Thoughts from the Gorilla Position 12.29.10: Will The Newest Member of The Nexus Breathe Life Into The Fading Faction?

Will The Newest Member of The Nexus Breathe Life Into The Fading Faction?

CM Punk has been successful in various aspects of the wrestling business (random point of interest… the CM in CM Punk is said to have been a reference to “Chick Magnet”, something Punk periodically denies these days). His latest foray in the broadcast booth had been met with a lot of fanfare and positive feedback. His ability to ad lib and his comfort level with a little dead air (contrary to say Matt Striker, who seems to feel the need to be talking 24/7) along with some fresh commentary had been getting rave reviews from Vince McMahon and others in the dressing room.

Sadly, Punk has been on the disabled list on and off during the last year or so. He was out first with an arm injury and most recently with an injury to his hip. As a way to ensure CM Punk stayed in the minds of the loyal WWE following as he dealt with his medical problems, Punk was kept in feuds as the mouthpiece of the Straight Edge Society (often with his arm noticeably in a sling), and most recently, working with Jerry Lawlor and Michael Cole calling the action at the announcer table.

He began appearing as the third man in the booth on the November 22nd edition of RAW. This allowed him an opportunity to stay front and centre in the fans mind. It also offered him an avenue to kick off his return to active competition with attacks to the John Cena. And for anyone who watched the latest edition of Monday Night RAW, we bore witness to the seeming ascension of CM Punk to a position amongst the Nexus.

I confess, while I watched the multitude of steel chairs fall on the protected Wade Barrett at the TLC PPV, I assumed this was meant to be the end of the feud. I don’t think you could put more ore of a “period” on it if you tried. But I didn’t walk away from it with a clear understanding of what Wade Barrett’s fate was. Did he just take a severe ass kicking? Was he officially out of the Nexus? Or what was going on??

So CM Punk’s entry in to the foray was a bit cloudy as well. Is he a member of the faction? Is he the new leader? Is his feud with Cena, or will it ultimately be with Wade Barrett for control of the Nexus? I didn’t come away from RAW with an absolute answer, and that’s ok. In fact, now for the first time in a LONG time, I’m interested in perhaps staying up to watch RAW unfold live (rather than catching it via PVR when it’s convenient).

So what does Punk bring to the table? A lot.

1. Experience – His debut came in 1999 so quick math says he has 11 years under his belt and he’s been quite active during that time. His calendar was quite full from his time in ROH right up until his current tenure with WWE. When you factor in that he’s 32 years of age, he still has a few wrestling years left in him.

This foray into the Nexus should help those around him in a way that Barrett may have been struggling. Remember, Barrett was and still is less than a seasoned WWE veteran when you compare him with many of the others on the roster. So adding Punk to the mix gives an extra dimension that they may not have had before.

2. Credability – CM Punk has accomplished a lot in his career. His championships are too many to state here. He was given the ball on more than one occasion as the World Heavyweight Championship (3 times) not to mention being a Money in the Bank winner and Intercontinental champion.

3. Talent – He’s a mere 222lbs (listed weight) which doesn’t put him among the heavyweights of the squared circle. But he looks athletic and fit, and is able to put some pretty meaty guys onto his shoulders in preparation for his finisher (the GTS). He’s near the Shawn Michaels level in terms of elevating those around him.

4. Mic Skills – One thing he’s universally been praised for are his skills on them mic. CM Punk delivers his promos with enthusiasm, and with passion. You see some guys like Morrision (for example) who still seem to struggle when they have to talk. It’s as if they’re reading lines. Kind of reminds me of being back in 7th grade, when we had to do speeches in front of the class. He’s stone cold boring.

Punk has sometimes been given some pretty atrocious people (and material) to work with (Luke Gallows and Serena anyone?) and to his credit, he’s able to keep us from flipping the channel. Not every wrestler has that ability. In fact there are a handful that are really great and Punk may be in that category.

