Currently CM Punk is not on WWE programming and it looks like his contract will be running out soon. I wanted to go back and look at his greatest moments in his career.
5. Winning Money in the Bank Two Years in a Row
The Money in the Bank not only gives you an opportunity to be the WWE champion. It gives you a chance to show the WWE brass that you can handle being the top guy. If you get pushed strong as the MITB winner then you usually goes on to be bigger things. Now you can make the argument that the past winners have done nothing with it and I would agree. However, we are talking about CM Punk winning the MITB and at that time it was still a big deal. They gave him two runs with the MTB briefcase and actually ran with it for a bit in 2008. The 2009 year was rough for him and lost it in a crappy finish where Randy Orton punted him in the head in the back. It was slowly but surely making CM Punk to what he is now with the runs with the MITB briefcase.
4. Straight Edge Society
If you have watched CM Punks DVD then you will know that the SES or Straight Edge Society was his idea from the start. He brought in his friends to work with and how many people can actually say that. He did not have the most talented group of WWE stars around him, but the idea of the group made up for the lacking cast. Punk was that mega heat guy who got the crowd going nuts about every word he said. It was truly unique in the delivery of words and actions that Punk did on a given night. The group truly hit home for some people as everyone knows or is dealing with demons on a daily base.
3. 434 Day Reign As WWE Champion
2012 was the year of Punk. CM Punk reigned supreme over the WWE back in 2012 as he was the longest reign WWE champion in some time. To be exact, it has been since 1984 with Hulk Hogan, who had 1,474 day reign that is longer than Punks reign. Punk defeated guys like John Cena, Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, Kofi Kingston, Daniel Bryan, Big Show and Ryback. Some names are bigger than some and some names should not have been in the WWE Title picture at all. The point is that WWE has not had a long reign as champion. But nothing like Punk did in 2012 since 1984. Yes, they have had guys who had it for 200 or 300 days and that is impressive. However, if you have to go back to 1984 to find someone who had a longer reign than Punks then that says it all. Punk was one of a kind and we might have to wait some time to see a reign like that again.
2. Money in the Bank 2011
CM Punk vs. John Cena was more than a match, it was a magical night. Usually in a pro wrestling match you do know what is going to happen (Who’s going to win). In this match, you did not know and that was part of the awesome factor in this match. Punk could walk out of the WWE on his last night with the company or John Cena could save the WWE from Punk and retain the title. A flawless match that had every element in a wrestling match that you could have asked for. From the stellar back and forth story book telling match to the crowd interaction that was there for the entire 33 minutes. When you think of that show it is the first thing to come to your mind due to this match. Punk was on top of his game and it was the real program of that year. From leading in with the “Pipe bomb” that started everything, to the interaction with Vince McMahon. Punk gave a new light on the WWE for those short months and it was a nice breath of fresh air.
1. Pipe bomb
This might just be the most famous promo ever in pro wrestling. Well, yeah, you could make the argument that it is. Other than the Steve Austin doing the Austin 3:16 promo in 1997 this would be it. Punk had some good promos up until this point, but with one promo like this, it changed his career, but more importantly his legacy. It puts Punk into a different level and how people looked at him differently after it. If you think about CM Punk now I think the first thing that comes to mind is the pipe bomb promo. He got everything off his chest and said something’s that the WWE superstars in the back wanted to say, but did not either have the power or the guts to do so.
Everyone has their own opinion and this is MINE. Thanks for reading along and this is entertainment purposes ONLY. And it should be enjoyable reading not criticizing every word I wrote in this column.
