Author: Imaan Jalali

WWE News: Vince McMahon Lays the Hammer Down on CM Punk’s UFC Plans

As many are aware, WWE champion CM Punk was scheduled to accompany his friend and UFC fighter, Chael Sonnen, to the Octagon on January 28.The upcoming event—the UFC on FOX 2 special—will emanate from Chicago, the hometown of Punk.Given the …

As many are aware, WWE champion CM Punk was scheduled to accompany his friend and UFC fighter, Chael Sonnen, to the Octagon on January 28.

The upcoming event—the UFC on FOX 2 special—will emanate from Chicago, the hometown of Punk.

Given the location, Punk’s presence at the show was to simply show support and rally the crowd behind Sonnen before his bout with Mark Munoz.

In fact, Punk had already gotten approval from the WWE to make the appearance and everyone, especially him, was under the impression it was going to happen.

However, all it took was one man to curtail Punk’s plans to show up at the UFC broadcast—and one is more than enough if your name is Vince McMahon.

According to F4WOnline, McMahon’s refusal to allow CM Punk to attend the show, let alone show his face on FOX TV, came out of the blue:

Dave Meltzer writes about the situation in detail:

It is extremely unlikely that C.M. Punk will be walking Chael Sonnen to the octagon on the 1/28 show in Chicago.  Punk, in fact, has been told that he shouldn’t even be at the show.  Front Row Brian, a noted poster on message boards including ours, who broke all aspects of this story from the beginning, first noted yesterday that Punk was told by Vince McMahon that he couldn’t walk Sonnen to the ring and that he didn’t want him at the show.  Punk also confirmed to Ariel Helwani yesterday that he would not be allowed to walk Sonnen to the ring. 

We contacted two people very close to the situation, one who noted that officially nothing was 100% but that they would be surprised if it happened.  The other noted that Punk got the official word yesterday after pretty much being told on Monday and described it as Vince just being in one of his moods.  Punk and Sonnen had become friends, which makes sense given that Punk is a pro wrestler who overachieved from a marketing standpoint including by learning from MMA, and Sonnen is an MMA fighter who overachieved from a marketing standpoint from learning from pro wrestling.  Sonnen had asked Punk to accompany him since it was in Chicago and Punk and Sonnen both got it cleared.  But when it became a news story, WWE had a change of heart.

Being a consummate businessman, it is perplexing that McMahon would suddenly forbid Punk from escorting Sonnen to the Octagon.

Logically, there are only good things that would result from the current WWE champion hobnobbing with one of the UFC’s top stars.

The most invaluable benefit is the exposure—from both UFC die-hards and the casual mainstream audience—Punk would garner.

And more than just being highlighted on a hyped, nationally-televised event is the legitimacy the “Straight Edge” superstar would reap via his association with a “real” combatant in Sonnen.

In addition, any fears that Punk—and by extension, the WWE—would be undermined by the UFC announcers are unfounded. If such were the case, UFC president Dana White wouldn’t have allowed Brock Lesnar to partner with the WWE regarding the video game WWE ’12. In reality, White didn’t have to share his top draw with the WWE, but he did.

Consequently, the only possible reason for McMahon’s decision is that he does not want any member of his roster to transcend the WWE brand.

For example, after having to endure Steve Austin’s retirement, The Rock’s Hollywood dreams and Lesnar’s abrupt exit, McMahon may be paranoid about relying on his talent—and their whims—to carry the company.

Instead, by reinforcing the WWE global brand as a singular entity, superstars become relatively interchangeable in an organization wherein the whole exceeds the sum of its parts.

Follow me on Twitter @ImaanJK

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If Brock Lesnar Loses to Alistair Overeem, Should He Return to WWE Wrestling?

On December 30 2011, at UFC 141, Brock Lesnar will step into the octagon with the 6’5″ Alistair Overeem.It’s a battle between two of the UFC’s most massive fighters to determine who gets to battle Junior Dos Santos at a later date.For Lesnar, this figh…

On December 30 2011, at UFC 141, Brock Lesnar will step into the octagon with the 6’5″ Alistair Overeem.

It’s a battle between two of the UFC’s most massive fighters to determine who gets to battle Junior Dos Santos at a later date.

For Lesnar, this fight is a way for him to redeem himself after losing to Cain Velasquez 11 months ago. On the flip side of the coin his opponent, Alistair Overeem, is on a roll having won his last seven fights.

However, it is Brock who has more to gain—and more to lose—compared to Alistair.

