A New Era

I don't think I can picture modern-day WWE without CM Punk. This guy has it all. He is the first real badass in the league and now he's gone. If you haven't heard already, CM Punk quit the WWE this week. In an interview from about a week ago, Punk spoke about his chance of leaving and said he didn't want to make a decision until his contract expires in two months. He has toyed around with the idea of leaving before, and has trained with legendary Brazilian jiu jitzu competitor and instructor Rener Gracie. All of the speculation surrounding Punk's leaving comes down to two main ideas: poor story lines, and barely any sniff at a championship.

When the New Age Outlaws teamed up with CM Punk for match with The Shield, Triple H was helping out some buddies. By letting them walk out on the match and letting Punk get triple power bombed by the Hounds of Justice, the N.A.O. got a shot at the tag-team title and won against the Rhodes Brothers, who look to be fizzling out at this point.

Boom. Right there is a key stage in the decline of Punk's interest to stay with World Wrestling Entertainment. What I think to be the final straw in his participation in the WWE was the Royal Rumble this past Sunday on pay-per-view. (To check out my predictions and take on the RR, click here.) When Kane announced that The Straight Edge Superstar was going to enter the match at #1, he wasn't too entertained. His chances of winning were around 1%. Being the badass he is, he stayed in the match for almost 50 minutes, before being eliminated by Director of Operations Kane, who, by the way, was already eliminated in the match. Kane would proceed to choke slam CM Punk through the announcer's table. Insert sarcastic cheer here.

pictured from the left: (front row) Jimmy Uso, Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan (back row) Jey Uso and Goldust stand together after Punk and Bryan teamed up for a two v. two tag team mtch vs the Wyatt family. Luckily for The Best and The Beard, they recieved help from the Uso's, and The Rhodes Brothers. 

The Best and The Beard was a short-lived tag team that consisted of Punk and Daniel Bryan. They fought for a few months against their various enemies such as the Wyatt Family and The Shield. Since the two superstars have had conflicts with both the Shield and the Family, it only seemed right for the two to tag up. Phillip Brooks and Bryan Danielson (the two real names of Punk and DB) have had a sincere friendship in their years together in the WWE, so when Daniel Bryan wasn't entered in the Royal Rumble, Punk had an issue with that. When the 30th contestant Rey Mysterio entered, the crowd was in shock. Everyone thought Daniel Bryan was going to be the 30th contestant and win the Royal Rumble to get a main event at Wrestle Mania, with all due respect to Rey, Bryan should've been in that spot. CM Punk didn't like that Daniel Bryan was treated unfairly, and he shouldn't; Daniel Bryan is Superstar of the Year as voted by the fans! Even WWE Hall-of-Famer Mick Foley had some interesting things to say on the Rumble and Punk's departure (Foley's tweet on Punk Foley hits tv with baseball bat as promised. Foley's tweet on Bryan not winning the Rumble).

With all of that in mind, CM Punk will still be my favorite Superstar of all time. He is a role model to many as well as a great wrestler. I wish him the best of luck in MMA and hope to see him back in the WWE soon.