A big reason Punk likely left is that he wanted to be in the main event of WrestleMania or perhaps he wanted his good friend Daniel Bryan in that spot. Since that doesn't appear likely now, he chose to leave because he realizes nothing is going to change. What about his own career, though? Punk may talk about how he doesn't really care about his legacy or being champion is irrelevant, but if you think of his career now what are you going to think of? Three things: His speech in the summer of 2011, that 434 day WWE Title reign and chances are high that the walkout will be one of those things too. Some people may think about Punk as the "guy that walked out" before they even think about that other stuff. Why? Because so few guys have ever willingly walked away from such a great job. There are thousands of wrestlers that would love to be in Punk's spot and now many of them are going to have the opportunity to prove they are worthy. You have to also think about Punk's long term future. If he never comes back to WWE or has any association with them, will they basically ignore everything he's done in his career? Will they take away fan signs? It might happen. I doubt Vince McMahon, Triple H and other executives are very happy right now. Punk is a hero to a lot of fans that is respected by many of his peers, but if he never sets foot in a WWE ring again they can make him a forgotten hero. They've done it before with many others. They can do it again.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
