Examining CM Punk’s complicated popularity with the wrestling world

Despite being out of the business for nearly six years, CM Punk is still one of the most polarizing wrestlers in the world…but why?

Think about the biggest wrestling pop you have ever heard. Stone Cold coming out to help Mankind on Monday Night Raw. Triple H returning at Madison Square Garden in 2002. The Rock making his long-awaited return to wrestling as the host of Wrestlemania 27. CM Punk returning to wrestling would trump all of those.

Especially if that return happened to be in Chicago, which so happens to be the location of All Elite Wrestling’s All Out show on Saturday, August 31.

If you are reading this after the show then you will know if Punk made a surprise appearance or not and you will know exactly how loud that pop was. This discussion is still relevant, perhaps even more relevant, if he does make his return and you read this post-All Out.

CM Punk is still one of the most polarizing and popular figures in the wrestling world despite being out of that world for nearly six years. He has fought in the UFC, has written comics, is appearing in some movies, is announcing MMA, yet despite all that, his strongest ties are to the wrestling world.

But why? This is a guy that left the industry when he was still close to the mountaintop, disparaged the industry that the fans still support, and then continues to disparage certain fans when they bring up wrestling on Twitter.

Why does the wrestling world love CM Punk so much? Why does his name still get chanted during WWE shows? Why is his return the biggest thing that could happen to wrestling?

From someone who is actually a big CM Punk fan, it can be hard to pinpoint why wrestling fans love someone who seemingly grew to hate wrestling so much.

Let’s start with a personal story.

I was really into wrestling as a kid, because, well, who isn’t? I grew up on Undertaker, Batista and Edge on Smackdown (my worst moment as a wrestling fan was when Edge cashed in on Undertaker after a Mark Henry beatdown).

Then, as I got older, wrestling became less “cool”. I fell out of it in the fifth grade or so and stayed away for several years, finally sparking my interest in the industry in high school. I jumped back in during the Daniel Bryan-CM Punk-A.J. Lee storyline.

Punk obviously looked vastly different than he did when I watched WWE and he was on ECW and, since he was part of the biggest storyline at the time, I obviously saw a lot of him. It wasn’t that storyline or the love triangle that made me support Punk, it was the WWE documentary that was produced on his life.

Even to this day, I guess I identify as straight edge. I don’t drink or do any sort of drugs. But at the time, in high school where everyone is experimenting with those things, I felt left out. It sounds corny, I know, but Punk legitimately made me feel like I wasn’t weird for outlawing those things.

Then I watched the coveted pipe bomb and the re-runs of the Summer of Punk and fell in love with the character that he portrayed. But that is just the thing, and it is what made Punk so great: there was no character.

The idea was that he was a disgruntled worker (which was true) that hated his boss and took it to him. If you think about it, it shares a lot of similarities with Stone Cold Steve Austin and it is exactly what they are trying to do with Kevin Owens.

Stone Cold was a sensationalized version of the idea. Nobody could drive a beer truck and spray down their boss or hit them with a stone-cold stunner. Punk used his words, voiced his frustration and truly became the voice of the voiceless.

It was that blur between fiction and reality that made him so popular at the time, especially in the age where kayfabe is so hard to pull off (unless you are Bray Wyatt). He connected with people that hated their jobs, hated their bosses and provided a sense of escapism in a way that movies do that related directly to these people.

But why is that still translating in 2019? We have seen WWE try this moniker with other people, and Punk even let all of his frustrations out in the now-infamous Art of Wrestling Podcast that led to a legal trial. The mystique of whether or not this was real is gone. We know it is real, and Punk has given us every reason to think that he is done with wrestling.

So the idea of why fans are holding onto CM Punk returning is an interesting one. Some fans have already turned on Punk and understandably so. Don’t get excited for something that might never happen.

Is it his wrestling? Punk was a great wrestler and has the only five-star match on WWE’s main roster in the last 20 years. However, by today’s standards, he doesn’t stand head and shoulders above the rest and probably would be below average if he worked a match today.

You could say it is his storytelling ability, but even he was prone to some corny WWE storylines that fell flat.

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I don’t think it is his wrestling ability, as you can get that anywhere nowadays. I don’t think it is the stories he told, while the Summer of Punk was special, there isn’t much more that truly resonates with wrestling fans still in 2019.

It isn’t even Phil Brooks, who has turned sour in a lot of fans minds because of the way he carries himself (although personally, I see no problem with who he seems to be as a person).

It is what CM Punk stands for. The idea of CM Punk and the way he will go down in history, at its core, is the start of a new generation of wrestling.

How many people watched Indy Wrestling before CM Punk? Sure, there was a fanbase back then, but it was nowhere near the size that it is in 2019. Why is that? CM Punk gave it exposure.

Think about his WWE character. The infamous pipe bomb is about why WWE is so broken, something that has been proven more and more true as the years have gone on. This is an indy guy that broke through his glass ceiling and is now telling the company that gave him a chance why they will ultimately fail.

Does all the credit go to CM Punk? Absolutely not. But he plays a big role as the pioneer of this movement. A time where there are other alternatives to WWE that are widely available. Think of all the doors that Punk opened.

Whether they realize it or not, people got to watch a true needle-mover in CM Punk, someone that will legitimately shift the landscape of the wrestling business because of his highs and because of his lows.

That is why he is so beloved and why his return would be the biggest thing to happen to wrestling. People want to be there, want to experience it live, want to be a part of the bigger story that CM Punk has helped create. His impact on the wrestling world and wrestling history is undeniable and people love to be a part of history.

That is why Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold and The Rock are as popular as they are: they were the needle-movers of their time. That is why John Cena, although he has gained popularity in recent years, will never get the thunderous ovation that Stone Cold, the Rock and Punk would get. He is huge, absolutely, but he is not a needle-mover.

CM Punk changed the industry. He did things that people before him didn’t do, but people after him will continue to try and do. Love him or hate him, you have to respect him.