World Wrestling Entertainment - CM Punk’s Infamous Pipe Bomb Revisited
On June 27th, 2011, another mundane and forgettable episode of Monday Night RAW turned into wrestling immortality after a five-minute promo from CM Punk captured the imaginations of wrestling fans young and old alike. The promo, entitled “Pipe Bomb #1,” was the words of CM Punk: the number one contender to the WWE Championship and disgruntled employee who was set to leave World Wrestling Entertainment on July 18th - one day after his championship match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event. While a popular figure among professional wrestling fans because of his in-ring skills and status as a throwback to an era when men ruled the ring, CM Punk’s star rose in the eyes of the sports entertainment fans on that night as well when he channeled the Attitude Era and “sh*t got real.”
CM Punk won the WWE Championship from John Cena in a classic match on July 17th and promptly left the company. He was a worldwide phenomenon as Twitter was abuzz with Punk’s every move. ESPN personalities like Michelle Beadle, Robert Flores, and Bill Simmons frequently brought Punk into conversation on television and in blog entries. He appeared at Comic-Con to a major following previously unexpected. CM Punk was the renegade and spark plug WWE needed. Then, WWE did what they do: management pissed out the fire before allowing the fire to successfully burn. CM Punk returned to WWE television two weeks later. He lost the WWE Championship to Alberto Del Rio at SummerSlam and entered into a feud with WWE executive/professional push-finisher Triple H and Hunter’s ancient wrestling relic/friend Kevin Nash. CM Punk rebounded from this brief derailment to win the WWE Championship again at Survivor Series. He has remained WWE Champion for seven months with no end to his reign in sight while having outstanding matches with Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, and Kane. Besides success in the ring, CM finally became the focal point for the company that he always deserved to be. It is Punk’s face on t-shirts, programs, and merchandise. CM Punk is on talk shows like Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Conan with Conan O’Brien. CM Punk is even the company representative for World Wrestling Entertainment at the USA Upfronts.
CM Punk, pictured with Bruce Campbell of Burn Notice at the USA Upfronts, appears to have finally made it. Change finally occurred in World Wrestling Entertainment and it is all thanks to CM Punk, right? WRONG!
The beauty of CM Punk’s promo was that it appeared to be a shoot. It appeared to be the real, genuine feelings of a disgruntled employee because rumors of Punk’s feelings towards management were not a secret in the wrestling world. While WWE was not going to let a disgruntled employee really speak that ill of the company on live television, a worked shoot was still extremely exciting and refreshing to an audience tired of John Cena’s weekly speeches of “never giving up” and “overcoming the odds.” One year later, it appears as though the worked shoot we all fell in love with was not even a worked shoot. This was a work and Phillip Brooks sold us all a bill of goods regarding his desire to bring change to the WWE as he sold his soul to the devil that is Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
What has really changed in the one year since this “pipe bomb” was unleashed?
CM Punk repeated stressed that he was the best in the world. It became a popular t-shirt. Yet, John Cena remains the focal point of World Wrestling Entertainment. The numbers never lie. While CM Punk has held the WWE Championship twice since this speech for a total of 248 out of a possible 346 days, CM Punk has been in the main event of five of a possible 13 pay-per-view events. In three of those main event spots, John Cena was also in the main event alongside Punk. Meanwhile, in one of the two PPV events in which Punk main evented without John Cena, Punk jobbed to Triple H (Night of Champions - September 2011). While Punk was in five total main events, John Cena was in the main event 10 times. TEN TIMES! As a result, CM Punk may have established himself as the best in the world but he clearly was not worth of the spot as the best in the company. In fact, who has CM Punk beaten since the Pipe Bomb to prove that he is the best in the world? CM Punk has two victories over John Cena. Of course, like him or not, John Cena puts over a lot of talent before management wastes the effort. John Cena has even lost of management figures (John Laurinaitis), Hollywood actors (Dwayne Johnson), and D-List celebrities (Kevin Federline) so a few wins by Punk really mean nothing. Punk does not have marquee wins over any other men firmly established as main event draws in the eyes of Vince McMahon. Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, and Daniel Bryan may be among the most talented in-ring workers in the company but none is a main event star. Chris Jericho returned with the sole purpose of losing to everyone he has encountered so Punk’s wins over Jericho have meant nothing either. CM Punk owned a shell of the man once known as “the best in the world at what he did.” Who hasn’t beat Kane or The Miz? What did CM Punk do against the WWE’s prime-time players like Triple H, The Undertaker, or Randy Orton? He went 0-1 against Triple H and never faced The Undertaker or Randy Orton. While The Undertaker works only one match a year and would not put Punk over should Punk gotten that precious WrestleMania match, Randy Orton was available to put over Punk but the moment never occurred. It did not occur because, in the grand scheme of things, Orton was above Punk and remained there until Orton’s own immaturity changed that. CM Punk did noting to elevate himself above Randy Orton.
One thing has changed since June 27th, 2011. Phillip Jack Brooks sold out and became everything that he ranted about hating. CM Punk became the poster child of everything the IWC (internet wrestling community) wanted in a professional wrestler with his speech against Vince McMahon and sports entertainment. The reality is that CM Punk must have learned many lessons on how to kiss ass like a pro in order to get that spot because kissing Vince’s ass is the only reason Phil Brooks is in the spot he has today. CM Punk is a great wrestler. However, he was a great wrestler five years ago too and got nothing for his efforts but jobber duties to the John Cenas, Randy Ortons, Undertakers, and Edges of the world. Thanks to a little kissing up in the right places, Punk is now WWE Champion with a firm spot on the card just below that precious main event spot saved for the best in the world (according to management). Punk obtained his spot on the company intro and appearances on television as a shill for World Wrestling Entertainment. We saw Punk looking like a corporate man alongside Bruce Campbell earlier. The reality is that CM Punk preached about the things he hated in WWE on June 27th, 2011 while knowing he was in position to become every one of those things. Change did not come with CM Punk’s promo to anything but CM Punk’s bank account because he sold out. He sold out his fans. He sold out his integrity. Most importantly, he sold out on his professional wrestling dreams by becoming the sports entertainer that Vince McMahon wanted him to be. Punk is just another glad-handed, nonsensical, douche bag, yes-man gladly accepting a paycheck from Vincent Kennedy McMahon while the art form of professional wrestling continues to die in the WWE. That is the only thing that changed in the aftermath of CM Punk’s “pipe bomb.”
In one year, CM Punk has seen the greatest success of his professional career. Punk held the WWE Championship going into and coming out of the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. He has appeared out countless television shows while becoming one of the faces of World Wrestling Entertainment. But, at what cost? CM Punk is now just as bad as John Cena, John Laurinaitis, Randy Orton, and even Doofus himself; Triple H. Punk sold his soul for WWE immortality. Change only occurred in the sense that the last hope for professional wrestling to survive in the sports entertainment Mecca of WWE sold out to save himself. Thank you, Phillip Brooks, for one great speech that we will remember long after we forget the year of your greatest successes because of your place in the shadow of John Cena and the same old WWE.
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