Welcome back to The Deep Dive. Today, we are
really getting into it. We're looking at a career
just full of incredible highs, record -breaking
moments, and, well, some pretty seismic departures.
We are. We're talking about Philip Jack Brooks.
Better known, much better known, as CM Punk.
Yeah. And CM Punk, I mean, you could argue he's
one of the most influential figures in modern
wrestling. Definitely one of the most controversial.
For sure. And for you listening, the thing to
really get is how his huge... Success is like
six -time WWE world champion, that incredible
434 -day run. It's all tied up with that very
authentic, very confrontational personality he
has. It's like the thing that drove the success
also drove the big blow -ups and exits from everywhere
he's been, really. Okay, so let's establish the
baseline. Why is he even in the conversation
for the greats? We have to start with WrestleMania,
don't we? Money in the bank. Absolutely. He's
the only person. Ever. To win the Money in the
Bank ladder match two years in a row. 2008, 2009.
Yeah. And that's not just trivia, you know. Winning
that match basically guarantees you a world title
shot, a run with the belt. It's a massive vote
of confidence. Exactly. So doing it back to back,
that's the company saying this guy's a future
main event star, period. They saw huge potential.
And speaking of huge. That title reign, 434 days
as WWE champion. You can't just ignore that.
No way. It's the 10th longest world title reign
in WWE history. Think about that duration. Especially
then during what they called the PG era. Right.
It forced them to put this like non -traditional
anti -authority figure, the voice of the voiceless,
right at the top for over a year and the engine
behind all of it. love him or hate him, was always
that straight edge identity. Which wasn't just
a gimmick, was it? It came from somewhere very
real. Deeply real. Rooted in his actual life
experiences. Yeah, to really get the intensity,
that almost militant vibe he sometimes had with
the straight edge thing, you have to go back
to his childhood. Philip Jack Brooks, born Chicago,
1978. And adopting that lifestyle, straight edge,
no drugs, no alcohol, it wasn't about being cool
for him. The sources point to a really difficult
upbringing. Right. An alcoholic father, a mother
dealing with bipolar disorder. So seeing that
chaos, that instability firsthand. Yeah. It makes
his commitment to being straight edge feel less
like a choice and more like, well, survival.
Self -preservation. Yeah. It wasn't something
cooked up in a writer's room. It was him. His
shield, maybe. And around this time, he's deciding
wrestling is his path. And the inspiration. Rowdy
Roddy Piper. Of course, the ultimate rebel, the
original anti -establishment guy. It makes total
sense. It really does track. Piper was all about
that raw, chaotic energy. So Brooks starts wrestling
in 97, just a teenager, in this backyard group,
the Lunatic Wrestling Federation. And the name,
CM Punk. It wasn't some grand design initially.
Not at all. It was almost an accident. He was
in a tag team, the Chick Magnets. Yeah, really?
Yeah. And his partner apparently just no -showed.
So he needed a name fast, threw CM Punk out.
And that just kind of stuck with it. He leaned
into it, made it this pseudo -acronym, right?
Let people guess what the CM stood for. Charles
Manson. Cookie Monster. Kept the mystery alive.
It worked. But even that early on, success came
with... personal costs. Yeah. The sources mentioned
a really tough situation with his older brother,
Mahal. Became totally estranged. Apparently,
Mahal embezzled money, thousands from that little
LWF promotion they were involved in. Wow. So
that pattern of professional success mixed with
really damaging personal conflict. It started
early. Sadly, yeah. A recurring theme, it seems.
So fast forward to the early 2000s. He's honing
his craft on the independent scene, places like
IWA Mid -South. Highly respected territory. And
he wasn't just winning. He was a five -time heavyweight
champion there, beating guys who became huge
names later, like AJ Styles, Eddie Guerrero.
But that feud with Chris Hero? That sounds legendary.
Not just matches, but epic. Oh, absolutely. It
showed his commitment. We're talking insane match
lengths, a 55 -minute TLC match. Crazy. And get
this, a 93 -minute two -out -of -three falls
match. 93 minutes? Good grief. In the context
of the business, doing that tells promoters you
have the stamina, the conditioning, the psychology,
everything you need to be a top guy. And that
reputation gets him to Ring of Honor in 2002,
which was the place then, right? For pure wrestling
talent in North America. Definitely the proving
ground. He forms the Second City Saints there
with Colt Cabana, his longtime friend, and Ace
Steel. And this is where that real -life backstory
really gets woven in. The feud with Raven. Masterful
stuff. Punk, the straight -edge guy, calling
out Raven for his, you know, substance issues.
