WWE fans know that CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins is inevitable. The funny thing is that HowThe Why and – most important of all – the structure.

But the latest rumors? Not that funny.

The When Punk vs. Rollins was always a foregone conclusion. WrestleMania, first night main event. Simply. But according to Dr. Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Chris Featherstone booked WWE the match for Raw’s debut on Netflix in early January.

Look, WWE wants to set the tone of the debut episode on the streaming platform as a kind of soft reset, almost like the start of a new season – good. It’s safe to assume that Netflix is ​​pushing for something big like this in the debut episode too.

But it would feel rushed. This leaves the superstars with less than a month to prepare for the game.

Of course, one could argue that there are years of material and real mixing that have already played into the “feud” between the two. But the dedicated fans who know the backstory will still watch. The more casual fans who aren’t as into the drama need a reason to care, invest and return to the product weekly, and that requires proper construction. It’s also safe to assume that December isn’t exactly the right month for this, since so many viewers are caught up in reality surrounding the holidays.

That’s not to say that the two didn’t make it. They are among the greatest to ever exist, not just in the ring but overall. But that’s part of it – the reward at Mania should be a ring and possibly a title.

At the moment there just aren’t many ways to win a title on such short notice, especially without getting Gunther dirty. And while a trilogy of matches worked in Punk’s feud with Drew McIntyre, that may not be the case here. Remember, this feud lasted for months and months while Punk was not cleared to wrestle due to an injury.

Is there actually enough material to create another trilogy? It’s important to bring up McIntyre here because honestly, his dislike of Punk and the way the feud and promos unfolded are similar to Rollins’ reasons for feuding. If the feud goes on for a long time, there is a risk that it will feel like a repeat of what has already happened.

Punk vs. Rollins, Part I should probably take place at Mania. On the one hand, it may not be popular with the entire fan base if they only connect once. But then again, it would heighten the significance of the moment, especially on the Night 1 stage after years of the two struggling to carve out their own Mania main events.

The long-awaited Mania main event, which marks the end of a three-match feud, may not achieve the same result. There’s only so much they can do, only so many conditions, that they wouldn’t come across as silly as a referee in a Mania main event.

The only, only The exception to this is if WWE has planned some masterful storytelling around Paul Heyman and the idea is to get Punk past Rollins for a Mania main event against Roman Reigns.

As fun as that sounds, there’s one big problem: The Rock. It’s pretty clear by now that the WWE doesn’t have anything concrete or specific about the part-timer involved with anything having to do with Reigns, Bloodline and Cody Rhodes. It would be a great shame if he was late and plans changed after WWE already showed Punk vs. Rollins on Netflix, especially after the messy booking with Rhodes last year.

Ultimately, this doesn’t sound like the careful storytelling that the Triple H era established. Certainly WWE hasn’t dropped any hints about this feud for over a year, only to have it hastily called off in a three-week build.

There are many, many other things that the debut episode of Raw can do. Rock could show up. More big titles could be at stake. John Cena’s retirement tour begins. There could be many returning legends and even surprise debuts and/or returns.

It would be a misstep to waste “Punk vs. Rollins” in the short term to drum up streaming numbers that don’t need help. In professional wrestling, predictability isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and the two main events of Night 1 or WrestleMania are as good as it gets.