Former WWE Champion CM Punk has been a lot of different things to modern wrestling fans. An indie darling, a breakout star, a record breaking champion and, to some, a traitor. On September 10th Punk will square off at UFC 203 against Mickey Gall in his first MMA fight. The former straight edge superstar is unlikely to win in the Octagon, but who cares? I’m here to talk about wrestling.
As much as fans still feel betrayed by Punk’s decision to walk away from wrestling after the 2014 Royal Rumble, it’s time we finally acknowledge his legacy. Punk helped shape WWE for years to come, and is partially responsible for some of the most important shifts in the way the company does things in years.
It’s time to stop hating CM Punk, and accept that he’s almost certainly never coming back. Instead, let us remember the good times, and thank the guy for what he did for the business. Here’s five reasons CM Punk should be on our Christmas card list:
1. He ended Cena Wins LOL
Okay, so John Cena still wins. Lots. In fact when Cena loses, even if it ain’t clean, it’s big news. Thing is, back in 2011 Cena had become an indestructible cartoon character who stood atop a vast mound of buried talent.
Which is a shame, because John Cena is one of the best all round wrestling talents in history. When CM Punk dropped his infamous pipe bomb promo, it was a challenge: step up, and prove you’re one of the greats. In the five years since then, Cena has put on some of the best feuds of his career. He’s had classic matches with Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles and Kevin Owens.
By being less of a superman, and stepping away from the world title for long stretches, John Cena gave us perhaps the best stretch of his career. I’m honestly not sure we’d have got this without CM Punk. For nearly three years he challenged Cena to be better – pressing for that top spot. And Cena rose to the challenge.
2. He broke the indie glass ceiling
Somwhere between Jim Cornette leaving OVW and Punk dropping the pipe bomb WWE somehow forget how to make top stars. Maybe they didn’t need to. Hell, Cena was in his prime and the company was making money. Since then though, the early-2000s WWE star making formula – take a bodybuilder, NFL drop-out or rookie wrestler with the right look and build them into a star – has provably stopped working. Perhaps it’s a talent development issue, or maybe fans have simply become more demanding.
At the same time WWE appeared reticent about letting indie stars – who made their names outside the company – reach the top of the totem pole. Punk is probably not the most friendly guy if you bump into him at an airport, but he proved to himself, to fans and eventually to WWE management that indie wrestlers could carry the show.
Ironically, it’s probably the guy he hated the most who took Punk’s lesson most to heart. Triple H has surreptitiously transformed the WWE main event and upper midcard into the land of the indie darling. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Finn Balor, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Cesaro crowd the top of the WWE cards. Why is this good? Well, because these guys have spent years learning how to get themselves over. They know how to work the crowd, and they have the experience to improvise if fans react the wrong way.
Does anyone want to argue that’s a bad thing, given the wrestling renaissance we’re having?
3. He got over without Vince
Every so often someone will ask Dave Meltzer (also known as the best wrestling journalist in history) if Vince McMahon is losing creative control of his product. Meltzer’s answer is always the same: Vince has final say. It’s absolutely true, and I would never disagree with someone who makes my knowledge of wrestling look like it might fit on a stamp.
While Vince might have final say though, it’s starting to look like the most over wrestlers in the company aren’t ‘his guys’. Outside of Cena, who gets the biggest pops on WWE programming? New Day? Enzo and Cas? AJ Styles? Bayley? Vince may have more or less say on what these acts do each week depending on how hot they are, but the shtick that got them over was fundamentally not his idea. I can’t help but wonder if the success of CM Punk doesn’t have at least something to do with that.
Now, don’t get me wrong. It might be starting to feel like I’m putting Punk on a pedestal here. “He made Cena good again, brought indie wrestling to the mainstream and broke Vince’s stranglehold on creative? You might be giving this guy too much credit Chris.”
I get that it could come across that way. I’m not taking anything away from Xavier Woods, AJ Styles or the NXT dream factory which bought us the four horsewomen. Thing is, internet wrestling fans complained for years that promos were too scripted, the booking was boring and no one but Cena got over. But for a while, CM Punk was the only guy who did anything about it. Maybe it was out of personal ambition, but it still had a partial role in steering us to where we are today.
4. His story reminds us how hard wrestling is
wrestlestars.com
We like to see awesome wrestling. We like death-defying leaps and intense battles of athleticism. We love to boo if we don’t get what we want. Through all this it’s easy to forget how brutal it can all be on the people performing for us.
If you’re 11 years or older, chances are you know wrestling is predetermined. It’s also among the most physically gruelling forms of athletics in the world. Given the legal battle between Punk, Colt Cabana and WWE Doctor Chris Amann we may never know how much of what he said on the Art of Wrestling podcast was real. Even so, it’s obvious from his final few months in the company that he was banged up, emotionally broken and endlessly frustrated by management. This is the life of a pro-wrestler.
We don’t remember this enough, sometimes. When the Brooklyn crowd let out a collective shrug at Seth Rollins and Finn Balor’s Summerslam match, that sense of entitled douchebaggery tarnished a massive moment for both guys. Whatever we think of WWE’s booking, or their new jam themed championship belt, it should not diminish the respect we show the wrestlers themselves. From wrestling bingo halls and school gymnasiums to working 300 shows a year, these guys work their absolute butts off to entertain us.
Punk is just one of many. But for a lot of people, myself included, his revelations about life working for WWE was the first time that veil was lifted.
5. He was one of the greats in the ring
We can um and arr about Punk’s legacy and whether the guy tarnished it by walking away too soon, but there was nothing like watching the straight edge superstar on Monday Night Raw. For two solid years CM Punk was the most entertaining guy in wrestling. Watching him work the mic or work a match was up there with the very best.
If you’ve gone back to watch some of his work on the WWE Network you know what I’m talking about. If you still resent him for leaving, your missing out. Alternately, if you’re new to Punk check out his matches against John Cena at Money in the Bank 2011 and Raw 1031, his match against The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 29 and his match against Jeff Hardy at Summerslam 2009.
It remains to be seen whether CM Punk can make anything of himself as an MMA fighter. As a wrestler though there will be no shortage of tape should he ever need a Hall of Fame highlight reel.
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