The Fabled WrestleMania Double Turn: Would It Fit Orton and Punk?

Although can a guy who looks this good whomping on Rey Mysterio really be a face?
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Here's the story for WrestleMania. There's this match featuring a babyface whom the smarks would love to see turned heel. He's wrestling against an Internet favorite who gets his share of cheers from the crowd from time to time. That cult favorite is verbally gifted and can manipulate a crowd with the best of them. Meanwhile, the face is subject to grumblings that he's boring in his current role and could use a change, despite the fact that a portion of the crowd still cheers him vociferously. Executed right, a double turn could work and get each guy over huge with their respective reactions.

If you think the match I'm describing is The Miz vs. John Cena, you're wrong. It's CM Punk against Randy Orton. I've been saying this for a bit, and other people who are smarter than I have been saying it longer than I have been. With Punk's mic skills, he can be a HUGE babyface, a potential megadraw for the WWE as he appeals to the crowd that The Rock is slowly luring back with his appearances. His foil here is Orton, who never really turned face as much as he started getting different reactions from the crowd and then was programmed against different opponents than what he was facing before. Still, I feel like the booking suits his mannerisms (or lack thereof) and his character better when he's heel. This seems like a perfect storm for there to be a major shift in direction for the WWE. There's one problem.

Orton's still majorly over as a face with more people than some of us – we who aren't exactly fans of the Viper – care to admit exist. When fans want to cheer someone, it doesn't matter what they do. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only thing that could turn Orton heel is if he brutally beat on Jerry Lawler, and even then, it might just do more to turn Lawler heel than anything. If they were to present Orton as a sore loser, would it really resonate with the crowd? I mean, he gets pops for punting folks in the skull post-match, win or lose. Conversely, could they do the Austin/Hart finish where Punk is a valiant competitor who earns respect through a never-quit showing in the ring? I think if they tried that, it could just end up making both guys face and creating a dueling chant situation.

In a perfect world, I think this is the perfect situation, the perfect match to create a new megaface and try a double turn. However, the world is far from perfect, and while the booking narrative fits Orton better as a heel, the rules of who's a face and who's a heel that were established back in the day no longer apply. The WWE only has themselves to blame for the way they've booked everything in the last decade or so, because that would have been a WrestleMania moment for the ages.

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