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WWE tries its best to avoid being predictable in its storytelling but there are times when an obvious outcome is, well, obvious. That seems to be the case with the plan in regards to next year's Royal Rumble and WrestleMania pay-per-view (PPV) events, which will both feature The Rock, the WWE championship, and some combination of CM Punk (the current titleholder) and John Cena.
At current time, it appears Punk will be champion until the Rumble, at which time he will face Rock, lose his belt, and Rock will go on to WrestleMania 29 for a rematch against Cena from last year's "Grand Daddy of Them All," where Cena will get his win back and start yet another reign with the belt.
All subject to change, of course.
If they follow the current path, Punk vs. Rock is up first and in a recent interview with SunSport, the "Straight Edge Superstar" started planting the seeds for their pending feud. Unfortunately, the narrative is the same as it was for Cena:
"I have a lot of pride in what I do, and I'm proud of the WWE, and their superstars and divas that are on the road 365 days a year. It's a very cold business, it's a very ‘what have you done for me lately?' business. When somebody walks in and gets afforded opportunities that people are in line for and people are busting their ass for, you're damn right I'm going to get p****d off about it. It's only logical; it isn't sour grapes. It isn't whining. It's a fact. I said it, I was vocal about it. I said it to his face. That's just the kind of guy I am. Listen, if I disappear for 5-8 years and I come back, I only hope there is someone as angry and as hungry, with a chip on their shoulder, just like me, to tell me the same thing: ‘Hey, I can do everything you're doing, and I'm doing it every day.' I don't hate The Rock, I don't hate Dwayne. There honestly aren't any hard feelings, there's nothing anything personal. It has motivated me to work harder and to prove everybody wrong. That's what I do."
Punk's points are solid, downright logical even, but as stated, he's spitting the same venom Cena was in the lead up to WrestleMania 28 this past April. In fact, we were forced to listen to it for a year, through television, social media, and everywhere else.
Can Punk make it work for himself with a different lean on the same subject? There's little doubt that he could.
It just might be nice to see something different.