CM Punk... Still Not #1

I recently had a poll and asked who is the current franchise in the WWE. CM Punk came in 3rd after Randy Orton (the star of Smackdown) who came in 2nd, and John Cena (still the star of Raw) who came in 1st. 

CM Punk has been WWE champion since November, when he defeated Alberto Del Rio at Survivor Series in Madison Square Garden.

In the months since then, Punk has been as popular as ever, gracing the cover of the new WWE video game and getting great reactions at live events. However, he still isn't the top draw in the company.

Despite being the top champion in the top wrestling promotion in the world, CM Punk is not the top guy. Now, the question has to be asked if Punk will ever be considered "the man." 

CM Punk's current reign as WWE champion hits 200 days this week, the first time that a champion has hit that milestone since Triple H did in 2008. There have only been five such instances of a 200-plus day WWE champion since 1996.

With such an exclusive list of stars that have accomplished such a feat, why does it feel like CM Punk has to be punished for some reason?

Punk's pay-per-view matches during this reign have been great. He faced both Alberto Del Rio and The Miz at TLC, faced Dolph Ziggler at Royal Rumble, defended against five men at Elimination Chamber, and had an incredible bout against Chris Jericho at WrestleMania.

Since then, Punk has delivered with an entertaining Chicago Street Fight against Jericho at Extreme Rules and a nearly 25-minute match with Daniel Bryan at Over the Limit. Now at No Way Out, it will be Punk defending against both Bryan and Kane.

Not one of those matches in that sequence have been terrible. This doesn't even include the television matches that have been good against such opponents as Mark Henry, Ziggler, Bryan and even Lord Tensai.

Punk can deliver in the ring, on the microphone and still gets the reactions he should. So what is the problem? Simply put, Punk is the martyr for what happened late last year.

After the December pay-per-view of TLC, it was Punk who showed himself in the ring with Daniel Bryan, the new world heavyweight champion, and Zack Ryder, the new United States champion.

None of this had seemed likely at the beginning of the year, but all three men would team up in the main event that night. While they won in the ring, WWE lost in the ratings. Despite giving fans what they had been clamoring for, the ratings were way down and someone had to be responsible.

As a result, Ryder would lose the title a few weeks later, Bryan would ultimately turn heel and Punk was relegated to the 10 p.m. slot. Instead, it was more important to put a top draw into the slot of the last segment of the night.

This meant John Cena often, while Punk would actually be in the main event every so often. Even with great matches being produced, Punk was shuffled back toward the middle of the deck, despite being the holder of the top prize in all of WWE.

Holding the WWE championship doesn't make you the most popular superstar in the world, but it does mean that you get enough of a reaction from the fans to merit it. Punk is a top name on the RAW brand every week, but he is not the star that a guy like Cena is.

Compare something like this to when Chris Jericho was the undisputed champion with men such as The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H and many others, all of which were bigger draws than he was.

Historically, Punk won't be a footnote by any means. His matches and moments will make him live on in a positive manner for years to come. It's just that, title or not, Punk seems to never truly be in a position to be the franchise player in WWE.

It makes Punk seem under appreciated or underrated, but neither can be said about a WWE champion for the last seven months.

It must be tough to be Punk right now, who is walking around with the distinction of WWE champion while not being the main-event draw that usually comes with the honor.

Punk isn't really doing anything wrong, but John Cena is just more popular and it becomes simpler to market pay-per-views around Cena. The last four pay-per-views have all ended with Cena matches, even with having Punk title defenses on all of them as well.

With Cena being a world champion so many times before, it is wise to keep Cena away from the title for a while. How many different ways can you have Cena lose a chance at a world championship?

Instead, the two are separated and few could honestly care. WrestleMania drew better than ever before in sales, even with Punk being stashed in the middle of the card.

So when 10 p.m. comes around next Monday night, expect to hear "Cult of Personality." It's time to watch CM Punk, your WWE champion, followed by about 45 more minutes of RAW.

The real question will be about what happens to Punk during three-hour RAWs, which begin in late July. Next week's three-hour show will likely be a test to that new system.