If there’s anyone who wants a little payback in the WWE locker room, it’s got to be Chris Jericho. Only months after his cryptic return in January 2012, The Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla mounted two monstrous challenges against then-WWE Champion CM Punk, the first and most epic unfolding under the hot Miami night at WrestleMania XXVIII. And despite an all-time effort on behalf of the original Undisputed Champion, Jericho walked away empty-handed when The Show of Shows folded up its tents.

Jericho brings “the end of the world” | Photos of their WrestleMania clash

But given that Jericho was unable to reclaim the WWE Title on The Grandest Stage of Them All, it makes sense that Y2J threw the gauntlet one more time at the feet of The Straight Edge Superstar, laying down a challenge for his recent rival on the May 27 edition of Monday Night Raw. On paper, the plan is perfect: A tailor-made rematch for two of the ring’s premier competitors, staged under the banner of a pay-per-view whose very name promises Payback.

There is, of course, only one problem with this strategy: CM Punk is not here.

Nor has he been for some time, since walking off into the sunset after suffering his own WrestleMania defeat to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 29. Punk’s whereabouts have been one of the hot topics of conversation; WWE.com even took a stab at figuring it out. But despite The Second City Saint’s absence from the squared circle, Jericho still found a way to make his challenge to the absentee Punk stick by manipulating Paul Heyman into accepting on his client’s behalf during an intense session of “The Highlight Reel.”

Full match: Jericho & Punk get “Extreme” | Punk’s 15 greatest moments

So now, for the first time in a long time, CM Punk – wherever he is – finds himself backed into a corner. With Jericho competing (and winning) on a weekly basis, the MIA “Best in the World” finds himself facing a Hall of Fame-caliber Superstar who’s riding high off his second win. And with that rhythmically-gifted, figurative monkey finally off his back, Jericho’s confidence is about as high as it’s ever going to be (it doesn’t bode well for Punk that their last, one-off encounter nearly ended with Y2J victorious as well).

As for Punk … who knows? Maybe he’ll show up at Payback. Maybe he’ll show up before then. And, of course, maybe he won’t. Maybe Jericho’s counting on that, of exposing the man who humbled him on the highest pedestal of their shared profession as a broken man; of being able to defeat him simply by way of his absence.

Imagine that, if Chris Jericho could beat CM Punk without throwing a single punch. Now that would really be payback.

CM Punk already lays claim to the longest WWE Championship reign of the modern era, and at The Showcase of the Immortals, the irreverent Superstar will try to make history again by doing what no man before him has been able to accomplish: snap The Undertaker’s WrestleMania Streak. Continue reading »

Perhaps the parade was premature. Perhaps the celebrating, the humble tweets to The People and the legions of Team Bring It, and the proclamation that FINALLY, The Rock was WWE Champion once again jumped the gun by just a bit. Maybe, just maybe, The Rock put the horse before the cart when he celebrated his latest triumph on Raw Roulette, because CM Punk is not done with The Great One by a long shot.

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Attitude Era original Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will compete in his first World Title match in more than a decade when he challenges WWE Champion CM Punk, the longest-reigning WWE Title holder of the past quarter-century, at Royal Rumble on Jan. 27.

The WWE Universe has anxiously awaited The Great One’s return to the WWE Title picture since he announced his championship opportunity on Raw 1,000 last July. (WATCH) Though there was no guarantee at the time whom The Rock’s opponent would be, the always-confident Punk fired an opening salvo that night, cutting down The Rock with a clothesline before knocking him out with a picture-perfect Go to Sleep. The following week, The Voice of the Voiceless defended his actions by suggesting The Great One, having been “gifted” a WWE Title match, viewed victory at the Royal Rumble as a foregone conclusion.

Whether a real or perceived slight, the implication that The Rock places himself on a higher plane than the current WWE Champion was seemingly all the motivation Punk needed to make sure he would still have the title on Jan. 27.

In the half-year since Raw 1,000, The Second City Saint stunned WWE fans by aligning with Paul Heyman and ratcheting up the vitriol of his speech. More important than either of those details, he has — by hook or by crook — maintained possession of the championship gold. Having turned back challenges by John Cena and Ryback in recent months, The Best in the World now looks ahead to testing himself against the seven-time former WWE Champion who vowed in 2012 to regain the title.