5. Heat – it seems that Punk has a knack for being a real easy guy to dislike. I was elated when he cashed in his MITB contract at Extreme Rules 2009 and took out the fan favourite Jeff Hardy. The full heel turn was exactly what he needed. He is still able to be a successful face but without question he’s at his best when he’s playing the bad guy.

Punks return to the ring should breathe new life into the faction, and will allow Punk to do what he does best. Stir the pot.

Judging by the promos he cut Monday night, he may have dumped the whole Straight Edged Society angle. And in my opinion, good riddance to it. It reeked too much of the Right to Censor angle which was never over back in the day (regardless of whether it got some tv time and despite some of the members holding championship gold).

The “I’m better than you” thing just doesn’t do it. The promos become extremely monotonous and one begins to think that each time someone grabs the mic they’re spouting the exact same line as they did the day before.

Punk called out Cena and in the process perhaps shot a little. It was interesting to see how much rope Vince must have given him. He made reference to Cena’s speech about taking time off and the fact that he effectively went “back on his word” later on that same night. He poked fun at his statement about wanting to spend time with his family and how his continued returns to the ring through the crowd over and over again was totally hypocritical.

All of the things we talked about amongst ourselves in terms of how the Cena / Nexus angle was being handled was being referenced by Punk. And it was great. Sometimes I wonder if creative is laughing at the angles they’re feeding us and the fact that we’re still tuning in. The fact that what’s coming across on tv via Punks promos is something all of us can relate to is really interesting and is something that makes me personally want to watch more of. I’m curious as to how much rope they’re going to give Punk in his promos before they’ll have to make sure the top dog doesn’t begin getting buried in any real sense.

The Nexus stable of performers overall has gone nowhere. When they took the tag team belts I thought that there may have been a change in the booking afoot. There was an episode of RAW that saw all of the Nexus team members have to compete in various bouts and they were all booked to win. At that point in time I would suggest that they were at the peak of their momentum.

And since that point there has been a slow decline across the board. I don’t see any of the members as having any credibility as performers. They’ve been placed on the front of posters for PPV’s and they’ve been pushed via merchandising and you know what? I don’t believe that any of that has helped get them over. Barring Barrett. Of the bunch, Barrett did come away with an elevated status.

When I see Wade Barrett facing Sheamus, or Orton, or any of those guys, I think it’s a bit of a stretch, but I am willing to give a little. Unfortunately a lot of his matches were booked to have interference play a role in his victories, which doesn’t do a lot to make me buy them as viable contenders.

With punk in the mix, the Nexus members should at least continue getting face time. Interestingly enough they’ve certainly been kept in front of our faces but as performers they just have not been pushed to any great extent. There have been flashes of success (including some temporary tag team gold) but no sustained push for anyone other than Barrett.

The rest of the guys are little more than jobbers in black t-shirts at this point. If the WWE is on a serious campaign to grow the next crop of superstars, they need to decide that either this is them (and push them accordingly) of they need to find more performers and let some folks go.

As we look towards 2011 it’s clear that CM Punk and Nexus appear to have reached an “arrangement”. Just where creative will take them is anyone’s guess. The fact that Cena is involved with both Punk and the Nexus, and that Punk is seemingly now a player WITHIN the Nexus, suggests that Cena and the Nexus are going to be playmates for many weeks to come.

Remember, there have been a lot of factions over the course of time. Take DX and the Four Horsemen for example. In both cases you had established superstars who could be part of a group, or who could exist successfully on their own. The Nexus are NOT established superstars, and none of them currently (in my opinion) can successfully exist as a main event player on their own. Unless the intent is to keep the Nexus as a faction forever (I sure hope it’s not), pushing individuals within this group needs to be a key focus for WWE in 2011.

Bottom line is that Punk will freshen things up given his recent in ring sabbatical. And if they can select even 3 of the current Nexus members to push hard, this angle has the potential to be beneficial for all, including the fans.