I think Stroud's entry on Punk is especially well written:

I mentioned this briefly a few weeks ago when Flair showed up and Punk stopped being a RESPECT ME cartoon character and started to once again sound like he meant what he was saying. That’s always been Punk’s strongest card — believing what he says, right or wrong. That’s really all I’ve ever wanted from him as a performer, and last night he gave it to me. Last night was the most brilliant moment in Punk’s WWE career for me, because he brought the “do I have everybody’s attention now” character from the criss-cross applesauce wall-breaking full circle and got to the point I’ve been BEGGING him to make — that his stupid good guy character was a measured act of spite against the WWE Universe. Not a “I did it because I hate you” platitude, a clear, personal statement that he was acting like an incompetent asshole because that’s the only thing we cheer for.

When Punk “spoke the truth” on the stage, he wasn’t really speaking the truth. He was telling us what we wanted to hear. That’s what ‘Cult Of Personality’ was brought back for. He’s always been in it for himself. So now when he says that you should push “a workhorse like Tyson Kidd,” people kinda cheer because he’s “shooting,” but then he goes right back into explaining that he’s doing it to play us. He doesn’t give a shit about Tyson Kidd. It’s meta as f**k, and the best part is that THIS sincerity, the sincerity of the lie, is what makes my heart swell.

This guy can reach such heights with his character, and I love it. He can say what’s true to me and not mean it, and the fact that he doesn’t mean it makes me feel a thousand times better than if he was on Raw truly berating management for not giving Kidd a spot. The cruelty of the knife-turn, you know? That’s pro wrestling. A big, theatrical, orchestral insult to everybody watching. A f**k you for your dollar. In the same vein as a Walter White or a Don Draper, he’s a reprehensible guy who is so compelling that I can subconsciously root for his successes, mostly because they’ll make his downfall that much more special. A beautiful creep, the devil of the human brain.