A common complaint from fans regarding the ongoing feud between WWE Champion CM Punk and the man who will challenge him for said title in one of the marquee matches at WrestleMania 28 this year, Chris Jericho, has been a serious lack of depth.
Until last night's (March 12, 2012) episode of Monday Night Raw, the central issue between the two is who is the rightful owner of the title "Best in the World." And while they both have a legitimate claim to it (in a roundabout way), the execution of their various segments with each other made the entire ordeal come off a bit whiny.
Now, though, they've gone back to the reality well. And it's made for some powerful television, with more to come.
During last night's show, Jericho made mention of the fact that he did some digging into Punk's past to find out exactly what makes him tick. We know the champ is straight edge and always has been but why? What has possessed him to live such a lifestyle?
As it turns out, his father is an alcoholic. And because of that, he had it tough growing up and saw the negative effects alcoholism can have on a man and his family and he vowed to never be that way.
Jericho brought that to light last night and vowed to take Punk's title and send him to the bottom of the barrel.
I was one of the few who wasn't quite sold on this idea at first but have since done a total 180. It's actually a brilliant bit of storytelling because it provides both continuity to a promo Punk cut years ago (posted after the jump) and it's an astonishing bit of character development in the ever-evolving story of the "Second City Saint."
To continue the storyline, Punk sent out a few tweets after Raw:
"I don't want any sympathy. Save it for Chris. Shit just got next level. I will hurt you. Everybody has skeletons in the family closet. Keep my father out of it."
The perfect response to the situation and really, the perfect storyline for a guy who has become a superstar in the truest sense of the term via shooting on his enemies and constantly blurring the line between reality and fiction.
Which raises the question as to how exactly he'll respond to this opening salvo from Jericho. While Punk's upbringing obviously saw a great deal of pain thanks to an alcoholic father, Jericho's career in professional wrestling has been just as torturous.
What are the chances Punk brings up someone like Eddie Guerrero? Or maybe even Chris Benoit?
We'll have to wait and see where this all goes but at the very least, they've done a much better job building a certain level of intrigue and infusing some life into a feud that badly needed it.
Punk's promo on Raven from WrestleRave:
Jericho's promo on Punk last night on Raw: