History YMMV / CMPunk

** Punk ''[[HesBack returning]] to [[CueTheFlyingPigs WWE]]'' at the very end of the 2023 Wrestling/SurvivorSeries.

** MMA fans, meanwhile, would argue his fights with Mickey Gall and Mike Jackson were this for them.

** In late 2010-early 2011, just months before his StarMakingRole, he had a feud with Wrestling/RandyOrton, during which he cornered Orton's wife lecherously at Orton's tour bus during one backstage segment. Orton's wife was played by an actress who bore a ''very'' strong resemblance to Wrestling/AJLee.

* AmericansHateTingle: Due to his blood feud with Wrestling/{{MJF}}, Punk was booed out of the building every time he appeared at an AEW event in Long Island. This continued even after the feud ended, which is why Punk usually acted like a heel there even if he was a face everywhere else.
* AwesomeEgo: Holy ''crap.'' When he first called himself the "Best In The World," it should have come off like a god complex, but fans cheered the hell out of him. Fans respected him even at his most heelish, and even when he walked out on the promotion, fans were still chanting ''loudly'' for him, even the better part of a year later. Even critics of CM Punk's behavior during his time in [=AEW=] struggle to argue that he was a bad performer during his time there, or that under his dictatorship ''Collision'' wasn't one of the best shows in the [=AEW=] umbrella. Say what you want about Punk but he embodies this trope like few others.

** His unhappiness about how, after Vince [=McMahon=]'s death, the WWE would probably be taken over by "[[Wrestling/TripleH his doofus son in law]]" and mismanaged further into the ground. Triple H would go on to prove himself highly capable as a booker through his management of NXT, and after he became the WWE Head of Creative following Vince's retirement, the overall product is widely considered to be far better than it was during his father in law's time. Punk and Hunter would make up backstage during an unplanned visit shortly before the former's return to WWE.

** He formed part of a team with Wrestling/{{Batista}} at one point[[note]]They feuded with ''Wrestling/{{Evolution}}''[[/note]], then after Punk left the WWE he started writing comics and had an involvement in Creator/MarvelComics's [[Comicbook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy Drax the Destroyer]]. Guess who plays as Drax in [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse the MCU]].
** Following his shocking return to WWE at Wrestling/{{Survivor Series}} 2023, practically ALL the [[TakeThat shots he took]] against WWE during his time in AEW have aged like spoiled milk.
* HollywoodThin: "Wrestling/{{Daizee|Haze}} needs to eat a sammich!" He'd also be on the receiving end from Kevin Nash, who wants to kick his skinny fat ass.
* HypeBacklash: Some wrestling fans may not understand quite why he was so hyped by the internet wrestling community prior to his WWE debut. Unlike the founding fathers, Joe, ect, when people said things like "Best Wrestler In ROH" what they meant to say was best ''heel'' in ROH, yet his main WWE roster debut was as a baby face, so much of what was mentioned obviously was not present. Then, there is a big difference between one hour time limit draws in the main event against equal opponents to five minute under card {{squash match}}es that his WWECW career started with.

** “IF CM PUNK RETURNS, I’LL…” based on the amount of people skeptical that Punk would return to WWE at the 2023 Survivor Series in Chicago to the point of making ridiculous wagers like Ryback claiming he’d retire from pro wrestling altogether only to instantly walk it back once Punk actually did return at the 2023 Survivor Series in Chicago.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: A KnightTemplar who truly believes that the world would be better under his guidance? Or a SinisterMinister and a SleazyPolitician who uses the Straight Edge Society for personal gain and no higher goals then that? Perhaps the truth will be uncovered.
** It's also possible to interpret him as the truly good guy who has to put up with fans and fellow wrestlers who are misled -- the Wrestling/JeffHardy feud that turned Punk heel, and ended when Jeff left the company (and was arrested for drug trafficking soon after), helped.

* EvilIsSexy: That crazy smile? Licking his own blood off his wrist tape on the February 7th, 2011 episode of ''Raw''? The way he demonstrates complete and total authority over Wrestling/TheNexus? AllGirlsWantBadBoys is always in full effect when it comes to Punk.

** His 2023 return to WWE was also controversial given the decade of more-than-justified negativity that Punk had publicly displayed towards the guys in Stamford.

** His unhappiness about how, after Vince [=McMahon=]'s death, the WWE would probably be taken over by "[[Wrestling/TripleH his doofus son in law]]" and mismanaged further into the ground. Triple H would go on to prove himself highly capable as a booker through his management of NXT, and after he became the WWE Head of Creative following Vince's retirement, the overall product is widely considered to be far better than it was during his father in law's time. Punk and H would make up backstage during an unplanned visit shortly before the former's return to WWE.

** Is Punk truly upset that the WWE Champion is taking a backseat to less-than-meaningful storylines involving John Cena and the sudden presence of [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson the Rock]], or is it that ''[[GreenEyedMonster he's]]'' getting upstaged? ''[[TakeAThirdOption Both]]'' seems to be a fair assumption.

* AwesomeEgo: Holy ''crap.'' When he first called himself the "Best In The World," it should have come off like a god complex, but fans cheered the hell out of him. Fans respected him even at his most heelish, and even when he walked out on the promotion, fans were still chanting ''loudly'' for him, even the better part of a year later. Say what you want about Punk but he embodies this trope like few others.

** His unhappiness about how, after Vince [=McMahon=]'s death, the WWE would probably be taken over by "[[Wrestling/TripleH his doofus son in law]]" and mismanaged further into the ground. Triple H would go on to prove himself highly capable as a booker through his management of NXT, and after he became the WWE Head of Creative following Vince's retirement, the overall product is widely considered to be far better than it was during his father in law's time, and Punk and H would make up shortly before the former's return to WWE.

