10 Wrestling Career Turning Points That Took Place ON AIR

8. CM Punk

Scarlett NXT
AEW

CM Punk's scorching of AEW's fractured earth in the post-All Out 2022 press conference was a long way removed from the 2011 pipe bomb that seemingly had a lot less self-serving intent. But the two were similar in terms of how seismic the aftermath was.

A largely enjoyable year may have ended back in the place it started - Punk's Chicago sparring session against The Elite and Colt Cabana triggered instantly infamous fights backstage, a host of suspensions and the stripping of all active Champions involved. Punk himself has since been confirmed as injured, all while he and sidekick Ace Steel could be out of the company by the time you read this or any day between now and who-knows-when. Everything - everything - was left on fire.

"Better to burn out and fade away" remains a cogent rule of thumb in wrestling, but Punk felt lightyears away from either just 12 months into a run that had started with such incredible promise.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett