Punk went head-to-head with two of the industry’s top mic-masters and managed to leave them both silenced, delivering some of his sharpest retorts. Let’s stick with the baseball analogy for a moment.
Following Punk’s iconic pipebomb speech, the anticipation for Money In The Bank in Chicago was palpable. Punk was set to take on John Cena in a high-stakes match where, if victorious, Punk would depart WWE with the championship in hand, resulting in Cena’s firing.
In a desperate bid to keep Punk from leaving, Vince McMahon personally stepped in, attempting to secure a new contract with him during a live segment on Monday Night Raw, just days ahead of MITB. True to form, Vince was as overconfident as ever until Punk made it clear who really had the upper hand.
Punk even went as far as to shove his boss—a clause cleverly written into his prospective contract—while demanding the return of WWE ice cream bars (an absolute must, by the way!). He hit Vince with this memorable line: “Vince, I’ll kick you in the nuts and you’ll smile at me and like it, and show me some respect!”
Not long after, Cena entered the scene, prompting Punk to unravel at Cena’s claim that Punk had lost his focus. Punk fired back with a brutal reminder of Cena’s place in the wrestling world: The man who once carried the banner of the underdog was anything but. Cena had morphed from the scrappy Boston Red Sox into the despised New York Yankees. Once again, baseball!
Cena didn’t take the insult lightly and threw a punch at Punk, pushing him to retreat to the very spot where his infamous pipebomb had been dropped weeks prior. Sitting there, Punk confessed:
“I’m glad you just punched me in the face John… because it hit me like a bolt of lightning exactly why I no longer want to be here. It’s because I’m tired of this. I’m tired of you. I’m just tired.”
With that came the declaration that following Sunday’s event, the WWE was set to bid farewell to its title, to John Cena, and to CM Punk himself.
And just like that, the stage was set for an unmissable showdown, brilliantly foreshadowed by Punk who likened his adversaries to WWE’s equivalent of George Steinbrenner and Derek Jeter. More baseball for you there! This moment of Punk’s tends to be overshadowed by the pipebomb, but one could argue it’s equally, if not more, riveting. Simply legendary.
