CM Punk's legacy since walking out (getting fired)

[cfbsicko]

I was thinking about it and I kind of feel like CM Punk's legacy has taken a huge hit since his walk out.

I feel like he was on the cusp of being one of the greatest ever and among UFC fights and other talented performers rising in his absence, I don't know that CM Punk's legacy is as strong as it once was.


I sadly, felt the same way about Edge prior to his most recent comeback. It's hard to explain but Punk feels like less of a legend and more of an upper card act as the years go by...

[The Rick Jericho]

WWE has done a good job of not mentioning the guy.

Thus rendering his career as one of those things as.

Out of sight, out of mind.

I have no doubt in my mind, if he never walked out, he would be revered today.

Probably be pronounced as the most important wrestler during the 2012-2014 era.

[joeiscool]

As time goes on there are just so many people who are as good or better than him.

[This Player Hating Mothman]

Punk is one of the standouts of his era, tons of people leave WWE and go on to embarrass themselves, or dwindle on for years past their sell-by date and do nothing. The real issue is just that Punk's legacy is held by people who don't have any interest in glorifying him. The connection he had with the audience was something special.

[Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!!]

people love to pretend he wasn't one of the biggest and best stars they ever had for some reason. people turned against him for reasons that seem largely alien to me. lots of revisionist BS IMO. people used to do it to Bret Hart, too so I figure with time people will probably change their tune. he was 100% right about how WWE treats people.

[Fade]

Despite being a die-hard fan, I’m always going to feel mixed about the guy. In regards to the formation of his legacy. Obviously WWE will barely acknowledge the guy and that’s in part because of Punk either shit-talking the company (which I love) or distancing himself from wrestling entirely. So, he’s not entirely some victim in his legacy becoming blurred. He’s partly also responsible and hey.. c'est la vie.

Ironic cause literally last night I went in a rabbit hole of watching a bunch of his old segments post-pipebomb. Far from perfect but very entertaining. I’ll take the rambling, incoherent-ness of it all over how pin-pointedly scripted everything is currently.

[Texas Tornado]

Jun 13, 2021 10:02:15 GMT -5 Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! said:

people love to pretend he wasn't one of the biggest and best stars they ever had for some reason. people turned against him for reasons that seem largely alien to me. lots of revisionist BS IMO. people used to do it to Bret Hart, too so I figure with time people will probably change their tune. he was 100% right about how WWE treats people.

Bret Hart is a pretty spot-on comparison. Never thought about it like that until now.

[BorneAgain]

With Punk its an odd situation of his non-WWE ventures not really being mega successes, but that a lot of points and frustrations about WWE have become more true over time, with their ratings and general creative direction largely reflecting that. His star hasn't necessarily burned brighter since he left, however to his credit he has stuck to his guns and done what makes him happy and that can't be taken away from him.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

In a fair world, Punk's MMA career would have no bearing on his legacy. And I think for many people, it doesn't.

But for me, Punk's MMA career completely undermined almost everything that his character - which like many wrestlers, is basically his own personality turned up to 11 - stood for.

His absolute demolition in those fights he did have also makes it hard to take his kayfabe wrestling tough guy stuff seriously, like squaring up to someone like Cena or The Rock, who I can only assume would murder him by accident even without combat sports training. Don't get me wrong, this is fake fighting. I am a proponent of intergender wrestling and people like Rey Mysterio being world champions. But Punk shot his mouth off so much, and then went and got creamed. I'm embarrassed for him.

And it's a real shame, because I think his body of work has some truly extraordinary peaks in it. Apart from anything else I think he deserves the primary credit and/or blame for the Reality Era we live in now. That pipe bomb promo really did change the whole industry, especially WWE. That MITB 2011 match is still in my all-time top 10.

But I can't see him do his entrance without seeing that crab walk into oblivion.

And I can't hear him cut a promo about being held back without wondering how much his UFC contract works out as per hour of fight time, and how many people who could destroy him that quickly will never, ever, ever make it onto a curtain jerk fight for Bellator. And I don't even like MMA!

[Push R Truth]

The greatest and worst things about CM Punk are CM Punk.

[Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!!]

Jun 13, 2021 10:11:31 GMT -5 Texas Tornado said:

Jun 13, 2021 10:02:15 GMT -5 Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! said:

people love to pretend he wasn't one of the biggest and best stars they ever had for some reason. people turned against him for reasons that seem largely alien to me. lots of revisionist BS IMO. people used to do it to Bret Hart, too so I figure with time people will probably change their tune. he was 100% right about how WWE treats people.

Bret Hart is a pretty spot-on comparison. Never thought about it like that until now.

IMO its for the same reason. people would talk shit about Bret for years because he was "Bitter", ignoring that he had several damn good reasons for feeling that way. now the narrative is that "Oh Punk is grumpy, I don't think he'd be fun to have a beer with, I can't like him anymore". it feels exactly the same to me. yeah his MMA turn was embarassing, but IMO it's a blip in an otherwise great career.

