Jim Ross gets us thinking: CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31?

With Roman Reigns on the shelf following surgery, WWE world champ Brock Lesnar needs an opponent for WrestleMania 31. Jim Ross blogged this week on an intriguing possible fill-in for Reigns: CM Punk.

“Stranger things have happened, and that pairing would guarantee WWE a ton of new subscribers and likely ignite the PPV marketplace as well,” Ross wrote by way of stirring the pot.

Further getting things moving in the direction of a CM Punk return was a comment that Stephanie McMahon made in an interview with a Chicago radio station on Monday. Asked about a possible Punk return, McMahon didn’t rule out the possibility.

“CM Punk is an incredible character. We’ve had a lot of fun with him, and who knows what the future holds,” McMahon said.

There’s always the possibility that Reigns will recover in time to allow for a proper buildup for a Reigns-Lesnar main event at WM31. A Rock-Brock main event has also been teased. In terms of star power, the Rock-Brock matchup would be unparalleled, obviously, with Rock’s status as a top-flight movie star, and Lesnar’s status as a former UFC champ, both bringing in their fair share of entertainment and sports buzz.

The Lesnar-Reigns pairing is easily the least compelling of the three. Reigns, even before his surgery, was clearly not ready for the main-event push that he was getting, either in the ring or on the mic.

Lesnar-Punk? Easily the best match of the three, with Punk’s workrate, and the intrigue of a Punk return, if done right, at Royal Rumble, as a surprise entrant who wins his way into the main event, would bring down whatever house the show would be held in come January 2015.

Play it as an invasion, pair him with Sting as a fellow outsider, a la Kevin Nash and Scott Hall as The Outsiders in the early nWo days, get Vince McMahon involved in an on-air capacity, not as the brash, strutting Mr. McMahon, but as the understated face company owner that he can also play well, and you’ve got your buzz for ‘Mania times a million.

How do you get it to happen? Ross has it figured out.

“Communication and money solve many ills,” ol’ JR blogged.

– Column by Chris Graham