This might turn into a bit of a rant so bear with me. Obviously if you haven’t seen the Rumble yet don’t read an article about it.

Last night saw the most predictable WWE Pay-Per-View in recent memory. This current story-line setting up the “twice in a lifetime” Cena/Rock confrontation at Wrestlemania was sign-posted months ago and the inevitability of it all is tough to take.

Looking at it objectively it’s not a bad story. The company boy Cena lost his must-win match to The Rock at Wrestlemania last year and now he has a chance to redeem himself, and for the title no less. But the problem is this story requires the belt to be in the hands of a part-timer and there are some real issues with that for most fans like myself. It all boils down to respect.

Going back to Wrestlemania last year, The Rock’s win over Cena was a shock. John Cena was the WWE’s star. They placed the company on his shoulders completely and weren’t shy about doing so. While The Rock was in a similar position himself ten years ago, he was now a Hollywood actor and would make an appearance in the WWE once every year or two. To the outsider, for the actor to win would be ridiculous. To let the actor beat their star man would make him look weak and bury him as a legitimate top wrestler. But the WWE didn’t seem to think that way. So The Rock is still seen as the bigger star or they thought Cena was so over that they couldn’t hurt him. Either way it seemed bizarre at the time.

At that very same Pay-Per-View, CM Punk was in the early stages of what would eventually be the longest WWE Title reign in over 25 years. The longest title reign in my lifetime. And his whole reign was about “respect” and how the title was more important than anything else. He brought legitimacy to the belt which was previously being handed around like a parcel at a kids party. He did this, for 434 days, despite being habitually given bad time slots and little air-time. And for the WWE fans who had become disillusioned with the current WWE product, he was a rallying point. He was what the company could be and in many ways what it needs to become if it’s to stay alive.

Punk’s loss to Rock wasn’t a shock like it was with Cena as we could all see it coming, especially the moment that Cena won the Rumble. You could see the cogs moving in Vince McMahon’s brain from miles away. But despite it’s obviousness it was nevertheless still galling to see the belt being handed to a part-time wrestler. To a man who won’t be showing up to house-shows on tour and to a man who won’t be wrestling again until the next Pay-Per-View. He’ll only defend his belt once until he eventually loses to Cena at Wrestlemania.

At the end of the day, wrestling is a business and this a money driven decision. As far as Vince is concerned this was a no-brainer. But sometimes I think you need to worry about the image you’re presenting and the legacy of your business’ top prize. The Rumble was predictable but it doesn’t mean it was right.

Facebook and Twitter has lit up about it. Even as I type this on Wednesday, two days after RAW, CM Punk is trending on Twitter. It would seem to be a failure on my part not to chime in, so why wouldn’t I?

For the next three weeks WWE will exist purely to sell Pay Per View bookings. The Royal Rumble takes place on January 27th and their headline match is CM Punk versus The Rock. The promo wars began this past Monday night and it was intriguing to say the least.

CM Punk is one of the best in the business on the mic, Rocky hasn’t been on our screens for nearly a year and the last time we saw him he was writing notes on the back of his hand. They come from two very different schools of wrestling, Punk was an indy wrestler for years before catching a break and Rocky was the chosen one long before he ever referred to himself in the third person. Nobody knew what to expect the first time they faced off.

Here is the full 30 minute talk-off (with slightly dodgy audio).

Here are my thoughts:

CM Punk started it all off with some choice ranting. When Punk breaks down the problems with the company it’s a beautiful thing to behold. The problem I had was when, I feel, he lost his way and tried to tie it into the crowd. He’s a heel, he’s supposed to get people to hate him and I understand that but I personally feel that some of his points were lost in the mix as he weaved back and forth between beefs. He had the crux of a great promo in there, I just thought it was a little tainted by some sloppy execution. Part of that problem lies in the length of time allowed. I think if he had to do this in half the time he was given it would have been perfect.

Rocky started out in a more serious tone, which is something I had hoped for. He made direct points to Punk and referenced Punk’s own words. It was good. Then, unfortunately he started falling back on the old cliches and his tired old routine. It lowered the tone and showed that Rock has trouble working on Punk’s level. Rocky is one of the best ever to work in the WWE but his style just isn’t the current style and it certain isn’t Punk’s style. It may be considered bias, but to me Punk’s tone is a more intelligent one.

Over all, I was a little dissapointed, I look forward to the coming weeks when hopefully things get much more personal. It’s early days though and both guys need to find their feet with this feud. I don’t believe they’ve found their angle just yet.

Where can this all go? I know what I want to see. Rocky needs to play on Punk’s paranoia of being constantly looked over in the WWE. Rocky is the company man, the golden boy and I think he needs to use that.

If there was a knock out punch in Round One it has to be this.

Or, you know “In your face, Jerks”.

CM Punk 1 – The Rock 0

And if you’re wondering why Punk was trending on Twitter earlier:

He was in Miami wearing Dwayne’s old college football Jersey. Snap.