5 Times WWE shocked the world
Anything can happen in WWE. Vince McMahon’s company loves that mantra and employs it every time something big goes down. It is cliché and overused to some, but for long-time fans, truer words have never been spoken.
The fact that WWE still has the ability to pull off even the smallest of surprises is actually quite shocking. In the information age, anyone that wants to know how the industry works is just one Google search away from learning everything.
Indeed WWE has surely found it very difficult to hide various storylines, as well as twists and turns in recent years. Though to know the future ruins it for many, there are just as many that feel they have to be “in the know” all the time.
But just because it’s tougher than it ever has been for WWE to provide those jaw-dropping moments, does not mean they don’t still happen. Those moments are important, because they readily remind fans of just how fun the business can be when it’s truly unpredictable.
Without surprises, the product becomes woefully dull and very boring. The occasional stunner and unexpected event keep fans hooked, and coming back for more. That’s the allure of pro wrestling, and no one does it better than WWE.
The company has had a lot of practice after all, and will surely continue to do so. WWE sets the bar and raises it every time.
#5 CM Punk drops the pipebomb: June 27, 2011
CM Punk was a talented performer that was never given his due in WWE. When the time came to re-sign a new contract, Punk instead decided to take his leave of the company and go on with his life. But at the last moment, Vince McMahon persuaded him to stay and what followed next made wrestling history.
Punk shocked the world when sat cross-legged on the Monday Night Raw stage and aired his grievances about WWE. He called out Vince’s “idiotic daughter” and “doofus son-in-law.” He criticised The Rock’s upcoming main event booking at WrestleMania and proclaimed himself to be the best in the world.
Then he criticised the cheering fans and said they were part of the reason why he was leaving. Punk was unhappy, he was frustrated, and he was ready to walk out the door. He was evidently shooting on the biggest pro wrestling company of all time, and he did it with the whole world watching.
It was the most shocking promo fans had seen in years and perhaps ever. Punk had tapped into something very visceral, and connected in a way that very few Superstars have ever managed to do successfully. He pulled the curtain back on a company that wasn’t rewarding hard work but instead choosing to pamper their established main event stars.
That notion became the fuel that drove WWE critics to rally behind Punk, and support him from that point on. Punk’s greatest attribute was his innate ability to stare into a camera and hit fans square in the face. He didn’t talk at them; he talked to them. He didn’t tell them how to feel; he made them feel it.
CM Punk made fans care about his cause and demand a new revolution in WWE. He wanted change, and that’s exactly what happened in the company. If not for Punk, Daniel Bryan would have never had his WrestleMania moment. Without Punk, The New Era would likely not exist today.
The pipebomb promo was a shocker that WWE allowed to happen, and it could not have come at a better time for Punk, or for wrestling fans.