CM Punk – The Pipe Bomb That Changed The WWE Universe

The “Summer of Punk” would hit a speed bump when new on-screen COO Triple H inserted himself in the storyline, and inexplicably went over on Punk. Luckily, he would wrap up with Triple H and go on to be the longest reigning WWE Champion of the modern wrestling era. For 434 consecutive days, CM Punk was the reigning WWE Champion, and sat atop the wrestling world. Sadly, he would have a very nasty and public departure from WWE in 2014. Odds are he’ll never work for them again. What he left behind though, is a legacy that won’t be forgotten. One of the most overlooked parts of Punk’s promo was him calling out the fans. At one point saying he was “just a spoke in the wheel,” but that we’d continue to “pour money” into the company after he was gone. He obviously struck a nerve. From that point forward, the WWE universe has been very outspoken. The days of fans taking whatever promoters gave them are long gone. CM Punk helped fans realize that. Whether WWE admits it or not, we’ve altered their plans before. We pushed Daniel Bryan to the main event of WrestleMania XXX. We pushed back so hard against Roman Reigns that they had no choice but to change the finish of WrestleMania 31. When Punk left, the “voiceless” lost their spokesman, but by then, he had already helped us find our own voice. I’ll admit the “CM Punk” chants are occasionally ill timed, but they’re a tribute to pro wrestling’s ultimate martyr. A sign that we’ll always be grateful for that promo and the wake up call he gave us. CM Punk was ahead of his time, he successfully re-blurred the lines between real and fake. Something the wrestling industry desperately needed at the time. He knew something the rest of us would eventually learn. That he was truly “The Best in the World.”