8 Things To Expect From CM Punk In 2020

6. The Driving Force Behind WWE Backstage's Ratings

CM Punk
FS1

In a viewership sense, it’s certainly been a mixed bag for WWE Backstage since the show made its official debut on November 5th.

With Backstage’s ratings being erratic during the show’s infancy, one key attribute to the stronger viewing figures for the weekly FS1 offering is CM Punk.

In the two months since WWE Backstage debuted, the strongest numbers it’s pulled in are 180,000 viewers and a 0.10 rating for the November 19th edition of the show. What was so special about November 19th? Why, that was the first full appearance of a certain Chicago-born former World Champion.

Following that episode, the next week’s non-Punk outing saw numbers drop by 80,000 viewers. Bar the recent Christmas Eve special for WWE Backstage, the two highest-rated episodes of the show are the ones to have featured CM Punk as an analyst.

This clear pattern is sure to carry on into 2020, with CM Punk being the needle mover for WWE Backstage as fans make a point of tuning in purely to hear what the oft-outspoken Straight Edge Superstar has to say about the current WWE product. And on the weeks that Punk isn’t featured, those same fans are left with one major reason to give WWE Backstage a miss.

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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 day job, 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/Saints, Jamie Hayter, 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. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.