Summer of Punk 2: PUNK HARDER

I knew I was gone at the beggining of the year.
I just woke up one day and knew. That's the way I work a lot of the time. I think it's creepy too, but it's really helpful. I honestly knew i'd be history by June.
Come say goodbye on Saturday, I promise to go out with a bang.
Trust me.
XxX

Where could you find that quote originally? If you said CM Punk's Twitter recently, you're wrong. Yeah, it was on his Twitter, but it's definitely a repost from something he posted on his LiveJournal on June 15th, 2005. Why's that date significant? Well, it was 3 days before he won the ROH World Championship. We all know what happened after he defeated Austin Aries. He took the belt, then his WWE developmental contract and signed it right on top of the gold. Thus began the Summer of Punk.

Will he stay or will he go?
Photo Credit: WWE.com

So, with these recycled tweets, it's almost as if he's ushering in another Summer of Punk, a sequel if you will, and with his promo on RAW after winning #1 contendership to John Cena's WWE Championship, he brought out the stakes. Finally, we got an apparent primary source on his rumored leaving WWE, the man himself. He addressed his contract situation, claiming that Money in the Bank would be his final contracted date for the Worldwide Leader in Sports Entertainment. He promised to take the title with him as he left the company for whatever he would plan to do after his career.

If you're a longtime fan of Punk and you recall the Summer of Punk? Then I don't blame you for thinking this is a smokescreen. Then again, I also don't blame you for doubting that thought of a smokescreen because the WWE just doesn't treat the Internet's favorite wrestlers with the same "respect" they do the Cenas and Randy Ortons of the world. This truly is a time of uncertainty. We've heard that Punk wants to take some time off. We've heard WWE was non-chalant about keeping him until now. Then the pattern of booking made it look like they wanted to keep him and who the fuck knows what the backstage situation is.

I'd say not to worry about it and let it play out, but at the same time, the backstage story of CM Punk potentially leaving is important because a WWE without CM Punk is like a diet without bacon. However, if this is the end for CM Punk now, I say this. He's got a month left. He'll be in the top focus of the main show. And the way this is playing out, we could be setting up for a direct sequel with the same ending as the first Summer of Punk, with the Straight Edge Savior signing his contract extension on the Spinner Belt. I'm not saying that's exactly going to happen. I also wouldn't blame Punk AT ALL for wanting to take a break. However, what if it does happen?

That might be a futile example because again, the WWE doesn't exactly have the best track record with these things. Plus, Punk is a guy who revels in playing the heel and putting guys over. Just look at his Twitter on the whole. When he gets boos, or when legends tell him they love how well he's playing the heel, he takes it as high praise. You may not like it, I may not like it, but him putting Cena over like a million bucks on the way out might be something he wants to do. So yeah, I can totally agree that we probably shouldn't be getting our hopes up.

However, the carrot's still there. If this is a big angle, and let's face it, the moment it went on TV, it started treading the line between worked shoot and total angle, then we'll all be praising the shit out of WWE, and we'll be ready to proclaim the Summer of Punk 2 to be better than the first one. I hope that's the case, because while I can understand that Punk may need a vacation, I'm selfish, and I want to see him all the time.

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