40 Greatest Stories Wrestling Ever Told
21. CM Punk Has Your Attention Now (WWE, 2011)
Some will be rolling their eyes a little at this entry whilst saying things like: 'Yes, but then they ruined it by drafting in Kevin Nash and making the story more about him vs. Triple H than CM Punk'. That's fair, and yet there's always going to be something so vital and inspiring about Punk's "pipebomb promo" from the summer of 2011.
You just didn't see stories play out like this on WWE television at the time. They'd become a saccharine PG product with easy-to-predict tropes performed by walking toy lines like John Cena. Being fair to Cena, he was only excelling in the role that was built for him; and that he was asked to do.
Punk, however, wasn't the kind to go along with corporate shilling. On the surface, at least. Wait, what? It's true. Deep down, CM Punk wanted to be on the lunchboxes, production trucks and in the WrestleMania main events. He said so himself during that aforementioned promo. That's a key part of the story that so many miss out when looking back on his 2011, bizarrely.
This ex-ROH rebel was salty because he wanted everything that Cena, Batista, Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton had been handed on a silver platter before him. By the time he won the WWE Title and blew Vince McMahon a kiss before walking out of Money In The Bank with his head held high, the world was on tenterhooks waiting to find out what'd happen next.
WWE fudged the next chapter of the story, but that shouldn't stop gushing praise for Punk's performances as he single-handedly reshaped what was expected from top storylines.