CM Punk ' s Legacy

[SirLucas]

Forget about his multiple title reigns. Forget about the pipebomb. Heck, forget about the Straight Edge Society. Will Punk's legacy be remembered as that disgruntled WWE employee? That guy bitter at WWE for not getting his WM main event match. It's like the Bruno Samartino of this generation of guys that have severed ties w Vince.

[Deleted]

The only people the CM Punk situation sucks for is fans. Punk seems legitimate happy to just do whatever he likes, successful or not. He gets off on being dramatic and a shit talker as well. WWE is glad to not have to deal with him anymore. The only losers here are us for not getting to see CM punk vs AJ Styles

[Big DSR Energy]

I thought his legacy was being ridiculously up-front about his dislike for fan interactions.

[Slanted and Enchanted]

Dec 30, 2017 0:55:52 GMT -5 SirLucas said:

Forget about his multiple title reigns. Forget about the pipebomb. Heck, forget about the Straight Edge Society. Will Punk's legacy be remembered as that disgruntled WWE employee? That guy bitter at WWE for not getting his WM main event match. It's like the Bruno Samartino of this generation of guys that have severed ties w Vince.

I think Punk's legacy will be best remembered as how his reputation stands today; polarizing.

He will be remembered as that disgruntled employee who randomly quit one night but it's remiss to think that the 434 day title reign, the pipe bombs, and incredible matches will be forgotten about any time soon. He will always be remembered by his supporters for his outstanding promos, ring-work, and general honesty. Of course he will always be remembered equally from his detractors for his negative treatment of fans, his hypocrisy of taking away a valuable UFC PPV spot, and his subsequent failures in the octagon.

[Mozenrath]

I think his legacy is going to be walking out with the title, albeit briefly.

Like, I know it's a crowd pleaser to focus on stuff like the UFC run(or crabwalk) or the Z packs. It gets laughs, and appeals to the schadenfreude, but we don't remember Savage for "Be A Man", or Roddy Piper for "Tag Team" with Ventura. That's not what tends to last, at least for the surface thoughts.

[rnrk supports BLM]

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.

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Dec 30, 2017 1:06:38 GMT -5 Big DSR Energy said:

I thought his legacy was being ridiculously up-front about his dislike for fan interactions.

His stance on fan interactions has always been clear: "If I'm not busy and you're respectful, I'm cool with you. If I'm very trying to go about my day, and you're getting in my face, f*** off." Most guys do tend to be less acerbic and try to please everybody, no matter how much it pisses then off privately, but Punk's simply not wired that way.

Also, there's a ton of stories about Punk being super chill with his fans, but they're not as eye-catching or memorable as the stories where he chews out some jackass who yanked out his earbuds just so Punk could sign a pile of merch.

[OVO 40 hunched over like he 80]

His legacy is that he went to the wwe and became a star by doing it his way never conforming or becoming a kiss ass glad handed douchebag. His legacy is that he did it his way and retired in his own terms.

He was a skinny backyard wrestling kid who had no business even getting trained. Whose trainer actually thought he wasn't a natural and was a terrible athlete. Who had to work for Ian Rotten receiving only a pathetic pay if not less. Who got only booked in ring of honor because Gabe Sapolsky wanted to take a look at Colt Cabana. Who got signed by the wwe but management wanted to fire him from ovw every week. Who in wwecw right after Heyman got fired, creative decided to bury by having him job to Bob f***ing Holly. Who eventually became world champion but was relegated to the midcard. Who became a great heel but got the belt stripped because he complained about the dress code. Who finally became a mainstream star by insulting his boss and his boss's family.

This outcast who was mocked by Vince as soon as he was hired actually had the nerve to tell the son in law, "no offense but I don't need to work with you, you need to work with me."

[nate5054]

His legacy now might be horrid joke of an MMA fighter.

[xxshoyuweeniexx]

Dec 30, 2017 1:26:43 GMT -5 rnrk supports BLM said:

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.

Ironically, Triple H (who’s just the other side of the asshole coin Punk is one) is the guy who looked at the success of Punk as well as Bryan, and decided to roll with it and sign more guys like him. Unlike Vince, who seems to have to be dragged kicking and screaming to do something other than what he wants, Hunter at least goes “I don’t get it, but f*** it these crowds like it so why not”.

