Tuesday 2 August 2011

Best in the world?

A few months ago I wrote a post about how CM Punk (http://www.wwe.com/superstars/raw/cmpunk) is better than you.  And now it is time for a follow up.
Over the course of the last several months CM Punk seemed to be a little lost in repetition, feuding with Rey Mysterio, again.  Not any more.  CM Punk has become the hottest thing in wrestling for a long time.  And all it took was him threatening to leave and being allowed to be himself.  It is fairly widely known in the wrestling industry that Punk has a high opinion of himself, but as Kid Rock says 'it's not bragging motherfucker if you back it up'.


One of the finest moments of TV I have seen in years is the now infamous episode of Raw where Punk closed the show by speaking his mind, calling Triple H a doofus and waving to Colt Cabana.  It is mostly shocking because it was so unexpected.  We have been treated to a steady diet of safe, secure content on WWE TV for years.  Hearing someone call themselves a wrestler and speaking the names of former employees, even going so far as to talk about John Laurinitis, was unheard of a few weeks ago.  Now it seems as though there actually is 'faith' in Punk, at least in the short term.  Having just watched Raw, I felt compelled to ask, is John Cena now a heel? I don't think he is, it is just that Punk has appealed to that whole audience that doesn't like Cena. The men in the crowd love that Punk now sits in a similar position that Stone Cold was in after King Of The Ring 1996.  Made a big bold statement, and now needs the brass to have the balls to go through with it. If they do, we could be in the midst of a revolution, a whole new era, if not, it could just be the Nexus all over again.  The wrestling fan could be about to hit a high, or we could be short changed in favour of girls and the under 12's.
When you have a talent of the verbal ability Punk has, you let them talk, when you have a talent who can wrestle like that, you let them wrestle.  Or you do if you want to make money.  Now the question is...does Vince have the balls he showed in '96? Will he let an actual self made star be the flagship?  Austin was wild, DX seemingly uncontrollable, Punk has the same edge.  Can the Straight Edge Superstar become the biggest star in this generation of wrestling? The chemistry Punk and Cena have seems pretty natural to me, Austin had Vince, The Rock had Triple H, Hogan had Savage and Undertaker has Kane.  All Punk has ever needed is someone with a little faith in his ability, Paul Heyman style, and a nemesis with as much ability (in very different ways) to contend with.  I look forward to the outcome of this feud, and hope it can be the catalyst for change in wrestling that we have needed for a couple of years now.
Best In The World? At this precise moment, the Cult Of Personality is making a very strong case for it...

Saturday 12 February 2011

Better Than You?

The answer, should you be a WWE superstar, is almost certainly yes. CM Punk is better than you. I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone as consistently entertaining, be it in the ring or on the microphone over the last year, maybe even two, as CM Punk.

There is an argument that the Nexus were the story over the last year, before CM Punk took over as leader, and this is true to some extent. But, and this is a big but, I didn’t care for most of the matches involving Nexus members. While the E in WWE is a prevailing factor in ‘Sports-Entertainment’, the second W is always the key for me, Punk can wrestle!

Over the last year we saw Punk involved in feuds with Rey Mysterio, for several months, and also with Big Show. Now I could live the rest of my life without seeing either of them wrestle ever again, Rey hasn’t been interesting since Eddie Guerrero died, and Big Show is a fun diversion once in a while. Involve CM Punk in these rivalries and suddenly I’m interested. Punk’s heel turn was nicely done, and his growth into the leader of the Straight Edge Society was a joy to watch. It is rare to see such a level of charisma, especially from a heel. The beard grew to Jesus length, even chest hair grew out, and all combined to be a beautiful contrast to the hairless Gallows, Serena and then Mercury. Punk channelled his inner cult leader to be a danger to every ‘normal’ person. Even more astonishing was the fact that all of this malevolence was based around the truth. Drugs, alcohol and smoking are all bad for you. All Punk did was state this fact.

It has been said by people smarter than me, that CM Punk can play up certain aspects of his Straight Edge lifestyle to draw different heat depending on if he is face or heel. I agree, to a certain extent. It is very easy to go out and be a sanctimonious prick, but it takes real talent to make people not change the channel while you preach at them. He became the man fans love to hate, much like Orton used to be before his current ill-advised face turn. Punk has been the man over the last 18 months.

