When CHIKARA first started, it was intended mostly as a showcase for the students of Mike Quackenbush and Reckless Youth's school, The Wrestle Factory. Their first show featured many CHIKARA wrestlers we know today such as Icarus, Ultramantis Black and Hallowicked, but the very first show also featured some of the hottest independent wrestlers in the country. The main event of the very first CHIKARA event, retroactively titled The Renaissance Dawns, featured Don Montoya, Reckless Youth and Mike Quackenbush face the team of Colt Cabana, Chris Hero and the future "Best in the World" CM Punk. The match still holds up as excellent, and set the tone for what CHIKARA would become going forward, but unfortunately, it was Punk's only appearance for the company. At the 2006 Tag World Grand Prix, the match of Team ROH v Team WWF was announced, and while they revealed who was representing Ring of Honor, the WWF team was unknown. On the night, it turned out that Team WWF was Team World Wildlife Fund, represented by Colt Cabunny and CP Munk. CP Munk was Necro Butcher in a chipmunk costume with straight edge handtape and a Pepsi tattoo. Punk disliked the playful jab, commenting on it in 2007:
I'm split 50/50 on it. Some days I get real pissed about it, because it's disrespectful. I'm sure it's no secret that the dorks that run Chikara and I don't get along, so their judgement on trying to "mock" me is a little off. Most other days I just laugh it off because nobody from Chikara will ever be over enough anywhere for anybody else to parody them. I win.
While Punk is entitled to his opinions on CHIKARA wrestlers' popularity, the fact that this list is populated with incredibly popular WWE superstars both past and present seems to invalidate his argument. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsSn5LT5CsI
