Brock Lesnar vs CM Punk? Will WWE rush it?

So, there are rumours over who CM Punk will feud with when he returns to the WWE. Brock Lesnar's name has come up as a logical choice. After all, Lesnar and Punk are both connected through Paul Heyman. It is interesting to note that neither Punk or Lesnar have appeared on-screen together. You would think that WWE would have seen Dollar signs in promoting such a pairing. Remember the 'two man power trip' from 2001? Steve Austin and HHH were built up as an unstoppable pairing, taking over and ruling the WWE. They were unseated by Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, through a classic tag match on WWE Raw, which saw Jericho and Benoit win the tag titles.

So why have Punk and Lesnar not been seen together? Did WWE want to keep them apart with the intention of having them feud later? Were they kept apart because both wrestlers had such different characters and philosophies? Lesnar, the part-time main-event fighter going after the big dollar fights. CM Punk, striving day in and day out to be the best in the industry. Punk was on every show, celebrating his lengthy title reign. Lesnar appeared sporadically, feuding with John Cena and then HHH. Lesnar's appearances were designed to shock and awe - drawing the biggest box office dollars.

If WWE decides to pit Punk against Lesnar, I am happy with that. However, as always, it is the process that matters the most. Am I confident in WWE's ability to book this feud successfully? No. What would I want to see? Firstly, this feud should not be rushed. In an era where the immediate concern is how to fill three hours of WWE Raw programming on Monday nights, I am sure WWE will rush this feud through.

In my ideal world, we go through the following stages:

1) Punk returns - confidence returned. Attacks a popular WWE face - e.g. HHH. He realigns himself with Paul Heyman.

2) We build up to SummerSlam with Punk and Lesnar as a team. They are billed as unstoppable. In the main-event, they destroy HHH and another face - e.g. John Cena. HHH's concussion story can play a part in the outcome.

3) We lead to Survivor Series - team HHH vs team Heyman. Punk plays a part in accidentally costing his team the match. Heyman and Punk start to have issues - yet still stay together. However, the tension is evident.

4) Come the Royal Rumble, Lesnar wins the world title from Cena (presuming he has not lost it to Ryback). Punk wins the Rumble.

5) The next night on Raw, Heyman turns on Punk - believing Lesnar to be his one true meal ticket. Lesnar attacks Punk.

6) We build to Mania - with an incredible series of microphone showdowns between Punk and Heyman.

7) At Mania, Punk beats Lesnar and wins the title in the main-event.

The above is unlikely to happen for two reasons:

a) WWE will likely hotshot this feud and make it happen instantly to fill immediate storyline needs presented by the damning three hour Raw schedule.

b) WWE would not be able to afford to have Lesnar appear so many time in a one year span to build this feud for Wrestlemania. His contract has limited dates after all.

Regardless, there is one thing I hope for here. WWE can't afford to turn Lesnar face. He does his best work as a heel.

But then again... so does CM Punk...

So perhaps, Punk vs Lesnar is not ideal after-all.