After nearly eight years, CM Punk has made his return to wrestling.
The moment was one of the biggest moments of the year with the United Center sold out based on just the speculation that Punk will be appearing.
CM Punk is no stranger to making memorable moments and has a career chalked full of them. Now, updated to include his AEW debut, let’s take a look at some of his best.
These are the ten most important moments in the career of CM Punk.
10. Cashing in Money in the Bank Take One
Right, so, CM Punk’s reign as World Heavyweight Champion in 2008 didn’t go well. He was one of the most mid-card champions the company has ever had through no fault of his own.
WWE just never pushed him as a top guy, instead focusing on rivalries between Jericho and Michaels, and Cena and Batista.
However, for one moment, CM Punk was a megastar as he cashed in Money in the Bank on Edge the night after Night of Champions in 2008.
After a beating from Batista, Edge was incapacitated when Killswitch Engage blared through the arena speakers. Punk became World Heavyweight Champion for the first time, something that seemed like a distant dream at one point given how WWE booked indie darlings in the 2000s.
9. Happy Birthday Princess Aalyah
CM Punk had a number of stellar runs in WWE but his work in the Straightedge Society in 2009-2010 was perhaps his best.
In the early moments of his WrestleMania rivalry with Rey Mysterio, Punk interrupted a birthday celebration for Rey’s daughter Aalyah.
Yes, the same Aalyah that everyone remembers making out with Murphy a decade later. Sorry for reminding you of that. Let’s move on.
Punk terrorized the Mysterio family and sang a very sinister rendition of Happy Birthday to Aalyah as she cried on the rampway. You could argue that in his entire run in WWE, this was Punk’s best moment as a heel.
8. Serena Deeb Begs To Be Saved
CM Punk has spoken openly about his distaste for how the Straightedge Society came to an end. It was, by all accounts, his vision.
However, as WWE had been known to do to Punk, they took his vision and made it unrecognizable by the end.
Before they got to that point, however, CM Punk was shaving heads on SmackDown to cleanse his followers of their sins. The most memorable of these moments was with Serena Deeb. The same Serena Deeb tearing it up in AEW and the NWA right now.
Deeb jumped the rail and latched onto CM Punk as a crazed fan when she was dragged away by security. Punk stopped them, realizing Deeb needed saving and proceeded to shave her head in the ring.
This was the moment the Straightedge Society was truly cemented and it was perhaps their best moment as a unit as well.
7. The Original Pipebomb
For those who were around to see it, the original Summer of Punk in Ring of Honor was truly special.
Similar to his WWE exodus in 2011, word had gotten out that CM Punk was leaving Ring of Honor. Capitalizing on the publicity, ROH booked Punk in a World Championship match with Austin Aries.
Many believed this was Punk’s farewell match and that he would lose, however, they were shocked and elated when he won the ROH World Title for the first and only time.
Punk then grabbed a microphone and proclaimed himself to be the Devil himself and the stupid mindless ROH fans fell for his trick. This promo is very similar to his famous Pipebomb in WWE, even using some of the same verbiages.
CM Punk was the lifeblood of Ring of Honor and his exit was felt but his last few months were some of the best in company history to that point.
6. Cashing in Money in the Bank Take Two
Now, this is more like it. CM Punk’s World Title reign came and went without much thought from WWE in 2008 making it all the more surprising when he won the Money in the Bank ladder match again in 2009.
The cash-in and follow-up this time around were everything the first one should have been.
Cashing in on Jeff Hardy at Extreme Rules immediately turned Punk heel in the eyes of the fans. This was something he embraced more and more as the Summer went on, calling out the fans for supporting Hardy’s destructive lifestyle and booing him while abstaining from drugs and alcohol.
For this moment, however, Punk showed a completely different side of his character that we had not seen in WWE to this point. WWE brass didn’t believe that Punk could be a heel before this. Yeah, okay. Sure.
5. Signing the WWE Contract on the ROH World Title
Continuing with the 2005 Summer of Punk, in a move that feels completely surreal today, CM Punk legitimately signed his WWE contract on the ROH World Championship belt.
After his pipebomb, Punk went corporate, playing up his impending departure to WWE. His ROH World Title reign wasn’t very long, but he made many classic moments during that short time.
This was definitely one of them, made even more memorable by the fact that it was real. That was Punk’s real WWE contract. He didn’t sign with WWE in a boardroom or at home with his family. He signed with them in Ring of Honor on top of the company’s most prized championship.
Stellar heel work if ever it existed. Speaking of…
4. Jeff Hardy Cosplay
If you thought CM Punk was hated after cashing in of Jeff Hardy, this was another level. After three months of feuding with Hardy, Punk ultimately beat him in a Loser Leaves WWE Steel Cage match on SmackDown.
The week after, Hardy’s music played to the delight of WWE fans in attendance. That delight turned to disgust quickly as it was immediately apparent that this was not Jeff Hardy. SHOCK! IMPOSTER!
CM Punk came out in a pretty decent Jeff Hardy cosplay to mock the fans who were still raw from seeing their favorite wrestler banished.
In a Summer where Punk flexed his heelish muscles, this was his most memorable moment. Honestly, imagine thinking Punk couldn’t be a heel. Absolutely absurd.
3. A Tearful ROH Farewell
Ring of Honor played as much a role in the career of CM Punk as WWE. His work in the promotion helped get the company off the ground and many of his best matches and moments were still housed in an ROH ring.
That is why when the Summer of Punk circa 2005 came to a close, it was very emotional. While Punk has played up his corporate douchebaggery and heelish nature during the Summer, when it really was time to say goodbye he was very emotional.
For his farewell match, Punk wrestled his (at the time) best friend Colt Cabana. Punk cried on the way to the ring, he cried in the ring, and he cried after the match.
Emotional moments like these are hard to come by in wrestling but when they do happen they are all the more magical.
2. The Pipebomb Dedux
The 2011 Pipebomb promo is still one of the most surreal and incredible moments in WWE history. Even a decade later, this promo still strikes a chord with many WWE fans who are disgruntled with WWE’s poor track record.
At the time, this promo took Punk from being a star to being a superstar in five minutes flat. There is a stark difference in the perception of WWE from outside media before and after this promo.
ESPN and other outlets wanted Punk. Fans wanted Punk. WWE… still didn’t really want Punk but that’s why this promo is still so special.
It is five years of frustration being let out on live television and it became clear that those frustrations did not subside in the following three years.
One of the most important promos in WWE history, but we still left room for…
1. “I’m Back.”
When I wrote this list the afternoon of Punk’s impending AEW debut, I left the top spot vacant. It was listed as “Still To Come” with the idea being that either his debut or an early moment in his AEW run could take the top spot.
At the time I did not anticipate just how special his AEW debut would turn out to be. It not only deserves the top spot on this list but it belongs on the shortlist of the greatest moments in wrestling history. No hyperbole.
The AEW debut of CM Punk was cathartic, surreal, and deeply emotional, illustrated by grown men in the crowd openly weeping at the sight of their once departed hero.
For as much of a journey as the last seven and a half years have been for Punk, August 20, 2021, was a happy day for Punk and fans alike. It was why many of us watch wrestling.
Punk himself has called it the greatest moment of his career and honestly, who am I to argue any different.
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