BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR

James Caldwell and Mark Madden (former WCW Nitro cohost, former PWTorch Newsletter columnist 20 years ago, and now columnist at WrestleZone) both questioned whether C.M. Punk's promo included too much content that would go over the heads of too many viewers.

Madden wrote today: "Honestly, I’m not sure exactly what the purpose of Punk’s promo was. The delivery was excellent. The passion, the articulation, the earnest nature – there aren’t many better than Punk. But the majority of the audience had little idea what Punk was talking about. Let Impact book for the IWC. WWE has prospered by booking for the casual fan. This was a rare departure from that. Let’s see how effective it is. Who cares if it shocked those backstage? John Laurinaitis gets in free. Who cares about working the boys? Even the densest mark knows THE MINUTE SOMETHING GETS ON TV, IT’S A WORK. If Punk’s promo was a shoot, his mic would have been cut RIGHT AWAY. Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar…why invoke guys who aren’t there? THEY CAN’T DRAW MONEY. There’s a chance that the quality of the promo and Punk’s charisma will push the promo’s effectiveness past its content. But when Punk talks about being oppressed by the boss – about working for an idiot and a doofus – isn’t that a babyface promo? Isn’t Cena the babyface, albeit a babyface with tenuous fan appeal right now? Is Punk turning? Given Cena’s unintentional slow flip, isn’t that counterproductive? Everyone loved the promo. Me, too. But does it get WWE to where it wants to go? Where, exactly, is WWE trying to go? Hey, this may all turn out great. But last night – within the context of drawing money, I didn’t get it. I enjoyed it. But I didn’t get it."

Caldwell wrote in his report last night immediately after the promo aired: "Punk's final promo was designed to 'get everyone talking' with a worked shoot promo, but it was all approved by McMahon and came across like a repeat of Joey Styles's 'anti-WWE, pro-ECW' promo aimed at the hardcore audience who knows what Punk is talking about. But, the promo had no connection to the main fanbase that just wants to invest in a good story, not hear about what's going on backstage or behind-the-scenes. This seemed like a version of TNA's 'insider promos' that seem like a copy of a copy of something from the Attitude Era, completely loses the main audience, and distracts from the purpose of a pro wrestling show."

I get where both are coming from. I have had all day to look at a variety of perspectives from other prominent commentators and people connected to the industry, and I'll stand by my blog last night that Punk wasn't "too insider."

I think every insider reference Punk made wasn't designed to "get over with smart fans" as much as it was needed to give the idea he isn't corporate, he isn't on Vince McMahon's good side, he's trying to push buttons and dare WWE to respond, and ultimately sell the intrigue of what will play out at the Money in the Bank PPV.

I don't think the insider references that Punk made last night went over people's heads, even if they don't really know who John Laurenaitis is or why Paul Heyman is a controversial figure. They just know that, in the context of Punk's promo, he was going places he's "not supposed to." That's enough. The majority of viewers got the essence of the promo's purpose - which is Punk said things "he wasn't supposed to." Whether they can explain why isn't important. In fact, it's better, because those who really know the story on Heyman or Laurenaitis know that Vince McMahon wouldn't mind anything that was said about them, nor would Laurenaitis, who gets that he's the "bad cop" behind the scenes and is seen as a "lackey." If that bothered him, he would have left WWE years ago, or never accepted that job in the first place.

Now, this is not meant to endorse a run of "insider references" by everyone. This worked precisely because of who was saying it, the groundwork that was laid in recent weeks and even earlier on the show, and that it hadn't been done in this way on WWE for over five years, dating back to the Joey Styles promos.

I look forward to 2016 the next time this is done. I'm also going to appreciate the effectiveness of what Punk did last night. I think it will work. It can't be an every-month approach, but it can work every five years when the right person and opportunity line up. This was it.

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KELLER'S WWE SUMMERSLAM PPV BLOG: Results and analysis throughout the show including Lesnar vs. Triple H, Cena vs. Punk vs. Show

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