10 Precise Moments When WWE PG Era Careers Ended

4. CM Punk

Daniel Bryan Roman Reigns Cesaro
WWE

Remember that opening entry and AJ Lee having to deal with the fallout of hubs telling WWE to beat it? Yeah, well, that happened approx 24 hours after the bump you can see above; CM Punk was chokeslammed through the announce desk by Kane after being eliminated from the 2014 Royal Rumble.

One can almost see that he's totally done with WWE life.

Punk walked out on Vince McMahon and Triple H before the next night's Raw. Sure, he did show back up in the WWE sphere via lame duck talking head show Backstage a few years ago, but those appearances were so forgettable and unnecessary that they barely count.

That 2014 Rumble, and his sell job following Kane's chokeslam, should be considered Punk's true WWE end. The ex-WWE Champ and wannabe WrestleMania headliner looked exhausted as officials checked him over at ringside in Pittsburgh. In reality, he was done in and in dire need of a break.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.