5 most surprising departures in WWE history

#2 CM Punk (Left WWE in 2014)

The best thing about the Wrestlemania 30 build wasn’t Daniel Bryan. It was CM Punk being completely checked out and not being able to hide his feelings regarding Triple H and Stephanie. Golden moment right here. pic.twitter.com/oZhaHs4xDr

— big dog. (@griffpr) March 22, 2020

Only a few Superstars in the history of WWE could claim to have left such a lasting impact on the business as CM Punk did. A two-time Money in the Bank winner, one of the longest-reigning WWE Champions in the modern era, and various other accolades made CM Punk untouchable.

Therefore, the news of his sudden departure came as a shock to the entire WWE Universe. Little did anyone know that after an outstanding performance in the Royal Rumble match at the namesake pay-per-view in 2014, CM Punk would never step foot inside a WWE ring again.

During an appearance on Colt Cabana's podcast, CM Punk revealed the reasons behind his departure. It's interesting to note that the straight-edge superstar had no interest in squaring off against Triple H at WrestleMania 30, which was the direction the company was heading into.

Nearly 7 years have passed since CM Punk walked out of WWE and to this day, fans are hopeful that the six-time World Champion will return for one final run to end his career on a satisfying note.