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Since his abrupt departure from the WWE in 2014, CM Punk has moved on to different avenues. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding his departure since he left, and he has stated multiple times that he's never going back to the company.
In a podcast with his friend Colt Cabana, he revealed that he had not resigned from the company, but was fired from it on the day of his wedding with former WWE superstar AJ Lee.
Although Vince McMahon has apologized for the manner of his termination in a podcast with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Punk has made no mention about his possible return to the company.
A lot of reasons contributed to his departure from the business including booking frustration and injuries. He has also stated that by the time he left the company, he had zero passion left for the business. He is currently a part of the UFC roster with a 0-2 MMA record.
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But his departure does not mean that his excellent work over the years can be ignored. Punk has produced some of the greatest story-lines and rivalries since his debut in 2006. Today we count down the most significant moments in his illustrious career.
#4 The Beast vs The Best – SummerSlam 2013
At Money in The Bank 2013, CM Punk competed in the ladder match for the Money in The Bank contract. Around the 30-minute mark, the Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel came down to the ring and proceeded to attack Daniel Bryan and CM Punk.
Paul Heyman then came to the ring and helped Punk to climb up the ladder to clutch the briefcase. While Punk was climbing, Heyman thrashed him with another ladder - thus taking the match away from his grasp.
What followed was one of the most intriguing story-lines of this decade. Next Monday Night Raw was when CM Punk demanded answers, Heyman emerged with his client - Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar proceeded to beat up Punk within an inch of his life. Over the weeks leading up to their encounter, Lesnar repeatedly beat down Punk with the latter occasionally trying to defend himself. In the process, WWE orchestrated a perfect buildup to their match at SummerSlam.
Their SummerSlam bout was one of the best matches in the PPV's history due to the pure storytelling and the match's brutal physicality. Punk did everything in his power to try to beat The Beast Incarnate while trying to get his hands on Heyman.
A few highlights of this match involves Punk hitting a low blow to avoid a chair shot, Punk chomping on Lesnar's ear and Lesnar pounding Punk throughout the duration of the match. Although the rivalry faded after some time, this match was unarguably one of 'The Best in the World'.
#3 Pipe Bomb – Raw (06/27/2011)
This promo was the incident that changed Punk’s career and perhaps the wrestling industry. CM Punk used a promo to belt out his frustrations with the company, and the backstage politics he had been a victim of.
On an episode of Monday Night Raw, Punk was scheduled to deliver a promo hyping his match against John Cena at Money in The Bank. Instead he went all nuts and spewed all the negatives that had been holding him back.
He even went as far as to say that the company will be better after Vince McMahon’s death. He took shots at The Rock and Hulk Hogan and their ability to kiss up to Vince McMahon. He even attacked his fan base, as he believed that even after he is gone they will keep buying WWE merchandise and pouring money into the company.
He hated the fact that he was not in the main event at WrestleMania and was not even in the segment that opened the show.
Eventually his microphone was cut off as it was obvious that he had gone rogue. This was the first time a WWE superstar had broken the fourth wall in a promo. He exposed the dirty side of the WWE by ranting about it for almost 10 minutes.
Surprisingly, instead of burying this incident, WWE used it as a catapult to launch CM Punk into the main event scene.This promo transformed the landscape of wrestling and CM Punk's career.
#2 The Undertaker vs CM Punk – WrestleMania 29
CM Punk should have been in the main event of Wrestlemania 29. He knows it, we know it, but we're not sure if WWE knows it. Despite not being in the said main event due to the re-do of the 'Once in a Lifetime' John Cena vs The Rock match, Punk didn't express his disappointment about the story line he was handed. Instead, he knocked it out of the ballpark.
Punk was chosen to face The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 29. He started on the angle that since the fans stopped supporting him, he was going to take something precious to them; The Undertaker's streak.
In the following weeks, the story-line was taken to the next level by Punk disrespecting the recently deceased Paul Bearer.
The most controversial moment in this rivalry took place when Heyman came to the ring dressed as Paul Bearer with druids accompanying him. Punk proceeded to attack The Dead Man and then poured Bearer's ashes on top of him.
Although many people found The Undertaker vs CM Punk angle to be disrespectful, nobody can argue it wasn’t effective.
Punk resorted to various dirty tactics, including assaulting The Undertaker with Paul Bearer’s Urn. CM Punk made this rivalry memorable and even though he was plagued by injuries, he gave a performance of a lifetime against an ageing Taker to cement his glory.
#1 CM Punk vs John Cena – Money in the Bank 2011
This was the last match rated a 5-star bout by wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, and it is the only one which was not a gimmick match.
It's brilliant story line was the angle WWE Creative came up with following Punk’s infamous pipe bomb. Before the 'pipe-bomb', Punk had revealed that his contract will end immediately following The Money in the Bank pay-per-view and that he will take the WWE championship from John Cena.
Vince McMahon made desperate attempts to make Punk sign a new contract but Punk refused. On the fateful night, when he stepped up to face John Cena, the stipulation was that if Punk wins, he will walk away with the championship and leave the company.
The whole rivalry boasted some of the best promo work involving the likes of CM Punk and John Cena. Also, because of the pipe-bomb, it had a touch of reality to it and people were genuinely invested in the match like they hadn't been hitherto.
The match took place in Chicago, the hometown of CM Punk. Punk received a hero's welcome, and Cena was booed out of the building. After a brilliant match which saw interference by Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis, Punk came off as a victor and did leave the company with the title.
His hometown crowd’s reaction to the whole angle and his victory was the cherry on top. This moment became the defining moment of Punk’s career and will be remembered as one of his greatest.
