Rivalry Revisited: 3 Reasons Why Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk Worked

Credit: WWE.com

Punk’s Heel Turn

Simply put, the timing of Punk’s heel turn was a huge contributing factor in the Hardy vs. Punk feud. The fans were growing a little bored with Punk as his face run was nearing a close. Who better to draw heat against than the number one true babyface of 2009, Jeff Hardy?

The best part of Punk’s heel turn was how slow it was. Punk did not cut a promo on the fans the week after Extreme Rules. No, he simply turned part of the crowd against him by just beating the guy that everyone wanted to see succeed.

As the weeks went on little facets would be added to Punk’s heel run. The first would be an apparent eye injury that to WWE’s credit was slowly played out. At first fans were just skeptical of the eye injury, but slowly as the weeks went on it appeared more and more like a way for Punk to hold onto his championship.

Finally the smugness of Punk’s straight edge lifestyle pushed him to be the guy with the most heat in the company. What made this transformation so amazing was the fact that Punk went from babyface to biggest heel (in my opinion) in the company in a matter of months without continuously insulting the fans weekly.

The psychology behind Punk’s heel turn was not to give the weekly insult to the crowd of whatever town he was in, it was to insult the integrity of the superstar they cheered.