7 Huge Ways WWE Has Changed In The 7 Years Since CM Punk’s Pipe Bomb
Famous Last Words
It's glib to suggest that the tectonic plates of pro wrestling weren't going to shift somewhat between CM Punk's June 2011 screen-melter and present day, but the seven years between then and now have been seventy times as seismic compared to the years of bad luck that had come before it.
2004-2011, give or take a couple of years, represented some of the very worst of the company. Struggling for identity (still) in the post-Attitude Era with measurable success in all the usual metrics but limited outreach to new supporters thanks to the same old same old on top and absolutely s*d all underneath, Punk's scorching of the system was a call-to-arms for much of the audience that still desperately wanted to love a product they'd come to loathe.
He roasted this and ripped into that, but there existed a greater good underneath his words. He was caustic about everything and critical of most, but his most prescient remark was the one in which he diminished himself the most. He was just a "spoke in the wheel", and it did keep turning without him. But while he spun off in numerous different directions following a WWE exit, the company adjusted repeatedly to tailor to several of his visions. It was a great shame that he got to experience so few of those changes first hand.
7. "You Know Who Else Was A Paul Heyman Guy? Brock Lesnar. And He Split, Just Like I'm Splitting."
It was deemed unthinkable that Brock Lesnar would ever return to WWE just seven years ago.
'The Beast' had bailed in 2004 based on a rationale few sane humans wouldn't eventually arrive at - Punk himself included. Also like 'The Voice Of The Voiceless', Lesnar hadn't been without some legal trouble from the company after potentially violating an admittedly unreasonable no-compete clause to wrestle for New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2005. His victory even saw him poke the bear by renaming his F5 finisher 'The Verdict' in a final parting shot. Brock Lesnar - again as Punk would eventually do - ventured into the octagon for then-pay-per-view UFC, whipping up a storm around himself in the process and making Vince McMahon look ludicrous for letting a star of his magnitude depart.
Indeed, these "Paul Heyman Guys" have walked remarkably similar paths, just in opposite directions. Lesnar got virtually all of the perks afforded to him Punk desperately desired, and remains to this day a multi-time main eventer despite barely showing up for work most of the year. Money still talks, even if the Chicago firebrand is happy not to listen.