10 Wrestlers Who FORCED WWE To Push Them
6. CM Punk
After already picking up a few World Championship and Money in the Bank wins and still not exactly being presented as one of the top performers in the company, it honestly felt as though WWE were never going to truly back CM Punk as a real main event level player.
However, the second the decision was made to hand the Punker a live microphone on the June 27th, 2011 edition of Monday Night Raw, things would never be the same for 'The Best in the World'.
Unleashing a captivating worked shoot "pipe-bomb" targeting his boss, the company, John Cena, and The Rock, along with throwing in the odd jaw-dropping name-drop and reference to the wrestling world outside of sports entertainment, Punk became the hottest thing in wrestling in the space of just a few minutes.
Rather than simply being a rival of the month for Super Cena, the surge in popularity the must-see 'Voice of the Voiceless' experienced in the weeks that followed quickly cemented him as WWE's latest genuine superstar.
And he'd remain in a prominent position throughout the remainder of his time with the company as the independent legend won multiple WWE Championships, set records, and even fought The Undertaker on 'The Grandest Stage'.