And Punk explicitly compared Raven to his own
alcoholic father. Whoa. That's blurring lines
in a big way. Intense. But it created unbelievable
heat because it felt so raw, so personal. But
the thing that really put him on the map, maybe
internationally, was the trilogy with Samoa Joe
for the ROH world title. A legendary series.
The first two matches both went to 60 -minute
time limit draws. An hour couldn't separate them.
Nope. And the second match, October 2004. Dave
Meltzer gave it five stars. Which was a massive
deal back then. Huge. It was the first five star
match in North America in like seven years. It
didn't just elevate Punk and Joe. It gave the
whole independent scene this huge boost of credibility.
OK, so all this indie buzz leads to the summer
of Punk in 2005. This is wild. He accepts a WWE
deal. But before he leaves ROH. He wins their
world championship. Immediately turns heel. Signs
his WWE contract literally on the ROH title belt.
Threatens to take their championship to the competition.
It was brilliant meta storytelling. He was the
guy abandoning the indies for the big corporation.
The drama felt real because, well, he was really
leaving. Genius. He wrestled matches, teasing,
taking the belt, milking the drama before finally
losing it to James Gibson. And then his very
last match there. Against his friend Colt Cabana.
A really emotional send -off. Lost to his best
friend. It was the perfect way to launch himself
onto the bigger stage, leaving the indies behind,
but with maximum impact. So he lands in the machine.
WWE starts off in developmental Ohio Valley Wrestling,
OVW. And right away, they knew he was something
different. He got paired with Paul Heyman as
a mentor, which was probably the best possible
fit. Heyman gets those anti -establishment types.
But it wasn't smooth sailing physically right
from the jump. Nope. Broken nose, ruptured eardrum
in his very first OVW TV match. Ouch. Welcome
to the big leagues. Rough start. But he fought
through it, won the OVW title, and got called
up pretty quick to the main roster's ECW brand
in 2006. And they gave him a distinct look and
style there. Muay Thai inspired, still emphasizing
the straight edge. Yeah, a focused presentation.
And it clicked. He went on this long, undefeated
streak like six months. Until Hardcore Holly
beat him, Jan 07. Right. But later that year,
he grabs his first major title in WWE, the ECW
World Championship. Held it for a decent stretch,
about 143 days. He was climbing fast. And then
came those Money in the Bank wins, WrestleMania
24 in 2008. And then again at WrestleMania 25
in 2009, like we said, the only guy ever that
was the rocket being strapped to his back. Uses
that first briefcase perfectly. Cashes in on
Batista after Edge beat him down. Wins his first
World Heavyweight Championship in 2008. Huge
moment. And around this time, he hits a major
milestone, becomes the 19th WWE Triple Crown
Champion. Let's just clarify that for people
listening. Triple Crown means winning the main
world title, the intercontinental title, the
secondary one, and the tag team titles. Correct.
And Punk didn't just do it. He did it faster
than anyone in history up to that point. beat
Kevin Nash's old record. Took him just 203 days.
That's incredibly fast. Shows how much they were
pushing him. Aggressively pushing a new kind
of star. But the feud that really defined this
period and shifted his character, Jeff Hardy,
2009. This is where he goes from the kind of
principled good guy to something darker. Yeah,
he turns full heel and he uses his real life
straight edge stance as a weapon against Hardy,
who had very public, very real struggles with
addiction. It got uncomfortable. He was... Claiming
moral superiority. Deeply uncomfortable. But
it was ratings gold because it felt so personal,
so taboo. It ended with Punk basically kicking
Hardy out of the company in a steel cage match.
Cemented him as this super self -righteous villain.
And that persona evolves into the straight edge
society. Right. This wasn't just, I don't drink.
This was militant, almost like a cult leader.
I'm better than you because I'm straight edge.
