It's been 3 years.

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

27/06/2011. That EPIC promo by Cm Punk. Today marks its 3 year anniversary. At that time, the WWE and pro wrestling in general was going downhill really fast. A lot of people were tuning out. I know some personally. Ever since, the WWE has changed its direction a lot. We got a hell of a ride with Punk, we got Daniel Bryan, the Shield, the Wyatts. Basically, the WWE moved on from the whole "big guys need to dominate everything" mentality and instead incorporated a lot of smaller and technical guys into that mix, sometimes even letting those smaller guys get on top of everyone else (Daniel Bryan).

It's been discussed a lot on here and on the internet, but I believe if it wasn't for this promo (scripted or not) and the reaction by the internet afterwards, the WWE wouldn't be at the state it is right now. I wouldn't say it would have been dethroned or anything, but we could be talking about TNA possibly threating to throw over WWE, depending on the direction it took. What we do know is that on this day, 3 years ago, the WWE took a BIG turn for the better. Its course was changed, something new came on the table, and I'd like to take this time to thank the WWE for the opportunity to give Punk that mic and of course Cm Punk for being so amazing to create such an amazing moment.



A question to you. How do you think the WWE would be right now, if Punk never cut that promo and just didn't renew his contract? At that time, Cena was the champ, Del Rio was involved in the title scene, and the Miz came off from being champ at WM. Orton was the WHC feuding with Christian and I dare say that everything else was pretty irrelevant. Would we have Bryan main event WM? Would the live crowds be as hot as they are today? Feel free to discuss.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I honestly can't imagine things being too different now.

If we're comparing 2011's "walkout" to 2014's real walkout, I don't see much of a difference. We would hear the CM Punk chants, Punk's name would pop up all over the internet and social media, but after a while, WWE and the fans would move on (similar to what's happening now).

Just take at look the landscape now. Orton and Cena were fighting over the WWE WHC during Punk's final days and after his walkout, and now, Cena, Orton, and Del Rio are back in the WWE WHC picture. Again, I don't see a big difference from what's happening now and back then.

I'm a fan of CM Punk, but it's like the old saying goes, "the show must go on." In the end, the promo was outstanding, but one man won't break WWE, and that includes CM Punk.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Holy Hippopotamus Shit!

You're attributing the entire state of the WWE, plus a little bit of TNA thrown in for true over-the-top nonsense, to CM Punk's "pipebomb" promo??

It was a moment. A great moment that helped cement Punk as a top star, certainly, but just a moment nonetheless.

It had zilch to do with The Shield or the Wyatts, or even Daniel Bryan for that matter. TNA doesn't even rate in this whole scenario...their success is tied to their own promotion. There's never been any sign that the WWE's success or failures in any way benefit or hinder TNA. They're that small in comparison.

 

[MCMG]

It was definitely a great promo. His delivery was fantastic and it garnered a massive reaction. Mentioning Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar etc. was a superb move. Personally attacking The Rock and Cena was smart. The promo made sense and it felt like something Punk would legit say in the situation he was in.

Ultimately, it changed the career of Punk but it didn't do much else. His "pipebomb" is one of the best promos in recent memory and while it didn't completely change the landscape of the industry it did help to make Punk a top guy.

We wouldn't have got Punk's incredible title run including his matches against Cena. They would probably have just passed the belt around the likes of Del Rio, Jericho, The Miz and even Ryback. We would have seen less of Heyman which is a bad thing. Taker would have defeated someone else at WM29 and that is pretty much it.

I believe Punk said it best by describing himself as "just a spoke on the wheel". He isn't John Cena; the company didn't depend on him but that doesn't mean his promo and subsequent work wasn't absolutely outstanding.

 

[Pedigree1]

Time flies does it not?? Three years ago,the best Promo we have ever heard occurred on a monday night raw! Totally unexpected,and Punk let his grievances be well known.. Hell i still look it up,it still has impact major impact. Punk said it best,he is just a spoke on the wheel and without him,The wheel keeps turning.

