CM Punk hasn't said a word about the 2014 Royal Rumble, but he never really had to. The Pittsburgh crowd in attendance said it all that night. Once again, WWE had taken its hottest performer of the past year, Daniel Bryan, and put him on the outside of the WrestleMania main event picture in favor of a guy who'd been gone for years. Daniel Bryan wasn't even allowed to compete in the Royal Rumble match that Batista ultimately won. Before anyone calls Punk selfish, he never felt he was the most deserving guy of the WrestleMania 30 main event. Punk has made it clear that Daniel Bryan is that guy. Punk may have been able to understand WWE reserving The Rock's place as a 'Mania headliner, but Batista was and is no Rock. The audience has made that point very clear to WWE, essentially forcing the company to turn Batista heel. Injuries and general burnout may have also led to Punk's departure, but it's easy to see how Punk could have looked at the WWE landscape and just felt it wasn't worth it anymore. WWE was taking Batista, a guy who might be but is not yet a movie star, and moving him to the front of the line over someone like Daniel Bryan, whom the crowd refused to stop cheering for in the previous 6 months. Recent history was repeating itself even when the validity of the business decision was fare more questionable. Daniel Bryan now has an opportunity to, and likely will appear in the main event of WrestleMania 30. Perhaps WWE has finally learned its lesson. If the company can prove it has truly changed and is ready to focus more on creating new stars than squeezing every last drop out of its old ones, maybe WWE will be a place CM Punk would like to work again. Hopefully, Punk will still be watching closely enough to see such a change. Thank you for reading! If you have any other moments that you feel could have soured Punk's relationship with WWE, please post them in the comments section below!