He recruited followers, Luke Gallows, Serena,
Joey Mercury. And made them shave their heads
as a sign of like devotion or purification. It
was creepy and compelling. He even committed
to it himself, right? When he lost a match to
Rey Mysterio and got his head shaved. He wore
a mask for months, apparently genuinely embarrassed
by how he looked without hair. It added this
weird layer of vulnerability to the evil cult
leader thing. He was exposed. Wild. And then
just before the next massive chapter, he takes
over the new Nexus faction. Uses that power immediately
to settle a score. Costs Randy Orton the WWE
title. Why Orton? Revenge. Punk claimed Orton
was responsible for prematurely ending his first
World Heavyweight title reign back in 2008 with
an attack. Ah. So, holding grudges, settling
scores, another defining trait. Never forgets,
never forgives. It's core to the CM Punk character,
and maybe the man too. Hashtag tag tag over.
The pipe bomb, the rain, and the acrimonious
exit to wind on the 2014. Which brings us to,
well, maybe the single most defining moment of
his career. June 2011. The pipe bomb. Okay, set
the scene. His WWE contract was legitimately
about to expire. The upcoming Money in the Bank
pay -per -view was potentially his last night.
He promised he was going to win the WWE Championship
from John Cena and walk out of the company with
it. But the promo itself... That's what blew
the doors off everything. This wasn't your typical
wrestling promo. Not even close. It was what
wrestlers call a shoot going off script, speaking
harsh truths. Punk just sat down on the stage
and unloaded years of frustration. About how
WWE was run, about management. He went after
Vince McMahon directly. Called John Cena the
corporate... A poster boy took shots at The Rock,
calling him Dwayne to emphasize he was a Hollywood
star and not a wrestler anymore. He attacked
John Laurinaitis, an executive, even criticized
the McMahon family potentially taking over. And
he broke all the rules, mentioned rival companies,
Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling, proudly
called himself a Paul Heyman guy, setting himself
apart from the WWE system. And that microphone
cut off. Just as he was about to tell some personal
story about Vince. Perfect. Made it feel like
the company panicked. Absolutely cemented the
idea that he was a genuine rebel speaking forbidden
truths. The impact was insane. Instantly transformed
him into this anti -corporate hero. The voice
of the voiceless. Exactly. It created a buzz
wrestling hadn't had in years. It felt like a
real alternative to the, you know, safer, more
corporate PG era product. And, crucially, he
backed it up. He beat Cena at Money in the Bank,
won the title. There was a little detour. Alberto
Del Rio cashed in his own Money in the Bank after
Kevin Nash randomly attacked Punk. Right. Typical
wrestling chaos. But Punk won the title back
pretty quickly at Survivor Series in November
2011. And that's when the big one started, the
434 -day reign. To hold it that long, you need
great opponents. And he had them. Amazing feud
with Chris Jericho, who played mind games, breaking
up Punk's family history with alcohol, trying
to break his straight -edge resolve. Really personal
stuff again. Always. He also had classic matches
with Daniel Bryan, and fought off Ryback multiple
times, often needing help from this new group,
The Shield. Ah, their debut was tied into his
reign. Yep, clandestine and help. But all reigns
end. And fittingly... Punks ended in controversy.
Yeah, Rock. Royal Rumble 2013. The Rock wins,
but only after the shield interferes and Vince
McMahon restarts the match. Just feeding Punk's
narrative that the system was always rigged against
him. Perfectly. And that simmering frustration.
It finally just boiled over about a year later,
January 27, 2014. He just walked out, told Vince
and Triple H, I'm going home. Not a storyline.
He was done. Right. Burnt out, injured, creatively,
completely fed up. And the reasons he gave later.
particularly the health stuff, were really alarming.
Shocking. He claimed he'd been working hurt for
ages, broken ribs, bad knees, concussions. But
the big one was an untreated MRSA infection,
a staph infection. That, he said, was potentially
fatal and that the WW medical staff downplayed
or misdiagnosed. He even recounted a doctor telling
him later, based on the severity, you should
be dead. That changes the whole narrative, doesn't
it? From just being unhappy creatively to a serious
health crisis and a potential failure of pair.
Absolutely. And then the way WWE handled his
departure. The final insult, as he tells it.
He walks out, says he gets suspended. Months
later, he contacts them about unpaid royalties.
And they fire him. Send him his termination papers
on his wedding day, June 13th, 2014. Wow. If
true, that's just deliberately cruel. You don't
forget something like that. So beyond the health
issues and the firing, it was also about creative,
right? Yeah. Never getting that WrestleMania
main event spot. It was a huge sticking point
for him. Feeling creatively stifled, feeling
like the company only really cared about planning
for John Cena and maybe a few others. No long
-term vision for him at the very top, despite
the long reign. And this whole mess leads to
court. The lawsuit from WWE's Dr. Chris Amann.
