[video=youtube;2OS9wZGb_3g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OS9wZGb_3g[/video]
Today is the official one year anniversary of one of the greatest promos if not the greatest promo in the era of Monday Night Raw. You can be the judge but we can all agree on CM Punk making wrestling fun with this epic promo. It was just last year when everyone was freaking out that Punk was leaving. I got back into wrestling in 2008 and I always liked Punk for his in ring skills. His face character was pretty stale though but I'm always appreciative of great wrestlers unlike some people. Eventually Punk turned heel and I really became a huge fan when he began his straight edge movement as a heel. So I've been a major Punk fan for around two years or so which may be considered a bit late since Ring Of Honor made him a major internet star. Nevertheless I really cared for the guy because he was always the highlight of shows whether it was Raw or Smackdown right next to Jericho. Jericho left in September and Edge had to retire so it left me wondering who can step up and be that guy that is must watch. When Edge and Jericho were in the ring, they were must watch. Christian is another guy that is close to must watch but I didn't know how WWE would push him until of course they put him in main event. Anyway there was going to be a huge void if Punk left the company because you were talking about the best promo cutter before the shoot and one of the top three wrestlers in the company. This was a major loss and I seriously wondered who could step up to be that great heel. Instead a miracle happened and the promo was delivered. The top five things that I enjoyed most of that promo and this is based off what he said in terms of punch lines.
1. I still can't get over how much he owned the McMahons and Triple H. While it was all a work in the end, I still think their was animosity with Punk and Triple H. We all know how Punk didn't have that look as a huge star which always annoys him. People like Del Rio and Miz who are good performers but were nowhere near Punk's level were getting pushed over him. He also made doofus a trendy word to say for a few weeks along with really crossing the line bringing up where the company would go if Vince died. That really still makes my jaw drop.
2. It was funny to see him bring real life issues into it in terms of outside the ring criteria. When he went on a rant about how fans would always bother him for an autograph and how he was barley promoted, it was pure genius. Punk would get promoted here or there for a tag match with Miz against Orton and Cena but that was it. Its pretty crazy how guys like Evan Bourne and John Morrison were in the main signature before the show started over him. It was really logic and it was crazy to see how red his face was. You could see how much passion and frustration was going into the promo.
3. I'm a Paul Heyman guy and most people are Paul Heyman guys. When he made that term, I wanted that on a t-shirt immediately. It still hasn't happened but nevertheless to bring up Heyman was great. I know most people forgot but Heyman went on a rant about one month before the shoot. Heyman said this ""I'm sure he will get heat for me saying this, but @CMPunk is STILL the most underutilized talent on the WWE roster. And my apologies to @CMPunk for the heat he'll get, but come on already. Punk is the best heel in the biz today! WAKE THE F**K UP! It's amazing to me (and not in a good way) that WWE doesn't see how @CMPunk has brought out the best in every opponent". That stuck in my mind and I wondered if Heyman was going to ever play a part in Punk's last few weeks on Raw. When Heyman was mentioned, it was an instant mark out moment to see Punk give thanks to Heyman.
4. This isn't a part but wearing Stone Cold shirt shows lots of class. Stone Cold actually replied to Heyman's mini rant and said agreed when it came to how Punk was underutilized. Even though Punk and Austin had their backstage segment a few weeks ago, it was great to see the straight edge heel wear an Austin shirt. It goes back to how Austin worked his tail off to get to the top and had his own moment creating the "Austin 3:16" character. The fact that he wore the Austin shirt made it even more unique and can't be forgotten.
5. This could have been even higher but the fact that he brought up how great he is was important. People were thinking of outside a few victories over Rey Mysterio at a few PPVS dating back to 2010, this guy is a loser. Punk reminded everyone why he's the best in that ring, on the mic, and even on commentary. The commentary line made me yell "yes" because who could forget that one month of Punk saying random one liners and being hilarious in commentary. He also mentioned how he's the only thing thats real which is valid because of how he isn't afraid to speak his mind. It was pretty easy thing to do but it was important to remind everyone how much different you are compared to the characters you see on TV like an arrogant character like Miz or Mexican aristocrat like Del Rio. This was becoming real and it was smart for him to mention it.
