Take a good look at this photo! This is what is missing from CM Punk!When CM Punk debuted in the WWE on ECW he was intense, passionate and brutal. Every match saw different moves applied, a lot of screaming and his submission finisher the Anaconda Vice. The vice had similar setup to the Rock Bottom but once he brought his opponent down to the mat he locked them up in what you see pictured to the left. This move really showed you what CM Punk was all about. He was intense, unorthodox, techincally sound and tough. Combine the above with a heavy metal entrance theme and a bunch of tattoos and it is no wonder as to why the fans embraced him. They embraced him so much it became a no brainer to put him on RAW.
Since being on RAW it seems that Punk has lost what made him connect with the fans so much in the first place. He moves have become formulaic, you know what you are getting in every match now. Not like before where you were not sure what was going to happen. You might get a scream out of him but he seems to have quieted down. I'd like to say we still get to see the Anaconda Vice but we don't. Instead we get the GTS, a fireman's carry which ends with a knee to the skull. It isn't a bad move but with John Cena on the same show you can not help but reminded of the FU. I don't want to be reminded of Cena, I want to see the bad ass, straight edge guy, covered in tattoos I saw busting skulls on ECW!
This guy is a talented wrestler but I feel like the WWE is letting him rest on his laurels as of late. Sure people are wearing his shirts and cheering for him now but if he doesn't change then I do not see this lasting forever. If you don't believe me then you should note the boos he received last Sunday when he won the money in the bank ladder match. He is a great talent to have but the WWE doesn't seem to want to explore his potential as a character and as a wrestler. We want to see the guy we thought was cool in the first place.
What can be done to help this? Let him do what he does so well and be a talented wrestler with diverse move set. Let him have long matches and meaningful feuds. Let him scream and yell and go crazy. Let him cut promos. Let him get in some faces and start fights. He can still be face but just let him have his edge back. More importantly let him have the Anaconda Vice back!
In total agreement...doing away with the Anaconda Vice was the sign of taming down CM Punk, I noticed it right away
ReplyDeleteSimilar to the way John Cena's FU is now the Attitude Adjuster/ment
LAME
I could be wrong, but didn't they phase out the Vice right after the Benoit murders, because of the chokeout imagery?
ReplyDeleteYou are correct Sam. If every wrestler had to remove any submission move from the repertoire, like Punk did, that resembled the crippler crossface that would be one thing. You will notice that both HHH and Shawn Michaels have used the crippler corssface multiple times since the death of Benoit. Not only that but Cena did not have to drop the STFU which is a similar move to the crossface. It doesn't seem like it is such a big deal anymore if a good majority of their top stars are using the move or similar moves so why not let him have it back?
ReplyDelete