10 Crippling Times WWE Worked Themselves Into A Shoot

8. CM Punk's Pipebomb Promo

Has it really been six years since C.M. Punk's Pipebomb promo?

Punk was trying to fight off the inevitable: WWE's corporate, family-friendly image taking over the entire industry. Everything was becoming too micro-managed. Wrestlers weren't allowed to be themselves, and it all felt so tame and formulaic. For many, Punk was the last holdout. You could easily imagine him fitting in the Attitude Era as a wild outlaw who played by his own rules. But in his current climate he was an outsider, and he was fighting a lost cause.

Punk decided to cut his losses, step away from the business and put over John Cena on the way out. The only problem? He suddenly became the most popular man in the company.

To give their upcoming match a sense of reality, Vince McMahon let him air his grievances on air...within reason. Punk wasn't memorizing a word-for-word script given to him by one of the 20 writers. He spoke from the heart and blasted away at everything he thought was wrong with the promotion. He went after Vince's "yes men", his daughter, his son-in-law and how he felt it was all so futile. No matter who was in control next, they'd do just a bad of a job.

Eventually, his worked-shoot went "too far" when he began talking about bullying. They cut off his mic. But he had already got his point across by then.

Due to the popularity and buzz of this segment, Punk quickly worked out a more lucrative deal with WWE to quickly return. That's the story, anyway; it's unlikely WWE would have given him that platform if it wasn't the start of something. The Summer of Punk was born...and...it didn't go so well. The company tried to co-opt his sense of rebelliousness, which only made him feel like he was any other wrestler. Then there was the whole losing to Triple H thing.

Still, the shoot aspect of his promo remains some of the most fascinating dialogue ever spoken on WWE television.