4 CM Punk references that continued on WWE television after he left

CM Punk established himself as one of the most popular Superstars in WWE during his nine-year association with the company between 2005 and 2014.

A five-time WWE world champion, Punk’s impressive in-ring ability and undeniable promo skills saw him work his way to the top of countless match cards, facing top Superstars including John Cena, The Rock, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and Triple H along the way.

In January 2014, “The Best In The World” decided to walk away from WWE due to a number of issues that he had with the company, ranging from his injury problems to the way that his character was presented, and we have not seen him on WWE television since.

While the man behind the Superstar, Phil Brooks, has moved on from WWE and tried his hand at multiple different roles over the last few years, including acting and mixed martial arts, it appears as though the WWE Universe (and even some within WWE) will never let their memories of Punk fade away.

In this article, let’s take a look at five references to Punk that continued on WWE programming after he left.

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#4 CM Punk chants

After CM Punk left WWE, fans constantly chanted “CM Punk! CM Punk!” during matches involving his wife, AJ Lee, before she departed the company in April 2015.

Along with Paige and The Bella Twins, Lee was one of the most featured Divas on WWE programming in 2014-15, so it was not uncommon to hear the Punk chants on a weekly basis whenever she appeared on television.

Fans would also regularly direct the chants towards the McMahon family and Triple H, as well as Paul Heyman, throughout 2014, and Stephanie McMahon responded to the chants on one occasion by describing Punk as a “quitter”.

Even Daniel Bryan's big moment at WrestleMania 30 was filled with chants of "CM Punk! CM Punk!", with fans expecting him to return and help his former ally in his battle against The Authority.

Although WWE fans occasionally still shout Punk's name, usually when a segment or match is going badly, the chants are often drowned out by boos.

#3 ‘Best In The World’ nickname

In November 2018, the Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia revolved around an eight-man tournament to crown the winner of the WWE World Cup. Along with a trophy, the victor would also have a new moniker, “The Best In The World”, bestowed upon them.

Despite not being part of the original tournament participants, Shane McMahon inserted himself into the final to replace The Miz, who suffered a storyline injury, and he went on to defeat Dolph Ziggler to win the World Cup.

The “Best In The World” nickname was used by CM Punk throughout his WWE career, so it is only natural that fans have started to chant “CM Punk! CM Punk!” again since McMahon began using the moniker.

Speaking on Sauce & Shram in April 2019, Punk acknowledged that WWE is likely using the nickname again to take a shot at him.

"I could say, 'Yeah that's a little shot at me,' and, it probably is, but they'd deny it until the cows come home."

#2 The WWE 2K15 adverts

In 2014, the same year that CM Punk walked away from WWE, the WWE 2K15 video game featured a Showcase Mode which allowed fans to play out a series of matches from Punk and John Cena’s storied rivalry.

Given that "The Best In The World" had been gone from WWE for several months when the announcement was made, it was a surprise when he was presented as one of the marquee Superstars who fans could play as in the game.

Despite not being a part of WWE programming at the time, Punk’s character featured in multiple adverts to promote the game, while the WWE 2K Twitter account even tagged him in tweets, accompanied by the caption: “Do I have your attention now?”

In typical Punk fashion, he responded on Colt Cabana’s ‘Art of Wrestling’ podcast:

"2K Sports tweeted at me ‘do I have your attention now?’ Well 2K Sports... do I have your ****ing attention now? Thanks for the big fat check."

#1 The GTS

After initially using the Anaconda Vice submission as his finisher in ECW, CM Punk began to use the GTS (Go To Sleep) as his go-to move to defeat opponents in WWE.

Up until Punk’s departure in January 2014, nobody else in WWE had used the move. That was, of course, until Kenta Kobayashi – the man who invented the GTS – signed with WWE later in the year and became known as Hideo Itami.

Unlike when AJ Lee appeared on WWE programming, there were no chants of “CM Punk! CM Punk!” when Itami hit his signature move, mostly because the NXT audience was smart enough to know that it was the Japanese star, not Punk, who came up with it in the first place.

Itami used the GTS during his first three years in NXT/WWE but he was told to find a new finisher in December 2017 after he broke The Brian Kendrick’s nose and orbital bone while executing the move during a match on Raw.