10 Biggest Wrestling Scandals Of The 2010s

3. CM Punk Walks Out

It cannot be overstated just how massive CM Punk's 2023 WWE return was. When 'Cult of Personality' started blaring out at that year's Survivor Series, the Chicago crowd and the collective wrestling world lost their minds. Hell had well and truly frozen over. 

Apart from Punk's tumultuous time in AEW, the main reason for the shock was to do with the last time Punk was a WWE employee. At the 2014 Royal Rumble, the Straight Edge Superstar lasted almost 50 minutes before being eliminated by Kane. When he walked to the back following his elimination, he effectively walked out of the company. 

Punk had been growing frustrated with the company after years of what he deemed to be creative mismanagement and general wear and tear. He had finally reached breaking point and, later that year, he was officially fired from WWE, infamously receiving his termination papers on his wedding day.

The entire Punk saga is far too long and complex to get into now, but its one of the most fascinating, frustrating, and gripping wrestling news stories of recent times. Who knows? There may yet be another chapter...