Of course there are other great things because the whole promo was great. When he mentioned Colt Cabana, that was another "oh my god" moment but it was just mentioning his name so I couldn't make it top five. I'm a huge fan of the Art Of Wrestling podcast so when he mentioned Cabana, it was wild. Then he mentioned other wrestling companies like ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling which brought even more depth to the promo. Everything seemed to be a highlight and it really sparked up two and half months are fun. I think when October started to come around that the shoot style was starting to die down. He still had some great moments in 2011 including one really intense promo on Big Johnny about how jealous he is of Punk's success. People will always be critical of how watered down Punk is now and how things aren't the same. I understand that people are bummed out and looking back on it, I am as well because it was such a fun time to be a wrestling fan. I was staying home on Monday nights for most of the summer to watch Punk. It became must watch TV with the contract signings for his own contract and Summerslam then he had the moment with Kevin Nash. It was all great memories but the product remained PG and it was going to die down especially when the "No Confidence" storyline went absolutely nowhere. When everyone came back, it was such a disappointment that I knew things were going to go back the old criteria. I'm not mad about that because Punk is on top and still being the main star on the A show besides Cena. He's still here and he's having high quality matches on PPV's. It always bugs me when people aren't a fan of Punk's title reign because I can't think of one match that was below three stars. His title reign has been one of the best of all time despite being hindered by not having the main event slot. It has been one year this day and I still can look back to enjoy everything that happened. It could be better but when you look at things now, we got CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan happening in few weeks. This is something that so many people will watch because its two of the best colliding. We haven't gotten the ice cream bars or a new WWE title or even some friends of Punk that are excellent wrestlers to join WWE (Samoa Joe anyone?). We are getting high quality wrestling matches and that's what matters before everything. Of course you'll see many big guys get pushes and some people get unfairly underutilized but the main talented wrestlers on the roster are finally getting their spotlight when it comes to wrestlers like Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler. Punk's promo still remains to be a game changer and people will still talk about it for years to come. With the 1000th RAW episode coming up and people always asking me, what was your favorite Raw moment. I'll always remember some epic matches like Edge vs Matt Hardy street fight or Chris Jericho ending the Y2J character by beating up Shawn Michaels. Many moments stick out on my mind but nothing to me tops what CM Punk did. I'm thankful for him staying because I'm not sure if I would be into wrestling like I am now if it wasn't for him. He would have left then I'd be pretty down on product but still would watch. The realness, emotion, passion, intelligence and craftiness sums up the promo that was just a small five minutes of actual speaking. I'm not speaking for everyone but I'm pretty convinced that most people would agree that CM Punk was MVP in 2011 and that people were watching Raw to see what was next. Thank you Punk!
Today is the official one year anniversary of one of the greatest promos if not the greatest promo in the era of Monday Night Raw. You can be the judge but we can all agree on CM Punk making wrestling fun with this epic promo. It was just last year when everyone was freaking out that Punk was leaving. I got back into wrestling in 2008 and I always liked Punk for his in ring skills. His face character was pretty stale though but I'm always appreciative of great wrestlers unlike some people. Eventually Punk turned heel and I really became a huge fan when he began his straight edge movement as a heel. So I've been a major Punk fan for around two years or so which may be considered a bit late since Ring Of Honor made him a major internet star. Nevertheless I really cared for the guy because he was always the highlight of shows whether it was Raw or Smackdown right next to Jericho. Jericho left in September and Edge had to retire so it left me wondering who can step up and be that guy that is must watch. When Edge and Jericho were in the ring, they were must watch. Christian is another guy that is close to must watch but I didn't know how WWE would push him until of course they put him in main event. Anyway there was going to be a huge void if Punk left the company because you were talking about the best promo cutter before the shoot and one of the top three wrestlers in the company. This was a major loss and I seriously wondered who could step up to be that great heel. Instead a miracle happened and the promo was delivered. The top five things that I enjoyed most of that promo and this is based off what he said in terms of punch lines.
1. I still can't get over how much he owned the McMahons and Triple H. While it was all a work in the end, I still think their was animosity with Punk and Triple H. We all know how Punk didn't have that look as a huge star which always annoys him. People like Del Rio and Miz who are good performers but were nowhere near Punk's level were getting pushed over him. He also made doofus a trendy word to say for a few weeks along with really crossing the line bringing up where the company would go if Vince died. That really still makes my jaw drop.
2. It was funny to see him bring real life issues into it in terms of outside the ring criteria. When he went on a rant about how fans would always bother him for an autograph and how he was barley promoted, it was pure genius. Punk would get promoted here or there for a tag match with Miz against Orton and Cena but that was it. Its pretty crazy how guys like Evan Bourne and John Morrison were in the main signature before the show started over him. It was really logic and it was crazy to see how red his face was. You could see how much passion and frustration was going into the promo.
