January 26, 2014, Pittsburgh, PA. The 26th installment of the WWE Royal Rumble series started with CM Punk as the first entrant in the match. Having achieved a wealth of success before the event, with accolades such as ECW Champion, Tag Team Champion, Intercontinental Champion, World Heavyweight Champion, and the longest reigning WWE Champion in the modern era, Punk was focused on having his first ever WrestleMania main event spot. While already having a WrestleMania match against the Undertaker, Punk was looking for another marquee match at the event. However, for some reason, the list of accolades was not enough for Punk. Headlining the show a year prior in a match against The Rock as defending WWE Champion, his star power decreased within one year’s time. Although he lasted nearly fifty minutes, he was eliminated by Kane, who he was mildly feuding with at the time. Feeling as if he was getting improper treatment from the company, he walked out, and that evening was the final match in his professional wrestling career. Then, CM Punk shocked the world by announcing that he was joining the UFC. In December, it became official, as he was signed to compete in his first professional MMA fight.
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His training started off very rigorous, as he made a daily a three-hour round trip from his hometown of Chicago, Illinois to a training center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While he was making strides in his progress, there were still many factors that during his training which showed that UFC may have been a bold, but bad decision for him to endeavor. Even he had doubts after his initial training sessions, but soon began to get comfortable in realizing that he cannot back out now.
While fans and antagonists alike were waiting on when CM Punk would make his official UFC debut, rumors started to circulate that the time was near, after over a year of his signing. However, Punk experienced a major setback by having to undergo back surgery in early 2016. As he recovered, speculation started of a showdown between Punk and MMA upstart Mickey Gall. This speculation became true, as the match was officially announced for UFC 203 in Cleveland, OH. While his loyal supporters were excited about his first match, hoping for a victory, others felt as if he did not stand a chance against Gall.
So the stage was set, and the two fought at the UFC event. Interestingly, CM Punk entered the Octagon in Cleveland, Ohio with his patented “Cult of Personality” theme music, which was the same music used in WWE. This created an extra level of excitement for the match, wondering if Punk would defeat – or even last a decent amount of time – with the 24-year-old Gall. Unfortunately, the fight was as lop-sided as a UFC match could be. Within two minutes and fourteen seconds, the fight was over, and CM Punk was absolutely destroyed by Gall.
Although he did state during his post-match interview with Joe Rogan that he will indeed return to the Octagon, this fight did not create any form of inspiration. The near 38-year-old CM Punk may need to just realize that MMA may be a bit too much for him at this stage in his life, and rest on the fact that at least he did not have to wonder ‘What if?”, because he made it a goal and successfully managed to perform under the UFC umbrella. However, Punk does not want to further drive his brand into the grave, and it is probably best that he closes the chapter on this career path before it closes the chapter on him.
