“Because he’s the hero the WWE deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So, we’ll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero. He’s a silent guardian. A watchful protector. The Best in the World.” – Commissioner James Gordon talking about CM Punk, paraphrased.
Last week on Monday Night RAW, the show opened with CM Punk’s entrance video package, after days of rumours that he would be back in the WWE fold. Cue Paul Heyman and one of the best promos we have seen this year. And while many thought that CM Punk would be featuring at some point during the Chicago show, alas, he did not appear.
Does that signal the end for CM Punk? I personally believe it does. With him missing Wrestlemania and therefore the biggest pay day of the year for the WWE’s elite that can get on the card, there is no doubt in my mind that CM Punk is done with wrestling. His contract is fully up in July, and with no reason to re-sign it, we have officially seen the last of CM Punk in my eyes.
Is it necessarily a bad thing? Sure, WWE has lost one of their biggest draws. But no CM Punk means people like Daniel Bryan now have more TV time, which CM Punk said himself was something the company needed to focus on, as he is enjoying the peak of his career right now.
And while there have been many superstars that have come and gone within the WWE, only to return years later, I do not see that being part of Punk’s future. He’s not going to go away and become successful in Hollywood, so he wouldn’t return on Rock/Batista money. He’s too old to go to the UFC, become a champion, get his ass handed to him a few times, before coming back to wrestle four matches a year, so he can’t do what Lesnar did.
And let me quote CM Punk from back in 2011.
“Those of you who are cheering for me now are just as big of a part of me leaving as anything else. Because you’re the ones who are sipping out of those collector cups right now. You’re the ones who buy those programmes that my face isn’t on the cover of, and then at 5am in the airport, you try to shove it in my face so you can try and get an autograph and try to sell it on ebay because you’re too lazy to go and get a real job.
The reason I’m leaving is because of you people because even after I leave, you’re going to continue to pour money into this company. I’m just a spoke on the wheel. The wheel is going to keep turning, and I understand that. But Vince McMahon is going to make money to spite himself.”
And this is true. He’s been gone just over a month, and how many of you have put a status on Facebook saying that you either weren’t a big fan, or that you don’t particularly miss him? I bet it’s a fair few. Either way, I’ve seen the people who are apathetic towards Punk outnumber the people who adore him by a vast majority.
You could see within the last few months that CM Punk had fallen out of love with the company he had called his home since 2005. He had started phoning in his promos and his ring work seemed unenthusiastic. Who could blame him? I certainly wouldn’t want to go to work and do a damn good job if I knew I was going to have to sit behind Randy Orton and Batista in the WrestleMania card.
My first quotation is very true. We apparently don’t need Punk. Vincent Kennedy McMahon seems to think we need Batista more, who has been unimpressive at best since his comeback.
I will say that I am going to miss Punk. When he was at his best, there wasn’t anyone better. During some parts of his career, he has been the best heel any WWE fan could have seen within the past 15 years.
Goodbye, Mr Brooks.
– By Dan Lloyd
What are your thoughts on CM Punk’s WWE exit? Share it in the comments section below!