The wrestling world is buzzing about the abrupt departure of CM Punk from World Wrestling Entertainment. After seven years of being a fixture on WWE television, it appears that following an excellent showing in the 2014 Royal Rumble, Punk has called it quits and headed home for rest, relaxation and whatever else he'd like to do. While the internet collectively loses it's mind over whether Daniel Bryan is being oppressed and the Kane fans lament that we won't get to see the Director of Operations Mr. Haggar Pants versus Punk, we're going to spend a little time reviewing some of the statistics about the CM Punk's career in WWE.
Officially, CM Punk's debut in WWE was on the rebooted ECW program in July 2006 (with his actual televised wrestling debut in August 2006). However, those weren't actually his first televised WWE matches. Rather, a year earlier in 2005, Punk had a pair of matches taped for Sunday Night Heat:
Since he started, he's been a real fixture on WWE TV.
Match Stats
With some assistance from the excellent
Cagematch.net website, take a look at these monthly match stats:
Really, in over seven years, there's only two months where Punk didn't have any matches recorded: November 2010 and May 2013. (You can see a few other periods of reduced activity - largely clustered such as November & December 2010, April & May & June 2013 as well as July 2010 and December 2012.)
On an average year, Punk wrestled at about 148 shows and had about 166 matches.
He did double-duty at about 9% the shows, namely wrestling on TV then again in the dark match after the cameras turned off. This was particularly true in in 2008, 2011 and 2012.
He really was in the upper-echelon for most matches - particularly 2007-2009.
Approximate Most Matches in WWE (2007-2013)
2007: Batista (159), MVP (142), Jeff Hardy (140), Randy Orton (139), Finlay (132),
CM Punk (130), Kane (129), Carlito (126)
2008: CM Punk (169), Kane (157), John Morrison (143), Cody Rhodes (142), Kofi Kingston (139), MVP (139), Shelton Benjamin (139), HHH (137)
2009: CM Punk (197), John Cena (181), Kofi Kingston (178), Randy Orton (178), Big Show (170), Chris Jericho (167), Jack Swagger (165), Christian (160)
2010: Kofi Kingston (183), Sheamus (181), The Miz (178), Jack Swagger (178), John Cena (176), The Big Show (174), Randy Orton (174)... CM Punk (108) ...
2011: Randy Orton (208), John Cena (200), Alberto Del Rio (197), The Miz (191), Kofi Kingston (187),
CM Punk (183), Dolph Ziggler (183), Daniel Bryan (176), Sheamus (175)
2012: Sheamus (218), The Big Show (214), Daniel Bryan (214), Kane (199), Kofi Kingston (197), Dolph Ziggler (193), John Cena (184), Santino Marella (182),
CM Punk (177), Cody Rhodes (171)
2013: Daniel Bryan (227), Dean Ambrose (215), Seth Rollins (211), Randy Orton (209), Antonio Cesaro (206), Roman Reigns (201), Ryback (195)... CM Punk (111)
(combination of stats from cagematch, wrestling observer, the history of WWE and personal records)
WWE Opponents
CM Punk Opponents
| Name |
singles |
tag |
rumble |
handicap |
Total |
John Cena
|
62
|
41
|
5
|
|
108
|
Rey Mysterio
|
55
|
27
|
5
|
|
87
|
