20 Greatest WWE SmackDown Superstars Ever

14. CM Punk

The Rock SmackDown Fox
WWE.com

CM Punk watched what should have been his greatest summer get p*ssed all over by Triple H, Kevin Nash and others in 2011, but he'd flown even closer to the sun years earlier whilst nobody was watching on SmackDown.

As a righteous 'Straight Edge Superstar' heel against a freewheeling Jeff Hardy in 2009 he was a revelation. The gimmick had been played out in Ring Of Honor but was refreshingly resuscitated for the wider audience.

A year later, he'd morphed again into the evil messianic leader of the 'Straight Edge Society' stable, crafting a character close to an evil Jesus Christ than the drug-free douchebag he'd once been. Punk's greatest work had to be fought for, but many of his finer moments took place whilst fewer harder heads were actually watching.

Contributor
Contributor

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 almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, 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