Vince McMahon and the WWE have stated for years that “they make movies.” Well they inadvertently made a tremendous story of redemption and resurgence…they just weren’t there to bear the fruits of their labor. CM Punk walked out on the WWE seven years ago and made his triumphant return to the wrestling world on AEW Rampage in the United Center in his hometown of Chicago. Seldom has a more emotional moment happened in wrestling in a long time.
While the moment certainly happened because of Tony Khan’s never ending persistence, it also happened because CM Punk left the WWE to get healthy and he left the WWE because the Chairman simply didn’t understand what he had in The Second City Saint.
Paul Heyman Saw CM Punk's Potential In ECW
Punk signed with the WWE in 2005 and headed to OVW. On his Best In The World documentary, Punk admitted that he didn’t think he’d make it last OVW and Paul Heyman flat out says that the WWE simply signed someone who had some buzz and the powers that he didn’t think he was good enough to be in WWE.
But he persevered and forged a friendship with Heyman while learning about the backstage aspects of the business. Despite the brass or believing in him, he made it to ECW and in the Manhattan Center debuted to the crowd even then, chanting his name, and the WWE version of ECW was given a man that Heyman would have been proud to give the kingdom of extreme over to. Literally a star was born, if not for tone deaf ears.
CM Punk's Early Main Roster Run Was Wasted Potential
If fans think the backstage drama of the Extreme Elimination Chamber was a dark time for CM Punk, how about nearly every moment for the Straight Edge Superstar up until Money In The Bank 2011. While you can’t always be booked on top (unless you’re Hogan, Rock, Austin, or Cena), you can be booked to be strong. Punk however was booked (much like the rest of the card) to be a middle of the card type of guy.
Even as he would win his first world title, he wound up getting kicked in the head by Orton and taken out of the match, losing his title without even defending it. He came to Smackdown with a lot of ideas that gave birth to excellent and short-lived Straight Edge Society that came and went nearly as quickly due to the team members getting their releases. It was clear that no matter what work and effort Punk put into his character (and others), Vince McMahon was not understanding his audience's fascination with The Voice Of The Voiceless.
CM Punk's WWE Title Reign Was Never The Focus
Vince McMahon didn’t even seem to fully grasp Punk’s popularity as he walked into Chicago as the conquering hero at Money In The Bank 2011. The buzz that the Pipe Bomb and Punk’s win were nearly squandered a month later. Yes the guy was given a huge title reign, but he seldom main evented any card and swept to the side when The Rock came back into town. It was enough to completely zap the passion out of a passionate wrestler; which is more or less what Punk said on Rampage. Combine the lack of creativity and injuries mounting up, The Voice Of The Voiceless silenced himself and left.
CM Punk Can Finally Reach His Potential In AEW
One day, perhaps news will come out if any words have actually been said between WWE brass and CM Punk and what they were. It’s doubtful that any sort of apologies were made in an attempt to court Punk back to the fold. Vince McMahon didn’t get how popular Punk was and probably thought he created the CM Punk chants (like RVD once famously explained that the fans chant ECW because WWE has conditioned them to do so). But the reality is that he didn’t create Punk. WWE certainly gave him the avenue to further his reputation, but the guy came in with the crowd chanting his name, left the same way and the crowd has never stopped. For a Chairman who claims to listen to his audience, he clearly had little to no interest in trying to understand and market Punk fully. Like Punk himself once said, McMahon’s a millionaire who could easily be a billionaire.
It’s amazing to think that more than any other superstar (even the aforementioned tippy top guys), CM Punk elicits the kind of emotion he does from crowds not just in Chicago but all around the world. They chant his name and have been chanting his name even in his absence. Either Vince didn’t care or didn’t realize just how much money he left in the table with The Voice Of The Voiceless.
Now, thanks to Tony Kahn, if positioned correctly, the entire wrestling world and Vince McMahon are about to find out the answer.