A defamation suit seeking millions based on what
Punk said about the MRSA treatment on Colt Cabana's
podcast. That went to trial and the jury sided
with Punk and Cabana found in their favor. Which
seemed like a huge vindication for Punk's medical
claims. But almost immediately after that victory.
Another lawsuit. This one was devastating, personally.
His former best friend, Colt Cabana, sued him.
Yeah. Cabana claimed Punk had promised to cover
his legal fees for the Ammon suit, which were
massive and then backed out. Alleged breach of
contract. Fraud. Just awful. Two guys who came
up together, went through so much, now suing
each other. It got really ugly. Very public.
Eventually he settled out of court, but the friendship
was completely destroyed. It just highlighted
how Pump's professional turmoil always seemed
to bleed into his personal life. So after burning
every bridge with WWE, he does something completely
unexpected, pivots to MMA. Signs of the UFC in
late 2014, a multi -fight deal, shocked pretty
much everyone. Enters the welterweight division,
trains seriously with a respected camp, Duke
Rufus at Rufusport. No doubt he was committed
to the training, but the results in the octagon.
They weren't great. Yeah, it's fair to say his
pro MMA career didn't pan out. Officially, zero
wins, one loss, and one no contest. His debut
at UFC 203 in 2016, he lost quickly via submission
to Mickey Gall. And the second fight, UFC 225
in 2018, he lost the decision to Mike Jackson,
but that got overturned to a no contest later.
Because Jackson tested positive for marijuana,
yeah. So competitively, not a success. It was
pretty widely criticized by MMA fans and experts.
But he stayed involved in combat sports, doing
commentary for Cage Fury Fighting Championships.
And then, interestingly, he dipped his toe back
into the WWE world. Sort of. Right. The WWE backstage
show on Fox Sports in 2019 -2020. Crucially,
he was contracted to Fox. Not WWE. So he could
talk about the product, be adjacent to it, without
actually working for Vince McMahon again. A clever
arrangement. Felt like maybe a first step towards
something. And then, August 2021, the return
nobody thought possible. All Elite Wrestling.
AEW. His debut at the first dance event in Chicago.
A reaction was just unbelievable. Often described
as one of the loudest crowd reactions ever. Pure
emotion. Seven years away, and he was back. And
initially, it seemed like the perfect comeback
story. He looked happy, motivated. Yeah. Wins
the AEW world title from Adam Page in May 2022.
Gets injured, unfortunately. Breaks his foot.
Has to take time off, but comes back relatively
quickly and wins the title again at the All Out
pay -per -view in September 2022. Redemption
complete. Second world title in the new company.
And then came the post -show media scrum. Oh,
boy. This is where it all went sideways. Again.
He didn't just go sideways. He went nuclear.
Sat there next to AEW owner Tony Khan and just
unloaded. Started with Colt Cabana again, right?
Airing personal grievances, talking about lawsuits
and bank accounts. Yeah, used that huge platform
to relitigate their entire personal history.
It was uncomfortable. But then he turned his
fire onto AEW management, specifically the EVPs
Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks. Accused them
flat out of leaking negative stories about him.
Called them a**holes. unprofessional implied
they were incompetent and remember these aren't
just suits they're his colleagues top stars in
the company the political implications were massive
he basically declared war on the company's founding
figures while sitting next to the owner and that
verbal assault reportedly led directly to a physical
altercation backstage a legitimate fight between
punk omega and the bucks the fallout was immediate
and messy suspensions for everyone involved Punk,
the newly crowned champion, was out again, needed
surgery for a torn triceps he apparently suffered
in the main event before the scrum and fight.
Just catastrophic for AEW. Their biggest star
embroiled in scandal and injured moments after
winning the title. When he eventually came back
in 2023, he didn't shy away from the controversy.
Not at all. He leaned right into it, declared
himself the real world champion, brought out
the title belt he never lost, spray painted his
X symbol over it. Still the rebel, even in the
company built by rebels. It's his brand. But
the AEW tenure ended just as explosively as it
began. All in London, August 2023. Another backstage
incident. This time with Jungle Boy, Jack Perry.
