WWE: 15 Greatest Technical Wrestlers – Number 14
Continuing with the series of greatest technical wrestlers in the WWE, we come to number 14 today. Becoming a master of in – ring psychology and being the work horse of the company is something every professional athlete dreams of. While there have been champions who excelled at the ‘entertainment’ aspect, those who excel in the in – ring department are the ones who truly command the respect of the fans. Today, we look back at one such athlete, who proved time and again how he truly is ‘The best in the world’. Starting from the indies, to becoming the ‘King of indies’ in Ring of Honor, he has done it all. He performed with the best in the business, and proved to the fans how he too can be the ‘top dog’ in the biggest entertainment organization in the world, the WWE. He is none other than the Second City Saint, the Voice of the Voiceless, CM Punk.
During his tenure in Ring of Honor, CM Punk had some amazing matches with the likes of Samoa Joe (Which received a five star rating, the first in 7 years in the United States), Christopher Daniels and Austin Aries. During his final days in Ring of Honor, CM Punk was involved in perhaps the greatest storyline in professional wrestling, known as the ‘Summer of Punk’ in RoH, where he became the Ring of Honor champion, and went on to sign a WWE contract on the title, thus turning on the fans and the company, and threatened to leave the company with their World title! This was received exceptionally well by the fans and critics alike, and CM Punk’s stake in the industry sky rocketed. This became a DVD set on its own released by Ring of Honor!
When CM Punk signed with World Wrestling Entertainment, a lot of people were skeptical about his chances in the company. Punk isn’t ‘big’, neither does he have a good physique. But one man saw something in Punk that no one else did, and he was none other than Paul Heyman. Heyman was a fan of Punk’s exceptional in – ring work and his outstanding mic skills, and prophesied that Punk would make it big someday, becoming the face of the company. Heyman called up Punk to the newly formed WWECW, and made him the star of the show. Heyman wanted Punk to win the ECW title during his early days, but Punk had to wait for a while to get his chance. He not only won the ECW heavyweight title, but went on to win the Money in the Bank briefcase, cashed it in and won the World heavyweight title. He won the title on a couple of occasions before being involved in some of the best storylines and factions in the WWE.
Punk had some of the most outstanding matches in the history of the WWE, along with some of the greatest feuds. Perhaps, the biggest came in ’11, when it was reported that Punk was unhappy with the management and told them he would be leaving the company soon. What transpired next was one of the greatest storylines in the WWE, with the second ‘Summer of Punk’. Punk won the WWE championship against John Cena, which was not only a 5 star match, but was adjudged as the ‘Match of the Year’. Punk won the ‘Wrestler of the year’ twice in ’11 and ’12, and was voted the number 1 wrestler by PWI in ’12. Those are just some of the accolades in the career of CM Punk.
CM Punk later faced Daniel Bryan in ’12 in a series of matches, which were all top notch. Punk also had the longest run in the past 2 decades as the WWE champion for 434 days. Punk, starting from scratch and against all odds has become the number 2 guy in the WWE, and with 10 good years left in him, the sky is the limit for CM Punk in the WWE.