| Mr. Nerfect |
04-06-2009 09:04 AM |
Thought about things like the day before WrestleMania, and I was actually going to make two threads about The Colons winning the Tag Team Titles and CM Punk winning MITB as being very, very likely occurences. Both happened, and I wasn't the least bit surprised. Funnily enough, the same thing happened with CM Punk last year. A lot of people were calling MVP in that match, too, but Matt Hardy returning cancelled him out (like winning the US Title this year).
Honestly, when you look at it, CM Punk was the most logical choice to go over. Well, logic mixed with taking what Vince has said in the past, and what he apparently thinks now into consideration.
Finlay winning the briefcase is only possible in the sense that anything is possible. The guy is pretty old, and the WWE hasn't really tried to make him a big star. He's a supporting player. The WWE could have been on to something with Fin about this time last year, but they chose to go with giving JBL a random WrestleMania win instead.
Mark Henry was not going to win the match, because it would just be the biggest anti-climax ever. No one is really going to be interested in Henry with the briefcase, and part of his charm on ECW has been that he's been out of the way. He was just in there to create that "Whoa!" factor.
This was a proving ground for Kofi Kingston, and he shone. Kingston will probably get a move to SmackDown! in the draft, and a bit of a push in the coming months. If they really want this guy to be a star (like a Rey Mysterio sort of star, and not really a Stone Cold sort of star), then they can do it the old-fashioned way. And as I already mentioned, MVP has been chasing the US Title, and recently won it to head into the match. He wasn't going to win here.
Then you've got the guys who had a real shot at winning the match. You can rule out Christian via Vince's comments about him not being a star. Him being the fan-favourite in the match hopefully changes that, but when you add it all up: Christian returning recently, him not really needing to win the match (they can build him up other ways), and the rumoured doubt in his abilities to main event, and you can remove him from the equation.
Shelton Benjamin has been working good matches with The Undertaker and Triple H, and I think 2009 could be his year. Benjamin could have used the briefcase win, but I'm actually thinking a face turn could be in store for him. They can use losing this match to push him, too. "Get serious and win something, Shelton," says Ric Flair, for example.
Kane could have won this match; and the idea of Kane stalking all three champions is both creeping and interesting, but Kane really doesn't need it. Besides, MITB is no way for "one last glory run." If the WWE do decide to make Kane a World Champion again, I think it will be from a less circumstantial scenario. Kane, like Benjamin, could have won the match, but they really pushed him hard going into the match so he didn't need to. He also was the last guy to oppose Punk on the ladder, which is sort of a consolation prize, I guess (I was thinking Christian would get that).
That just leaves CM Punk. Sure, he won it last year, but someone winning it twice is sort of inevitable, isn't it? Vince McMahon has listed Punk as one of the "future stars" of the company in the past, and they gave him the World Heavyweight Title last year. They sort of fumbled that, and I think they realise it's not Punk's fault. They took the World Title off him before any serious damage was done, and they were just picking their spots with him. They've given him an actual resume not consisting of World Titles now, and while he's already used the briefcase before, him reminding everyone what happened last time he did is a great way to remind people that he can play with the main eventers.
I remember thinking that the only way CM Punk would make it into the match was if he was going to win the briefcase, and I did lose track of that for a while, but I do think that Punk losing MITB, winning the next one, and then losing the next one is too much of a holding pattern for him (tell that to Shelton Benjamin, although, again, losing these things seems to be his shtick).
Punk winning the briefcase does make logical sense, especially if the company wants to give him another shot in the main event. Especially if they plan to do it right and commit this time. The guy pretty much stormed the mid-card in late 2008, so there's no where else for him to really go except up.
I was expecting Randy Orton to win the WWE Title, though, and for Punk to confront Orton on RAW and remind him how he cost Punk the WHT, and how Punk could come after him at any time (while not actually leading to a direct feud, as the Triple H stuff would have still been going on), but that didn't turn out, although things very rarely go exactly as you envision in the WWE.
One thing I was thinking when Punk was about to win the match, and the fans were booing, is that CM Punk could turn heel and cash in the briefcase, which would be awesome. Especially if the WWE still somewhat doubts his abilities to be a main event face.
And for the record, I see CM Punk staying on RAW. If they do a Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk feud, though (which would be awesome), I think Hardy being moved to RAW for it would be cool. He does seem to be the WWE's biggest merchandise mover these days.
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