For The Rock, an A-list Hollywood action star and third-generation Superstar who has sports-entertainment coursing through his veins, the Royal Rumble title match represents the start of a potential career renaissance inside the ring. Since March 2004, The Most Electrifying Man in All of Entertainment has competed in only two sanctioned WWE matches, teaming with John Cena to shred The Awesome Truth (The Miz & R-Truth) at Survivor Series 2011 and overcoming the Cenation leader at WrestleMania XXVIII.

But by vying for the most treasured prize in sports-entertainment, The Rock is committing to more than another appearance as a “special attraction.” Rather, he is setting his eyes on again becoming WWE’s gold standard.

Hell-bent though The Rock may be on introducing a new generation of WWE fans to The People’s Champion, there is no discounting Punk’s deftness once the bell rings. Controversial endings to several high-profile title defenses may have tarnished The Second City Saint’s reputation in the eyes of some critics, but they have done nothing to change the fact the WWE Championship still sits around his waist. Before his seedier side came into focus in late summer, Punk spent much of 2012 disposing of WWE’s best and brightest, ranging from Chris Jericho and Daniel Bryan to Dolph Ziggler and Kane. How will the WWE Champion match up against one of the pillars of The Attitude Era?

As the WWE Universe excitedly counts down the days until Jan. 27, the back-and-forth between two of WWE’s most compelling talkers is bound to pick up steam. It will not be until the Royal Rumble, however, that the trash talk gives way to the gravity of a game-changing WWE Championship bout, the likes of which hasn’t seen in years. Will Royal Rumble mark the rebirth of a championship Brahma Bull, or will it only underscore what Punk has claimed all along, that he is untouchable and in a class by himself? (HOW TO WATCH)

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On two consecutive pay-per-views, Ryback was prevented from feasting on WWE Champion CM Punk, but at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, the brawny challenger will get another chance to devour the main course he’s long salivated for.

And this time, some of the ring’s most dangerous implements will be available for use, as the championship battle will be contested as a Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match.

The juggernaut owes his Dec. 16 bout against The Second City Saint, as well as its TLC stipulation, to Raw Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero. The Queen Diva announced the match on Nov. 26 in an attempt to quell Ryback and regain control of WWE’s flagship program.

But how will the new dynamic of legal weaponry affect the title bout — Ryback’s third WWE Title match in as many months? Though the stipulation appears to benefit the challenger and his smash-mouth style, the truth is that the added insanity of tables, ladders and chairs might not lend a clear-cut advantage one way or the other.

Logic dictates Ryback will only be empowered by having such tools of destruction at his disposal. The nearly unstoppable Superstar has shown a knack for upping the intensity of his already-vicious offense when the occasion calls for it. (See the destruction of Brad Maddox, for example.) Add in the obvious hostility he harbors toward Punk, and it would seem the WWE Champion is in for a long night of being smashed through tables, cracked with steel chairs and launched off ladders on Dec. 16.

Yet, Ryback must not neglect Punk’s vicious skill in specialty matches, or his perfect 2-0 record in TLC Matches. The Second City Saint’s debut in the match format, against Jeff Hardy at SummerSlam 2009, ended with him winning his third World Heavyweight Championship. Punk’s more recent TLC Match, against Alberto Del Rio at last year’s WWE TLC, also ended in victory for the tattooed titleholder.

Both of those matches came long before Punk brought master strategist Paul Heyman into the fold, never mind the controversial outcomes of Punk’s two title defenses involving his ultra-intense No. 1 contender.

It was during a critical moment in October’s Hell in a Cell title match between Punk and Ryback that rogue referee Brad Maddox famously low-blowed Ryback and fast-counted his shoulders to the mat. Maddox received his receipt weeks later on Raw, when the bald bruiser bounced the wannabe Superstar’s skull off every conceivable surface ringside before sending him off in an ambulance. (WATCH)

Ryback was also on the verge of winning the WWE Title Triple Threat Match against Punk and John Cena at Survivor Series when the little-known trio of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns mysteriously struck, planting Ryback through a table and ruining his chance at victory.

