In his prime, CM Punk was as durable as was controversial. He was undoubtedly always one of the hardest workers on any roster he was ever on. And the fans always respected this about him. His recent drama at AEW shouldn't take away from the fact that CM Punk has made a huge impact as a wrestler despite a ton of obstacles. Many of those obstacles were self-imposed, but others were untimely injuries.
It would not be accurate to call Punk "injury prone" over his entire career. Still, wrestling is one of the most grueling forms of entertainment on the planet, and "the best in the world" has not worked his entire career without suffering a few injuries. He very famously suffered a serious back injury when he was pursuing MMA fighting in 2016, but this list will examine every major injury that Punk endured over the course of his wrestling career.
6 Fractured Skull - 2002
CM Punk may have gone on to become a headlining act in WWE and AEW, but his career had humble beginnings. In 2002, Punk competed in a match which resulted in him suffering a fractured skull.
As he explained to Sky Sports in 2009, Punk thought he had broke his neck at first as he had just performed a neckbreaker move. But what had actually happened was his face got smashed by his opponent's head on the way down. It didn't stop there though as Punk said:
"It felt like somebody took a pot of warm water and poured it inside my brain. Everything got hot so I thought I broke my neck. I still had feelings so like a knucklehead I continued to wrestle for 12 more minutes. Afterward it was a chore to walk from the ring to the back and as soon as I got in the back I hit the floor and couldn't get up. I couldn't open my eyes, I couldn't see and was throwing up."
5 Hip Injury - 2010
After debuting on the WWE main roster, CM Punk rarely stopped wrestling due to injury. In fact, he went from a new superstar in the WWE's ECW reboot to a WWE world champion without missing any significant amount of time in the ring. After Bragging Rights 2010, Punk was sidelined with a hip injury. Bragging Rights would be the last pay-per-view he competed in 2010.
He wasn't able to perform in the ring, but he was given a spot on commentary to keep him on television. He didn't wrestle another televised match until a January episode of Raw in 2011. It was the first time (since he had risen up the WWE card) Punk missed more than a few months of in-ring action.
4 Torn Meniscus - 2012
In 2012, CM Punk became one of the longest reigning WWE Champions of all time holding the title for 434 days. He also suffered another major injury in 2012 after he defended the title in a great feud against John Cena. Punk suffered a torn meniscus that required surgery and forced him to miss his match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2012. A few days after leaving action, he became the longest reigning WWE Champion in 25 years.
The injury was so bad that a piece of meniscus had to be removed to stop his knee from locking up. CM Punk missed action for over a month and continued his reign as WWE Champion until he was defeated by The Rock at the Royal Rumble.
3 Broken Ribs - 2013
CM Punk's session with his (former) friend Colt Cobana continues to make waves in the wrestling world. Along with dishing on a ton of issues that he had with the WWE, CM Punk also spoke about injuries he dealt with. A potential missed staph infection was one of the eye-popping claims. He also spoke a ton about wrestling Ryback and how he did not enjoy competing against him.
Punk half-heartedly joked that Ryback was on steroids but then accused him of intentionally breaking his ribs. He also cited that having to work with Ryback, despite his protests, was another issue on top of a long list of items that led to his departure from the WWE in 2013.
2 Broken Foot - 2022
Punk's return to wrestling at AEW in 2021 was not only a big moment for the company but was a major moment in wrestling history. Many assumed that Punk would never step foot in a wrestling ring again. He was a perfect complement to a ton of up-and-coming stars at the company and had great feuds with Darby Allin and MJF. Most of his first year went without a hitch, and then he entered the AEW title scene.
The buildup to Double Or Nothing 2022 saw CM Punk become the number one contender for Adam Page's AEW Championship. The storyline for this feud was pretty random and there wasn't a ton of build-up. Adam Page randomly stated that he was trying to "protect the company from CM Punk," which turned out to have much bigger implications later on. CM Punk won the AEW title and seemed destined to have a "summer of Punk II" at the company, but his reign would only last a few days. In his very next match, on Dynamite, CM Punk broke his foot. He wasn't forced to vacate his title but did miss the entire summer due to the injury.
1 Torn Tricep - 2022
Punk returned from injury and battled John Moxley, the interim AEW champion, in a losing effort. The storyline showed that Punk was still dealing with foot issues and even seemed to be considering throwing in the towel at AEW. Backstage, there was a ton of drama going on especially since Punk felt disrespected by some of Page's comments.
Nonetheless, at All Out 2022 CM Punk ended up defeating John Moxley to win back the AEW Championship. During the match, Punk suffered an arm injury that bothered him throughout the bout. The media scrum that followed was one of the most shocking moments in the history of AEW.
Punk accused Page (and others at the company) of going into business for themselves. This led to a backstage scrum that forced him to vacate the AEW Championship and, worst of all, he suffered a torn tricep injury meaning even if the drama could have been avoided Punk would have likely been forced to vacate the AEW Championship due to injury anyway.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErKeoqqSowaa%2BjZympmeVq7KzxYymmKOnomK2r7bUq7Bmm51ivba6ymauq52jqbmqusZmmpqqlZq%2FbrHXqaOaoZ6asW7D1p5kmp2nZA%3D%3D