CM Punk

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

Did anyone have a good match with Benjamin?

[Dylan Waco]

Rey

[NintendoLogic]

Do WGTT matches count?

[TravJ1979]

I'm a big fan of CM Punk. I like just about everything he has ever done professionally, and I even think Phil Brooks would be awesome to hang out with, but again, the scope of this project is just too large.

 

I think in the 2006 poll someone suggested that Punk himself would say he doesn't belong on such a list. Even though his resume has grown tremendously since, I would have to agree with that.

 

It is difficult to eliminate personal opinion/favoritism in something like this, but I'm trying.

[Exposer]

When he cared, he was great. When he didn't, God help us. Showed that he could excel in characterization within a match and storytelling. Underrated seller as a babyface. Great heel in his big feuds with Rey and Cena. He might make my bottom 10 or so. May move a little higher if I see his indie stuff.

[Steenalized]

Tim Cooke's post in the Daniel Bryan thread about crowd heat not being what it was reminded me of another huge plus in Punk's favor, that is, his ability to draw heat. He did it has a face and a heel. The ROH crowds did their smark chanting, but in the feud against Jimmy Rave and in his farewell heel run he was able to draw some legitimate heat. His WWE feuds with Rey, Jeff Hardy, and Cena did it too. He stands out next to his contemporaries in getting his matches over like that.

[anarchistxx]

Just noticed it is exactly ten years since 10/16/2004. I remember Rob Edwards saying in 2004 "Samoa Joe may have a better match than this one day, but CM Punk will never come close".

 

In retrospect, he has surpassed all expectations, especially with his WWE run - he went to the promotion around the time the ROH crowd would chant "Heat" or "Velocity" to departing wrestlers, because that is where they would usually end up. So for him to get so over, so far up the card and have so many good matches is a minor miracle, especially since he doesn't play politics and his personality if anything worked to his detriment. His look was completely opposite to what they usually go for, he looked skinny and weak and his offence was poor.

 

Think his ego took over when he suggested he should be headlining Wrestlemania multiple times. The 2005 CM Punk would have counted his blessings he did as well as he did. Especially when we consider what happened to the other component in 10/16 - Samoa Joe would probably give the world for the type of career CM Punk has had.

[Shining Wiz]

Just noticed it is exactly ten years since 10/16/2004. I remember Rob Edwards saying in 2004 "Samoa Joe may have a better match than this one day, but CM Punk will never come close".

 

In retrospect, he has surpassed all expectations, especially with his WWE run - he went to the promotion around the time the ROH crowd would chant "Heat" or "Velocity" to departing wrestlers, because that is where they would usually end up. So for him to get so over, so far up the card and have so many good matches is a minor miracle, especially since he doesn't play politics and his personality if anything worked to his detriment. His look was completely opposite to what they usually go for, he looked skinny and weak and his offence was poor.

 

Think his ego took over when he suggested he should be headlining Wrestlemania multiple times. The 2005 CM Punk would have counted his blessings he did as well as he did. Especially when we consider what happened to the other component in 10/16 - Samoa Joe would probably give the world for the type of career CM Punk has had.

Punk did as well as he did because he has the ego to not only think but truly expect that he should have maine vented a couple of Manias by now.

 

I'd argue he did with the Taker match, but Punk/Rock at Mania could have been great.

[anarchistxx]

Punk/Rock at Wrestlemania would have been a bad decision. The Rock was in awful shape and the two PPV matches at Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber were long and mediocre. At least with the John Cena matches you had the atmosphere and star power to carry them.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

The Rumble match was great, and Punk gave one of his greatest performances in it.

[Shining Wiz]

So, assuming Punk is legitimately done, and his career can be viewed in its entirety, I think he's a shoe in for me, and probably high on my list.

[Grimmas]

So, assuming Punk is legitimately done, and his career can be viewed in its entirety, I think he's a shoe in for me, and probably high on my list.

He'll make my list, that is for sure. Being my favourite guy since Bret retired helps, but add in ten years of great matches. A couple of five star affairs and a lot of diversity, he is going to move up the list.

 

He will be an interesting case, as he is a modern guy, but retired. His execution sucks and he is really sloppy. However, so much charisma and really knew how to build a match.

