AEW Cm Punk & the alluded Wrestlemania Main Event

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Writer: Nikunj Walia

The year 2021 saw one of the most awaited returns in the history of professional wrestling as The Best in the World ‘CM Punk’ stepped back into the bandwagon of wrestling making his walk down to the squared circle on his famous Cult of Personality theme song in All Elite Wrestling on August 20th, 2021. CM Punk’s AEW run has so far been nothing short of spectacular delivering incredible performances inside the ring and on his beloved microphone.

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While Punk seems to be well on his way with his second coming in the wrestling world looking to add more accolades to his illustrious career, a major omission would always be prevalent in his impressive wrestling resume- A match in the main event on the Grandest Stage of them all, Wrestlemania.

The Voice of the Voiceless had one of the most significant runs in the WWE back in 2011 that was seen as the true emergence of him as a megastar in the company being dubbed as ‘The Summer of Punk’. CM Punk’s WWE run at the time looked like a clear indication of him realizing his ultimate dream of conquering the main event of Wrestlemania sooner than later, however WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon’s had another vision and direction for his premier show in the years of Punk’s dominance.

Many critics believed that Punk was a worthy candidate for that spot while Punk called his entire WWE career a complete failure in a podcast interview with Colt Cabana in 2014 due to not being able to secure the Wrestlemania main event for himself.

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With that being said, it is time to alter some of the events in CM Punk’s WWE career that should have happened that could have given the Second city Saint the main event spot of Wrestlemania he rightfully deserved.

1. A win over The Rock at WWE Royal Rumble 2013

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CM Punk was in the middle of an incredible run as the WWE Champion winning the title at Survivor Series 2011 and went on to hold it for an amazing 434 days. The WWE management had decided to turn him heel at one point in preparation for his battle against The Rock, who was scheduled to compete at WWE Royal Rumble 2013 for the WWE Championship with the match being announced on the 1000th episode of Monday Night RAW, coincidentally the same night Punk attacked The Rock at the end of the show cementing his position as the top heel of the company.

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“When Rock came back on the first Raw, I was on like eight segments on that show. That’s oversaturation with a capital O. To rely on me that much and then to say that I wasn’t really that good is a little bit ridiculous, but they like their revisionist history.”

WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED:

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The Rock’s return to the squared circle to recapture the WWE championship was indeed a pure nostalgic act that was well appreciated by the audience, but it seemed to hamper the long-term development of one of the top and full-time performers at the time while The Rock was only working a part-time schedule. A victory over The Rock would have established CM Punk in the biggest way positioning him as the flag bearer of WWE’s modern era, extending his WWE title reign beyond the original mark of 434 days gaining incredible momentum, and easily marching towards the main event of Wrestlemania 29 to defend his WWE championship.

However WWE’s lack of belief in him going with a much safer option in Cena to retain his position as the poster boy buried what could have been the most successful run in Cesaro’s career.

2. The Rock Vs John Cena at WWE Elimination Chamber 2013

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The dream main event at Wrestlemania 28 between two of the biggest stars of their respective generations, The Rock and John Cena billed ‘Once in a Lifetime’ should have also happened only once in a lifetime.

WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED:

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It can be said without a shadow of a doubt that The Rock and Cena’s first-ever one-on-one encounter would go down in the history books as one of the greatest matches to ever take place inside the ring and even if the WWE management and Vince McMahon wanted to present the second edition of this instant classic, they could have done it at the 2013 WWE Elimination Chamber PPV instead of Punk vs Rock that originally happened at the event.

The storyline at the time saw John Cena win the Royal Rumble for the second time in his career punching his ticket for the main event championship match with the WWE champion at Wrestlemania 29. The Rock, still reeling from his loss at the hands of Punk could have gone on to challenge Cena in one of the biggest rematches of all time arguing him to put his title shot on the line in an effort to find his way back into the title picture, raising the stakes with Cena accepting the challenge looking at it as a way to redeem one of the biggest losses of his career. A revamped feud for their rematch at a PPV before Wrestlemania would have built even more hype and excitement for the event with the wrestling fanatics getting to witness this dream match once again, thus also fulfilling WWE’s plans of doing a second encounter between Cena and The Rock.

This would have also been reminiscent of The Rock’s feud with Hollywood Hulk Hogan back in 2002 where The People’s champion battled the Iconic superstar at Wrestlemania 18 in another dream encounter followed by a rematch at next year’s PPV titled WWE No Way Out, the last PPV before Wrestlemania that year where The Rock was set to square off against his greatest rival, Stone Cold Steve Austin.

3. Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 29

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Wrestlemania 29 proved to be the last time ever that CM Punk wrestled at the Showcase of the Immortals in a high stakes bout against one of the most decorated WWE Superstars in history, The Undertaker. While the match was highly praised in terms of buildup and performance, Punk wasn’t either thrilled to be a part of the iconic match or about its outcome, taking another huge loss right after two straight defeats at the hands of The Rock.

During the Art of Wrestling podcast, he spoke about his displeasure about the match and Vince McMahon’s constant urge for him to acknowledge that he was also a part of the main event to which he responded:

“There is only one main event that’s the final match……and I Deserved that.”

Had the Summer of Punk continued to flourish throughout the Wrestlemania season that year with the Best in the World defeating main event level superstars on his way to establish himself as perhaps the biggest full-time star of that era, there might not be a seven-year-long wait to see CM Punk step back inside the squared circle with Punk maybe continuing to wrestle for WWE instead of AEW today.

WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED:

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The storyline could have been picked from Elimination Chamber as discussed previously with CM Punk disrupting the scheduled match between The Rock and John Cena to determine his opponent for Wrestlemania 29. Punk could have laid waste to both superstars with the help of The S.H.I.E.L.D (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins) who were secretly working with him and Paul Heyman at the time in the actual storyline. The match would have ended in a no-contest setting up a classic triple threat match for the WWE championship by then RAW Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero culminating in Punk’s lifelong mission of being in the main event of Wrestlemania with two of the biggest superstars in the history of the WWE, earning his rightful place on the grandest stage.