10 Most Special Moments Of CM Punk’s Career

7. The Original Pipebomb

For those who were around to see it, the original Summer of Punk in Ring of Honor was truly special.

Similar to his WWE exodus in 2011, word had gotten out that CM Punk was leaving Ring of Honor. Capitalizing on the publicity, ROH booked Punk in a World Championship match with Austin Aries.

Many believed this was Punk’s farewell match and that he would lose, however, they were shocked and elated when he won the ROH World Title for the first and only time.

Punk then grabbed a microphone and proclaimed himself to be the Devil himself and the stupid mindless ROH fans fell for his trick. This promo is very similar to his famous Pipebomb in WWE, even using some of the same verbiages.

CM Punk was the lifeblood of Ring of Honor and his exit was felt but his last few months were some of the best in company history to that point.

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6. Cashing in Money in the Bank Take Two

Now, this is more like it. CM Punk’s World Title reign came and went without much thought from WWE in 2008 making it all the more surprising when he won the Money in the Bank ladder match again in 2009.

The cash-in and follow-up this time around were everything the first one should have been.

Cashing in on Jeff Hardy at Extreme Rules immediately turned Punk heel in the eyes of the fans. This was something he embraced more and more as the Summer went on, calling out the fans for supporting Hardy’s destructive lifestyle and booing him while abstaining from drugs and alcohol.

For this moment, however, Punk showed a completely different side of his character that we had not seen in WWE to this point. WWE brass didn’t believe that Punk could be a heel before this. Yeah, okay. Sure.

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5. Signing the WWE Contract on the ROH World Title

Continuing with the 2005 Summer of Punk, in a move that feels completely surreal today, CM Punk legitimately signed his WWE contract on the ROH World Championship belt.

After his pipebomb, Punk went corporate, playing up his impending departure to WWE. His ROH World Title reign wasn’t very long, but he made many classic moments during that short time.

This was definitely one of them, made even more memorable by the fact that it was real. That was Punk’s real WWE contract. He didn’t sign with WWE in a boardroom or at home with his family. He signed with them in Ring of Honor on top of the company’s most prized championship.

Stellar heel work if ever it existed. Speaking of…

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4. Jeff Hardy Cosplay

If you thought CM Punk was hated after cashing in of Jeff Hardy, this was another level. After three months of feuding with Hardy, Punk ultimately beat him in a Loser Leaves WWE Steel Cage match on SmackDown.

The week after, Hardy’s music played to the delight of WWE fans in attendance. That delight turned to disgust quickly as it was immediately apparent that this was not Jeff Hardy. SHOCK! IMPOSTER!

CM Punk came out in a pretty decent Jeff Hardy cosplay to mock the fans who were still raw from seeing their favorite wrestler banished.

In a Summer where Punk flexed his heelish muscles, this was his most memorable moment. Honestly, imagine thinking Punk couldn’t be a heel. Absolutely absurd.

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