Welcome to another eWrestlingNews Question of the Day!
While nothing in wrestling is ever truly over, it does seem the rivalry between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre is at least in a holding pattern, if not outright finished. Punk has already been essentially written off television with his promo that kicked off Monday Night Raw, wherein he had his confrontation with Seth Rollins to hype up their eventual match we can all expect will be in the future around WrestleMania 41.
But in the meantime, my question for you today is “What should CM Punk and Drew McIntyre do next while moving on from each other?”
Remember to answer with your response in the comments below.
As far as my answer…
First off, they need to stay far away from each other. I don’t think either of them should interact with the other for a good year in any way. As soon as the 2025 WWE Draft is scheduled, they should even be separated on opposite brands to make sure that’s the case.
With Punk, I think we’re going to see him take enough time off that it isn’t going to really matter what he does next. There’s a good chance he’s not back until after Survivor Series, even. If he’s back in time for that event, I think the right call would be to put him in a title match against Gunther, who will likely be riding high from beating Cody Rhodes at WWE Crown Jewel. Punk shouldn’t have anything to do with WarGames, so it’s the next highest spot for him on that card and the best way to make him No. 1 contender is to just say he earned it with the Hell in a Cell win.
Otherwise, Punk is basically sitting around waiting to compete in the 2025 Royal Rumble. Hopefully, he’s back before then, but if that’s the case, then it writes itself. Punk merely declares himself and his intentions to get that WrestleMania main event and win a world title, then goes for it, and likely comes up short before setting up his feud with Rollins for Mania.
When it comes to McIntyre, I think he should take a little time off, too. Not too much, mind you, but a little bit could go a long way. He shouldn’t rush into starting a whole new feud just in time for Crown Jewel, for example.
It’s really a shame Ilja Dragunov is injured, as I would have immediately gone with him as my pick for the next person to feud with McIntyre. With him out of the picture, and with Bron Breakker refusing to actually turn babyface, there aren’t many options on Raw that stand out to me for The Scottish Warrior. Maybe a feud with Bronson Reed after he’s done with Rollins could be the right call, but I’m not entirely sold that it is a given it would be great. Is it worth revisiting the Sami Zayn angle? To be honest, I don’t know the hook there, and I hate booking with the philosophy of “but the matches will be good, so who cares about anything else?” Jey Uso has already been done, and the intercontinental title is a step down for him. Gunther has already been done. Damian Priest has been done. Everyone else is in another storyline, or they’re heels, or they’re just not on the same level.
Overall, I guess I’m stuck in a default with McIntyre of putting him opposite Reed and turning one of them more babyface—likely Drew. He just needs to keep up the momentum of the promos he’s been having, as this has been a great year for him on that front.
What do you think? Drop your thoughts below!
