10 Ways CM Punk Changed WWE FOREVER
2. He Put "Wrestling" Above "Entertainment"
During CM Punk's WWE tenure from 2005 to 2014, there appeared to be more of an emphasis on "sports entertainment" than on technical wrestling, with talents like John Cena, Randy Orton, and Batista maintaining a stronghold on the main event scene. Sure, there were some notable exceptions, such as Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and Shawn Michaels, but more often than not, the "Vince McMahon guys" held World Championships while the more mat-based wrestlers stayed in the midcard.
Nevertheless, Punk refused to alter his in-ring style.
See, Punk is a man who always sticks to his guns. So not only was he not going to let WWE change his name upon his arrival, but he wasn't going to adapt to their flashy, "entertaining" wrestling style either. No, he was going to retain the diverse style that made him a legend on the independent circuit.
And sure enough, WWE fans loved it too.
Ever since, WWE appears to have been putting more of an emphasis on actual wrestling than they had in years past, and the wrestlers seem to be spicing up their movesets more and more lately. Sure, we've still got our six-minute "finisher spam" matches, but we've also got a main event and upper midcard scene that's perhaps more rife with technically-sound wrestlers than ever before.
Speaking of which...