10 Most Successful Outsiders In WWE History
4. CM Punk
Look, when you go out on live television and state that the company you work for might be better when your boss is dead, its safe to say that youre a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. Such was the case with CM Punk, who never fit into WWEs mold, even when he was on top of the world and arguably the face of the company. Punk was making fans gasp in Ring of Honors Summer of Punk back in 2005, where he won the ROH World Heavyweight Championship as he was exiting the company to sign with WWE, holding the title hostage and threatening to take it with him to Connecticut.
CM Punks unbelievable run in WWE started off as a niche. He was the guy who could continually put on great matches, and the guy you could give the lesser titles. His loose cannon demeanor rubbed folks the wrong way backstage to the point that the company felt uncomfortable putting the strap itself on him and making him the spokesperson of the company. Fed up, Punk went out and cut the infamous Pipe Bomb promo that shocked and awed fans and non-fans alike, both proving the WWE brass point while also making sure that they absolutely had to make this guy who stirred up so much interest in a stale product the face of their billion dollar brand.
The biggest thing of note regarding CM Punks peaks is, of course, the unprecedented modern day title reign of 434 consecutive days. It all came crashing down when a part-timer, the Rock, came in and dethroned the champion. Part-timers taking the spots of young talents was a huge sticking point for Punk, so the tragicomedy of one relinquishing him of the gold did not go unnoticed. Ultimately, CM Punk didnt achieve what he set out to do in WWE by main eventing a WrestleMania event, but he did more than enough to prove his worth as a successful outsider to wrestlings premiere brand.