On the 2024 version of Cash within the Financial institution on Saturday evening, the CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre saga ensnared Seth Rollins and formally joined the ranks of the Bloodline and Judgment Day as masterful storytelling.
Impressively, it continues to take action with out an official match for both feud.
At Scotiabank Enviornment in Toronto, Punk returned from a presumed medical sidelining after struggling a beatdown by the hands of McIntyre on weekly programming and interfered within the World Heavyweight Championship match.
It wasn’t simply any common previous interference, although. McIntyre simply so occurred to be cashing within the Cash within the Financial institution contract he received within the ladder match that opened the present whereas champion Damian Priest and Rollins have been on their final legs.
Lengthy story quick, Priest wound up retaining with Rollins out and Punk getting main revenge by beating down McIntyre.
The entire ordeal was a layered stroke of storytelling genius that followers do not normally see exterior of The Bloodline and The Judgment Day. And this time, it isn’t simply so simple as making the Punk-McIntyre feud all of the extra private.
No, this time it helped WWE weave across the annual downside that’s the Cash within the Financial institution briefcase.
The merchandise hasn’t typically been used to spice up up-and-coming Superstars. As a rule, it has been a hindrance (even Priest regarded dangerous typically during the last 12 months for not cashing-in on an injured Rollins) that the corporate clearly had points reserving round, particularly with the emphasis on long-form storytelling round prolonged title reigns.
So identical to that, the briefcase goes poof on the identical evening it is earned, enriches the meat between two of the highest Superstars and ensures the foolish inexperienced factor will not hinder Priest’s title or awkwardly lurk within the background of the Cody Rhodes-Bloodline stuff.
Then there’s the Rollins issue. Even essentially the most informal of followers perceive that there has, not less than prior to now, been some actual beef between him and Punk.
To spotlight a couple of massive factors, Rollins’ public bashing of Punk even when The Greatest within the World wasn’t in WWE mentioned fairly a bit, as did his blurred-lines anger when Punk returned to the corporate at Survivor Sequence final November.
Saturday introduced one other rendition of the latter, with Punk formally in Rollins’ sights for the primary time in a feud sense after dropping his probability on the title due to the interference. Like his animated response at Survivor Sequence, it was solely commentator Corey Graves getting between the 2.
That means, this is not simply angling towards Punk-McIntyre. Now, it’s extremely clear Rollins will get a shot at his nemesis, too. And one has to assume it’ll ultimately loop in that title round Priest’s waist, giving followers maybe the very best predominant occasion scene across the non-Roman Reigns or Rhodes title up to now.
All of this is not meant to undersell the impression on the McIntyre angle, although. In reality, this felt sudden as a result of WWE had already gone to such nice lengths to construct up the non-public feud.
We’re hardly simply faraway from Punk costing McIntyre a title win in entrance of a house Scottish crowd, so the truth that he is now taking away his cash-in try is, effectively, borderline psychopathic in its ranges of hatred (and entertaining because it will get for followers).
And simply to reiterate, this has all unfolded between these two whereas Punk hasn’t been medically cleared. One might argue it is the all time fashionable feud to not even characteristic a match. One actually could not blame followers for feeling prefer it’s the outright finest story and feud entering into professional wrestling as an entire proper now.
This measured storytelling, on paper, might imply a bloody payoff between Punk and McIntyre that headlines SummerSlam outright. Then, Punk and Rollins blaze a private, line-blurring path to WrestleMania 41 which may simply embody a championship—and a predominant occasion each guys by no means received this 12 months.
Total, Saturday evening was one other story beat for the crowning achievement of the Triple H period. Progressing not one, however two feuds without delay whereas eliminating an annual downside in a jaw-dropping means is a chef’s kiss second for these on the controls.
And it is the followers who will maintain successful courtesy of moments like these, with Punk-McIntyre and Punk-Rollins boasting all-timer potential if the character and story parts maintain progressing like this.
