10 Awesome WWE Promos You Probably Don't Remember
2. The Sermon At The Rumble
Royal Rumble, January 31st 2010
For those whose knowledge of CM Punk’s so-called ‘pipebombs’ (he hates that word now) only goes back to the second Summer Of Punk in 2011 and his elevation to superstardom, here’s some magic moments from his incredible heel run as the man behind the Straight Edge Society.
From November 2009 to August 2010, Punk had the most heat of any villain in the company. Co-opting the language of the religious cult and the messianic iconography of Jesus Christ, he had old ladies screaming abuse at him at house shows and whole crowds - hundreds to thousands of people - out for his blood, while serious pro wrestling fans gleefully recognised that this was a performer at the top of his game.
At the Royal Rumble in January 2010, Punk was allowed the first segment of the match to cut loose and get his new vibe over. And boy did he ever.
Third to enter the Royal Rumble match, Punk quickly disposed of entrants one and two - Dolph Ziggler and Evan Bourne - before sinking to his knees and proclaiming that this was the night of the Straight Edge Society. JTG came out next to give Punk a pounding, only to be unceremoniously dumped over the top rope as the demagogue continued to preach to the crowd.
The Great Khali would be next, faking capitulation to the SES dogma before planting Punk with a brain chop and seizing his head in a vice grip. Beth Phoenix, Punk’s future girlfriend, would come out to actually eliminate Khali with a sneaky kiss before dragging him over the top rope, but Punk would come back to take out both Phoenix and Zack Ryder, continuing to sermonise in grandstanding fashion on the mic in between.
He was so damn good - and clearly having so much fun - that the crowd, almost despite themselves, began chanting his name. His elimination by the eighth entrant, Triple H, came as an anti-climax, and the rest of the match just couldn’t live up to how the Straight Edge Superstar had begun it.
CM Punk owned the Rumble that night. Edge might have ended up winning the battle royal itself, but Punk won the war.