Reportedly over Perry wanting to use real glass
in a spot, which Punk objected to on safety grounds.
Accounts differ on who started what, but there
was definitely a physical confrontation backstage
right before Punk's match. And the consequence
was final this time. AEW terminated his contract
for cause just days later. Yeah. Tony Khan released
a statement saying Punk's actions endangered
people backstage and that he personally felt
his safety my life was in danger. Pretty damning
words from the CEO. Honk naturally had a very
different version of events. Claimed he actually
quit first. Told Khan, you're a fucking clown.
I quit. Criticized AEW heavily. Called it not
a real business. Claimed they didn't contact
him for months after the all -out brawl. Left
him to handle his own surgery costs. So another
incredibly bitter public divorce from a major
wrestling promotion. Deja vu. Textbook. Almost.
Okay, so after the AEW implosion, you'd think...
That's it, right? He's burned bridges with WWE
and AEW. Where else is there to go at that level?
You would absolutely think that. Given the firing
on his wedding day, the lawsuits, the years of
public bad -mouthing, a WWE return seemed impossible.
The amount of ego -swallowing required on both
sides must have been immense. Astronomical. But.
November 2023 Survivor Series. War Games. In
Chicago. The show ends. And his music hits. The
building just erupted. Reports called it one
of the loudest reactions, maybe the loudest ever.
It was a genuine shock, a massive moment. WWE
basically admitted his star power was too big
to leave on the table. He's back. But true form,
controversy, and setbacks follow immediately.
Enters the 2024 Royal Rumble, looks great, and
tears his right triceps during the match. Just
brutal luck. Requires surgery, means he's out
for WrestleMania XL. Cancels the planned big
match with Seth Rollins. For WWE, to their credit,
spun it into gold. They turned the real -life
injury into a major storyline. Drew McIntyre
steps up, starts relentlessly mocking Punk, calling
him fragile, made of glass, rubbing salt in the
wound. Gave Punk the perfect antagonist and motivation
while he was recovering. He didn't need to wrestle
to be involved. And Punk played his part perfectly.
Kept showing up, interfering, costing McIntyre
huge opportunities. At WrestleMania XL, cost
him the world title just moments after he won
it. At Clash at the Castle and McIntyre's home
country of Scotland, cost him again. Then stop
McIntyre's Money in the Bank cash -in. Pure torment.
It was a fantastic feud. Got rivalry of the year
nods from pretty much everyone. ESPN, Pro Wrestling
Illustrated, Sports Illustrated. Culminated in
a series of great matches once Punk was cleared.
Punk lost the first at SummerSlam with Rollins
as ref. Won the second a strap match in Berlin.
And then won the blow -off inside Hell in a Cell
at Bad Blood. That Hell in a Cell match even
got five stars from Meltzer. Proved that, even
after everything, he could still deliver at the
absolute highest level in the ring. So McIntyre
feud settled. He pivots back to the guy he was
supposed to face, Seth Rollins. After a weird
brief alliance with Roman Reigns for war games.
Yeah, the Rollins feud reignited. Punk beat Rollins
on the big debut episode of Raw on Netflix. Big
statement win. Then came SummerSlam, night one.
Punk challenges Gunther for the World Heavyweight
Championship. And he wins. Climbs the mountain
again. Wins the world title in WWE after almost
a decade away. Incredible moment. For about five
minutes. Yeah. Enter Seth Rollins, who had won
Money in the Bank earlier, cashes in immediately,
pins Punk. Punk's reign ends at 5 minutes and
9 seconds, the shortest World Heavyweight Championship
reign ever. Just perfect. Beautiful wrestling
chaos. He gets the ultimate triumph and it's
snatched away instantly. It feeds his whole narrative,
the system, the circumstances always conspire
against him. And they keep blurring lines. The
feud involves their wives now. Yeah. Most recently,
Punk teamed with his actual wife, AJ Lee, who
returned for the match. Against Rollins and his
wife, Becky Lynch, at a big show called Wrestlepalooza.
Punk and AJ got the win there. Bringing family
into it. Keeping those deeply personal rivalries
front and center. It's what he does best. Hashtag
tag seven, legacy, persona, and outside ventures.
Let's talk a bit more about that straight edge
persona itself, because it really shifts depending
on whether he's a good guy or a bad guy, right?
