CM Punk Retires: Gone For Good?

I know I know the writing has been on the wall for months now. CM Punk walks out of the company after the Royal Rumble. Now we see that his profile has been moved to the alumni section of WWE, and WWE just showed his documentary on the WWE Network, so where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

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But to make it seem so official now is a loss for the company and for my own fandom. Look around my room that I am typing this in and you’ll see two CM Punk posters, a fat head, a standee, a foam finger, an action figure, and don’t forget the t-shirts in my closet. Punk is the guy that got my interest burning so much in talking about and writing about WWE when he was able to turn it upside down with that promo on the company in Las Vegas some years ago.

We can all talk about how the run did come to a halt when he got beat by Triple H, but then look back in that month of November when he beat Alberto Del Rio, and held the title for 434 days. Just let that number sink in for a minute, 434 days as champion. Do you think anyone really anticipated Punk as the guy that would hold the title that long?

That’s why it can be such a loss for WWE at this time as they could use that top character in Punk on the heel or face side. There was no doubt back at the end of last year, you could just see something missing. Maybe it was injuries. Maybe it was the politics of the back. Maybe it was the position Punk was put in. There wasn’t that fire that Punk brought to everything.

He was able to get some great matches out of John Cena, which in turn, got my respect going for Cena. You could look at that feud as one of the best feuds in a while. Both guys had something to prove to each other, and that’s ultimately what made it such a great feud. I know I will get balked at for it, but it was like Austin Rock, where you had two guys vying for that top position. Punk wanted to be the ultimate guy, and you could say he never got that shot. Especially when his match would fall in the middle of the night as the champion.

But it doesn’t matter now as you look at what WWE will be missing. They’re missing that guy that could connect with fans on the microphone and work a match with just about anyone. I wasn’t too sure how the match with Lesnar would go last year, but it was one of the best matches of the year. I need to go back and re-watch that as a matter of fact.

Punk was able to deliver on the microphone as you never knew what to expect. Give WWE some credit for at least giving him that opportunity even if it was brought down a level once he became champion and was on the fans’ side. But nothing will compare to that reaction he got at Money in the Bank 2011. I could watch that each and every day, and still not get tired of that.

Maybe there won’t ever be a comeback party for Punk, but hopefully he’ll do something to keep himself in the limelight for us fans. I am hearing that he could start up a podcast, so that could be fun to listen to as I am sure he’ll bring his own brand to it. I think for the most part, he’ll do what he wants to do, and we could end up seeing him back at some point for WWE. I can’t imagine he would go back to ROH or something along those lines.

If he wants to be the man, then you have to go to the big pond. I think Punk will be swimming around at some point, and I will be there to cheer him along. #ThankyouPunk

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