Yeah. Basically. He's a talented upper midcard guy, but he ain't Austin/Rock/Hogan, which is exactly what I said.
And don't give me that apologist bullshyt about it being impossible to get that over nowadays. Why, because of their global reach and huge push towards social media, the WWE somehow has *less* exposure?
I'm sure no one saw the possibility of another megastar in the dark ol days of the 95/96 era either but low and behold, we got two.
The right guy can and will blow up. It just ain't Punk. He's a really, really good wrestler who happens to think he's in an elite class. He isn't.
It IS impossible to have a Rock/Austin/Hogan level superstar in this day and age. It's not bullshyt. It's reality. Wrestling isn't "cool" anymore to anyone but kids and those who grew up on it. It's not as socially relevant as it was before.
Upper mid carder is nonsense. CM Punk is every bit as charismatic as a Bret Hart or Shawn Michaels. As an overall package he is as elite as they come - wrestling skills, mic skills, unique gimmick/look, etc. Were we ignoring when he was out-alking and SERIOUSLY outwrestling The Rock just a few months ago? I love The Rock, but let's be real.
He's shown he can main event matches. He usually has the best ones at every event he's in. And while Punk/Taker wasn't the last event on the card, I was there in attendance and it was very obvious what match the audience was most emotionally invested in at Mania. It's not his fault Vince has a man crush on Cena and chooses to revolve the program around what the children want.
Which brings me to another point. The kids were never the focus when we were growing up. You're foolish if you truly believe there can be a Stone Cold Steve Austin level superstar in the PG era.
Punk is the 2nd biggest star they have today and is overall the world's favorite wrestler. To say he isn't a top guy would be like saying The Rock wasn't a top guy when he was the Robin to Austin's Batman for years before taking the reigns after Austin's injury.