By: Anthony Benigno | February 29, 2012
CM Punk, we can all agree, is an upstart. This tattooed rabblerouser with a Bond-villain goatee changed the game last summer when he perched in front of the TitanTron and tore the fabric of WWE asunder. His infamous “Pipe Bomb” shattered the status quo so much so that the power structure of Monday Night Raw has been a revolving door of authority figures ever since. He also won the WWE Championship twice and successfully rechristened himself as “The Best in the World” as he hoisted the gold. Punk’s run has been unique – revolutionary, even – and yet on Raw SuperShow Monday night, Chris Jericho stood in the middle of the ring, blinking bomber jacket and all, and called the WWE Champion a "wannabe."
According to Jericho, Punk isn’t just any wannabe, but the worst in an apparent legion of imitators out to appropriate and sully Jericho’s formidable legacy. Punk, for his part, largely demurred the accusations, but with their WrestleMania match looming large and Punk’s title on the line, the question remains: What, exactly, does Jericho think CM Punk has stolen?
By: Katie Raymond | February 23, 2012
After the CM Punk-Chris Brown Twitter war took over the internet on Tuesday (STORY), the WWE Champion received support from late night talk show host Conan O’Brien and made the media rounds, speaking to TMZ, Hot 97 and HLN.
During the opening monologue of O’Brien’s show “Conan,” the late night funnyman weighed in on the Punk-Brown Twitter beef. (WATCH)
CM Punk’s first stop on Tuesday was an in-studio interview with Hot 97 morning hosts Cipha Sounds, Rosenberg and K. Foxx. During the interview, fans both of CM Punk and Chris Brown called in to voice their opinion of the situation. After K. Foxx asked the WWE Champion why he chose now to speak out about Brown, Punk replied, “He’s acted as if winning a Grammy has granted him immunity and erased his mistakes, somebody needs to take Twitter away from him.” (WATCH)
The WWE Champion next called in to TMZ’s live show with Harvey Levin, where he reiterated his position on the Twitter back-and-forth with Brown and wanting to take on the Grammy winner in a match where all the proceeds would go to charity. (WATCH)
Punk ended the night on HLN as the “Showbiz Newsmaker,” telling host AJ Hammer the origin of the tweet to Chris Brown. “I was responding to my followers about who I should face at WrestleMania,” Punk said. “One of my followers had mentioned Chris Brown, and I thought ‘Yeah, that would be a good idea.’” (WATCH)
Stay with WWE.com as we continue to cover the CM Punk-Chris Brown story.
By: Katie Raymond | February 21, 2012 | UPDATED: 10:45PM
WWE Champion CM Punk lashed out against singer Chris Brown on Twitter Monday, becoming a top story and trend on Twitter, TMZ, E!Online, Mediabistro, OK! Magazine New York Daily News, and numerous other media sites worldwide as SmackDown aired live on Syfy tonight.
"I would like @chrisbrown fight somebody that can defend themselves," Punk tweeted out to his more than 650,000 followers on Monday before Raw SuperShow.
Brown shot back at the WWE Champion Monday in this since-deleted tweet. "@CMpunk needs more followers. He’s such a leader! Not to mention the roids hes on has made it utterly impossible for him pleasure a women." The singer continued, "@CMpunk contact my assistant and I’ll have em send u an autographed pic for my biggest FAN!!!"
In 2009 Brown was convicted of felony assault against singing sensation Rihanna and was recently criticized for a Twitter outburst after this year’s Grammys.
CM Punk responded Tuesday evening with a video reply to Brown "@CMPunk http://twitvid.com/4CAPE – This must be said."
Brown replied minutes after Punk’s video was posted on Twitter. "@cmpunk the video u just posted was cute! It’s so funny how defensive u are," he continued. "And the fact that I really don’t know who you are and could give a [expletive] is the funny part! I really hope this 15 minutes of fame is paying you for the long run becuz music last forever! Wrestlers come and go according to ratings!"
The Grammy Award winner was still tweeting about the situation as SuperSmackDown went live on Syfy. "I miss the real wrestlers! ( Hacksaw Jim duggan, Brett the hitman heart, coco beware, rowdy roddy piper) #Notnopunks. THE ROCK #Notnopunks."
