If there was ever any doubt about whether Punk was actually under contract with WWE, this comes pretty close to definitively stating that he does, wouldn't you say?

RESPONSE FROM KE: Without a doubt.

Priceless. If WWE does it right, CM Punk is the NEXT BIG Thing!! Enough said!

K, do you recall a while back shortly after Punk left ECW, I think on RAW, HHH referred to him as "the future of the company"?

Not the first time that label has been tossed around, but it makes me wonder if HHH is still a big Punk fan and he has some role in helping elevate Punk of late?

I wonder. It would seem to make sense.

BEST ANGLE EVER! It's the angle that keeps on giving. I almost fell off my chair at the Stephanie comment! Brilliant!

I've been a WWE fan for almost 20 years and fully understand & comprehend when studio wrestlings storylines are scripted or reality. However, this rant that CM Punk has been on, making a mockery of the WWE, is quite compelling. I mean, is he really done with the WWE? Is Triple H really at the helm in a big way of making large-scale business decisions, including a very compelling storyline such as this one to turn the business on-end? Is Punk on vacation & just that "loyal employee" making his rounds to promote the product, boost the ratings as he is, as he stated on RAW, the one who "cares?" This rant in the end is only gonna do two things. One, increase his fan base amongst the older wrestling-fan demographic and two, initially only promote the WWE product. I mean, you're not gonna turn on Impact/TNA wrestling tonight to see what CM Punk has to further say (...but then again, stranger things have happened in this business). This is why, while this rant & "continuing" crusade against the WWE is very entertaining, at the same time, for the educated wrestling fan, is quite confusing as we wonder, "what the heck is really going on in the industry with this whole situation?"

In my opinion, one of the best ways WWE is handling the internet today. The way it was made looked like it was some friend of Punk's (the account apparently was freshly made for this video only) but let's face it - we all know it's planned.

Though I have to admit, this video is just pure epicness. Everyone was looking at him and they were like "WTF, does he look like CM Punk?" And then he spoke on the megaphone and everyone just POPPED big.

New era in the works.

This angle keeps getting better and better. Brilliant.

Best. Angle. Ever.

Yeah, it's a work, but it's a freakin BRILLIANT work. They need to show footage of this on Raw next week so everyone sees it.

I'm going to pretend that Punk is confronting Hunter about the upcoming DC Comics relaunch...

My apologies to any non-comics fans that don't get the joke.

This is awesome.

But on an unrelated note Kev. I'm working right now as the sports editor for my school's newspaper right now. I'm a big fan of your work. It's been kind of slow around campus since school and the athletics aren't really doing anything, so I was considering writing an article for next week about my passion for wrestling and disproving anybody that says it's "fake." I was wondering whenever I get it finished if I could send it to you and you could give me some helpful critiques and what not to help improve my writing?

RESPONSE FROM KE: Sure. E-mail it to me at kevin.eck@baltsun.com.

So many different forms of media for this story line. TMZ, Twitter, and now a YouTube appearance. The hardcore fans who are willing to chase it whereever it goes will love it, but the casual fans who don't follow wrestling beyond their television just won't be able to get into it.

I can see some casual fans getting turned off for awhile as they begin to feel left out, getting only the small portions of story that are presented on the traditional outlets.

This is an example of what some of us are talking about. Punk is leading a charge into other forms of media, and into creating "word of mouth" buzz throughout things like this Comic-Con, (San Diego being one of the biggest ones).
I think WWE knows that it is irrelevant to pay attention to short-term ratings. Moves like this are revealing a so far expertly played game of long ball. I again respectfully submit the short-term ratings analyis as insignificant and not worth mentioning.
The real story here, from twitter pics of Punk's fridge to the mainstream buzz of the original incident to this Comic-Con, is that WWE is making a strong push into pop culture relevancy and buzz that is so far unprecedented for them as far as doing it in this particular way. This story would be easier to take in and discuss if short-term ratings hadn't already been jumped all over.
I know that I'm listening...let's give this a few months and see what happens then---maybe afterwards talking ratings will be interesting. (let's also mention the reference to Ryder, who has already built underground buzz that is yet to be quantified in any way that we can accurately analyze.) The point is, low ratings are the catalyst for all of this. A longer term plan to deal with the years of slippage is obviously being introduced. We need to wait for a while to understand if this is working or not.

