10 Reasons CM Punk Was The Biggest WWE Story Of 2014

3. He Was One Of The Biggest Names Of The Current Crop Of Superstars

WWE's roster depth has been relatively weak dating back to the official end of the Brand Split a few years ago. It's slowly dwindled more and more as time has passed. To WWE's credit, they've done an exceptional job of building up young talent in recent years with The Shield and The Wyatt Family being prime examples. However, they are still far and away from being suitable replacements for CM Punk. He's been one of WWE's biggest and brightest stars for a majority of his tenure, going back to even before his "pipebomb" promo in June 2011. He was already a three-time world champion by that point. It wasn't until after that unforgettable night in Las Vegas that he became a true main event player in WWE. There are countless cases of fans getting back into the groove of watching wrestling thanks to Punk after taking a few years off. He may have lost some luster after losing the WWE Championship in January 2013, but he was still among the most popular competitors in the company up until his departure. Aside from a two month break in 2013, Punk didn't take any time off for his entire WWE tenure. So, for him up and leave one week and not come back was a pretty big deal. He was seen as John Cena's counterpart and his greatest rival of the current generation by many. With him gone, very few Superstars will be able to match that same dynamic and chemistry they had.