It was not a secret that CM Punk's WWE contract was coming due during the Summer of 2011. Most WWE performers sign three year deals and he had been with the company for six years. It was surprising that it was worked into storylines when he announced his contract was due on Raw, though. That night, he tweeted thoughts on deciding to leave, including the above. His most hardcore fans quickly noticed something: He was quoting a post from his old blog on LiveJournal almost verbatim.
"Heart of the Devil" or "Goodbye Blue and White" I knew I was gone at the beggining of the year. I just woke up one day and knew. That's the way I work a lot of the time. I think it's creepy too, but it's really helpful. I honestly knew i'd be history by June. Come say goodbye on Saturday, I promise to go out with a bang. Trust me. XxX
That weekend he was challenging Austin Aries for the ROH World Heavyweight Title in what was believed to be his last indie match. Not only did Punk win the title, he turned heel and declared that he was taking the belt to WWE. It triggered the first really great program of his career, the "Summer of Punk," where he debuted "Cult of Personality" as his entrance music, lit into the fans, and did awesome things like sign his actual WWE contract on the ROH belt. The tweets were clearly teasing something. Your milage may vary how it compared to the original Summer of Punk, but it was something special.
Formerly the site manager of Cageside Seats and the WWE Team Leader at Bleacher Report, David Bixenspan has been writing professionally about WWE, UFC, and other pop culture since 2009. He's currently WhatCulture's U.S. Editor and also serves as the lead writer of Figure Four Weekly and a monthly contributor to Fighting Spirit Magazine.