We got an epic 434 Day reign that should have been 500 IMO. Matches incredible ones against daniel Bryan,the Rock,Cena etc! Punks pipebomb shook the world if only for a moment

 

[Tyrant25]

Punk's promo changed only one thing, and that was Punk's career. The promo has nothing to do with the state of the company. Nothing would be different if Punk hadn't done the promo, I'm certain WWE would've pushed him anyway. And I'll also add in that it's in no way right to attribute the success of Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, the Wyatts, etc to Punk's promo.

And by the way, WWE got rid of the "big guys need to dominate" mentality way before Punk's promo. More like when Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart started cultivating. The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Mankind, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, John Cena, JBL, Edge, Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio... all stars, while all strong, aren't considered "big" guys.

 

[Headman]

It was a huge moment for Punk and that's about it. People were excited for a little while. Then Punk ran out of stuff to talk about and started griping on "Change". Only he couldn't describe exactly what kind of change he was talking about. Punk faded into the background as a baby face and then got hot again when he turned heel because NEWS FLASH Punk is a better heel. The heel part of his lengthy reign was actually entertaining unlike the portion of the reign spent as a baby face. Punk got a hell of a ride. Then when it was time for him to take a backseat he threw a tantrum, took his ball and went home. In my opinion he didn't change wrestling anymore than anyone else who's ever gotten over.

 

[J.J.]

TNA definitely wasn't going to dethrone WWE. Remember roughly a year before they tried to go head to head on Monday nights with WWE rather it was unintentional or not it didn't work out. I don't think CM Punk started any revolution for smaller guys - Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit come to mind? Shawn Michaels? Chris Jericho? They weren't "big dominate" stars. I definitely feel WWE would still in the position it's in now, regardless if Punk cut the promo or not.

 

[PeterSellersSTL]

Triple H is to thank for the positive direction of the WWE today, but yeah a damn exciting promo from Punk.

 

[milkman12]

Punk's promo changed only one thing, and that was Punk's career. The promo has nothing to do with the state of the company. Nothing would be different if Punk hadn't done the promo, I'm certain WWE would've pushed him anyway. And I'll also add in that it's in no way right to attribute the success of Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, the Wyatts, etc to Punk's promo.

And by the way, WWE got rid of the "big guys need to dominate" mentality way before Punk's promo. More like when Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart started cultivating. The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Mankind, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, John Cena, JBL, Edge, Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio... all stars, while all strong, aren't considered "big" guys.

Dude you sound stupid no offense but common. John Cena not a big guy!? The Rock not a big guy? Triple H? Granted they aren't 6'10 350 lbs but the knock on the WWE is that they like big guys as in body builder types which huge muscular frames, half the guys you mentioned are 6'3 and above with huge frames etc.

 

[Meth Head]

A landmark moment in his career, but not of the industry. They called it his own little 3:16 moment at the time, but whereas Austin's was a statement that heralded the start of a new era, Punk's was a wake up call that went unanswered. It's a testament to WWE's own stubborn laziness that not even a moment as potentially game-changing as that motivated them to up their game.

 

[lil steroid meat]

Knew what it was when I saw the title.

Great promo, and sure we got the 400 day reign but I will always feel like they royally fucked up what could have been an amazing angle by not having him tour ROH and the rest of the indies "defending the belt", not bringing him back any sooner than Summerslam 2011, and of course the pointless involvement of Kevin Nash.

We could have had a modern day Austin/McMahon thing with Punk and HHH and with him as a top face, the heel turn with Heyman would have been an even better moment.

 

[Tyrant25]

Dude you sound stupid no offense but common. John Cena not a big guy!? The Rock not a big guy? Triple H? Granted they aren't 6'10 350 lbs but the knock on the WWE is that they like big guys as in body builder types which huge muscular frames, half the guys you mentioned are 6'3 and above with huge frames etc.

You really contradict yourself when you say "you sound stupid" and then say "no offense." Can't really say no offense to something like that, but whatever, onto the topic.

I agree that I was thinking 6'5, 300 pounds at the time I was writing this. But still, WWE hasn't cared about "bodybuilder" type wrestlers in years. Punk had nothing to do with that.

 

[Mustang Sally]

How do you think the WWE would be right now, if Punk never cut that promo and just didn't renew his contract?

