It's already been said by Meltzer and Alvarez both, punk signed off on his damn deal years ago knowing he would get Hunter and Nash after Cena. He wanted to leech of those names and make the money, it's the same reason he walked around like a whiny bitch saying Dwyane and then was hugging on him when he agreed to work a match vs him and suddenly had more respect for Rock. I'm not buying he doesn't care for part timers when he works with them more so than anyone, is known to be whiny, has openly stated he cares about his bonus checks, and the fact is he doesn't mail it in vs them like he does Seth, Rollins, Axle, Reigns, and Ryback. I mean there's no middle ground between the effort he gives the lil guys he supposedly advocates and then gives the names (Cena included) which is clearly visible as he doesn't half ass the kicks and actually hits that elbow that vs a lower card guy makes Shane look like prime savage or michaels when he sloppily delivers it. I mean he goes from one of best in the world in that ring vs part time money to as lethargic as RVD in TNA vs the lil guy. I just don't buy what he's selling, and he simply lacks the leverage he used to have years ago, so he got pissed and walked because if the reports are true, he wasn't going over vs Hunter (which he shouldn't without an extension) or Bryan was getting a higher profile than him(which fits as he has openly said he deserves to close Mania.
I'd say he was one-upping Rock (which he did amazingly) in their match to prove that Rock isn't worth dick in that ring.
And I'd also say, Punk has been extremely beat up for over a year, but we can shorten that a bit to when he put on one of the best matches of 2013 against Brock just a month after he and Jericho stole the show, just two months after he had the match of the year vs. Undertaker (fuck what the Slammy's said). Being injured/hurt/burnt out ties in perfectly with the timing of when he started mailing it in against the little guys.
Contracted to get Nash? I'm pretty sure there was this rumor that Punk tongue-in-cheek confirmed he was supposed to get the Ace storyline. He was also SUPPOSED to get Nash, but Hunter being the dick he is made it all about himself and it left Punk to have to wait for his match with Hunter, which didn't happen when, where, or how it should.
Yeah, I'm a Punk fan, and yeah, it's standard for Punk fans to blame Hunter, etc., but the writing is on the wall. Should Punk NOT want things to change? WWE keeps doing the same shit over and over expecting different results and they don't get them at all. It's the same thing every single time.
Ratings? Batista came back and WOMEN tuned in to see Batista. Since his return, his RATINGS have been nothing better than Dolph Ziggler (OMG PUT DOLPH IN THE MAIN EVENT WITH BATISTA AND ORTON AT MANIA BECAUSE HE HAS THE SAME VIEWERSHIP AS BIG DAVE!). And we keep talking about viewership? The only guys getting viewers are Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and John Cena. Other guys who gain have been involved in segments with those guys (tonnes tuned in to see Henry get demolished by Brock, tonnes tuned in to see CM Punk vs. The Shield).
And you keep talking about Punk the anti-machine prick... but taking it from various reports, a lot of people involved with WWE have a lower morale right now with Punk being gone because many genuinely looked at his as a leader, someone who would speak up for them. Is Punk a prick for walking out amid his bosses not being able to tell them whether or not they would be paid the same for PPV's now that they have the Network? I think Punk's smart enough to know more raw dollars come to the company per show, but WWE didn't outline how they will use those dollars. Is Punk a prick for walking out on WWE for constantly ignoring the live fans who react to Daniel Bryan over everyone and boo them for not getting the Mania match they want?
You know, there was a time when WWE/F used Mania's main event to push the guy the crowd was behind. Legitimately. It was the end for feuds... it was where THE GUY went over.
The whole match with H and the result stories are garbage. One report from Meltzer says the match was on and Punk didn't see it as a main match. The next from Meltzer says Punk was supposed to lose and he didn't like that. The next from Meltzer says the match was cancelled and it was given to Daniel Bryan.
Go back to that Punk interview saying guys don't know what they're going to do week-to-week anymore, have no direction. Yeah, during the Attitude Era that was cool... but the AE was also driven on the idea that if you got a reaction, you got more time and likely got pushed. Daniel Bryan is THE MOST OVER GUY on the entire roster with live crowds... when that was Cena in that spot, he was pushed to the moon. Batista? Same. Orton? Same. Brock? Same. Austin? Same. Rock? Same. Edge? Same. Undertaker? Same. The list goes on and on. And Bryan is already more over with most crowds than same of those guys ever were... and you ALL know I'm not exaggerating that.
So if Punk is burnt out, hurt, and unhappy with the way they're doing business (the business that has fans hijacking shows and getting so fed up that they're booing/ignoring EVERYONE but Daniel Bryan and the young guys who deserve it over the part timers and the rehashed to dust stories with Cena/Orton), fuck a contractual "obligation".
Also, the fact that Vince is trying his hardest to retain Punk says an awful lot about how much he really means and perhaps Vince realizes he truly did take Punk for granted (or someone else on his staff did since Vince/Punk have reportedly maintained a healthy business relationship for the past couple years).