Yeah, in retrospect, CM Punk was absolutely right. He was the best pro wrestler in the world. Do you doubt me? Well, the fact that WWE had to bring back a legitimate shoot fighter who doesn't so much wrestle as beat people up to replace CM Punk as a top draw and by default (because he literally does a different thing) the best pro wrestler in the world should be proof. When Punk retired, he was the absolute best at the "carny," "bullsh*t and fu*kery," "catch as catch can," "drop down and get it again," "talk 'em into the seats," "heelin' the babyfaces," you know, the stuff that makes pro wrestling an art form. Every wrestler that we THINK is the best in the world right now is learning the arts that Punk, by 2014, had finally mastered. Being awesome at wrestling and cutting a few great promos doesn't make you the best pro wrestler in the world. Actually being the best pro wrestler in the world makes you the best pro wrestler in the world...which CM Punk was, and probably for a while longer (until consistently proven otherwise), will be.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
