11. Not Everyone Gets To Quit On Their Own Terms
WWE.comIts a fact of professional wrestling that not everyone can be in the main event. Not everyone can hold a title. Not everyone gets to be champion. The card is pyramid shaped for a reason. The guys at the bottom want to work their way to the middle, and the guys in the middle want that extra push thatll get them properly over and into the main event. Meanwhile, the guys already in that top position need to hold their status until they reach the dizzy heights of a legend a Shaun Michaels, Triple H, maybe even Undertaker or Rock: someone who doesnt need the title to get over, or need to remain full time to stay over. CM Punk stayed just long enough to get to about that level. His list of accomplishments in WWE is astonishing, considering his age and the amount of time he was actually on top in the company: fastest ever Triple Crown winner; only man ever to win two consecutive Wrestlemania Money In The Bank matches; longest reigning WWE Champion of the past quarter century; only five star match WWEs had this century. He left with pretty much a single goal outstanding headlining Wrestlemania. Assuming he can make peace with the McMahons, and assuming he gives a crap, hes a shoo-in for the Hall Of Fame. The list of wrestlers who get to retire young and on their own terms without some form of permanent disability is desperately small and Punks made it clear in several interviews over the last couple of years that he intended to retire for good sooner rather than later. However, old school wrestling etiquette dictates that when youre on the way out you put over a younger guy. For a guy old school with old school written right through him, Punk retired in a surprisingly 21st century way. It has to rankle with some of the talent that a man whod achieved so much decided to leave without saying goodbye, and without a backward glance.