Punk and Heyman insist they’re blameless, and they portray the actions taken by Maddox and the NXT triumvirate as autonomous. Whether the outcomes of those title bouts were caused by unwanted intrusions, as the champion proclaims, or attacks orchestrated by Punk and Heyman, is still unclear. But with round three of his conflict with Ryback just around the corner, it’s safe to assume the champion isn’t simply coasting to Dec. 16 without a care in the world.

Will Punk, the longest reigning WWE Champion in years, be able to outperform Ryback decisively and free of outside influence — finally validating Punk’s argument that he is fearless and “The Best in the World”? Might the sage veteran’s experience in the TLC match type mean all the difference between a win and a loss, and if not, will Punk’s resourcefulness be his saving grace?

Or, could WWE TLC mark the end of the Punk era and the beginning of Ryback’s time atop the mountain? And if Ryback is successful in his quest to win the WWE Championship, what is the likelihood the polarizing Punk will escape WWE TLC with his body intact?

Be it a feeding frenzy for Ryback or a convincing title defense for Punk, the WWE Championship TLC Match on pay-per-view Dec. 16 will be must-see viewing for the WWE Universe. (HOW TO WATCH)

And to think, CM Punk was almost out of the woods.

The Second City Saint had carved himself a nice little out for Survivor Series following his controversial defeat of Ryback at Hell in a Cell: a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match in which he was the captain, his title was not up for grabs and he had eight Superstars to separate him from Ryback. The end result was almost guaranteed that Punk would saunter out of the fall classic with the WWE Title in his clutches and, potentially, spare himself from further physical harm at the hands of the beast. Continue reading »

WWE Champion CM Punk will have plenty of opportunity to earn the WWE Universe’s respect at WWE Hell in a Cell when he puts the WWE Title on the line against the undefeated Ryback on Oct. 28 as John Cena and the WWE Universe chant “Feed Me More!”

At the contract signing on the Oct. 15 edition of Raw — with Mr. McMahon and Paul Heyman looking on — Cena declared Punk would be haunted by three words in the coming weeks: “Feed me more!” Then, with the WWE Universe whipped into a frenzy, and before the ink could dry on the contract, Ryback slammed Punk’s head onto the contract table and Shell Shocked the stunned champion. With that exclamation point, Ryback has clearly drawn a line in the sand between him and his Hell in a Cell opponent. (PHOTOS)

Now, the entire WWE Universe looks ahead to Oct. 28. On that date, the most dominant WWE Champion in years will be locked inside Hell in a Cell with the most unrelenting force in WWE today. In Ryback, The Second City Saint faces an insatiable beast that has been utterly unstoppable in his rookie year. With his days of destroying locals two at a time seemingly in the distant past, Ryback has displayed his ability to hang with more established Superstars. He has plowed through Intercontinental Champion The Miz, dismantled former WWE Tag Team Champions Primo & Epico two-on-one and toppled the mighty Tensai.

Ryback has also muscled his way into Punk’s line of vision, stepping between the WWE Champion and Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross one week, and interrupting Punk’s bout against Mr. McMahon on the Oct. 8 Raw.

But will Ryback’s path of destruction be enough to carry him through the first official title match of his career, which happens to be against the most important titleholder in the land, WWE Champion Punk? Ryback has warned that he is a shark swimming with dolphins, but will the same be true when he faces the biggest test of his young career?

Or will The Second City Saint — who has proven his resourcefulness time and time again — figure out a strategy to escape Hell in a Cell with his title reign, and life, intact? Will Punk manage to see day No. 344 as WWE Champion?

At WWE Hell in a Cell, which airs live on pay-per-view Oct. 28 at 8 ET/5 PT, the WWE Universe will find out. (HOW TO WATCH)

And you thought CM Punk was mad before? No, no, no, that was a warm-up, a preview, an aperitif, if you will, of the fury that’s sure to spew forth from The Second City Saint following his controversial defeat at the hands of John Cena last week on Raw. In case you’ve forgotten, The Straight Edge Superstar was pinned by the Cenation leader despite the fact that Punk had his foot on the ropes, a seemingly egregious oversight by the referee who officiated the contest. As Raw went off the air, Punk was berating the ref all the way back to the locker room on TV and WWE.com (WATCH), and speculation has been running rampant as to how the WWE Champion will respond to the controversy this week. Continue reading »