Totally. When he's a face, a hero, it's about
discipline, personal choice, being clean, kind
of a moral foundation. But when he turns heel,
villain. In it comes militant, hardline, elitist.
I'm better than you because I don't have your
weaknesses. That's the core message. And the
visuals, the crossed arms X, the straight edge
tattoo on his stomach, they're always there,
anchoring the identity. His tattoos in general
are such a huge part of his look, his brand.
Absolutely. They're not just random ink. They
tell stories, like the Pepsi logo on his shoulder.
Which seems counterintuitive for straight edge,
maybe. Right. But it's a nod to guitarist Brian
Baker from the straight edge band Minor Threat,
who famously said, I like Pepsi. Kind of ironically
pushing back against rigid dogma. And Punk even
named moves after it, like the Pepsi plunge.
What other tattoos stand out? Well, the luck
is for losers. Sleeve has four aces, a tribute
to Ace Steel, one of his trainers. He's got Drug
Free tattooed across his knuckles. Very direct.
And the Cobra Command logo from G .I. Joe. Yeah,
replaces well -known love for comic books and
pop culture. Yeah. His body is literally like
a map of his influences and beliefs. And he's
used that fame outside wrestling, too. He's done
some acting. Yeah, starred in horror movie Girl
on the Third Floor back in 2019. Got decent reviews,
actually. Critics said he carried the film well.
And he was in that wrestling drama series, Heels.
Played a character named Ricky Rabies for a couple
of seasons. And maybe less surprisingly, given
his promo skills, he's written comic books. For
Marvel. Yep. Wrote an intro for an Avengers vs.
X -Men collection. Contributed to a Thor annual.
Wrote for the Drax series. Living the geek dream,
as he put it. So, when you step back and look
at the whole picture, what's his lasting impact,
his legacy? He's undeniably one of the most influential
guys of his generation. Probably because he was
kind of the trailblazer. He was one of the very
first wrestlers who got over huge on the independent
scene with a non -traditional look and style,
who then broke through and became a main eventer,
a world champion. In WWE. He proved it could
be done. Exactly. He kicked the door down for
so many others who came after him with similar
backgrounds, guys like Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens,
Sami Zayn, Daniel Bryan. The list goes on. He
changed WWE's hiring philosophy, really. And
then there are the promos. Oh, absolutely. He's
genuinely considered one of the best talkers
ever in the business. That pipe bomb promo, people
will still be analyzing that decades from now.
It felt like it offered something different,
right? pushed back against the corporate feel
of the PG era. It gave a voice to a frustration
that a lot of fans felt. It made wrestling feel
dangerous and unpredictable again, at least for
a moment. And just quickly, his personal life,
married to AJ Lee since 2014. April Mendez, yeah?
Yeah. Also identifies as an atheist, speaks out
on social issues, pro -choice feminist. Voice
of the voiceless thing seems to extend beyond
wrestling for him. Big Chicago sports fan, too,
obviously. So we've traced this absolutely wild
career, unbelievable highs, the championships,
the critical praise, the influence. But always,
always shadowed or interrupted by controversy,
conflict and combustion. It's like his defining
trait. He seems driven by this relentless need
for respect, for legitimacy. But his method for
achieving it often involves attacking the very
systems or people he needs validation from. It's
a paradox. And his ability to just weave everything
together, the real injuries, the real grudges,
the politics, his beliefs into the character
we see on screen. It's kind of unmatched. That's
what makes him so captivating. Right. But also
so incredibly volatile. You never know when the
next explosion is coming. Keeps everyone, fans,
management, opponents, constantly on edge. I
mean, he came back to WWE, the place he swore
he'd never return to, swallowed the pride, endured
whatever politics were involved. And immediately
jumped back into the main event, created arguably
the feud of the year, won a world title. Even
while battling serious injury, he seems to thrive
on disruption. Maybe disruption is his natural
state. Which leads us to the final thought for
you, listening to all this. We've seen him come
back, achieve huge success again. But given his
entire history, decades of it now, of confrontation,
of burning bridges, of that constant push -pull
between wanting establishment success and needing
to be the anti -establishment rebel. What does
the future really hold? Is stability even possible
for someone like CM Punk? Or is the next blow
-up, the next acrimonious exit? Always just around
the corner. Which company might be next to experience
the CM Punk roller coaster? That, I guess, is
the drama we'll continue to watch unfold. Never
a dull moment.