra mental awareness that separates him from the rest.
One final point about Punk’s recent greatness (aside from the obvious in that his matches are top notch and his storylines are genuinely the most interesting): he’s just damn cool. Who wouldn’t want to be CM Punk for a day? To talk like him, enter a room like him, get away with stuff like him.
Ultimately, we watch wrestling because it is enjoyable. Many people boo Punk because they hate him. A great deal of others boo him out of respect and love for the character. Others simply cheer him no matter what. Regardless, everyone cares. That is the mark of an all-time great.
It has been years since we’ve had someone of that caliber, let alone a villain. At the very least, that puts CM Punk in the discussion for the title of greatest heel ever. The only question now is, how far further will he go from here to leave no doubt that the crown is his? In one man’s opinion, he doesn’t have to go any further at all; it is his to lose already. However, knowing that he will, in fact, go further makes me giddy. Let’s just enjoy the ride while we bear witness to the Best in the World.
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photo credit: Wright Way Photography via photopin cc
