Was CM Punk's Pipe Bomb promo real?
June 27, 2011. CM Punk aided R-Truth in scoring a huge win over John Cena in a Tables match and proceeded to grab a mic and head back up the ramp. Punk then delivered one of the greatest promos in the history of the business, now famously dubbed "The Pipe Bomb."
CM Punk broke the fourth wall on several occasions during his historic promo and didn't hold back while bashing Vince McMahon and his family. Punk's WWE contract was about to expire at midnight on July 17, following the Money In The Bank 2011 pay-per-view.
He threatened to leave the company with the WWE title once he defeated John Cena at Money In The Bank 2011, which he eventually did.
CM Punk's Pipe Bomb promo kicked off what fans call "The Reality Era" and he immediately turned into a legit megastar. To this day, many fans wonder if CM Punk's legendary promo was a shoot, or part of the script. Let's delve a little deeper into this burning question!
Was CM Punk's Pipe Bomb promo a shoot?
WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson spoke in depth about CM Punk's Pipe Bomb on his podcast and spilled the beans on whether it was a shoot or part of the script.
Anderson revealed that whatever Punk said were his real opinions. He added that WWE's higher-ups let him go and say anything he wanted, to "let off steam," but probably weren't prepared for what Punk was about to unleash on the mic.
"I knew those were CM Punk's true opinions, they were too strong to be prepared. They let him go into the ring to let off steam. I don't know if they imagined that he would have gone that far, we still talk about that promo today. I knew well that he was tired and that he was not at ease in the workplace, he needed to recover a minimum of serenity." explained Arn
CM Punk's promo led to "The Summer of Punk," which gave fans some of the greatest promos in all of WWE, delivered by Punk himself, John Cena, and Triple H. Punk came back soon after "leaving the company" and faced Cena in the main event of SummerSlam 2011.
CM Punk defeated Cena in their second match but was then attacked by a returning Kevin Nash. Alberto Del Rio seized the opportunity and cashed in his Money In The Bank contract to win the WWE title. Punk would defeat him for the coveted belt at Survivor Series 2011, thus kicking off his iconic 434-day WWE title reign that was eventually ended by The Rock at Royal Rumble 2013.