[The Heartbreak TWERK]

Dec 30, 2017 3:16:59 GMT -5 xxshoyuweeniexx said:

Dec 30, 2017 1:26:43 GMT -5 rnrk supports BLM said:

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.

Ironically, Triple H (who’s just the other side of the asshole coin Punk is one) is the guy who looked at the success of Punk as well as Bryan, and decided to roll with it and sign more guys like him. Unlike Vince, who seems to have to be dragged kicking and screaming to do something other than what he wants, Hunter at least goes “I don’t get it, but f*** it these crowds like it so why not”.

See, I think Hunter gets it, or at least does now, and rolls with it.

I think Vince gets it too. The difference is that Vince doesn't like it, so it doesn't matter what people like.

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

Dec 30, 2017 3:16:59 GMT -5 xxshoyuweeniexx said:

Dec 30, 2017 1:26:43 GMT -5 rnrk supports BLM said:

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.

Ironically, Triple H (who’s just the other side of the asshole coin Punk is one) is the guy who looked at the success of Punk as well as Bryan, and decided to roll with it and sign more guys like him. Unlike Vince, who seems to have to be dragged kicking and screaming to do something other than what he wants, Hunter at least goes “I don’t get it, but f*** it these crowds like it so why not”.

Oddly, the impression I got from the infamous podcast is that Punk's relationship with Vince is much better than the one he has with Hunter.

[Feargus McReddit]

Dec 30, 2017 2:52:06 GMT -5 nate5054 said:

His legacy now might be horrid joke of an MMA fighter.

By that logic, so would Jushin Liger’s legacy.

Yeah, Japanese MMA and UFC are two different worlds but still.

[mrtuesday]

You know that one person who never got over their ex?

The "ex" in this case is CM Punk.
The one that never got over said ex is Chicago fans.

That's how I see Punk's legacy.

[Final Countdown Jones]

Dec 30, 2017 1:15:58 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

I think his legacy is going to be walking out with the title, albeit briefly.

Like, I know it's a crowd pleaser to focus on stuff like the UFC run(or crabwalk) or the Z packs. It gets laughs, and appeals to the schadenfreude, but we don't remember Savage for "Be A Man", or Roddy Piper for "Tag Team" with Ventura. That's not what tends to last, at least for the surface thoughts.

Yeah, I think even when we talk about looking at the whole of his career in hindsight, him leaving was big and relevant but the Mickey Gall match will be kind of a footnote thing compared to everything else.

[EoE: Workin On My Night Cheese]

I think his legacy is that of, along with Bryan, being probably the main guys in terms of convincing WWE that the higher tiers of the independent wrestling scene is a worthwhile recruitment base, as seen by all the names they've hired since. But also, his legacy is probably also as a martyr for WWE's modern booking style, in that he ended up missing only one piece of the career puzzle, the WrestleMania main event, but it was the one that ate away at him the most until he'd finally had enough.

[Woo]

His legacy will be one of the greatest of all time. He is probably the greatest post Attitude Era star who will be more fondly remembered than Cena, Orton, Batista and Lesnar.

[Push R Truth]

A guy that supposedly changed the WWE with a "pipebomb" but when I think about it I can't name a single thing that it changed.



He's kinda like Del Rio. He came, did his thing, won titles, did a good job... but really didn't leave a mark in history. I'd argue the only thing that really changed is random CM Punk chants in a couple select cities.

[Deleted]

[BatPunk]

Punks Legacy we’ll be fine and fondly remembered in years to come. Crowds still chant his name YEARS after he left. I can’t think of any superstar, past or present, that is still remembered in the same way Punk is.

In a positive way.

As much as it can be annoying to some (like randomly during matches of no significance), I always smile a little bit when I hear a crowd chant his name. Especially when it’s trying to piss off Steph, Vince and Hunter during promos. Because Punk’s name means something to wrestling fans. He was a fan himself and wanted to see the business move forward. He understood the business, more than we do, and tried to change it for us.

That All-Champions photo, was for us. They were all guys and gals busting their arses for us. And we knew it. And it was because of an indie guy who loved wrestling as much as the fans and was in a position where he could try and make changes for the fans.