10 Veterans Who Would Be Ideal Role Models For Younger Wrestlers
3. CM Punk (Getting Heat From The Crowd)
While there have been many people in WWE history who were excellent at getting heat from the crowd, like the Vince McMahon, The Iron Sheik*, and Triple H, among others, one of the best at aggravating the audience is CM Punk.
Whether it was on the independent scene or in WWE, CM Punk was one of those guys that were so easy to hate. He never needed a script to p*ss people off; he just said what was going through his head, and more often than not, it led to the right reaction from the audience.
Maybe it stems from his ability to turn his Straight-Edge lifestyle into a successful ‘better-than-you’ gimmick, or maybe it’s because he’s naturally arrogant and loud-mouthed. Either way, CM Punk knows how to get the crowd to hate him. While he obviously had to tone down some of his heelish antics in WWE, his work in independent promotions are pure gold.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YxQ_b_VHyk
From his deep-cutting tone in his infamous pipe-bomb promo, to his mock religious gimmick as the Straight-Edge Messiah, to his general demeanor, if CM Punk wanted you to boo him, he wouldn’t stop until you were booing him so hard you were ready to throw things at him.
As a result of this skill in generating a negative reaction, CM Punk is definitely someone that younger stars should look to when portraying the bad guy. Everything from his movements in the ring, to his facial expressions, to his words serve a purpose in making the crowd hate him.
His promos, which are still talked about to this day, come from the heart and aren’t scripted in any way, which makes them infinitely better than a pre-determined script that sucks out the originality and soul of the speaker. If WWE want their new heels to be presented as true heels, and not cheered and booed by half the audience like John Cena, Seth Rollins or Brock Lesnar, then they need to let go of the reigns and have them speak for themselves.
If it worked for Punk, it can work for anyone.
*http://whatculture.com/wwe/10-awesome-facts-from-the-iron-sheiks-documentary.php/6