A loss here for the former “Next Big Thing,” and his marketability as a UFC combatant takes a notable nosedive.

And if such a fate—being “engulfed” by the “Dutch Cyclone”— occurs, a return to wrestling, specifically the WWE, would be Lesnar’s best bet.

The biggest hurdle to Brock joining the WWE is Dana White, who has gone on record saying that, as long as his MMA moneymaker is under UFC contract, he is not permitted to wrestle.

Supposing either White has a change or heart or Lesnar fulfills all of his obligations with the UFC, a WWE comeback should be right around the corner.

Reasons for returning to Vince McMahon’s empire include the fact that Brock has already begun the reconciliation process; he would likely be able to negotiate a part-time schedule that does not burn him out; his WWE contract would be a lucrative one backed by incentives; he’d have a multitude of new feuds at his disposal; and lastly, he would be promoted as perhaps the top draw in the company.

First, as many are aware, Lesnar is in the new WWE ’12 video game—even going so far as to film a commercial—which marks the first time he’s had any relationship with the WWE since WrestleMania XX. As Lesnar himself mentions in an ESPN interview: “It’s an honor to be back. You know, I never had any really true hard feelings for WWE. I think there’s some mutual respect between the both of us…”

Asked if he would ever go back to the WWE for one more match, Lesnar admits he and Vince should one day be able to go over a “game plan” that would outline his homecoming.

Certainly, the most important requirement for Lesnar to get in the wrestling ring again—besides Dana White signing off on it—is the willingness to make amends. The fact that Brock has openly accepted the possibility is paramount to any return.

Next, if he does recline at a desk with Vince McMahon and discuss donning the wrestling trunks again, Lesnar probably has the clout at this point to negotiate a contract with a limited number of dates.

As it has been chronicled in the past, one of the prime reasons for Lesnar’s departure in 2004 was the incessant traveling and overall wear and tear that his body endured from the daily grind.

A part-time schedule a la The Undertaker, Mick Foley and Shawn Michaels (before he retired), should be a strong possibility—and incentive—for the former WWE and UFC heavyweight champion.

The third reason to join the WWE would be a contract that would arguably make Brock the highest paid performer in the organization. Even coming off a loss wouldn’t detract or take away from the Minnesota-native being a household name.

In addition to his downside guarantee, Brock would take a meaty cut of merchandising profits bearing his likeness—as well as be given, potentially, the biggest slice of pay-per-view pie. It doesn’t take a clairvoyant to figure Brock would unequivocally be an elite main-event player upon his return.

Furthermore, a very tempting reason to lace up his wrestling boots again would be the plethora of potential feuds on his plate with both active and retired superstars.

The current WWE star that would have dibs on a bout with Brock would be The Undertaker, who tried to create some hype around a possible WrestleMania 28 match following the Velasquez fight in October 2010 before fate intervened, causing it to be placed on the back burner.

Nonetheless, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the publicized confrontation between Brock and Undertaker was staged as both were interested in working with each other, but were unable to once Dana White put his foot down.

Besides The Undertaker, Brock has a program lined up with Steve Austin after making comments about “The Rattlesnake” ducking him during their tenure in the WWE together. The incendiary revelation instigated a Twitter “war” between the two that is likely be business driven, not personal, similar to The Undertaker incident.

Last but not least, the primary reason for Brock to reappear on Raw or SmackDown would be the likelihood that he would be promoted as one of the top draws in the company because, quite frankly, he has history on his side.

Lesnar is largely responsible for four of the seven UFC pay-per-views to garner over one million buys. Just to put this in perspective, only one of WWE’s pay-per-views per year—if that—attract as many buyers. For instance, WrestleMania 28, thanks to The Rock, was the first ‘Mania in four years to surpass the one million threshold.

Additionally, a loss against Overeem at UFC 141 would not undermine Lesnar’s credibility as a no-nonsense tough guy in the world of professional wrestling. In fact, his background as a university wrestling champion, and now a former UFC champion, would be enough to legitimize the 34-year-old as a viable commodity. He would be the antithesis of John Cena, for example, who lacks legitimacy in the eyes of many fans.

The WWE has always thrived on incorporating athletes with successful sports backgrounds into their product, be it Mark Henry, Kurt Angle or Ken Shamrock.

Lesnar would be the quintessence of the athlete turned wrestler except, in his case, it would be for the second time.

Brock Lesnar: The WWE sequel would undoubtedly be bigger, badder and better than the first go-around.

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