A year ago, CM Punk was one of the hottest names in combat sports. Not in professional wrestling. Not in MMA.
He was one of the hottest names in combat sports.
The controversial superstar made a surprise exit from the WWE following the 2014 Royal Rumble with responses ranging from anger to disappointment to disbelief (both of the literal and figurative variety). It was a sudden ending for one of the most sensational figures in modern pro wrestling history.
While WWE fans are notorious for their forgetfulness, discussion of Punk lingered for months on end. Fans clamored for any information they could find, and when he appeared on the Art of Wrestling podcast alongside Colt Cabana for an epic bridge burning session (warning, NSFW language, via PWInsider.com), it turned the entire WWE Universe upside down. When it was announced just days later that Punk had signed with the UFC? Mass hysteria across both fanbases.
Training w/ @LukeRockhold & @SugaRashadEvans in Phoenix at Exos! We knocked this wall down after this pic was taken. pic.twitter.com/7s9TrVAKIQ
— Coach (@CMPunk) May 26, 2015
That, however, was in December 2014. In June 2015? You don't hear his name derisively chanted during boring Monday night Raw segments. You don't see UFC fans feverishly refreshing Roufusport-affiliated social media pages for news on him. You don't see him on any collector cups, on the cover of the programs or on WWE ice cream bars.
While the UFC had lightning in the palm of its hands when it first signed The Best in the World, Punkamania has started running mild, brother. And that is bad news for the world's largest MMA promotion.
So, what changed? What the heck happened?
Most obviously, time took its inevitable toll on hype related to a sporting event. There was an unsustainable level of interest in Punk in 2014 that nobody reasonably expected to carry on deep into 2015. Punk wouldn't have topics to discuss or quotes to drop or major sports networks to appear on forever.
The well dried up, and the world moved on, and his debut became a waiting game. And waiting games? That's the worst kind of game.
It isn't just an issue with fickle followers, either. Punk himself is substantially less compelling as a character right now.
The Straight-Edge Savior endeared himself with (or absolutely infuriated) viewers with his brilliant work on the microphone. His anti-authoritarian speeches, in-your-face irreverence and through-and-through arrogance made him a compelling, unavoidable character, and it's shtick that would translate perfectly to MMA.
Unfortunately, we haven't seen him sit cross-legged and drop pipe bombs on Dana White. We haven't seen him criticize the UFC's promotional practices. We haven't seen him audaciously tear into anyone who would dare question his place in MMA.
We've seen a happy, well-adjusted, humble Phil Brooks quietly honing his skills like any other boring UFC fighter.
Is any of this right? Is any of this fair? Of course not, but such is the nature of sports.
The more important question is: Can this be fixed? That, on the other hand, is a resounding yes.
When concrete details about Punk's debut start coming out, business will certainly start picking up to some degree. Right now, however, it doesn't feel like a clear date, an anonymous opponent and a definite landing spot would be enough to recapture the buzz his presence had six months ago.
So how could they do that? Well, a season of The Ultimate Fighter centered around Punk would certainly be something.
The UFC and the series' producers have been actively trying to find new ways to attract viewers (none of which have worked, with TUF 21's live ratings averaging under 400,000, via MMAPayout.com), but nothing seems to work. Highlighting Punk the character, and/or Brooks the man, and showing his development under the tutelage of Duke Roufus, Anthony Pettis and Ben Askren would actually be an entertaining departure from the show's norm and could entice both UFC and WWE fans.
Would Punk be on board for this? Would Fox Sports 1? Maybe, maybe not, but MMA and pro wrestling are both story-driven affairs. Right now there is no narrative with Punk, and that's somewhat foolish given the fact that he can easily be spun as a man leaving everything behind in order to pursue his dreams, rather than a run-of-the-mill UFC fighter.
The other option is to name his opponent as soon as possible and make it somebody with a big, foul mouth. It could be a broken down veteran like Phil Baroni (who seems like a potential conquest for Punk, given his 2-8 record since 2009) or a youngster who is just too big for his britches. Making his debut a true grudge match, and setting it to a low simmer for months on end, could build anticipation in a big way.
The UFC is paying a steep price for its acquisition of Punk, both in terms of pure dollars and in terms of its credibility as a sports organization. There needs to be some kind of return on that investment, and the UFC has done a poor job on ensuring that happens. If that doesn't change, the CM Punk experiment will wind up a resounding failure.
