CM Punk Appreciation Thread

[ghost]

His AEW run prior to the Hangman feud was great.

[DSR]

I remember when I first started getting into ROH, I bought their most recent DVD at the time: Weekend of Thunder Night 1. His match with Austin Aries was really good, and I just dug the whole vibe of his character. I couldn't buy EVERY DVD they put out, but I followed his exploits on this board until he went to WWE.

I lost interest in wrestling as a whole after the Benoit family tragedy, but my love for wrestling was rekindled a couple years later when I found out CM Punk was now World Champion (this was during his Jeff Hardy feud), and I got back in and have kept in (for the most part) ever since.

I also really liked his big return promo. I can't watch AEW with any regularity, but I made it a point to check out that promo.

(Because of the scrum and Brawl Out, I'm not a super-huge Punk fan anymore, but since this is an appreciation thread, I'll leave it at that.)

[leanmeangene]

He along with Bryan, Joe, Low Ki, Homicide, Briscoes, etc helped shape pro wrestling in America as we know it. He brought something different, disenfranchised, raw and authentic to ROH and later WWE. He was never “my guy”, but you believed what he way saying. He did help WWE turn a corner, and boosted AEW before his injuries.

We’ll see what happens now.

[Cyno]

One of his hilarious heel moments on the indies was when he was pretending to use his closed fist as a microphone and mouthing off with a fan. Then when the fan tried to respond, he put his fist in front of her mouth like he was letting her speak into this imaginary mic. Then when she started to speak, he took his hand away and said "You f***ing idiot I'm not holding a microphone!" I was cackling with laughter.

[Jumpin' Jesse Walsh]

#StandUpForPepsiPhil

[Doo Doo is Worse Than WCW 2000]

The Summer of Punk is what brought me back to wrestling and I was enjoying his AEW run up until that one promo with Mox.

[thecrusherwi]

I've never been a huge fan of his, but AEW was much better when he was on the show. He's a genuine star and makes everything he's in feel important.

[Gerard Gerard]

May 8, 2023 14:51:59 GMT -5 ghost said:

His AEW run prior to the Hangman feud was great.

True, the only reason the lows were so low is cause the highs were so high. Hangman feud felt off even before the "worker's rights" comment, but the run preceding it really felt like Punk putting forward a case for GOATdom — just absolute masterclass stuff, all said.

[Zone Was Wrong]

Like so many, I'm sure Punk got on my radar after one of those poorly done compilation videos someone threw together with all of Punk's highlights in ROH with, I'm sure, some nuMetal band or something similar. This was before he ever got to the WWE. Watching his highlights and unique look really opened my eyes to him. Then finally got my hands on some ROH matches and got to see him and Joe an hour and was blown away. Quickly became my favorite active wrestler and that continued until the scrum. I is sad now.

[Instant Classic]

Not a fan of the guy, but my favorite period of him was in ECW.

[Jindrak Mark]

He must be in a short list of people who could be in consideration for feud of the decade 3 decades in a row (2000s v Hardy, 2010s v Cena, 2020s v MJF).

He's an asshole but he's usually captivating to watch on TV. I've hardly had any interest in AEW for the past year or so but I'll be damned if I'm not tuning in for his return. He’s one of just a handful of people in modern wrestling like that who I think have that it factor that can draw extra people in who wouldn't already be watching anyway.

Him going for the title last year sold almost 15,000 tickets for Double or Nothing. The same building for the same show this year without him has sold less than 7,000 with just a couple weeks to go. I think their domestic business is definitely going to get a boost when he returns, unless he immediately implodes or gets injured again.

[Mozenrath]

The dog collar match with MJF was probably his best AEW work, along with much of the feud leading up to it. I am a vocal detractor, as I have a distaste for Punk that goes back years, but when he's good, he reminds people of why people put up with his shit.

[lemonyellowson]

Love the guy. Is he salty as all hell? Yep. Do I care? Nope. Was easily the best part of aew for a year and it will be the same when he comes back.

[schizo]

As a viewer, actually can’t wait to see him back and how the wrestling world reacts to it! Positive or negative

[havokshofc]

He kept me watching AEW through the what seemed like endless MOX era

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

His AEW Run up till his first injury was really damn good, he had great storytelling matches, he showed he could still go with the best of them even if he was never a ring general, and his feud with MJF was fantastically executed imo

When Punk isn't getting into his own way, he really can create some special stuff... it's the matter of getting in his own way. If he avoids that, he'll do that again, and I don't even doubt his ability to do so tbh

[King Devitt]

I appreciate that gravity hates him just as much as Becky Lynch.

[champchumpchange]

He’s got some nice tattoos (looking at you GI Joe Cobra)

He married one of my childhood crushes!

He likes dogs

His first UFC fight shuffle towards the centre of the octagon is unintentionally hilarious always

[DrBackflipsHoffman]

night 1 of IWA MS KOTDM 2004 commentary is a GOAT commentary performance

[bob]