CM Punk has had an incredible career. Here we look at his highs and lows and try to decide if he is a legend, or a liability.
CM Punk has been wrestling since 1997, starting on the independent scene and then onto Ring of Honor. He joined WWE in 2005 and his run ended in sensational style in 2014. He pretty much retired from the business until returning to wrestling with AEW in 2021. This lasted until August 2023, and he rejoined WWE in November 2023.
Summer of Punk
CM Punk never really fit the mould of what Vince wanted in a WWE superstar. Covered in tattoos, long hair, smaller build. Pretty much the opposite of Vince’s wet dreams. However, on June 27th, 2011, CM Punk exploded into the limelight after delivering what is now probably the most famous promo ever – the pipebomb.
Calling out his lack of promotion (and mugs with his face on) CM Punk delivered an incredible promo whilst sitting on top of the Raw ramp after costing John Cena his tables match against R Truth. Telling the audience that he would be leaving the WWE with the WWE Championship when his contract expired in a matter of weeks. Punk seemed to be letting out all of his grievances and it became all too real when he started to mention Vince McMahon and his bullying. The microphone promptly cut off at this point. But the job was done. The world was talking about this very real promo.
Money in the Bank
What followed was Punk beating Cena for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank and then returning with new music, bells and whistles, and a brand new contract. His next couple of years would see him feud with HHH (the doufus son-in-law) Kevin Nash and lose the title to The Rock. Punk’s return on the Raw when Cena had just won the new vacant WWE Championship was incredible. When his new music hit, no-one knew who it was as they delayed the video popping up on the titantron. Punk then strolled to the ring and held his WWE Championship above his head in front of Cena.
All of this building to his eventual leaving of the WWE. The night after the 2014 Royal Rumble, in which Punk was eliminated in the rumble match by Kane, Punk informed Vince that due to a lack of direction and some injuries, he was heading home.
With Punk missing from WWE television for months, and no word from WWE about why, Punk appeared on the Art of Wrestling podcast and gave his side of the story. He went on to detail how unhappy he was and that he didn’t want to be there. Shortly after this, WWE served Punk his contract termination papers – on his wedding day!
The podcast was Punk dropping a bomb a detailing everything he was unhappy about. Especially controversial were the details regarding Punk’s health and how he was dealt with by WWE doctors. Former WWE doctor, Chris Amann launched a legal suit against Punk and Colt Cabana (host of the podcast) for their comments, however, Punk and Cobana won that lawsuit. This must have caused tension between Punk and Cobana as their friendship was strained after this and further down the line would lead to more controversy.
Punk returns to AEW
20th August, 2021 – Rampage, The First Dance @ Chicago. He wasn’t advertised but we all knew who was coming. Well, we hoped it was him. When Rampage kicked off and the music hits, the crowd go even wilder than what they already were.
Whenever I watch this back, I get goosebumps. Incredible crowd and a moment that many wrestling fans didn’t think they would ever see again. Seven years away and finally Punk had returned to the squared circle. He went on to detail how he was back and excited to get in the ring with the AEW talent. His first few months went along well, with Punk feuding with Eddie Kingston and MJF to name a couple.
Once the time came for Punk to challenge for the title, against the current AEW Champion, Hangman Adam Page, is when things took a slight turn. Hangman cut a promo in which he said Hangman needed to protect AEW from Punk. Punk later called out Hangman (knowing he wasn’t at the building) and then saying that was “coward shit”. Punk beat Hangman for the title before having to step away with an injury.
After the famous All Out interview, Punk said that Hangman had “gone into business for himself” and this is the reason he had called him out on Dynamite.
All Out Media Scrum
All Out 2022 took place in Chicago and he defeated Jon Moxley for the AEW world championship. This should have been an incredible moment for the new champion but he had a lot to get off his chest at the post-show media scrum. Punk looked pissed from the start. Punk proceeded to shoot on Colt Cabana and the EVPs, which led to an altercation backstage when Punk was done ranting.
“What did I ever do in this world to get to deserve an empty-headed, fucking dumb fuck like ‘Hangman’ Adam Page to go out on national television and fucking go into business for himself” – CM Punk during his infamous All Out shoot.
More insane was the fact that his boss, Tony Khan, was sitting right beside him during this scrum. There are lots of different versions of events from the altercation but no-one really knows what happened. What we do know is that Punk, Omega and The Bucks were all suspended for several months for the events of that night.
Punk’s 2023 Returns
In June 2023, CM Punk returned to AEW after his suspension and injury to front the new show Collision. The show was built around him and he had some memorable moments on the show. Interestingly, this created an unofficial brand split with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega staying predominantly on Dynamite. He would announce that he was never beaten for the AEW Championship and therefore he was the real world’s champion. Thus hinting at another future feud with the current AEW Champion, MJF.
However, things would quickly spiral again and during the biggest event in AEW’s short history, Punk exploded again. Jack Perry had his match during the pre-show and he made a comment to the camera about “real glass” (in response to Punk saying talent should be careful not to use real glass) and Punk was a little upset about this.
Perry
He confronted Perry backstage and another altercation happened. It has been reported that Punk was not willing to go out for his match with Samoa Joe, but he was persuaded to. There mus have been absolute chaos and panic backstage, considering this was a huge night for AEW and wrestling.
Punk did go out there in front of the Wembley crowd, and wrestled his last match for AEW. He was fired afterwards, with Tony Khan going on TV saying that he feared for his safety. You have to respect the fact that Tony Khan went out in front of a Chicago crowd and told his side of the story. Jack Perry was also suspended and hasn’t been seen in AEW since.
He was a draw for AEW and Collision in particular, which hasn’t seen the same viewership numbers as when Punk was at the wheel. To be fair though, the numbers are not a huge difference. Punk also made AEW a lot of money through merchandise.
Once Punk was fired from AEW, rumours started to swirl about an incredible return to WWE. Now under the guidance of “the dufus son-in-law HHH, WWE is a different place now compared to when Vince McMahon was in charge. In November 2023, the unthinkable happened – CM Punk returned to WWE at the Survivor Series PPV.
My Final Thoughts
He’s had quite the career! Many highs and many lows. What he is, without doubt, is an enigma and he brings eyes to the product and many column inches in news articles. He has had many run-ins with other talent and huge bust-ups. But the moments that he has created far outweighs the negativity. The pipebomb alone was huge. Then there is THAT summer. Then the return to AEW at Rampage with a sold-out Chicago crowd. Followed by an unbelievable return to WWE.
CM Punk is an incredible talent and is not alone in having some issues. But he brings so much to the wrestling world.
What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments and thanks for reading!
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