10 Wrestling Promos WWE Regret

1. CM Punk's Pipebomb

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WWE

On June 27, 2011, CM Punk was tasked with selling a pay-per-view.

He instead sold fans on a future WWE had neither the nous nor willingness to usher in, and those fans that remain - fewer than half - have pondered why that is for the intervening nine years.

Punk excoriated the WWE system. He savaged the paradox at its charred, arrogant heart. He savaged the insulting notion that it is a meritocracy. He exposed the disturbing truth behind the full extent of its systemic failures. Without expressly saying as much - but everybody got it, proving definitely that the fans were nowhere near as thick as Vince thought of them - he burst the infamous WWE bubble and exposed what was truly inside of it. The fans knew all this, but it was a life-affirming thrill when Punk articulated it so incredibly.

There was no going back, except there was; WWE slammed shut Pandora's box on their burnt fingers, snatching away a glorious possibility that was eventually realised through every factor that converged to form All Elite Wrestling all those years later.

CM Punk's famous promo wasn't a Pipebomb; it was an injection of Thallium poison.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!