This is how you build a great story line. I've been a wrestling fan for 15 years and began watching in the attitude Era, so im partial to more harshness to the product as it were. But this is showing again, that when done properly wrestling can be the blur of the lines. While watching this video the thought of it being scripted never crossed my mind and that is why we watch wrestling. Let if blur the lines between reality and non reality and let us for a little while enjoy the mind set of it meaning something to alot of people around the world.

And the RYDER REVOLUTION continues. WWWYKI.......... Bro!

CM Punk vs Triple H wrestlemania wait and see

Question for Kevin:

I read a few weeks ago that Punk's contract was going to be up around September. I've been debating with others whether he has truly signed a new contract and is staying for the long haul, or if this storyline just plays out for a little while, until he leaves for good.

So, my question is, do you think he has signed a long-term deal with WWE, or is this a short-term plan until he leaves?

I'm assuming that since they're working so hard to give him this huge push, and that it's working so well, there's no way WWE would have done all this if he was just going to bail on them. I hope Punk is around long-term.

RESPONSE FROM KE; I'd be shocked if Punk hasn't signed a new deal.

Hey Kev. Did you see the article by Bill Simmons on ESPN.com (on his new Grantland section). I thought it was really well done and thorough.

Here is the link: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6790423/good-lord-music

To piggyback on what Eric said...

Historically, hasn't pro wrestling been at its best when we've had a good reason to suspend disbelief? This is by far the best reason we as fans have had in a while.

Can Cena be an effective heel? When Punk comes back, they will have the best opportunity to turn him than they may ever have. Punk will be cheered, and can be the cocky face in the Edge mold, and Cena can be justified in turning. "I've given my blood, my sweat, my tears for this business and for you fans, and you cheer the Punk and you tell me I suck? Why should I continue to respect you when you disrespect me? I'm no coward, and I'm not some psycho evil whackjob, but I'm done with the crowd-pleasing gimmicks. For now, I'm in it for me. I want the title back and I'm going to do whatever it takes to get it back. And since you don't care about me, and many of you haven't for a very long time, then I am no longer bound to the 'good guy' ethics. Going through this experience with C.M. Punk has shown me this much: boo me, cheer me, whatever. I don't need your respect and adulation anymore. I need my title back."

Punk owned HHH.He def has attained a cult status.Just by judging the reaction of the crowd who burst into CM punk chants.

Brilliant!!! You could see for months now the WWE has been using the social media to promote it's brand. This is just another extension. However, this was so set up its laughable.

This is one of the best angles since Scott Hall's appearance at Nitro that kicked off the NWO angle in WCW.

Hey Kev were do you see this story line heading a possible match at Summer Slam kind of like the Stone Cold vs Vince feud during the attitude era also rumor mill is the Rock will be at Summer Slam also i agree how can not like CM Punk is the second coming of Stone Cold but strait edge .

Guerilla theatre at its finest. In fact, you could call Punk crashing ComicCon a "Guerilla Monsoon."

Y'know, when Punk did his worked shoot, I was surprised. When he won the title and "left the company", I was surprised. This angle is entertaining. I can't remember the last time I sat down and watched a WWE product. Keep this up, and I may come back. Though, I still think they're using this to, more or less, drop the "spinner" (Does it still spin?) title and bring back the original WWE title.

Everything Punk does is gold. I've not been this excited in a long long time. I feel like a little boy waiting on Santa arriving. Amazing.

If there was any doubt as to who the most compelling performer in wrestling is, this ended the argument once and for all. When the crowd started chanting, I chanted right along with them--man how embarrasing!!!

Come on Kevin, you could at least post your thoughts?

RESPONSE FROM KE: I thought it was brilliant. Punk is absolute gold, and Triple H played his part perfectly.

your audio is better than the wwe.com

To the above poster, I want the spinner belt gone so badly. When i first saw how the WWF title looked these days, I was like what the hell is that? It is so ugly and childish looking. So hope that Mr. Punk does what he says and changes the title back to the winged eagle or something at least respectable looking.

This is the new Attitude Era!

Punk = 1997 Stone Cold
Cena = 1997 Bret Hart
HHH = 1997 Vince McMahon

if this was cena he would only get that reaction if that room was filled with little kiddies with their fruity pebbles t shirts. and what do you get if nobody likes you accept 4 kiddies " a tittle shot" and punk got booded 4 cashing in the mitb against jeff hardy but cena gets cheered 4 beating one of the most popular faces after the match. CENA SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!