10 Biggest Breakout Stars Of WWE's Original Brand Extension
6. CM Punk
CM Punk may be one of the most recognisable stars of the last decade, thanks in large part to his breakout 'Pipe Bomb' promo, but it was not always that way.
Fresh off of a red hot run with Ring of Honor, Punk languished in Ohio Valley Wrestling for nearly a year before being called up to the newly-relaunched ECW brand. When friend and mentor Paul Heyman quit, citing creative differences with the McMahon family, Punk was left in the unenviable position of being a 'Paul Heyman' guy in a company soured on the New York native.
His determination and merchandise appeal proved too strong for his bosses to ignore, though, and he soon exploded to the top of the extreme roster, winning the ECW Championship in late 2007.
As nice as that may have been, the ECW Title had the value of the intercontinental or United States titles, a "World" championship in name only. It was not until he won consecutive Money in the Banks in 2008 and '09, then captured the World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions, that he truly broke out and became one of the biggest success stories of WWE's brand extension era.
Had Punk come along at a time before or after the split, he likely would have been lost in the midcard shuffle, an immensely talented and engaging star never quite able to break through the glass ceiling. Instead, he capitalised on an extraordinary heel run on SmackDown and a return to Raw to become the industry icon that he eventually morphed into.