50 Greatest WWE Raw Moments Ever
4. "John Cena, while you lay there, hopefully as uncomfortable as you possibly can be..." (June 27th, 2011)
CM Punk has worn his adoration for Bret Hart on his sleeve for much of his career, but very literally wore it for Stone Cold Steve Austin when he sat cross-legged on the Las Vegas stage in 2011 and transformed his career forever. This was his "Austin 3:16" moment, even if his words couldn't supercharge an entire company.
Decked out otherwise in the yellow-and-black of the New Nexus, it was easy to forget where his kayfabe loyalties had lay earlier that very same show as he tore WWE limb from limb with a speech that basically went bullet point by bullet point through every millennial's complaint list. Useless heel stable leader Punk was dead. Upper midcarder Punk was dead. Per his own words, contracted WWE wrestler Punk was dead, after the Money In The Bank match with John Cena a few weeks later. CM Punk was at long last talking himself into the spot he felt he'd deserved for years, mostly because he didn't necessarily have any intention of actually taking it.
To suggest the "Pipe Bomb" was merely just a phenomenal CM Punk promo undermines an important ripple effect that wouldn't reveal itself for years, but the most potent line in the short-term was Punk's self-assessment as merely a "spoke in the wheel". For a month, the story built off the back of his powerful monologue was utterly gripping - a commonly-referenced jumping-back-on point for lapsed fans. Over the summer though, the character was eroded to such an extent that it took several months for the commencement of an actual WWE Championship run, and by then the 'Voice Of The Voiceless' had been pinned and middled by Triple H.
It (eventually) changed everything for the perception of Punk, but its lofty ambitions ended there. The promo revealed broad blueprint for systemic change, but American wrestling still had to wait several years for a workable manifesto.