John Morrison
|
42
|
29
|
8
|
1
|
80
|
The Miz
|
37
|
32
|
8
|
2
|
79
|
Kane
|
46
|
21
|
10
|
1
|
78
|
Chris Jericho
|
50
|
17
|
3
|
1
|
71
|
Randy Orton
|
21
|
39
|
5
|
|
65
|
Dolph Ziggler
|
40
|
8
|
7
|
|
55
|
Alberto Del
Rio
|
44
|
7
|
4
|
|
55
|
The Big Show
|
29
|
17
|
6
|
2
|
54
|
Chavo
Guerrero
|
39
|
7
|
5
|
|
51
|
Daniel Bryan
|
35
|
11
|
3
|
1
|
50
|
The
Undertaker
|
30
|
14
|
3
|
2
|
49
|
R-Truth
|
25
|
16
|
7
|
1
|
49
|
Ryback
|
25
|
17
|
2
|
1
|
45
|
Edge
|
13
|
21
|
5
|
|
39
|
Curtis Axel
|
18
|
3
|
3
|
11
|
35
|
Elijah Burke
|
20
|
13
|
2
|
|
35
|
Mark Henry
|
16
|
13
|
5
|
1
|
35
|
William Regal
|
25
|
5
|
3
|
|
33
|
Cody Rhodes
|
2
|
22
|
9
|
|
33
|
Matt Hardy
|
12
|
14
|
6
|
|
32
|
Shelton
Benjamin
|
14
|
10
|
7
|
|
31
|
Mike Knox
|
28
|
1
|
1
|
|
30
|
Kofi Kingston
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
|
30
|
Jeff Hardy
|
23
|
1
|
2
|
|
26
|
Dean Ambrose
|
2
|
8
|
1
|
14
|
25
|
Roman Reigns
|
1
|
8
|
1
|
14
|
24
|
Seth Rollins
|
1
|
8
|
1
|
14
|
24
|
MVP
|
8
|
6
|
8
|
|
22
|
Matt Striker
|
12
|
4
|
2
|
4
|
22
|
Batista
|
13
|
4
|
4
|
|
21
|
Luke Harper
|
3
|
13
|
1
|
1
|
18
|
Big Daddy V
|
6
|
5
|
1
|
5
|
17
|
Christian
|
7
|
7
|
3
|
|
17
|
Jack Swagger
|
6
|
4
|
7
|
|
17
|
JBL
|
12
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
17
|
The Great
Khali
|
5
|
3
|
8
|
|
16
|
Snitsky
|
11
|
3
|
2
|
|
16
|
Triple H
|
3
|
8
|
3
|
2
|
16
|
Erick Rowan
|
|
13
|
1
|
1
|
15
|
Kevin Thorn
|
11
|
2
|
1
|
|
14
|
Sheamus
|
9
|
1
|
3
|
|
13
|
Paul Heyman
|
|
|
|
12
|
12
|
Marcus Cor
Von
|
5
|
6
|
1
|
|
12
|
Hardcore
Holly
|
9
|
1
|
2
|
|
12
|
Stevie
Richards
|
11
|
|
|
|
11
|
Manu
|
2
|
9
|
|
|
11
|
JTG
|
2
|
2
|
7
|
|
11
|
Carlito
|
5
|
2
|
4
|
|
11
|
Ted DiBiase
|
|
6
|
4
|
|
10
|
Umaga
|
8
|
1
|
1
|
|
10
|
Finlay
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
|
10
|
Zack Ryder
|
3
|
1
|
5
|
|
9
|
Chris Masters
|
1
|
1
|
6
|
|
8
|
Chuck Palumbo
|
7
|
|
1
|
|
8
|
Santino
Marella
|
2
|
|
6
|
|
8
|
Tyson Kidd
|
|
5
|
2
|
|
7
|
Tommy Dreamer
|
4
|
|
3
|
|
7
|
Shawn
Michaels
|
|
3
|
3
|
|
6
|
Tyler Reks
|
|
1
|
5
|
|
6
|
Drew McIntyre
|
|
|
6
|
|
6
|
David Otunga
|
|
2
|
4
|
|
6
|
Mr Kennedy
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
6
|
David Hart
Smith
|
|
5
|
|
|
5
|
Justin
Gabriel
|
|
1
|
4
|
|
5
|
Rob Van Dam
|
2
|
|
3
|
|
5
|
Evan Bourne
|
2
|
|
3
|
|
5
|
Bray Wyatt
|
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
5
|
Rene Dupree
|
5
|
|
|
|
5
|
Vladimir
Kozlov
|
|
|
5
|
|
5
|
Jerry Lawler
|
2
|
3
|
|
|
5
|
Booker T
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
|
5
|
Undoubtedly, an enormous milestone in his WWE run was his electrifying program with John Cena leading into the Money in the Bank PPV held in Punk's home city of Chicago in 2011. It seems appropriate then that Punk's most frequent opponent in WWE was also John Cena. However, that's only if you include every house show, every dark match and every time the two were both in the same royal rumble or battle royal. If you limit yourself to televised encounters, Punk's most frequent opponent on WWE TV was "Guru of Greatness" John Morrison.
