What WWE can do to make CM Punk an Icon in professional wrestling

Edited and promoted to the front page by CagesideSeats.com.

I've loved wrestling all my life.

My first memories are a blur of the Ultimate Warrior sprinting to the ring and Hulk Hogan ripping his shirt off like a bronzed god. Eventually, I became obsessed. But, after years of serious dedication, I slowly but surely fell out of the loop. Every once in a great while I would tune into Monday Night Raw, check out the news on pro wrestling websites, and see if TNA was anything special. But nothing made me want to rededicate myself to something I once loved so dearly.

That all changed when CM Punk dropped his infamous shoot promo on Raw this past June. But, despite being hooked again, it still feels like WWE just isn't doing enough with Punk.

Allow me to explain.

One Tuesday, my older brother (another smart wrestling fan) gives me his laptop, brings up YouTube, and says, "Watch this." I was astonished. During his worked shoot promo, Punk said everything I had been thinking for the past few years. Fast forward a few months and he has the WWE championship and is currently in the midst of his "agent of change" gimmick in which he's leading the charge to make pro wrestling interesting again.

He's doing a good job, too. I'm now tuning in every Monday night, eager for more. But in doing so, I've come to realize something: the WWE isn't doing enough to help CM Punk become an even bigger superstar than he already is.

You may read that and say, "Did you hear the thousands of New Yorkers at Madison Square Garden for Survivor Series?" Yes, I most certainly did. And it's true; CM Punk is definitely popular with the fans. But riddle me this: will he ever become as popular as such megastars as Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Hulk Hogan, or even John Cena?

Answer: he can. But he needs some help from the Creative Team.

Punk is an amazing asset for any pro wrestling company. He's great inside the ring and works the hell out of a mic. He's also a guy whose character just so happens to be in the right place at the right time. Fans are sick and tired of the overblown bodybuilders putting on terrible main event matches and they're sick of 10 minute backstage scenes leading to two minutes of mat work.

CM Punk, as a character and a person, is totally against this style of "sports entertainment." He truly is "The Second City Savior."

Even with all of this momentum, though, the WWE is failing in its quest to make him a megastar. The reason?

No memorable moments.

Let's take a guy like Stone Cold Steve Austin. Remember when he drove the beer truck into the ring and sprayed down the entire McMahon family with it? Or how about when Austin went to Brian Pillman's house and got a gun pulled on him? Remember when he beat up old Vinny Mac in the hospital, smashing him over the head with his own bedpan? And who could forget the time he beat up Booker T in a supermarket? Stone Cold Stunner to Santa Claus, anyone?

You could go on and on with Austin. You could go on and on with the Rock, too, or Undertaker, or Shawn Michaels, or any other superstar who attained Icon status.

But what about CM Punk?

Obviously, his worked shoot promo is a memorable moment and one we're not likely to ever forget. But where are the rest? Where are those incredible scenes that will make up future DVDs we can share with our buddies or our kids? If WWE wants Punk to truly become one of the greats, they need to help him get there. They need to write amazing spots that represent the movement he leads. Fans need to a reason to say, "Hey, do you remember when CM Punk...," or, "What about the time CM Punk did...". This is solely the job of the Creative Team.

Help this man. He can't do it alone.