WrestleMania XXVI: Part II

Is C.M. Punk's Straightedge Soceity the enemy, or Rey Mysterio?

Three years ago at WrestleMania, a young wrestler from Chicago, Illinois, representing the new class of ECW, competed in the annual Money in the Bank ladder match in a losing effort. Since then, and thereafter, the name C.M. Punk has become synonymous with Money in the Bank; because he is the only one to ever win the Money in the Bank match two consecutive years. However, fans were behind C.M. Punk until his decision to cash in on a newly crowned Jeff Hardy; which was hypocritical since, just the year before, fans cheered on Punk when he cashed in on an assaulted Edge (heel) to capture his first World Heavyweight Title.

The backlash from the fans has reverted Punk back to his heel gimmick from his Ring of Honor Wrestling days. Aligned with a close group of devout followers, C.M. Punk has become something close to Christ-like. Many even have gone as far as to label Punk as the anti-Christ, and after looking at his new t-shirt (a demented C.M. Punk caricature surrounded by a ring of flowers) he very well may be just that. C.M. Punk has taken it upon himself to lead this crusade of cleansing the masses from the damaging effects of drugs and alcohol, which he has successfully accomplished with Luke Gallows and Serena. But he has his sights set on one particular recruit by the name of Rey Mysterio. The reason being Mysterio interfered in C.M. Punk’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match.

Guaranteeing the crowning of a new Mr. Money in the Bank, Rey Mysterio is considered the hero of the story, but is he? It seems to be Mysterio's M.O. to sabotage former champions' efforts from recapturing the World Title. In a Fatal Four-way match at Bragging Rights, Mysterio cost Batista the title; and most recently, he thwarted C.M. Punk’s dreams of becoming a 3-time Money in the Bank winner, and no less, a 4-time World Champion.

Since turning heel, C.M. Punk has attempted to cleanse the WWE one superstar at a time. The first success was eliminating Jeff Hardy from the WWE, the leader of the screw-ups in the world. Then by belittling the Undertaker in a fixed submission match at Breaking Point. And now, his crowning achievement is to cleanse Rey Mysterio and convert him into a Straightedge follower.

It’s no secret that Rey Mysterio has had problems with drugs and alcohol, as he confesses to, in his book Rey Mysterio: Behind the Mask, admitting himself to rehab. Hence, why C.M. Punk set the stipulation if Mysterio were to lose this WrestleMania match, he would have to take Punk’s hand and pledge a straightedge life. However, WrestleMania did not pan out exactly how C.M. Punk envisioned the reckoning of his Straightedge Society. In a highly fast-paced match with numerous GTS and 619 attempts, it was Mysterio who came out on top. Punk avoided the 619 on two occasions, one by catching Mysterio and following through with a GTS, and when Serena protected him from the second attempt. Despite the perfect strategy by C.M. Punk to place both Serena and Luke Gallows at opposite sides of the ring, Mysterio managed to knock over Gallows and quickly connected with the 3rd and final 619.

Rey Mysterio may have gotten away this time, but with WWE returning to Maryland with Extreme Rules, expect the Straightedge Society to retaliate.