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| Punk killifying Evan Bourne Photo Credit: WWE.com |
2. CM Punk
Points: 1890
Votes Received: 20
Highest Vote: 1st (7, Chus Killalea, Chris Sloboda, Jeff Peña, Seth Zillman, Andy Hewitt, James Varga, Sean McLaughlin)
Last Year's Ranking: 4th
And now, the testimonials…
TH
At the half-way point of the year, I was convinced that Punk was the best worker in America in 2010 and that he'd run away with the mantel. Of course, this was before Daniel Bryan was faux-ture endeavored and started his warpath in the indies and before Punk got hurt. Still, despite battling injuries in the second half of 2010, he still delivered results, coupled with the ones he got in the first half, enough to nab him my second place vote. His main highlights included a series with Rey Mysterio that wowed every time they went out and worked together. Whether it was a set-up match on Smackdown or on the big stage of pay-per-view, they worked together flawlessly. It was a hand-in-hand thing, Rey sold and flew, Punk brutalized and made great facial expressions. His other highlights include having a decent match with Big Show at Night of Champions, but most importantly, killifying Evan Bourne on his RAW debut, as well as a key match with Cena on one of the final RAWs of 2010.
Russel Harder
CM Punk is special. He really is. He wasn't even my #1 pick in the 100, but just watching him in the ring there is NO WAY that you can't be entertained by CM Punk. I defy anyone that isn't. Outside of 2010, from when he initially came into the WWE, he immediately nailed the five moves of death style that had become instrumental in the E, fighting in a way that clicked with the crowd and showed them something 'new'. I think it was because he hit it off so well, with both the crowd and those in the back, that Evan Bourne and more importantly, Daniel Bryan were given the path that they have been (even with either of there obvious talents). Back to 2010, CM Punk lost some time in the ring this year, due to injuries... but damn it all if he still didn't make matches better by being one of the bigger high points in recent WWE color commentary, outside of this recent Lawler/Cole feud of old school carny goodness. After that he was finally given the good faith push that one and all wished he had been given when Batista was picking on him way back when for being a paper champion, and stood toe to toe with WWE's monster faces (and not just Jeff Hardy) in high-profile, highly entertaining feuds. Top that off with some fantastic free TV matches with Cena (Cena's best of this past year) as well as another stellar Rumble (if he hasn't won multiple Rumble's by the end of his career, ala Austin, I'm going to riot)... and CM Punk is in a position to have an incredible 2011 in the WWE.
Andy Hewitt
I don't just think that CM Punk is the best wrestler in the world right now. I think he's one of the best and most entertaining that I've ever seen. Give the man two minutes and a plank of wood and he'll put on a four star match. Well, maybe not quite that, but he certainly has the most magnetism of anyone in recent memory.
It's almost like he's a composite of the best parts of everyone else working today. He's got the straight-up ring ability and moves of Daniel Bryan, the connection with the audience and knowledge of how to sell a big match to a crowd like John Cena, the ability to get people riled up in an instant like The Miz, the intensity of Randy Orton and the company smarts of a man like Triple H. Whether he's in or out of the ring, I just can't take my eyes off him, and not in a massive man crush kinda way (though now you mention it...). It just seems that there's never any wasted effort. His charisma in the ring as a heel is a joy to watch,and he moves seamlessly between promo work and ring work all fused into the same character. Who else would (admittedly not this year) they let run the first section of the Royal Rumble as a promo spot?
The other thing I like about Punk is his ability to sell himself as a heel even when he's not acting particularly badly, but is just picking upon the weaknesses of his face opponents. To an extent, his beef with Cena was legitimate in that Cena had acted poorly, but the way in which he went about it made people boo the hell out of him. And that's what really sets him above the rest of the wrestling world at the moment; it's that believability of his character in the ring. Someone like The Miz, or Ziggler, or whoever else you want to mention - they know they're a bad guy and they play on it. They cheat and they cower and they do whatever it takes to win and they know that they're a bad person, but will do what they need to do. Punk's character never gives off that feeling. You feel that he genuinely believes that he is right all of the time, and that his victims are the ones that were in the wrong. Even when bringing about a beating in the ring where his minions slaughter someone, you never, ever feel like he has any remorse, or that he'd even consider that he has done something that would require that.
When Punk wrestles, I watch with my eyes on stalks, because he lives and breathes the role, and he turns it into something more, with his facial expressions and psychology mixed with charisma to give him a far broader and more impressive all-round package than anyone else working today.
And that's why CM Punk is my pick for #1.
Sean McLaughlin
What can be said about Cookie Monster Punk that hasn't been said before? I love the dude, best promo in the business. This generations Roddy Piper, though Punk is a better wrestler then Piper. Punk, I think, will go down as a defining figure in wrestling.
Seth Zillman
My #1 Pick, and for me it wasn't much of a contest. Great in-ring work, including one of the best "game faces" in town. Punk can tell a story without having to resort to sick bumps or foreign objects. He has the Jake Roberts or Raven school of thought of being able to tell a story by simple movement and facial expressions. Heck he managed to top my list while still being an announcer for a few months! 2011 looks to be the best yet.
Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!
Punk also carried Undertaker to the only good match 'Taker had during his fall run. He was outstanding in putting over the story that the guy who destroyed him a year earlier was now vulnerable and beatable.
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