CM Punk Debuts in ECW 11 Years Ago Today
CM Punk will go down as one of, if not THE, greatest wrestler of a generation. Sure, he'll be debated along side guys like John Cena and Randy Orton, but Punk is high on that list.
But his WWE/ECW/OVW run didn't start off that way.
There was a lot of buzz when Punk first joined the WWE organization after leaving Ring of Honor, but by most accounts, the people making the decisions inside the WWE offices didn't really know what to do with Punk. So his career featured a lot of odd starts and stops, weirdly timed appearances, followed by silent disappearances. For example, Punk's TV debut...
His ECW TV debut (seen above) was a quick, pre-taped promo on his straight edge lifestyle. It aired on July 4th of 2006. But Punk wouldn't be seen again until he made his in-ring debut on August 1st of that year. All after making his "house show" debut on June 24th.
See what I mean about weird starts?
Anyway, Punk would go on to drop "pipe bombs" and historic championship runs before moving onto the UFC (for at least one match). His name continues to be chanted across the country in arenas from New York to Los Angeles, and especially in his home town of Chicago.
Though Punk will likely never come back to the WWE, he will always be remembered for this promo...