[Timbo Slice]

The thing that probably hurts Punk is that a lot of his big moments don't have a lot of staying power in the long run. I'm not sure how much of that is his fault, though. By all accounts, he was a good worker, sometimes great, and has a lot of longevity. What'll tilt him in a lot of ways is how much people liked his indy work.

[Wade Garrett]

I've never got the guy. Just don't see what the fuss was all about. I have a hard time suspending my disbelief with him. I also think he's overrated as a promo. His fists and kicks grade anywhere from a C to F. Him executing the GTS is incredibly unbelievable. Please don't get me started on his top rope elbow drop either. Just don't get it. Then again I don't get the A+ grades on a lot of new millennium pro wrestlers. Guess I'm old.

[benjaminkicks]

I'm going to rewatch some of his indie stuff to see if it holds up, but I think he'll make my list on the strength of his WWE run. Not sure how high yet, but I'm a really big fan of pretty much all his work in the WWE. He was consistently the most interesting and compelling guy working there during that time, and he had a plethora of great matches there.

[Woof]

I saw him live in ROH in '03 for the first Raven match. I had ZERO idea who he was walking into the building that night. By the time the match started I wanted to see Raven kick the shit out of him (and I was actually somewhat annoyed ROH was bringing Raven in) and I was PISSED when he won (via submission no less). That may not make him a GOAT, but it speaks volumes as to what he was capable of.

[MJH]

Punk certainly has a fair few feathers in his cap with me: even before the 2011 push he was able to make himself stand-out in the WWE mid-card as more than just another guy, and very few people have managed that; he would make you watch him; he essentially willed himself into the push; he has plenty of good matches against a variety of guys. BUT... a lot of those matches have been wildly overrated (vs. Joe and Cena especially), to where they feel lesser than they are when I watch them, if that makes sense. I can see him crawling in at the bottom (and I agree with those who've said that the only "indy" guy clearly above him is Bryan) but I can't see him going above, say, 85 at all.

[Grimmas]

Looking back with the Hero matches, Joe matches, Cena matches and the Brock match that is a pretty great resume over a long period of time. Not to mention all of the other really good matches and feuds he had. His career is over, which also helps him as there are the people avoiding guys in their prime still.

 

CM Punk is one of my favourite wrestlers ever, so I have a bias, but the resume is there.

 

I think what he has over a lot of modern candidates is the character work put into matches. He does a better job than almost everybody on portraying the story, as opposed to just hitting awesome stuff.

[Matt D]

I think what he has over a lot of modern candidates is the character work put into matches. He does a better job than almost everybody on portraying the story, as opposed to just hitting awesome stuff.

 

I wonder if he's not unlike Michaels in that regard, with the caveat that where Michaels failed in his execution was in a lot of the emotional delivery and where Punk could fail was somewhat more physical.

 

I find your inclusion of the word "modern" interesting there. He worked a much more self-aware style (as did Michaels at the end) then someone thirty years ago. I can't quite flesh out my thoughts on that right now, but I think it's something worth exploring in general. There's a fan fiction element to almost all wrestling now (but then was that what Flair was doing on some level? Ray Stevens fan fiction? As opposed to a guy like Luger or Rotunda who didn't start out a fan?). there's something to discuss here later, I think.

[Wade Garrett]

Top-100 all-time? No way. ALL-TIME! He has shitty offense. His selling is mediocre. Do folks really think this guy is an all-timer? Guy is a jobber with tattoos.

[Jingus]

How often do you get entire arenas chanting the name of a "jobber" for weeks on end? Even at times when he's not ON the show?

[JerryvonKramer]

Mulkeymania?

[Loss]

I always felt like his promos made people overlook a lot of flaws in his ring work, even if he was in some great matches. But even that is a positive -- the ability to get people to look away from your weaknesses.

[Woof]

I think the problem is that this 100 project is different things to different people. Is Punk one of the hundred greatest in-ring workers of all time? Most likely not. But as a character capable of connecting to an audience and making them care about the story he's trying to tell, I think he's pretty clearly in that discussion. I think his success is particularly amazing when you consider he thrived in an environment that was not structured for a guy like him to succeed.

[DR Ackermann]

The criticism that Punk doesn't do a lot outside of his big matches is something you can say about Bret Hart as well and he will be very high on some people's lists. Also I don't agree with the notion that Punk is mediocre at selling. At times I think his selling has stood out as being very good.