Televised CM Punk Opponents
| Name |
Raw |
PPV |
Sm! |
ECW |
Other |
Total |
John Morrison
|
6
|
10
|
11
|
17
|
3
|
47
|
The Miz
|
13
|
6
|
2
|
11
|
3
|
35
|
Rey Mysterio
|
7
|
9
|
11
|
|
1
|
28
|
Kane
|
14
|
4
|
7
|
1
|
1
|
27
|
John Cena
|
17
|
7
|
2
|
|
0
|
26
|
Chris Jericho
|
13
|
6
|
3
|
|
1
|
23
|
R-Truth
|
6
|
5
|
8
|
1
|
0
|
20
|
Daniel Bryan
|
13
|
4
|
3
|
|
0
|
20
|
Randy Orton
|
10
|
7
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
19
|
Mark Henry
|
9
|
4
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
19
|
The Big Show
|
6
|
8
|
3
|
|
1
|
18
|
Edge
|
5
|
3
|
9
|
|
1
|
18
|
Chavo
Guerrero
|
|
2
|
4
|
11
|
0
|
17
|
Alberto Del
Rio
|
10
|
5
|
1
|
|
1
|
17
|
Elijah Burke
|
|
3
|
|
13
|
0
|
16
|
Matt Hardy
|
3
|
1
|
11
|
|
1
|
16
|
Shelton Benjamin
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
0
|
15
|
Dean Ambrose
|
6
|
1
|
6
|
|
0
|
13
|
Dolph Ziggler
|
8
|
2
|
2
|
|
0
|
12
|
Roman Reigns
|
6
|
1
|
5
|
|
0
|
12
|
Seth Rollins
|
6
|
1
|
5
|
|
0
|
12
|
Cody Rhodes
|
8
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
11
|
Ryback
|
5
|
4
|
1
|
|
0
|
10
|
William Regal
|
8
|
1
|
|
|
1
|
10
|
Christian
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
10
|
MVP
|
1
|
3
|
5
|
1
|
0
|
10
|
The
Undertaker
|
|
5
|
5
|
|
0
|
10
|
Jeff Hardy
|
1
|
5
|
3
|
|
0
|
9
|
Curtis Axel
|
5
|
1
|
2
|
|
0
|
8
|
Big Daddy V
|
|
2
|
1
|
4
|
1
|
8
|
Sheamus
|
4
|
2
|
|
|
1
|
7
|
Luke Harper
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
|
2
|
7
|
Jack Swagger
|
4
|
2
|
|
1
|
0
|
7
|
Triple H
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
|
0
|
7
|
JBL
|
4
|
1
|
|
|
1
|
6
|
Stevie
Richards
|
|
|
|
6
|
0
|
6
|
Kofi Kingston
|
2
|
4
|
|
|
0
|
6
|
Batista
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
|
0
|
6
|
Matt Striker
|
|
1
|
|
5
|
0
|
6
|
Finlay
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
6
|
Hardcore
Holly
|
|
1
|
|
5
|
0
|
6
|
Erick Rowan
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
|
2
|
6
|
Carlito
|
3
|
1
|
|
|
1
|
5
|
Mike Knox
|
|
1
|
|
4
|
0
|
5
|
Marcus Cor
Von
|
|
1
|
|
4
|
0
|
5
|
Mr Kennedy
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
Ted DiBiase
|
3
|
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
(Other includes Tribute to the Troops, Superstars, NXT on SyFy, Sunday Night Heat, Saturday Night's Main Event and Main Event. Note: This number excludes rumbles.)
Punk's most common partners for televised bouts were Luke Gallows (16), Kofi Kingston (14), Kane (11), John Cena (10), Daniel Bryan (9), Sheamus (7), Rey Mysterio (7), Cody Rhodes (6), R-Truth (6), Jeff Hardy (6), Dolph Ziggler (5), Matt Hardy (5), Jimmy Uso (4), Jey Uso (4), Tommy Dreamer (4), Goldust (3), Chris Jericho (3), MVP (3), Alberto Del Rio (3), Evan Bourne (3), John Morrison (3), The Miz (3), Drew McIntyre (3) and Randy Orton (3).
