The Cloverleaf: Did CM Punk Really Cross the line Monday Night?

We are about three days removed from the CM Punk promo on Monday night Raw that blew up social media and for the first time since The Rock returned.

With the exception of the Rock returning I actually can't remember the last time that there was a buzz going on like that. One of those “moments” that wrestling provides you from time to time that make you want to watch it over and over again and get caught up in it. A moment that blurs the line between what is real and what is not. One of those moments that remind you why you are a fan of professional wrestling.

That is right, I called it professional wrestling and not sports entertainment. That is just one of the lines that Punk crossed on Monday night that has everybody still asking was it a “shoot” or was it scripted.

**Spoiler alert** In the case that you have still not crossed that imaginary line in your head that keeps you believing then you may not want to go any furthur and just stop reading here because I am about to give you the harsh reality that the tooth fairy ( and I am not talking about the Rock) does not exist.

For the people that are actually questioning if any part of what Punk said was “not approved” or if he just snapped and did that on his own, get real. The mere fact that he was still talking storyline when he did the promo should have told you that. What am I talking about? Well for starters it has been well documented even by Punk on his Twitter page that his contract ends in September. If he was really “shooting” he would not have continued to stick to the “storyline” ending of his contract on July 17th the night of the pay per view.

I also highly doubt that he would continue to rant about beating John Cena for the championship that night and leaving with the tile because Punk who is a very smart guy would know that his on screen roll with the company was going to end the minute he walked backstage.

Still not enough of a reality check for you? OK, I will go even deeper for you. The WWE pays their talent for pay per views anywhere from 3-6 months after a pay per view is over because of the fact that there has to be accounting done, all of the buy rates have to be added up ect and the talent gets bonuses depending on the buyrates of the pay per views and where their matches were on the card.

I also bet that Vince deposits that money in short term CDS or other investments to pick up interest just like insurance companies and banks do. You may not think it would make much but Wrestlemania did more than a million buys at over $50 a piece. Throw $50 million in a short term investment and I bet you can make a pretty penny.

What am I getting at? Simple, Punk who has had some great spots on the last couple of pay per views and been on them all including Wrestlemania probably has anywhere from $30-50K coming to him in pay per view bonuses not including video game bonuses and the other merchandise deals that guys like him get.

Do you really think that he is going to do something that unprofessional and risk the WWE tieing that up? That would be a serious breach of contract that would undoubtedly give Vince one hell of a reason to file a suit against Punk and tie up all of his escrowed money pending the verdict of the lawsuit. Without a doubt Vince and the WWE would have a claim that it caused the company damage.

They could easily have a multi-million dollar lawsuit against him claiming that he went off the agreed upon story line thus effecting the buy rate and ticket sales of a pay per view that is costing them millions of dollars. Punk could end up in a very costly law suit and end of losing tons of money and have a big chunk of his money tied up in escrow until the suit is settled and who wants to deal wit that right after leaving a company and attempting to move on with your life.

Did I go to deep for you into reality? OK let me make it easier for you to realize none of this was “not approved." This was live TV folks and during the promo Punk called Johnny Ace a "d-----g" but it got bleeped out by the producers. You mean to tell me that they were able to edit his promo like that during live TV but were not able to cut him off before they did. Come on people I hate to break your heart but it was all approved every single line and word of it.

Now that we have established without a doubt this was part of the show let me please ask the question to everyone reading this that is a wrestling fan. Why does it matter? When Randy Savage turned on Hulk Hogan did you question whether Savage really turned on him? No you did not because it was one of those moments in time.

During the evolution of Stone Cold Steve Austin and his war with Mr. McMahon did you question if Stone Cold was really defying authority? No of course you did not because it was one of those times that you just sat back and enjoyed the hell out of being a wrestling fan. So stop burning up so many brain cells trying to figure out “the truth behind it” because you already know the truth.

