In addition to fans, wrestling legend Stone Cold Steve Austin reacted with praise on Twitter to CM Punk’s pipebomb promo. Austin’s status as wrestling’s biggest superstar further established CM Punk’s promo as an all-time great. Stone Cold Steve Austin’s rumored to be the subject of a documentary. More interestingly, however, “The Last Dance ” production team is behind the documentary.
10 years ago, the wrestling industry briefly revived itself to its 1990’s heights. CM Punk spoke these famous words.
“Before I leave with your WWE Championship, I have a lot of things I need to get off my chest.”
CM Punk
CM Punk famously wore a Stone Cold Steve Austin shirt whilst cutting the pipebomb promo. Instantly, many thought CM Punk was paying homage to Steve Austin with the shirt. However, whilst speaking to GQ Magazine, Punk gave a much simpler explanation. Surprisingly, CM Punk stated the following.
“I threw away my usual merch the previous night and just needed a shirt.”
CM Punk
A production runner promptly bought CM Punk the Stone Cold t-shirt, and thankfully it fit. Therefore, what a fit it turned out to be for the moment.
It’s important to realize the magnitude of CM Punk’s pipebomb promo and its subsequent effects on WWE today. Genius produced a full transcript of the pipebomb promo. In addition to the transcript, here is a video of the full promo. CM Punk’s promo is a huge departure from the scripted, boring, unfunny WWE promos at the time. Punk also made references to other wrestling companies and spoke-ill of the McMahon family. Unscripted, shocking references were hearsay at the time in WWE.
CM Punk’s Legacy
Despite the overwhelming reaction, WWE failed to capitalize on CM Punk’s potential as a superstar properly. And sadly, despite holding the WWE Championship for 434 days, CM Punk never became the “top guy” in WWE. Infamously, John Cena and on-screen GM John Laurinaitis was the main event of a Pay-Per-View in 2012. Despite CM Punk’s status as WWE Champion, CM Punk was third from the top.
However, CM Punk’s main events and his character still strongly resonates with fans today. Therefore, despite WWE’s best efforts not to do so, CM Punk is a wrestling legend. And therefore, the true Second City Saint.
