Arrogance, defiance and destiny – The CM Punk story

“Serious art has been the work of individual artists whose art has had nothing to do with style because they were not in the least connected with the style or the needs of the masses. Their work arose rather in defiance of their times.” – Franz Marc

Once in a decade, along comes a person who doesn’t just break the rules, but makes them. You talk about a Roddy Piper or a Randy Savage, who had done things their way, and when you see the time period they were active in, you’d be left in awe with their outlandish characters and antics. These two guys were ahead of their times, and weren’t the ones who’d be confined within a box, or be complacent with what they were getting. Complacency is the quality of the meek, and the reason Piper and Savage are so widely respected is the passion they had for this business. And not only that, but the way they broke out of the norms and created a place for themselves in the history of professional wrestling.

Skipping another decade, you had the best period in the history of professional wrestling. Perhaps, without one person that wouldn’t have happened. Monday Night Wars was a collective effort of individuals from both the companies, the WWF (Now WWE) and the WCW, and they left no stone unturned, and one man rose from the ashes like a Phoenix and created the most dominant era in the history of professional wrestling. That one man is none other than Stone Cold Steve Austin. It would be hard to imagine that the same Austin worked for Bischoff’s WCW before being fired by Eric, because he didn’t have ‘anything to offer’ for Austin. As it turned out, Eric released the fate of his company, and within years, Vince was gladly collecting millions off the very same person. Austin broke every record, shattered every collection, and soon became the top dog in the wrestling world. If Austin was complacent, he would have still been in WCW or ECW. But the one thing that separated these guys from the rest of the pack was defiance.

This leads me to the current period. Many fans have left the wrestling world because it has become too clean cut, and too monotonous. With guys like John Cena and Sheamus at the helm, things have become very pasty. But a couple of years ago, one guy who was lost in the pack came through, breaking the shackles and didn’t just put his hand up, but brushed everyone aside while doing it. A certain superstar was ready to leave the company, and on his way out, wanted to create an impact, an impact he had created 5 – 6 years before in a relatively small organization called Ring of Honour. When the creative heads realized it had a lot of potential, he was given the live mic and was told to ‘speak his mind’. And this certain individual did just that.

Now before we move on, let us talk about Phil Brooks aka CM Punk. Phil started his career working his way through the independent promotions, travelling all around the world, putting on great matches one after the other. His matches with the likes of Samoa Joe and Austin Aries have become legendary, and he soon became famous in the wrestling circuit as the next big thing. But he was still ‘one among the best’, with the likes of Joe, Daniels, Aries, Danielson, etc who were highly regarded for their in-ring skills. Something had to give for Punk to raise his stock. Soon, it was announced that Punk had signed with the WWE. He would leave Ring of Honour for the big league. Although it was a great accomplishment, it was nothing stupendous, as guys like Jamie Noble had been there and done that. So what happens next? Punk wrestles his supposedly last match for the ROH World title, and wins! And then he goes on to cut one of the most brilliant promos of all time, which would initiate one of the best storylines in the history of professional wrestling.

“There was once an old man, walking home from work; he was walking in the snow, and he stumbled upon a snake frozen in the ice. He took that snake and he brought it home and he took care of it and he thawed it out and he nursed it back to health. And as soon as that snake was well enough it bit that old man. And as the old man lay there dying he asked the snake, ‘Why? I took care of you. I loved you. I saved your life.’ And that snake looked that man right in the eye and said, ‘You stupid old man. I’m a snake.” – CM Punk.

Arrogance is something that has to be earned to be respected. Only a handful of guys have ever truly deserved to be arrogant, and CM Punk backed his words with his arrogance. Destiny is a loose term as well, but when you have a guy like CM Punk, it is evident right from the start that he has been destined for greatness. Defiance lies in the character, while arrogance lies in the mindset. CM Punk didn’t just shake the wrestling industry, but webbed and orchestrated the greatest story of all time in wrestling. Few could come up with something so brilliant, something so unique when the chips are down and no one expects them to do anything to break the barrier. That is where guys like Austin and Punk didn’t just grab the ball, but made sure they had it firmly in their grasp and took a marathon run, letting the others fall behind in their footsteps, only to look back and say ‘I told you so!’.

People say you have to break the rules to be noticed. That isn’t necessary. Even if you do your job to the best of your potential, you can still reap the rewards. CM Punk has done that throughout his career. No one man has ever defied the odds like Phil Brooks has. And when you see the things through the smoke and mirrors, it’s obvious that he isn’t just ‘one of the guys’. CM Punk had always thrived on being better than the rest of the locker room, and it is no surprise that he did what he did in the WWE, which is certainly not bad for an ‘indy darling’. CM Punk has also opened the doors for the rest of the former indy guys (Daniel Bryan is a former World Champion in the WWE, remember?), and that is no mean feat. You can change an idea, but changing the notion of how a company works is nothing short of brilliant, and the only person who could have done that, and eventually did, is CM Punk.

So, can CM Punk be arrogant? If anyone in this business can be arrogant at the moment, it is CM Punk. Starting from a point where no one cared about him to reaching a level where he won the World Heavyweight title, but was still over looked, Punk has come a long way in the WWE. And that isn’t something everyone in the back can boast about. Such stories happen once in a decade, and if you’re lucky enough, you’ll be able to witness it. But the same story unfolding twice by the same person, creating huge impact both the times is nothing short of brilliant. Where will Punk go from here? To bigger and better things, and only time can unravel those mysteries.