If you’ve spent much time on social media in the days following CM Punk’s return in Chicago and subsequent WWE championship victory over Sami Zayn in the main event of Monday Night Raw this week you’ve undoubtedly seen a lot of criticism. They’re calling this man Hulk Hogan for how he ended up looking in this situation.
An even more popular term you’ll see often, though, is hypocrite. There’s a lot of stuff like this out there:
I don’t know that I’m buying it, though.
Punk was raging against the machine all those years ago not necessarily because part timers were coming in and taking his spot but because he was being treated as though he wasn’t at their level. The Rock and Brock Lesnar could come in and beat him and leave because they were the tippy top of the mountain, and you get that kind of treatment when you reach that status. He is every bit as good as those two, and desired to be right alongside them. He’s just willing to do it on a full time status, which you’d think would make him even more valuable.
Indeed, this isn’t a case of Punk signing with WWE and working only occasionally while taking the top spot as he pleases. He’s been a steady presence while doing everything the company has asked of him, which included absolutely carrying the build to WrestleMania 42 and then dropping the world heavyweight championship to Roman Reigns in a main event where Punk worked his ass off to make it the best match of the weekend.
He took a brief vacation after that but made sure he was ready for the next big opportunity, and came back and took it. The idea that this makes him a hypocrite is laughable.
Regarding the other points raised in all that, things he said in promos, another user posted this helpful reminder:
That’s what you have to always keep in mind here, at all times, lest you end up looking foolish while trying your best not to — these guys are workers, and you are probably being worked by them. Maybe he really believes some of those things, and maybe they were just the right thing to say in the moment for what he was trying to get across at that time. If anything, Punk has remained remarkably true to his word when it comes to all this.
If there is anywhere to attack Punk with claims of hypocrisy it would be his remarks on Saudi Arabia and WWE’s relationship with The Kingdom. But that has nothing to do with the decision to put the title on him right now, and in the manner WWE did it. He’s no hypocrite for that.
