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Phil Brooks, better known as CM Punk, has proven to be amongst the most controversial
talent the WWE has ever signed. Before leaving the business in 2014 on horrible terms, Punk
was one the WWE’s biggest stars. Of course there are tons of fans who love the straight-edge
superstar, but also just as many who don’t. CM Punk may not always have been a heel, but
he’s definitely done some things that will make you think of him differently. Here are
10 facts that will make you hate CM Punk. Anybody who is into wrestling has a favourite
superstar, maybe even a hero. For CM Punk, that man was Chris Benoit. Now of course this
one depends entirely on how you feel about Benoit, but before the infamous double ***,
Chris served as a hero and somewhat of a mentor to Punk. On the RAW tribute to Benoit shortly
after his death, Punk was quoted as saying “Chris Benoit was my hero and I was privileged
enough to have worked with him”, which may rub some people the wrong way given the circumstances.
To WWE fans, TNA is considered to be of a lower caliber. In fact, many WWE fans openly
proclaim the rival promotion as a “stain on the industry” due to it consistent mediocrity.
This is likely why Punk has tried to keep his TNA career a secret for the most part;
to avoid influencing the minds of his fans. Punk was simultaneously working for TNA and
Ring of Honor in the early 2000’s, but left TNA in 2004 after policy changes regarding
working for other companies. Following in the footsteps of “The Beast”
Brock Lesnar, Punk signed with the UFC in 2014 after leaving the WWE. However unlike
Brock, Punk hasn’t even competed in the near 2 years he’s been with the MMA promotion.
In general, MMA fans have been displeased with Punk’s signing, as they claim he’s
taking away opportunities from hard-working, up and coming fighters who have been training
all their lives, as Punk was signed purely on star power. Also given the fact that he’s
nearly 40 years old, a long, illustrious MMA career is hardly realistic.
Jeff Hardy is another favourite in the WWE, so you can imagine how ecstatic fans were
when he overcame his personal issues outside of the ring and won the World Heavyweight
Championship at Extreme Rules in 2009. This was a tremendous moment for the insanely popular
Jeff Hardy, but unfortunately his reign was short-lived. On that very same night CM Punk
decided to cash in his MITB briefcase to win the title from Jeff. Fans were outraged and
this essentially turned Punk into a heel. The worst part though would come years later
when Punk made personal, public attacks on Hardy referencing his alcohol and drug abuse.
The late William Moody, better known as Paul Bearer to WWE fans, was one of the most iconic
characters in history and is well deserving of his spot in the Hall of Fame. Unfortunately,
Moody passed away a few years ago, just a short while before WrestleMania, where The
Undertaker was set to face CM Punk. To be frank, this storyline had nothing going for
it, so it was decided that Paul Bearer’s death would be incorporated into the story.
Paul Heyman and CM Punk used the unfortunate passing to their advantage to ambush The Undertaker
and ignite the feud. Many fans, including myself, think this was done in extremely poor
taste. In 2013, it was reported by TMZ that CM Punk
had filed for a restraining order against his own mother. He claimed that he had given
her over 100,000 dollars, yet she kept asking for more. He also claimed his mother said
she would kill herself if he didn’t send her more money. It got to the point of harassment,
so Punk filed for and was granted a restraining order valid for 2 years. In the interest of
fairness, Punk’s mother also had things to say about her son. In a leaked email, she
said “you don’t give a *** about us” and that Punk would “sell [his family] for
a nickel”. This incident is quite famous by now, but
if you didn’t already know, CM Punk once attacked a fan in the crowd during a live
episode of RAW. During a match with Vince McMahon, Punk was chased out of the ring and
retreated to the crowd. Punk stood confidently amongst fans clutching his WWE Championship,
staring down at the ring. This was when, out of nowhere, Punk turns around and elbows a
fan and pushes him to the ground, breaking his glasses in the process. Punk claimed the
fan had repeatedly pushed him first, but as seen on video, that fan was standing even
further back, meaning Punk assaulted an innocent man.
At a St. Louis airport in 2012, CM Punk was minding his own business when a fan came up
to him asking for an autograph. Punk, apparently gravely offended by this action, decided to
take the fan’s autograph book and throw it in a nearby trash can. Now of course there
are two sides to this story, as Punk later claimed the fan was being rude and overzealous,
adding that “there’s always one idiot that ruins the fun for the others”. What
do you think, was Punk justified in his actions, even if the fan was being rude?
As indicated before, CM Punk seems like he has a short fuse. During his time with the
WWE and after, he was constantly fighting with fans over Twitter, and has on many occasions
got physical with fans with one such incident landing him a law suit. To make matters worse,
CM Punk is completely unapproachable outside of the ring as well. When in the concession
line up at a Blackhawks game, a fan politely asked Punk for a picture. Instead of simply
declining the request, Punk scoffed and turned his back. It blows my mind that he could be
so arrogant towards the very people who essentially pay his bills.
In a time where LGBT equality is on the rise, homophobic slurs are considered extremely
offensive. Apparently, Punk didn’t get the memo. During a show in Australia, Punk once
again got into it with a fan for who knows what. However this incident is special, as
Punk can clearly be heard calling the male fan a “***” just after saying the fan7
“had a ***”. WWE recognized this was a big deal and went on to make a formal apology
for the use of the derogatory term. Punk would also later apologize for what he said, but
the fact he said it in the first place will be remembered.
And those are 10 facts that just might make you hate CM Punk. Has your opinion of Punk
changed after watching this? Let me know down below! Don’t forget to leave a like and
subscribe for more WWE videos.