If Punk didn't renew, I figure WWE would have found something else to feature, although trying to figure out what is almost impossible to do. But remember, many fans were wondering how the company could possibly survive the departures of Steve Austin and the Rock. Going back even further, I remember wrestling fans wailing that pro wrestling would never be as good after Hulk Hogan walked away (before joining WCW).

Then, there was WCW itself, executing their plans designed specifically to put WWE out of business. Yes, WCW did more to hurt themselves than Vince McMahon could ever have done, yet McMahon didn't exactly cower away from a fight, did he? Instead, he fired back with both barrels and wound up picking over the carcass of the entity that tried to destroy him. He and his creative people found a way.

Compared to that, the Punk pipebomb was nice theater, but hardly the difference between WWE thriving.....or being taken over by TNA.

Did Phil Brooks' presence make a difference? Sure it did, but probably not the "industry altering" effect that many on this forum have claimed. He had his part to play and did a good job with it.....although the notion he was also a gold-plated pain in the ass to deal with likely tempered WWE management's view of him.

No, I don't think Punk's gig "saved" WWE. If he hadn't done what he did, the company would have come up with something else......as they always have before.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

If Punk didn't renew, I figure WWE would have found something else to feature, although trying to figure out what is almost impossible to do. But remember, many fans were wondering how the company could possibly survive the departures of Steve Austin and the Rock. Going back even further, I remember wrestling fans wailing that pro wrestling would never be as good after Hulk Hogan walked away (before joining WCW).

Well, even when Austin and the Rock left, you still had great talent. You had established names like Jericho, HHH, HBK, Lesnar, other a bit smaller names like Eddie, Benoit (yes I said it), Edge and Christian, the Hardys and the list goes on. Sure, none of these guys could fill in the gap, or should I say have the Rock or the Austin aura, but you definitely had guys to continute running a decent show. With that said, do you remember how bad the programming was getting back then, what Austin and Rock left? Yea, it was bad and it continued being bad for the next 10 years. PG did its work towards that too. The direction of the company was going DOWN, and lots of fans were tuning out and then a guy that would create some legit excitement and kinda make the WWE relevant again would walk out too.

Since no one asked my question, I'd try to take my shot as to what the programming would have been. We would have gotten Miz vs Cena for the title, with R-Truth jumping into that scene, only for Cena to bury both. Then what? Orton was the only left established name. HHH, Taker, Rock etc were part-timers. Punk saved the WWE until at least WM28, where we saw the fans getting behind Bryan for the first time. There were dark times in the WWE and a guy that actually brought back some excitement would leave. More fans would keep tuning out, arenas would be filled with dead crowds etc.

 

[J.J.]

I disagree with your notion that he "saved" WWE. Just like it has been pointed out, they would've found a different direction to go into. Look what they did with CM Punk after he left - how many people on these forums stopped watching or showing up to live events? None would be my assumption. Even his hardcore fans that periodically chant his name at events - they're there, they purchased a ticket. Even Daniel Bryan getting hurt, show still goes on. Benoit and Guerrero respectively dying, the show still went on - SCSA walking out for a while, Rock's movie career during the height of his popularity.

In retrospect nothing will top 1995 in my eyes and Diesel carrying the strap damn near a year. Ridiculous. You are pointing out CM Punk...look at WWE from 94-97. Now off top of my head they lost....Hogan, Savage, Ultimate Warrior and his failed brief second run, Nash, Hart, Hall, Steiner Brothers(great asset in the tag division during their time there).

Keep in mind this was in the midst of a competitive war with a rival promotion. Those were their top name superstars. So to say one guy "saved" the company is absurd. So when you say "saved", from what? They weren't going bankrupt. Who are they competing against?

 

[laodaron]

It's been three years since HHH and crew worked the SHIT out of the IWC Indy Fed neckbeards and gave Punk his chance to shine on a worked promo on a Monday Night Raw in his feud against John Cena.

Since then, Punk was given the longest WWE title reign in the modern era, was given a Streak match at WM, was given a ROCK match at Royal Rumble, and then quit because he wasn't being treated fairly.

Because of Punk, guys like Bryan are going to never be given the shot they deserve. The WWE learned not to listen to the Indy marks, and not to promote any talent that wasn't home grown...thanks for setting the WWE back by decades, Chick Magnet Punk.