During his 434 day reign as WWE champion, CM Punk wasn't allowed to take time off. Even after suffering a torn meniscus in December 2012, Punk continued to maintain a presence on WWE TV by showing up on every episode of Raw along with a few episodes of SmackDown as well as the TLC pay-per-view. That didn't change once he dropped the title to The Rock at the Royal Rumble. Although he was pretty banged up, Punk stuck around a few more months to feud with The Undertaker going into WrestleMania 29. In that time, he didn't work any house shows and rarely wrestled on Raw. Following his loss to Undertaker at 'Mania, Punk didn't make any sort of appearance the night next on Raw. It marked the first time since the July 18, 2011 episode that Punk wasn't on the program in any form or fashion. The next week, Punk discussed his shortcomings before "walking out" of Raw (not to be confused with his legitimate walkout from earlier this year). This storyline exit allowed him to finally take the vacation that he richly deserved in order to relax and recuperate from his injuries. Many felt that he shouldn't have returned until SummerSlam or potentially WrestleMania season, but WWE instead opted to rush him back in two months for Payback in Chicago. He looked a bit better physically upon his return, but two months was definitely not long enough. Punk continued to work non-stop for the next seven months before leaving the company. Had he been given more time off, maybe he wouldn't have departed as abruptly as he did.
Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.
