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CM Punk left the WWE in January 2014 after a fallout with Vince McMahon and Triple H after the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. The WWE Universe hoped that he would return someday, but it never happened. The Chicago crowd cheer for their hometown hero to this day, whenever WWE goes to Chicago to host RAW, SmackDown or any other pay-per-views.
The most recent incident being on SmackDown Live, when Shane McMahon was giving a promo about winning the 'World Cup' tournament held in Saudi Arabia and was interrupted by 'CM Punk!' chants by the Chicago crowd. Punk was one of the few wrestlers who could play face and heel with equal conviction and could excel in both.
His rivalry with John Cena is one of the greatest rivalries WWE Universe has witnessed. He was also part of some memorable feuds with Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton, Triple H, etc. to name a few. The odds of CM Punk entering a WWE ring currently seems improbable, but anything is possible in the WWE.
Here are 5 best moments of CM Punk in the WWE.
#5 Punk becomes the new leader of ‘The Nexus’
The Nexus was a stable which consisted of eight rookies of NXT Season One, namely David Otunga, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Michael Tarver, Darren Young, Skip Sheffield (later known as Ryback), Daniel Bryan, and Wade Barrett, who was their leader.
The heel stable was notorious for interfering during matches and injuring wrestlers, commentators, and even the ring announcer. The Nexus feuded with John Cena for almost six months in 2010.
The Nexus surprisingly announced that it was under "new management" after attacking John Cena and the WWE roster repeatedly.
CM Punk revealed himself as the new leader of the stable, renaming it as the New Nexus. Even though the new stable permanently disbanded within eight months of being formed, CM Punk added a sinister twist to the stable.
The New Nexus managed to win the WWE Tag Team Championships on two occasions, and CM Punk won the WWE Championship once as the leader of the New Nexus.
#4 CM Punk’s promo from the top of the Titantron
After CM Punk became the leader of the New Nexus, he made all the members go through a series of bizarre initiations in order to stay put in the New Nexus. CM Punk took things to a whole new level when he stood on top of the titantron and teased jumping all the way down for his stable.
He later revealed a safety harness, which he was wearing all this while and ridiculed the WWE Universe for falling for his vicious trick. It was a unique and crazy promo by Punk who was known for his weird and sadistic promos throughout his WWE career.
#3 CM Punk impersonates Jeff Hardy
The feud between CM Punk and Jeff Hardy was a perfect mix of kayfabe and reality. Their rivalry was easily one of most underrated feuds of that decade, where two athletic wrestlers went after each other and gave everything they had making it memorable for the WWE Universe.
CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase after Jeff Hardy had become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion by defeating Edge in a grueling ladder match.
Thus, Jeff Hardy was heartbroken, and CM Punk started showing heelish tendencies as he was a face before he became the World Heavyweight Champion.
Their feud lasted for a few months and Jeff lost another match to CM Punk with a stipulation that the loser leaves WWE. Jeff Hardy had left the WWE, but a few weeks later, his entrance music hit and the crowd went ballistic.
It wasn't Jeff Hardy who made his way, but CM Punk disguised as The Charismatic Enigma. Punk delivered another fabulous heel promo, which made the WWE Universe detest him even more.
#2 CM Punk leaves the WWE with the WWE Championship
Another masterstroke by the WWE creative team when they turned the real-life contract negotiations of CM Punk into a storyline in 2011.
CM Punk faced John Cena for the WWE Championship in Punk's hometown of Chicago and walked out as the WWE Champion, leaving the company with the title on his shoulders.
The WWE Universe didn't know what would the future hold for the Championship, but Punk made his comeback a bit sooner than expected and continued his feud with John Cena. The look on Vince McMahon's face when Punk walked out of the Chicago arena with the WWE Championship was priceless.
#1 The Pipe-Bomb
One of the best promos in the history of the WWE took place three weeks prior to Punk's match with John Cena, where he left with the WWE Championship. CM Punk was wearing a Stone Cold Steve Austin T-shirt on the epic night which changed CM Punk's WWE career forever.
He started venting out his frustration in a way in which the WWE Universe was left wondering whether it was a real or a scripted promo. CM Punk became a household name after this promo as he went on a rant for six minutes. Everything he said was plausible for each and every wrestling fan. CM Punk hasn't looked back after leaving the WWE, but if he ever makes a comeback to the WWE ring, it would be another epic moment for the WWE Universe.
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