Before Chris Brown seemingly signed off for the night, telling his Twitter followers it was time to get "back to the music," his hashtag #Notnopunks was the No. 1 trend on Twitter, while WWE Champion Punk entered the ring for his match against World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan on a special live SuperSmackDown.
But Brown wasn’t finished for the night. He tweeted again “Note:today will be the last day I bring @cmpunk existence up!The confrontations that people continuously bring my way are very amusing. Cuz honestly, that [expletive] is too time consuming to argue wit every person who has their own issues to deal with!”
After Punk finished his Champion vs. Champion Match while still a Twitter trending topic on SuperSmackDown, the WWE Champion tweeted once more for the night simply stating: “#aintnowomanbeater.”
Source: wwe.com
CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho (WWE Championship Match)
During his rise to WWE Champion, CM Punk blasted the WWE establishment every step of the way. Even the very McMahon family name was not safe from his verbal barbs. His blistering and often shocking criticisms created a buzz that had not been seen in the WWE Universe in quite some time. The Second City Saint proved he could achieve success by doing things his way.
But is The Straightedge Superstar really the best in the world at what he does? Not if you ask Chris Jericho, who will face Punk on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
Certainly Jericho presents one of Punk’s greatest challenges to date. The recently returned Superstar has 22 championships to his credit – 30 if you include his title wins in WCW and ECW.
On top of his accomplished resume, Jericho brings a fire within that perhaps Punk has yet to encounter while defending the coveted WWE Championship. Not only is Jericho back in WWE, he’s angry.
In the Raw Elimination Chamber Match, Punk knocked Jericho out with a kick to the back of the head, rendering him unable to compete any further in the match. (PHOTOS | RESULTS) And at the end of the night, Jericho delivered a scathing account of what went down in an exclusive backstage interview.
One day later – still seething after what happened at Elimination Chamber – Jericho earned the right to challenge Punk at WrestleMania after winning a 10-Man No. 1 Contender’s Battle Royal on the Feb. 20 edition of Raw SuperShow. The match was arranged by none other than Punk’s favorite nemesis – WWE EVP of Talent Relations and Interim Raw General Manger John Laurinaitis.
Will this latest power play by Laurinaitis finally be the one that helps dethrone Punk? Or, will The Second City Saint manage to yet again thwart Mr. Excitement’s best laid plans.
With both Punk and Jericho claiming to be the best in the world, they’ll now get a chance to prove it at WrestleMania XXVIII. Regardless of who wins, the WWE Universe is sure to witness an epic confrontation on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
On April 1 in Miami, find out who earns the right to truly call himself the best in the world.
A battle-weary CM Punk conveys his real feelings for the Elimination Chamber, and how he intends to walk into – and out of – WrestleMania as the WWE Champion.
Related Links:
WWE.com Exclusive: A wounded but victorious CM Punk looks toward WrestleMania
To the delight of WWE Universe members in the United Arab Emirates, John Cena and his fellow Superstars delivered three action-packed nights during WWE’s first-ever live tour in Abu Dhabi.
CM Punk, Miz and Kofi Kingston react to the first-ever Elimination Chamber debate.
February 9, 2012
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A press conference today to kick off WWE’s first-ever live event tour in Abu Dhabi turned chaotic when Kane attacked John Cena. But, Cena turned things around and put The Big Red Monster through a table in front of members of the media (WATCH).
The altercation comes just days after it was announced Cena and Kane would do battle in an Ambulance Match at the upcoming Elimination Chamber pay-per-view on Feb. 19.
Also present at the press conference were Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis, WWE Champion CM Punk and R-Truth, who are all expected to be in action tonight as part of the Raw live event – the start of WWE’s three-show tour in the United Arab Emirates.
Last month, The Miz stopped in Abu Dhabi to talk with local media about WWE’s first-ever live events in Abu Dhabi.
Stay with WWE.com for more from Abu Dhabi.
Related Links:
Digitals > Other > WWE Overseas 2012 > Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Chris Jericho stole CM Punk’s victory in Monday’s Six-Pack Challenge, but he had plenty more to say about exposing his supposed imitator.
WWE Champion CM Punk evaluates how his match with Dolph Ziggler went Sunday night, and how he would grade the match’s guest official, Raw Interim GM John Laurinaitis.
Related Links:
WWE.com Exclusive: CM Punk talks about retaining the WWE Championship and how he would rate John Laurinaitis’ job performance
