>>16319590The selection of Punk as the fifth member of Team Babyface is even more of a creative abortion by your logic. You make it sound like anyone, be it CM Punk or Dragon Lee, could've run down and Smackdown could've ended with Roman exchanging suspicious "Can I trust you?" looks with the guy. There's obviously supposed to be more to it than that. CM Punk and Roman Reigns are supposed to have some sort of backstory beyond Roman's trust issues and a connection to Heyman. The fact that you've failed to grasp this helps support the claims of those of us critical of this wasted opportunity. (To be fair to WWE Creative, I doubt Punk was their first choice and he may well have been their fourth or fifth best option.)
Back when Roman originally formed the Bloodline and all through the Sami Zayn storyline, Roman's need to impose full control over his stablemates was effectively established as a response to his inability to trust anyone after Rollins turned on him and broke up the Shield. All of this was established years ago back when these storylines were actually well done. Guess what? This build up to War Games is anything but well done and I'm judging it by the very same standard by which I praise that earlier work. As many have pointed out, those "trust issues" that used to be a consistent part of heel Roman's character haven't been all that difficult to overcome of late. The creative decisions that have informed the buildup to War Games have been shit, but they had the potential to enhance the story by effectively introducing the fifth member of Roman's team. Punk *barely* ties into the story and hardly adds to it.
Also for the nWo 2000 bullshit we keep spouting, this isn't that deep, and that's the point. It's a good comparison precisely because the story behind the formation of the '2022 Bloodline feat. CM Punk' War Games team is as shallow as the one that set up that stillborn WCW stable.
