5 Reasons Not To Believe In CM Punk's Cleveland Curse
After all, luck is for losers...
On Saturday, CM Punk made his long-awaited UFC debut, taking on Mickey Gall in a welterweight bout at UFC 203. Though Punk trained hard for nearly two years and gave it his all, he was unable to do much against the younger, more experienced Gall. After 2:14 of the first round, Punk submitted to a rear naked choke.
On the surface, the loss to Gall seems like the latest bad thing to happen to Punk in the city of Cleveland. Punk himself even referenced a so-called "Cleveland Curse" in a sit-down interview with mmafighting.com's Ariel Helwani last week, talking about some of the hardships he's faced in the Ohio city.
Punk was quick to dispel any rumors of a curse, and for good reason - not only did he mention that he always got a great reception from the fans in Cleveland, but those "hardships" weren't setbacks - they were primarily motivators that helped him get even further in his career, in the long run. Some were blessings in disguise, while others were outright victories for "The Straight-Edge Superstar."
A man who once famously said "Luck is for losers" knows better than to give any credence to a curse, and so should his fans. Here are five reasons not to believe in CM Punk's "Cleveland Curse."
5. He Was Saved From A Lousy Debut
Punk's WWE TV debut came on the July 4, 2006 episode of ECW on SciFi. The star's depiction was almost completely unchanged from the one he had on the independent scene, which was very true to his real-life persona - he hyped up how he was straight-edge, and said that his only addiction was competition. Punk soon became a very popular babyface.
Unbeknownst to many, though, Punk almost made his WWE debut much earlier. On July 25, 2005, Punk (then the reigning Ring of Honor World Champion), wrestled a Sunday Night Heat match against independent worker Vik Dalishus, wrestling as Rob Begley. Punk was accompanied by Mickie James, who had not yet debuted on WWE TV and was given the name Vicki Adams.
Punk beat Begley, but after the match, he was reportedly told by agents that they hated his pairing with James - they simply thought the two had no chemistry. The match was never aired, and James went back to OVW, while Punk continued to wrestle for ROH until he dropped the title and reported to OVW himself.
What may have seemed like a setback was a blessing in disguise. Even the greatest wrestlers have trouble recovering from a bad first impression, and keeping Punk under wraps until creative had a better role for him ended up meaning he made a major splash with his debut.