WWE Hall Of Famer Defends CM Punk & Drew McIntyre Feuding Without Wrestling
One of the more intriguing storylines currently unfolding on "WWE Raw" is between two guys who can't actually wrestle each other. CM Punk has been out of action since Royal Rumble with a torn right triceps, which would put the timetable for his return between June and August. Meanwhile, Drew McIntyre is dealing with an arm injury of his own, said to be a hyperextended and/or fractured elbow, suffered at WrestleMania 40. The timetable for his return is unknown. Despite these two stars being unable to perform much physicality in the ring, WWE continues to dedicate TV time to escalate the feud. It's an interesting choice for the company to make, but one that WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff has no problem with.
"I'm looking forward to that match. I think it's going to be exciting," Bischoff said on "83 Weeks." "You have these camps ... that pays absolutely zero attention to character development or story, despite protestations to the contrary. Where that camp is like 'Oh my god, there's only 20 minutes of wrestling on a 1 hour show ...' like it f***king matters ... I'm not suggesting that great wrestling matches aren't important, they certainly are ... my point is that by the time CM Punk and Drew actually lock up, they will have been telling a fascinating story and building a strong foundation of engagement, emotional involvement, before the bell ever rings, so that the match that they have — and I'm confident that it will, providing everyone stays healthy — the match that they have will be the cherry on top. But it ain't the pie."
With Punk's recovery timeline in mind, it's feasible their feud could culminate in a match at SummerSlam from Cleveland, Ohio, but the lack of transparency surrounding McIntyre's injury calls that possibility into question.