10 Most Notorious CM Punk Urban Legends

3. He Had No Intention Of Really Leaving WWE In 2011

Story: CM Punk's contract was up right around the time of the WWE Money in the Bank PPV in July 2011. Leading up to the show, there were all kind of reports that WWE thought he was going to re-sign although nobody was really sure. He was 33 years old and in the prime of his wrestler career. Most people thought there was no chance he would walk away because he was wrestling in the biggest company in the world. What ended up happening was he re-signed with WWE on the day of Money in the Bank for a deal that was presumed to be for three years. He also became a more important superstar immediately as the #2 babyface behind John Cena, then the #1 heel opposite Cena and then back to being a face again. He left WWE In January 2014, about six months before his three year deal expired. Why People Believe It: He has done enough interviews where he has made the point that he seriously considered leaving. Punk has always been an honest guy, so people believed it. Should We Believe It: According to him, he was serious about leaving. Here's a quote from a November 2011 interview: "The last 12 months€ I was leaving, I was out the door. I wasn't quitting. My contract was up and I was like, 'You know what, my contract's up. I fulfilled my obligations to you. You have fulfilled your obligations to me and you let me slip through your fingers.' That was my attitude and I was leaving. One of the conditions of me re-signing, I was like, look, if I re-sign I'm all in. I'm back to old form CM Punk. I'm going to get excited about things again. I'm going to watch all the matches and I'm going to praise people, yell at people, give people my opinions, and help out guys. That's what I've been doing." Despite what he says, it really seems unlikely that he would have left WWE at that point. He knew he had leverage as a top guy with a contract running out and he was smart to use it to his advantage by implementing it into the story. Vince McMahon was smart about it too because they worked it in the angle to make Punk a bigger babyface star. We should believe that he thought about it, but as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. He didn't miss any time and became a bigger star because of the angle.