3. He Generates The Kind Of Buzz That Breaks the Internet
CM Punk is bigger than Kim Kardashians butt. There, its been said. When the now infamous cover of Paper magazine featuring Kardashians exposed behind was released, it came along with the subtitle Break the Internet, presumably because the publishers felt that the image would become viral to the point of somehow grinding all of the Internet to a halt. And while the image did make the rounds, the Internet survived. Then, on November 26, like an RKO out of nowhere, CM Punk at long last broke his silence regarding his departure from WWE in January of this year. Showing up as a guest on The Art of Wrestling podcast hosted by his long time friend and fellow wrestler Colt Cabana, Punk gave about as much detail on what lead to his walk-out as any fan could hope for. And thats when the Internet actually broke. Specifically, the Internet broke for Cabanas podcast website as it simply could not handle the influx of traffic coming in to stream/download this new episode. Keep in mind; this is a podcast that has featured major names in pro wrestling, including Stone Cold Steve Austin. By the time everything was said and done and the episode was made available via other means, The Art of Wrestling became, for a brief moment, the top downloaded podcast amongst all podcasts and, suffice it to say, theres a lot of popular podcasts out there. Interestingly, that episode was released a few days before the advertised appearance of Vince McMahon on a special live episode of Austins podcast on the WWE Network. So while McMahons unprecedented podcast appearance was not booked directly as a response to Punks shoot pipe bomb, it stands to reason that the topics of conversation covered between Austin and McMahon were definitely different than they may otherwise have been. Its likely that McMahon may not have been as candid regarding the state of affairs in the locker room had it not been made apparent by Punk and Cabana that candor sells. In an age where WWE needs to stay relevant in the realm of the webosphere and social media, the kind of Internet-breaking buzz generated by Punk would have been priceless. Punks original pipe bomb promo drew a lot of attention towards the WWE and now, his two podcasts with Cabana have done the same, but for all the wrong reasons. Going forward, it seems likely that the WWE will work more closely with the likes of Austin and Jericho and other podcasters in their good books (read: not Jim Ross) so as to capitalize on the growing popularity of this medium. Because if the WWE wants to break the Internet, its going to have to top CM Punk.
I am a writer and stand-up comedian living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I didn't witness the Bret Hart screw job in person, but I did watch the Breaking Point PPV live and that was terrible it its own way. I am dangerously obsessed with professional wrestling and its surrounding culture. I am the current ring announcer for a local fed called the IWS. I got to introduce Tommy Dreamer a while back. My head almost exploded. I am a mark, and proud of it. I also co-host a podcast called Go Plug Yourself, which has featured quite a few local wrestlers and even Mick Foley. Speaking of the Mickster, I once got to be his warmup act when he was in town for comiccon. My head actually exploded that time. I've recovered... sort of.
