A 2014 Departure That Made Noise
After nine years at the pinnacle of WWE, everything stopped abruptly. The start of 2014 would be synonymous with a brutal end for CM Punk. Reaching the summit of WWE had long been a dream he had pursued for many years. But with The Rock monopolizing attention and the WrestleMania main event for two years, it had become too much for Punk. He would take the lead position and face Seth Rollins at the 2014 Royal Rumble. After a solid yet subdued performance, he was eliminated by Kane after a 49-minute match.
Internal conflicts formed between WWE’s management and CM Punk, far beyond the storylines. His use by the creatives did not sit well with him, and he made that known to Vince McMahon. Initially planned to wrestle Triple H at WrestleMania 30, he would leave the company the night after the Royal Rumble, on January 27, 2014, ending the first chapter of his WWE career. In the press, after this incident, the Chicago native revisited one of the triggers: WrestleMania 29.
“I wrestled in that match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania with hatred, because I knew it would be better than Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H and The Rock vs. John Cena. Not only am I not in the main event, but I wasn’t paid more either. WWE is creatively toxic; this place should be the happiest to work, but it’s no longer the case. So I left. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but it had also been a long time coming.”
THE WORST-KEPT SECRET IN HISTORY?
For weeks, AEW had dropped hints about a potential return of the Best in the World. CM Punk and Tony Khan began serious talks about a full-time commitment several months before the summer, and American media managed to notice. A prolonged false suspense would unfold for what was surely the industry’s worst-kept secret. On August 20, 2021 in Chicago, 15,000 people were in attendance. And after 2,766 days of waiting, the opening notes of Cult of Personality echoed throughout the arena: the fans exulted, the ground trembled as the noise was immense.
Indeed, AEW did not wait for the show to end to delight the fans. With eyes already moved by emotion toward his crowd, the People’s Hero dropped to one knee to commune with the audience. He flashed a smile as the chants “CM Punk” resonated to the far end of the city. The Chicago native celebrated with the fans, before stepping into the ring. After a long, emotional entrance, Punk spoke out and launched a tirade against WWE. He erased his past there, announcing that he was finally back in professional wrestling.
He declares :
“August 13, 2005 was my last match in Ring of Honor. I left it with tears in my eyes. And walking in here today, I now know why I cried. And there were many reasons, but in short, I had created a place where people could come to work, get paid, learn their craft, and love professional wrestling. And I cried because I knew I
