[#1-norm-fan]

Hear me out…

Punk slowly leans more and more into the role of a selfish veteran who is here to hold down the young guys. It eventually becomes crystal clear when he starts subtly cheating to win matches.

He remains champion for a year, slowly devolving into the selfish shithead marks want him to be while they also fantasy book MJF’s WWE debut. (Because him being gone this long is CLEARLY not a work)

Turns out MJF was getting paid big money for months to just sit at home for the sake of long-term storytelling. He makes a “shocking” return to call out Punk on his bullshit and becomes the definition of an anti-hero. He’s still the silver-tongued asshole devil from before but you’ve all finally caught up to him.

Now a world title match is set up… and every sleazy attempt by Punk to cheat his way to victory is thwarted. Because he’s facing the king of that shit. Punk’s lackeys come out but they’re met by guys MJF had ready for them. Punk goes to use a chair and MJF falls to the ground, selling it early. When the ref wants to call for the bell for a DQ, MJF stops him and tells him he’ll “tough it out”. Finally Punk grabs his title, gets a mic and says “Fuck this company” as he climbs over the barricade with a cocky grin while blowing MJF a kiss.

He makes it halfway through the crowd and then stops, looking forward in shock. Wardlow chases him back into the ring where MJF beats him and takes the title.

After MJF establishes himself as the hero you hate to admit you need for a while by cheating and outsmarting a bunch of heels, Wardlow challenges for the title. MJF promises not to cheat and no one REALLY buys it. He turns down every opportunity by past allies to help him out and ultimately falls after a valiant effort. He shakes hands with Wardlow and you have your mega face built as well as your secondary face who is loyal to his friends but is still a natural asshole.