CM PUNK – THE GREATEST WWE CHAMPION EVER

Not until long ago, WWE wrestler CM Punk was still its reigning champion. And though its been roughly around six months since he lost that title to, in my opinion, a rather undeserving candidate in The Rock, its still hard to imagine him walking down that aisle without that glorious championship around his waist. And, well!!.. Was it just another championship reign?!.. Hell, no!!.. It was so much more than that.. Much, much more..

Punk rose to prominence around July 2011 when he threatened to quit the company, citing improper utilization of his talent as the reason. It all started off with one promo.. ONE EPIC PROMO.. that is now considered to be the greatest piece of oration the sport has ever seen.. It was the first time ever that a wrestler spoke of the behind-the-curtain issues of the company and the industry. The industry secrets had long been out, thanks to the internet, and the informed and educated fans of today. But, never before on television.. Nobody was allowed to break the fourth wall and nobody had the guts to talk of industry secrets.. But, within a matter of five minutes, with a microphone in hand, he did all that and more.. It was, simply put, pure magic on the mic. That promo was what sent his career into an upward spiral because following that night, he became the central element of the show and started off an incredible next few weeks, in what is now known as the ‘Summer of Punk’, that ultimately culminated in the Money in the Bank pay-per-view on July 17, 2011 at Chicago, Illinois, in front of one of the most ‘rowdy’ crowds ever, that saw the greatest match of the P.G. era between him and John Cena that ended with Punk leaving the company with its top prize.. Who could have ever thought of such a thing happening?? Vince McMahon, Chairman of the Board, of course, did everything in his power to stop Punk, and even tried pulling off another screw job, somewhat similar to Montreal, 1997. But, it just was Punk’s day. No force could stop him and one of the greatest stories ever told in professional wrestling had just concluded. Or, so we thought.

Two weeks later, with a new theme song, Punk made his return to the company, much to the delight of a large contingent of fans. But, it was not until November, 2011, when he beat Alberto Del Rio in one of the two scheduled main events of Survivor Series at the world famous Madison Square Garden, that he became a megastar. What an apt place to start off such a historic title reign? What followed was a year of some of the finest promos and the greatest displays of technical wrestling ever. He defended his title against the likes of Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Kane, Big Show, and John Cena, all some of the biggest names the industry has ever produced. And, he delivered every time. Not only did he deliver five-star matches on a regular basis, he elevated his opponents to levels that they were never looked at before. Throughout the fourteen-and-a-half months that he held the title, there was not one night when he was boring. Night after night followed one classic after the other. No superstar in history has consistently delivered the kind of quality matches that CM Punk has, with the lone exception of Shawn Michaels. But, what made his title reign so special was something else.

July 23, 2012… Scottrade Center… St.Loius Missouri.. The world was watching.. It was a historic night.. It was, the 1000^th episode of Monday Night Raw. And Punk chose the biggest night of them all. He chose the most spectacular stage.. And, he waited.. Until the final few moments.. And he pulled the trigger. He shocked the world as he attacked the Rock, laid him out with a GTS, and turned heel. How often has one seen that? A WWE champion turning heel during the course of the same reign. It was the rarest of the rare sights. And yet, Punk only got better. His status was further elevated. On the September 3, 2012 episode of Raw, Punk aligned himself with Paul Heyman. The two men were so legendary in their own rights and didn’t need each other. But, they just wanted to work with each other. The greatest champion of the current era and the greatest manager in wrestling history walking side by side. What a sight it was? Heyman and Punk’s alliance was one of the finest things to have happened to wrestling in a long time. Heyman made Punk look meaner, stronger, better, greater. It was a wrestling purist’s dream. The two of them carried out their roles to perfection.

Punk looked and acted like a champion. He defined what a true champion should be made of and showed us what a champion is like. And how fitting it was when he broke John Cena’s record and went on to become the longest reigning champion of the modern era and the sixth longest reigning champion of all time. His eventual reign of 434 days was behind only Pedro Morales and was the longest reign in 29 years. But, Pedro belonged to a different era. An era when wrestlers held the title for years, even decades. That was not possible in today’s product. So, in effect, CM Punk is the Bruno Sammartino of today’s WWE. It was really unfortunate to see him drop the title to a part-time superstar in The Rock, a man not even half as good as he is in the ring. But, that does not stop CM Punk from cementing his name as the greatest WWE champion ever..