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It’s been rough for CM Punk fans. After losing a long, sloppy, bloody match against Mike Jackson at UFC 225, Punk is at another crossroads in his career. He has held firm on his position to put professional wrestling in his past and leave it there, but fans still hold out hope. After all, one of the cornerstones in the wrestling business is the idea of “never say never.”
Whether or not Punk ever returns to the squared circle, we can all look back fondly on the biggest moment of his wrestling career: The Pipe Bomb Promo.
June 27, 2018, marks the seven-year anniversary of the “The Pipe Bomb Promo.” I was there, and it was awesome.
That Night
On June 27, 2011, RAW was taking place in my hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada, and I had a ticket. WWE had made a habit of rolling into Vegas roughly once per year, sometimes for a pay-per-view, but usually for a weekly show.
I must admit that I didn’t love this period in WWE. John Cena had recently won the WWE Championship from The Miz, this coming after Cena was screwed out of the title by The Rock at WrestleMania 27. Edge had just retired, Daniel Bryan hadn’t had his moment yet, and things felt a little stale. But still, I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to be at RAW. There’s always something interesting on the Las Vegas episode. Besides, anything can happen on live TV, right?
It was RAW Roulette, and we got a little bit of everything. Alberto Del Rio and Big Show fought in a steel cage, Kelly Kelly and Nikki Bella faced off in a submission match (what?), and CM Punk faced Kane in a “mystery opponent” match.
Punk had become the #1 contender for the WWE Championship on the previous week’s RAW, and was still the leader of the New Nexus. He had received a mixed, but mostly positive reception throughout the night from the Vegas crowd. Not wanting to hurt himself in his match with Kane and possibly damage his WWE Title chances, Punk simply left the ring and got himself counted out. On his way up the entrance ramp, he threw his hands up and yelled, “What? Are you gonna fire me? I don’t care!” … Hmm.
Next Page: Remembering CM Punk’s Pipe Bomb Promo, 7 Years Later (cont.)
