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Views From The Turnbuckle: Does CM Punk Deserve Our Respect?
- Updated: September 16, 2016
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the views of WrestlingInc or its staff
On Saturday, CM Punk made his much-anticipated debut in Mixed Martial Arts, fighting Mickey Gall at UFC 203. In what was a predictable expose of Punk’s fighting skills, Gall quickly overwhelmed Punk and defeated him by submission in the first round in one of the most one-sided fights to ever take place on the main card of a UFC PPV. Punk’s failure to achieve even a brief moment of competitive advantage in his fight against Gall was viewed by many as an incredible failure for Punk. It was one thing to expect him to win—I think that a majority of fans were not expecting him to actually defeat Gall; but the fact that Punk did not show any form of fighting competency surprised fans. For many, it was justification against a figure that they were desperately hoping to fail. For fans of MMA who thumbed their nose at the world of professional wrestling, watching Punk immediately fall onto his back and quickly get put in a desperate situation against Gall brought a smile to all of their faces; a fake fighter who tried for years to pass himself off as a legit ass-kicker was getting put in his place against the real deal. For WWE executives and fans who considered Punk a quitter, someone who left the company as an angry and bitter employee who felt marginalized because he was not being paid like The Rock, it was just as sweet. Punk thought he could leave wrestling and achieve success without the aid of WWE, but that wasn’t the case as he was strongly struck down with ferocity by Gall. Punk was also actively criticized for debuting in MMA where so few have ever done, on the main card of a UFC PPV in a fight that was heavily advertised by the company. Even Brock Lesnar, who eventually proved to be one of the biggest drawing cards in UFC history, began his MMA career outside of UFC. Those who credited Punk for having the courage to step into the cage against a trained professional; they were countered by the fact that Punk was compensated by at least $500,000 to get beaten up by Gall. Punk also took a spot on the card from a more deserving fighter. Ironically, Punk is hypocritically taking the role that The Rock did at WrestleMania—a less dedicated performer coming in and taking the big spot away from another performer simply because of name value. The Rock worked the main event of WrestleMania because he was a bigger name than Punk, and Punk worked the main card of UFC 203 because he was a bigger name than another fighter who was left off the card. While those criticisms are factually correct, their relevancy to Punk is questionable. If Punk is anything it is fiercely independent and the impact that criticism from those who have a pre-determined bias against him have on his psyche is minimal. The vocal detractors of Punk were prevalent throughout the extended build-up for his fight; but Punk showed no signs of it effecting him. He did not lash out at fans, he only remained positive about his experience leading up to the fight. After his loss to Gall, Punk remained positive in his post-match promo; greatly expressing his enjoyment from the fight, congratulating Gall and saying that he would be back to do it all again. Even if you want to critique Punk for any number of reasons, you cannot dispute his dedication to fighting. This is a guy who took an incredible beating throughout his career as a professional wrestler, putting mileage on his body that is incomparable to pretty much any other field of work. He had to get multiple surgeries, which pushed back the date of his fight on two occasions. Without having any background in combat sports outside of a passion for the art, Punk decided he was going to try and step into the cage against a professional, someone who earned a living fighting and not someone that was just trying to check off something on their bucket list. If you listened to the words coming out of the Punk camp leading up the fight, they were not necessarily gushing about his fighting prowess and the rapid improvements he was making as a fighter. They instead constantly talked about his commitment to working on his craft; admiring someone who did not need the money he was going to make from …
