I once rode a train from Longview, Texas to Detroit Lakes, Minnesota carrying nothing but a bag of clothes and the September 1987 issue of Superstar Wrestler Magazine. I’d picked it up because Kerry Von Erich was on the cover and when I was 10 years old, I’d all but decided I was gonna be just like him when I grew up. The long hair, the big muscles, chicks hanging off of him at all times, it all seemed very, very cool. Add to all this his asskicking feuds with the Fabulous Freebirds and the loud rock music that played every single time he hit the ring, and Kerry seemed to have the complete package. As I got older I realized differently, of course. Kerry had some severe issues and ultimately put himself in such a bind emotionally, physically, and legally, he saw the only plausible way out was to stand in front of the wrong end of a shotgun. His suicide in 1993 opened my eyes to the sometimes seedy underbelly of the industry, and actually drove me away from wrestling for a few years, but on that train ride in 1987, he was still bigger than life.

Mick Foley and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin have both said having Jim Ross at commentary for many of their bigger matches made the moment feel even more special to them. Really good commentary can make a classic out of a really good match. Good commentary can also rescue a bad match. Ross proved the former during much of the Attitude Era, and the latter during his days working at WCW, as he was regularly the best part of many of their broadcasts. Why then is it that WWE has seemingly gone out of their way to use two of the worst broadcast teams in the history of the company to call their A and B shows, RAW and Smackdown?

Pro wrestling has gone out of its way to let the world know the matches are predetermined, and with countless shoot interviews available, much of the backstage, behind-the-scenes activity has been made available as well. Some would say this makes the wrestlers job that much more difficult, some say it disencumbers them, allowing them more freedom in their performance. For my money, the best pro wrestling still occurs when a wrestler can make the viewer suspend their disbelief and buy in, 100%, to what they’re seeing in the ring. There have been countless times in my viewing history where I’d watch a show knowing that what I was seeing was predetermined, only to have something slightly out of the ordinary happen in-ring or during a promo that would stop me dead in my tracks and make me think, “Wait, what was that?” If they can make a fan do that, the pro wrestler has not only done their job, but they’ve got you right where they should want you.

CM Punk can do no wrong. Even going back as far as his Ring of Honor days, the man has always delivered both in the ring and on the mic. For people familiar with his pre-WWE work, last years “Summer of Punk” was no great shock. More shocking would be the fact that it took WWE that long to realize what an amazing talent the guy truly is. He can drag a quality match out of anyone (see his most recent match with Big Show), his promo work is always spot on, and since becoming the WWE Champion, has been the consummate pro, doing countless interviews and appearances on behalf of the company. Over the last year, CM Punk has been everywhere, and right there is where I think my ever so slight issue with how WWE is using him begins.