20 Most Iconic WWE Wrestlers Of All Time

14. CM Punk

Over the last decade, pro wrestling has only had two stars who have come even close to getting to the level of a Steve Austin or a Rock. Those men? Daniel Bryan and CM Punk. Simply put, CM Punk was at the centre of the hottest WWE storyline in recent memory. Work or shoot, the notion of Punk leaving the WWE with its World Championship was captivating and brought renewed faith to wrestling fans. Like Bryan and Mick Foley, Punk was often portrayed as a man of the people, even if he was a lot less warm and cuddly as those other two guys, and then there was the heel side of Punk. As a heel performer, CM Punk was arguably at his finest, proving to be one of the very few 'true' heels of recent times. Not out to look cool or for cheap pops, CM Punk was a straight up d*ck... and it made for great TV. And in addition to all of that, the Second City Saint's impressive 434-day run as WWE Champion was the longest of 'the modern era', only further cementing his place as a wrestling icon It's just a shame that a man who was frustrated with the wrestling industry and wanted to make a change, ultimately ended up walking away from the business altogether.
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.