Sit back and enjoy it and lets hope that they don’t screw it up because there is a real chance to “make someone” during all of this and at the end of the day they could have another megastar on their roster in CM Punk if this is all done right. It was one of the most compelling segments during a wrestling show in a very long time and the best ending to a wrestling show in over a decade.

Anytime a moment happens that has the people in the business talking, tweeting and commenting as much as the fans then you know it was a special moment. There were so many Tweets about this from people in the business I could cut and paste all day about it. However let me send you over to a web page run by a friend of mine Tommy Fiero who is another long time wrestling promoter in New Jersey. The site is called www.PopTheCrowd.com and one of the things he does on his site that I think is very cool is that he follows many of the people in the business and posts their tweets on his site. That way it saves you a bunch of time, you can see what everyone is saying without having to follow them all. You can also see many video blogs including one from JBL where he cant praise Punk enough.

To me personally there was one thing that happened that night that probably ruined it for alot of people and made them realize the very same night that it was part of the story line. That being right after Raw went off the air they taped next weeks Raw the same night due to the 4th of July holiday. I am sure after reading the spoilers and seeing that it was the main focus of the next week's Raw that saw Punk get suspended by Vince, Punk lose his title shot, a new number one contender decided, John Cena demand to wrestle Punk and Vince reinstate Punk and his title shot with Cena’s job on the line.

If they did not have to tape next week episode that night my bet is that there would be alot more people trying to decide if it was part of the story or not. That is the only thing that was wrong with it everything else about the whole thing was beyond perfect.

Please comment or email me and let me know your opinions on the CM Punk promo that shocked the world. Also if you don’t want to know what happened on Raw that will air on July 4 stop reading now because I am going to post the spoilers for next weeks episode. In the case that I get caught up in the holiday weekend and don’t blog until next week have a happy 4th of July!!

After the live Raw went off the air, Michael Cole announced from WWE management that Punk was suspended indefinitely. On-stage, Punk just waved his arms and left.


Raw SPOILERS for July 4 Raw episode

John Cena came out first and discussed Punk's promo "last week." Cena said he disagreed with Punk being suspended, which meant the title match at Money in the Bank was off. He said he believes in freedom of speech, then brought up that he spoke with Vince McMahon about disagreeing with the decision because he wanted to fight Punk and defend the belt. He said Punk earned the right to challenge him for the title. Related to "freedom of speech," Cena brought up Daniel Bryan being fired last year and fans having signs confiscated.

(1) Divas champion Kelly Kelly & Eve beat The Bellas.

(2) WWE tag champions New Nexus (David Otunga & Michael McGillicutty) beat Santino & Kozlov.

(3) Jack Swagger beat Sgt. Slaughter.

(4) Alberto Del Rio beat Rey Mysterio and R-Truth to become #1 contender at the Money in the Bank PPV.

(5) Alex Riley beat The Miz, then Miz delivered a post-match beat down.

At the end of Raw, McMahon came out. McMahon replied to Punk and said it all comes down to Punk "being a punk." He started to leave, but Cena came out. It was fascinating to see Cena and McMahon interact. Cena said Punk earned his spot, then asked if McMahon was getting soft not being able to take Punk's promo. McMahon said he wouldn't deliver a Cena-Punk match and told Cena not to upset him like Hogan and others have done.

Cena tried to argue for the match at MITB, then McMahon shot back, "What if you can't beat him?" He asked Cena what if Punk takes the WWE Title to another promotion? Cena said he gets it now - it's about McMahon being embarrassed. Vince said he's about calculated risk, and this isn't a risk he's willing to take. He said the business is his, not Cena's. McMahon said guys came before Cena and will come after him.

Cena handed him title belt and said he quit. Cena got to top of ramp and looked back, then McMahon took the belt, walked to the top of the ramp, got in his face, reinstated Punk for the title match, and said if Punk wins, the moment afterward, he's firing Cena. After that, Cena looked dumbfounded. Raw ended at this point.