Professional wrestling has been an underrated art, and many berate it as “being fake or scripted”. That’s true, but people forget how incredible and astonishing is the art form. To perform in front of a live audience, hit safe moves, timing the strikes, and playing to the mood of the audience. It is like a theatre play, where the artists (wrestlers) execute a script with finesse. Every pro wrestler has to convey a story to entertain “the millions, and millions watching around the world”. The industry hit a global audience in the mid-90s with the beginning of WWE's (World Wrestling Entertainment’s) “Attitude Era”.

WWE and WCW (World Championship Wrestling) were the two big names who captivated a global audience with their unique wrestling characters and matches. WWE created newer, bigger stars; the storylines, to the badass mic work (promo), were liked all around the world. The glitz and glamor of the industry began to wear off, with the departures of long-established stars.

Straight after this, in the late 2000s, a certain indie-wrestler Philips Jacks Brooks aka CM PUNK was signed by the WWE. Brooks was born on October 26th, 1978, in Chicago Illinois, in the US, and grew up liking the art of wrestling, becoming a key performer in the promotion Ring of Honor. Punk got mainstream attention and before we knew it, he was roped in by WWE. CM Punk showed tenacity & resilience in his initial years in WWE, and his commitment to his character gained him an increased set of followers.

CM Punk (Chick Magnet Punk) straddled the line between fiction and reality, with perfection. He became a quintessential antihero, an iconoclast, who would speak out whatever’s in his mind. This persona of Punk was revered by audiences around the globe, and many believed him to be the second coming of Stone Cold Steve Austin. But Punk was different, unique in his own way, sure he played the hero and the villain many times, but essentially, one could not figure out the difference between the character and the actor, and that is the beauty of pro-wrestling, the suspension of disbelief. He brought realism in everything he did, right from cutting promos, to the in-ring action, making people believe that pro wrestling could be real. 

During his run with the WWE, he won many titles, putting up a 434-day unbeaten run as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. In 2011, he infamously cut a ‘pipe bomb’ promo on the workings of the WWE, saying how it doesn’t give talented guys more opportunities and relies on yester-year stars, calling out and going on a war of words with the chairman, Vince McMahon. Punk believed that WWE didn’t book him right, after the mega-stardom he organically gained and had a tiff with the creatives. In 2014, after he had enough of the lazy storytelling, Punk walked out of WWE, for 2 months, only for the company to fire him on his wedding day. Since then, CM Punk left pro wrestling, trying mix-martial arts in UFC, but failing to attain success there.

But after 7 years, CM Punk has returned to pro wrestling at AEW (All Elite Wrestling) Rampage show. AEW who debuted over 2 years ago, has garnered stupendous success, giving the audience a variety of wrestling content. It has earned the respect and dedicated following with its storytelling and with Punk’s signature, AEW will get even more traction.

AEW sold out a 23,000-capacity United Center Arena in Chicago for the second weekly episode Rampage, to debut the messiah and the savior of pro wrestling, CM Punk. Punk himself calls him “the best in the world”, and the wrestling community couldn’t get enough of him. On 20th August, amidst the chants of “CM PUNK”, Punk’s iconic theme music “Cult of Personality” hit, sending the capacity crowd bonkers. There are pops, mega pops, monster pops, and then there is a CM PUNK POP. The crowd popped hard for the return of the prodigal son, an exhilarating and enthralling ovation, doubled with ear-popping chants of his name. 

It's clobberin' time @CMPunk #AEWRampage pic.twitter.com/QMaDo1mAJr

— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) August 21, 2021

CM Punk walked out on the ramp, soaking in the love, getting into the fans, stepping inside the ring with a microphone. In his unique way, he thanked the audience, for loyally supporting him, chanting for him during the past 7 years. He sat cross-legged in the center of the ring and stated that he wants to fight younger talents, and give them that chance to be over with the audiences, organically, like how he did. Punk’s debut on AEW, has sent shock waves around the world, bringing the attention of the lapsed fans, who believe that “wrestling is fake”. CM PUNK has the craft to pull audiences with his dynamic persona, adding a beautiful mix of realism to the world of wrestling.

In a gist, CM PUNK, upon his return to the ring simply said “I’M BACK”, but it sounded like “Wrestling’s back”. Fans are returning to the world of professional wrestling, as their hero, messiah, has returned to change the wrestling landscape.

 CM PUNK IS ALL ELITE.