[kingoftheindies]

I think in terms of as a wrestler Punk is still rather respected. I think most look at the MMA destruction as expected.

If anything I think how he has treated Colt Cabana since the lawsuit has hurt him more than anything

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

Always enjoyed him as an overall performer, both in terms of mic and ring work. And some of his complaints about creative do have merit. I just never felt that he was as done dirty booking wise as some fans claim. He butted heads with Hunter often, but one can’t win all those championships in WWE without Vince taking a shine to you.

[mystermystery]

He was a recent guest on The Movie Crypt podcast talking about his appearance in the new Barbara Crampton/Larry Fesseden horror film "Jakob's Wife" and it really felt like his current existence is essentially saying "Yes" if people he trusts asks him to do a project with them.

"Hey, want to write a Marvel comic?" "Yeah, sure."
"Hey, want to do an MMA fight?" "I'll try it."
"Hey, want to be in my horror movie?" "Sounds cool."

Guy did his thing, made his money, and is living what sounds like a pretty nice existence getting paid for random other stuff.

[rnrk supports BLM]

There's really two ways to look at this. On the one hand:

CM Punk changed the entire landscape of WWE, and I say that even as someone who personally never found his act all that entertaining. The WWE main event scene is filled with high profile indie wrestlers hewing closely to their established persona and putting on extended, workrate-heavy matches, and even the company-manufactured acts like Reigns try to work matches that pander to that style. We can complain all we want about talented guys playing second fiddle to Vince's masturbatory fantasies about Roman and Jinder, but pre-pipebomb, it felt like a huge achievement that a guy like Evan Bourne could get hired at all and occasionally win midcard titles instead of being pure enhancement talent. Now a guy like AJ Styles, a 40 year old hillbilly Evan Bourne, is "only" a multitime world champion with clean wins over Cena and the face of Smackdown.

That's a trail that Punk blazed, even if he ironically ended up broken, bitter, and gone before he could personally benefit from the changing format as much as his successors.

On the other hand:

[fw91]

He and Daniel Bryan are the only square pegs that fit into the WWE's round hole. (yeah, I know that sounds dirty) He probably was the last guy who was able to keep a casual fan's attention most of the time and he kept you tuned in. However, his connection with the crowd didn't have much to with his in-ring ability. Having said all of that, his gripes with how they treated him towards the end were 100 percent legit, but he still seems to carry a cocky, superiority complex against the rest of the world.

[cornettesracket]

Jun 13, 2021 16:22:29 GMT -5 kingoftheindies said:

I think in terms of as a wrestler Punk is still rather respected. I think most look at the MMA destruction as expected.

If anything I think how he has treated Colt Cabana since the lawsuit has hurt him more than anything

Great point. I still love the summer of punk and I’ve rewatched it several times on the network but the way he treated colt cabana was shitty. I mean the communications between them was very revealing and not in a good way. He seems to expect total loyalty from his friends and if not he’ll cut you off. Didn’t he turn on hornswoggle over something fairly small ?

[thehottag]

If anything, I think that walking out only added to his legacy. CM Punk was the ultimate rebel, an indy darling that the hardcores were chatting about for years before he got to WWE. The pipebomb promo was huge, not necessarily because of the content, but the very fact he was allowed to say it on WWE television. It was stuff we had all been saying for years, & it was so unbelievably refreshing to finally here it verbalised on screen.

I think people overlook how much a role TV still has to how wrestlers are perceived. When CM Punk cut that promo, he was the only guy the fans had seen stick up for them on-screen since what, Joey Styles? The 'voice of the voiceless' was suddenly a real persona, & fans rallied behind him for it. That's why fans chanted his name anytime they were sick with WWE's BS, because he was the one guy on TV who ever called them out on it.

If he'd have stayed, I don't know how WWE handles his legacy. Remember, Triple H was happy to pour dirt on Jericho & Edge in promos, regardless of their kayfabe accomplishments or fan support. It's possible he just becomes another spot on a WWE list (inevitably behind Triple H). But when he left, he suddenly has an aura. He's the guy they couldn't hold down, he stuck up against the machine. The things he said on Cabana's podcast have rung more & more true as time has gone on. He may never get his Wrestlemania main-event or Hall of Fame ring. But instead, he will be, both in kayfabe & reality, the rebel incarnate.

[The Tim Duncan Experience]

Jun 13, 2021 16:53:52 GMT -5 cornettesracket said:

Jun 13, 2021 16:22:29 GMT -5 kingoftheindies said:

I think in terms of as a wrestler Punk is still rather respected. I think most look at the MMA destruction as expected.

If anything I think how he has treated Colt Cabana since the lawsuit has hurt him more than anything

Great point. I still love the summer of punk and I’ve rewatched it several times on the network but the way he treated colt cabana was shitty. I mean the communications between them was very revealing and not in a good way. He seems to expect total loyalty from his friends and if not he’ll cut you off. Didn’t he turn on hornswoggle over something fairly small ?

Was that about him giving out Punks phone number to someone?

[Cyno]

Punk didn't walk out. He was fired.