If it werent for his ring gear, many people wouldnt have thought CM Punk was a wrestler. As stated by numerous people in his career, including referee Scott Armstrong in Punks DVD Best in the World, Punk looked like the guy that would steal your car. He was skinnier than most wrestlers, was covered in tattoos, listened to punk music, and had this rebellious, arrogant personality about himself. So when he was signed by WWE, very few people thought he would ever make it anywhere beyond the mid-card. Yet if theres one thing that Punks career demonstrated its to never judge a book by its cover. Beneath those tattoos and that personal attitude was a phenomenal wrestler who worked as hard as he could, and put on great matches. But, the WWE corporate machine didnt want Punk to be the big star. Despite winning the World Heavyweight Championship three times, winning the Money in the bank briefcase twice, and numerous other accomplishments, Punk was never meant to become the face of the company. Punk became an even bigger underdog after his infamous promo on June 27th, 2011, in which is made scathing comments towards the WWE. This anti-corporate rebel made Punk a true underdog, as he fought against Cena, who represented Vince McMahon and the interests of those at the top of the company. Of course, this rivalry was a symbolic representation of Punks entire career. No one ever thought that Punk would ever make it to the top of the company, yet at Survivor Series 2011, he won the WWE Championship once again, and went on a 434-day reign, the longest reign in 25 years. All of this was accomplished by a guy who, according to some, was the mirror image of what the face of WWE was supposed to look like.
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.