3. I'm a Paul Heyman guy and most people are Paul Heyman guys. When he made that term, I wanted that on a t-shirt immediately. It still hasn't happened but nevertheless to bring up Heyman was great. I know most people forgot but Heyman went on a rant about one month before the shoot. Heyman said this ""I'm sure he will get heat for me saying this, but @CMPunk is STILL the most underutilized talent on the WWE roster. And my apologies to @CMPunk for the heat he'll get, but come on already. Punk is the best heel in the biz today! WAKE THE F**K UP! It's amazing to me (and not in a good way) that WWE doesn't see how @CMPunk has brought out the best in every opponent". That stuck in my mind and I wondered if Heyman was going to ever play a part in Punk's last few weeks on Raw. When Heyman was mentioned, it was an instant mark out moment to see Punk give thanks to Heyman.
4. This isn't a part but wearing Stone Cold shirt shows lots of class. Stone Cold actually replied to Heyman's mini rant and said agreed when it came to how Punk was underutilized. Even though Punk and Austin had their backstage segment a few weeks ago, it was great to see the straight edge heel wear an Austin shirt. It goes back to how Austin worked his tail off to get to the top and had his own moment creating the "Austin 3:16" character. The fact that he wore the Austin shirt made it even more unique and can't be forgotten.
5. This could have been even higher but the fact that he brought up how great he is was important. People were thinking of outside a few victories over Rey Mysterio at a few PPVS dating back to 2010, this guy is a loser. Punk reminded everyone why he's the best in that ring, on the mic, and even on commentary. The commentary line made me yell "yes" because who could forget that one month of Punk saying random one liners and being hilarious in commentary. He also mentioned how he's the only thing thats real which is valid because of how he isn't afraid to speak his mind. It was pretty easy thing to do but it was important to remind everyone how much different you are compared to the characters you see on TV like an arrogant character like Miz or Mexican aristocrat like Del Rio. This was becoming real and it was smart for him to mention it.
Of course there are other great things because the whole promo was great. When he mentioned Colt Cabana, that was another "oh my god" moment but it was just mentioning his name so I couldn't make it top five. I'm a huge fan of the Art Of Wrestling podcast so when he mentioned Cabana, it was wild. Then he mentioned other wrestling companies like ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling which brought even more depth to the promo. Everything seemed to be a highlight and it really sparked up two and half months are fun. I think when October started to come around that the shoot style was starting to die down. He still had some great moments in 2011 including one really intense promo on Big Johnny about how jealous he is of Punk's success. People will always be critical of how watered down Punk is now and how things aren't the same. I understand that people are bummed out and looking back on it, I am as well because it was such a fun time to be a wrestling fan. I was staying home on Monday nights for most of the summer to watch Punk. It became must watch TV with the contract signings for his own contract and Summerslam then he had the moment with Kevin Nash. It was all great memories but the product remained PG and it was going to die down especially when the "No Confidence" storyline went absolutely nowhere. When everyone came back, it was such a disappointment that I knew things were going to go back the old criteria. I'm not mad about that because Punk is on top and still being the main star on the A show besides Cena. He's still here and he's having high quality matches on PPV's. It always bugs me when people aren't a fan of Punk's title reign because I can't think of one match that was below three stars. His title reign has been one of the best of all time despite being hindered by not having the main event slot. It has been one year this day and I still can look back to enjoy everything that happened. It could be better but when you look at things now, we got CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan happening in few weeks. This is something that so many people will watch because its two of the best colliding. We haven't gotten the ice cream bars or a new WWE title or even some friends of Punk that are excellent wrestlers to join WWE (Samoa Joe anyone?). We are getting high quality wrestling matches and that's what matters before everything. Of course you'll see many big guys get pushes and some people get unfairly underutilized but the main talented wrestlers on the roster are finally getting their spotlight when it comes to wrestlers like Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler. Punk's promo still remains to be a game changer and people will still talk about it for years to come. With the 1000th RAW episode coming up and people always asking me, what was your favorite Raw moment. I'll always remember some epic matches like Edge vs Matt Hardy street fight or Chris Jericho ending the Y2J character by beating up Shawn Michaels. Many moments stick out on my mind but nothing to me tops what CM Punk did. I'm thankful for him staying because I'm not sure if I would be into wrestling like I am now if it wasn't for him. He would have left then I'd be pretty down on product but still would watch. The realness, emotion, passion, intelligence and craftiness sums up the promo that was just a small five minutes of actual speaking. I'm not speaking for everyone but I'm pretty convinced that most people would agree that CM Punk was MVP in 2011 and that people were watching Raw to see what was next. Thank you Punk!