** His unhappiness about how, after Vince [=McMahon=]'s death, the WWE would probably be taken over by "[[Wrestling/TripleH his doofus son in law]]" and mismanaged further into the ground. Triple H would go on to prove himself highly capable as a booker through his management of NXT, and after he became the WWE Head of Creative following Vince's retirement, the overall product is widely considered to be far better than it was during his father in law's time.

** Following his shocking return to WWE at Survivor Series 2023, practically ALL the [[TakeThat shots he took]] against WWE during his time in AEW have aged like spoiled milk.

--> '''CM Punk:''' But Vince [=McMahon=]'s gonna make money despite himself. He's a millionaire who ''should'' be a billionaire. You know why he's not a billionaire? It's 'cuz he surrounds himself with glad-handing, nonsensical douchebag yes-men like John Laurinaitis, who's gonna tell him everything he wants to hear! And I'd like to think that maybe this company will be better after Vince [=McMahon=]'s dead, but the fact is, it's gonna get taken over by his [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon idiotic daughter]] and his [[Wrestling/TripleH doofus son-in-law]] and the rest of his ''stupid'' family!

** His (as of September 2023, final) exit from AEW. After returning from both his suspension as a result of the backstage incident at AEW All Out 2022 (nicknamed by fans as 'Brawl Out') and the injury he got at the same event, he got into a disagreement with Jack Perry over the use of real glass in a spot. This all culminated in ''another'' back stage incident just before AEW All In 2023 at Wembley Stadium in London. Perry returned from the spot, giving a mocking statement to the camera about it being 'real glass, cry me a river'. Punk assaulted Perry upon his return backstage, putting him in a guillotine choke, and also allegedly lunged at Tony Khan (President of AEW). Punk and Perry were both quickly suspended (though Punk went out and performed in a match with Samoa Joe), and after an investigation Khan publicly fired Punk (for cause, meaning no payout on his remaining contract, no buyout). Khan explicitly stated that he felt physically threatened by Punk's action. Even many of Punk's fans admit he hung himself with the extensive rope Khan had given him. (For reference, Khan made the announcement before, and came out publicly and announced it to the crowd prior to, an AEW Collision in Chicago- Punk's hometown. Even the crowd there was muted in their support of Punk.)

** His (as of September 2023, final) exit from AEW. After returning from both his suspension as a result of the backstage incident at AEW All Out 2022 (nicknamed by fans as 'Brawl Out'), he got into a disagreement with Jack Perry over the use of real glass in a spot. This all culminated in ''another'' back stage incident just before AEW All In 2023 at Wembley Stadium in London. Perry returned from the spot, giving a mocking statement to the camera about it being 'real glass, cry me a river'. Punk assaulted Perry upon his return backstage, putting him in a guillotine choke, and also allegedly lunged at Tony Khan (President of AEW). Punk and Perry were both quickly suspended (though Punk went out and performed in a match with Samoa Joe), and after an investigation Khan publicly fired Punk (for cause, meaning no payout on his remaining contract, no buyout). Khan explicitly that he himself felt physically threatened. Even many of Punk's fans admit he had hung himself with the extensive rope Khan had given him. (For reference, Khan made the announcement before, and came out publicly and announced it to the crowd prior to, an AEW Collision in Chicago- Punk's hometown. Even the crowd there was muted in their support of Punk.)

** It's also possible to interpret him as the truly good guy who has to put up with fans and fellow wrestlers who are misled - the Wrestling/JeffHardy feud that turned Punk heel, and ended when Jeff left the company (and was arrested for drug trafficking soon after), helped.

* AmericansHateTingle: Due to his blood feud with Wrestling/{{MJF}}, Punk has been booed out of the building every time AEW has gone to Long Island. This continued even after the feud ended, which is why Punk usually acts like a heel there even if he's a face everywhere else.

* AmericansHateTingle: Due to his blood feud with Wrestling/{{MJF}}, Punk has been booed out of the building every time AEW has gone to Long Island. This continued even after the feud ended, which is why Punk usually acts like a heel there even though he's a face everywhere else.

* ValuesDissonance: One of the likely reasons why his iconic SmugStraightEdge [[StraightEdgeEvil Evil]] heel gimmick was phased out as his career went on is because, as more and more drug-related deaths occurred over the years throughout the wrestling industry, hardly anybody disagreed with the message he was trying to convey to the audience. The only reason they would have is the extremities he went to in order to spread it, which largely consisted of him acting like an asshole, and as we all know, [[RootingForTheEmpire that's never stopped wrestling fans from cheering a performer on]]. Wrestling/ChrisJericho revealing the source of his decision to be Straight Edge, namely his traumatic childhood with his alcoholic father, was the final nail in the coffin as far as WWE went, and nobody's tried to use his Straight Edge lifestyle against him since.

** His unhappiness about how, after Vince [=McMahon=]'s death, the WWE probably would be taken over by "[[Wrestling/TripleH his doofus son in law]]". Three or so years later, people feel that this would be a good thing, based on how well Triple H is running NXT in comparison to Vince's management of the main shows.
*** Him proclaiming himself to be "a Paul Heyman guy" and comparing himself to Wrestling/BrockLesnar. He would later follow the Beast Incarnate's steps by fighting at [[UsefulNotes/UltimateFightingChampionship UFC]], even losing his first fights.

** The "gripebomb". The Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling fanbase is split between those that agree with CM Punk and those that agree with The Elite (Wrestling/KennyOmega and Wrestling/TheYoungBucks) in regards to who's to blame for the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBAvjOYD6hs AEW All Out 2022 Media Scrum disaster]] where Punk [[HistoryRepeats again]] aired out a company's dirty laundry publicly. This then resulted in a locker room altercation and the suspension of multiple people, including Punk himself and The Elite.