When he was injured, I thought it showed just how much faith Vince/Stephanie/Triple H have grown to have in Punk to put him on commentary. With the current setup, Lawler making his easy jokes, Cole not doing a bad job, but by no means being a natural heel, putting a charismatic, smart, funny man on the Raw announce desk could have been a big gamble. CM Punk showed another side to his personality by coming off as effortlessly funny, and almost turning back to his fan-favourite ways by virtue of being so damned entertaining. Jumping in on Cena with a chair was a great way to bring the younger audience to hate him again very easily, but having him return to being the leader of a group was the masterstroke. I’m not sure the ‘New Nexus’ is the perfect combination for him, but by God I’m interested in them again (except Otunga, so dull!) It has revitalised the Nexus, at least in the short term, and there can be few learning tree’s better than Punk’s for the young Nexus members to sit under. For a while there it looked like we were going to build to a Cena-Punk feud, and a Wrestlemania payoff match, until the Rumble. To me, it works, having Orton-Punk does solidify Orton as a face (not his best role), by having Punk be the absolute cowardly heel, hiding behind his gang of stooges.

On the subject of the Royal Rumble, I thought the first 35 minutes were excellent. Coincidentally that was the point at which Punk was eliminated. Until then it had been a beautifully told story. The rest of it was fine, I just didn’t care as much about who won.

In conclusion, to quote the late Chris Kanyon, who better? Well I don’t think anyone is at the moment. I’m looking forward to the day we hear the announcement ‘New WWE Champion, CM Punk’. Imagine the rivalries still to come...Punk vs. Cena (properly), Punk vs. Morrison, Punk vs. Daniel Bryan, Punk vs. Miz and of course Punk vs. Triple H!

I have accepted CM Punk as my saviour...have you?

You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/stevecult or check out my podcast at www.aurallyfixatedpodcast.com

Sunday 2 January 2011

2010 Flashback...

As promised, I have decided to compile a playlist of all my favourite songs of 2010. There has been some awful crap released this year, but also some little gems. This is my list of favourites (in no particular order)...

Aloe Blacc- I Need A Dollar
Ash- Arcadia
Bruce Springsteen- The Wrestler (possily released late '09 but hit my ears in '10)
Glee Cast- Loser (I know, bit lame, but a cracking version of the Beck classic)
Cobra Starship- Good Girls Go Bad
Cypress Hill ft. Everlast- Take My Pain
The Divine Comedy- At The Indie Disco
American Bang- Wild & Young
The Duckworth Lewis Method- The Age Of Revolution
Florence & The Machine- You Got The Love (XX Remix)
Eminem ft. Rihanna- Love The Way You Lie
Fozzy- Enemy
Fun Lovin' Criminals- Classic Fantastic
Just Jack- The Day I Died
Slash- I Hold On
Katy Perry Ft. Snoop- California Gurls
Lloyd Cole- Like A Broken Record
Kid Rock- Born Free
12 Stones- We Are One
Travie McCoy- Billionaire
Otep- Smash The Control Machine
Paul Heaton- Welcome To The South
Story Of The Year- Just Close Your Eyes (again, I think released in'09 but a big part of '10)
Peter Marshall & The Lomos- Eggs Are Nuts (A 5-A-Day Song)
Pixie Lott- Mama Do (This one surprised me too! )
Scouting For Girls- This Ain't A Love Song
Robbie Williams & Gary Barlow- Shame
Train- Hey, Soul Sister
Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock & Keith Urban- Lean On Me
Uncle Kracker- Smile
Eliza Dolittle- Pack Up
Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys- Empire State Of Mind
Cee-Lo Green- Forget You (A late adition to the list. Been stuck in my head in for weeks)
Downstait- I Came To Play

So there it is, my songs of the year. They cover all sorts of genres, some may surprise you, some may not, but like all music, each of these is special to me for different reasons. I would encourage you to go to itunes, or wherever you get music from, and give all of these songs a try...