10 Ways CM Punk Will Just Make WWE BETTER

7. Chips On Shoulders

After returning to WWE, is CM Punk now the company's de facto top star? That's quite the question.

Punk is clearly a huge name, a box office attraction, a ratings-driver, and a major, major merchandise mover, in addition to still being an excellent in-ring performer; as highlighted by stellar bouts in AEW against the likes of MJF, 'Hangman' Adam Page, Ricky Starks, Eddie Kingston, Jon Moxley, and Samoa Joe.

If you're one of WWE's other top stars, even if you're a friend or supporter of CM Punk, chances are this will put some semblance of a chip on your shoulder. Will World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins take kindly to Punk now being viewed as the biggest name in the company? Absolutely not. How about oft-absent Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns? Hey, maybe this'll encourage him to come to work more often. Will Cody Rhodes allow the finishing of his story to play second fiddle? That'd be a no. What about the recently-turned Drew McIntyre who's clawing to finally win a World Title in front of an audience? This is merely more motivation. And how does a white-hot rising star like LA Knight handle this? Surely he'll double-down on making the very most of his minutes.

The point being, whether they get on with CM Punk or not, the determination and want to be the best that the aforementioned names have should push them even harder to prove that they're the guy, the poster boy, the top star, the face of the WWE.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

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