Broadening the scope to all events, Punk's most common partners overall were Luke Gallows (27), The Miz (25), Kofi Kingston (23), Chris Jericho (22), John Cena (18), Daniel Bryan (17), Dolph Ziggler (14), Alberto Del Rio (13), Kane (13), Tommy Dreamer (13), Sheamus (12), Rey Mysterio (11), Batista (9), Jeff Hardy (8), Cody Rhodes (8), R-Truth (8), Shawn Michaels (7), The Big Show (6), John Morrison (6), Matt Hardy (5) and Randy Orton (5).
Frequent Punk Opponents by Year:
2006: Mike Knox, Hardcore Holly, Stevie Richards, Rene Dupree, Shannon Moore, Test
2007: Elijah Burke, John Morrison, Matt Striker, Big Daddy V, Marcus Cor Von, The Miz, Snitsky, Kevin Thorn
2008: Chavo Guerrero Jr, John Morrison, Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes, Shelton Benjamin, JBL, The Miz
2009: The Undertaker, Jeff Hardy, William Regal, Kane, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, Matt Hardy
2010: Rey Mysterio, The Big Show, Kane, Edge, The Undertaker, R-Truth, John Morrison
2011: John Cena, Alberto Del Rio, Randy Orton, The Miz, R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, Mark Henry
2012: Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, Ryback, Kane, The Big Show, The Miz, John Cena
2013: Curtis Axel, Ryback, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan, The Shield, John Cena
2014: The Shield
It's especially noteworthy that Punk & Cena faced off 73 times in 2011 alone. Next highest in a single year was the
Punk versus Alberto Del Rio in 2011 (47 times) and
Punk versus Daniel Bryan in 2012 (46 times) followed by
Punk versus Rey Mysterio in 2010 (43 times),
Punk versus Chavo Guerrero Jr in 2008 (41 times),
Punk versus Dolph Ziggler in 2012 (39 times),
Punk versus Randy Orton in 2011 (36 times) and
Punk versus The Undertaker in 2009 (34 times).
Not counting rumbles, Punk wrestled in PPV matches against at least 57 wrestlers. Among his frequent opponents, the only ones that he
didn't battle on a pay-per-view were Gene Snitsky, Kevin Thorn, Stevie Richards, Manu, The Great Khali, Chuck Palumbo, Ted DiBiase Jr, DH Smith, Tyson Kidd, Jerry Lawler (though they did wrestle thrice on Raw), and Rene Dupree.
Win-Loss Record
Punk's WWE Win/Loss Record
2006: 64-2-2 (97.0% win)
2007: 103-28-0 (78.6% win)
2008: 109-54-3 (66.9% win)
2009: 95-89-1 (51.6% win)
2010: 29-82-3 (26.1% win)
2011: 72-104-10 (40.9% win)
2012: 120-48-9 (71.4% win)
2013: 82-26-3 (75.9% win)
2014: 9-4-0 (69.2% win)
Total: 683-437-31 (61.0% win)
If you decide to split out "clean losses" from "loss via DQ" or "loss via count out", the only year of significant difference is 2012. Punk's record that year was 118 clean wins, 2 wins by DQ, 2 losses by count out, 31 losses by DQ, 1 loss by reverse decision (w/ Jericho & Bryan vs David Otunga, Dolph Ziggler & Mark Henry on 1/16/12 Raw) and only 14 clean losses in 2012. Only three of those clean losses were singles matches: 5/28/12 Daniel Bryan beat CM Punk, 6/4/12 Kane beat CM Punk and 11/12/12 Cena beat CM Punk (with Foley as the special enforcer). As noted, most of Punk's losses in 2012 were as a result of a disqualification.
(Green bars represent # of matches each month, blue line is monthly win percentage; red line is the 3 month weighted win percentage. Keep in mind that heels lose a lot, especially at live events.)
OCELOT
Recently, as part of the
Dave Meltzer WWF PPV Star Analysis Project, I refreshed my Overly Complicated ELO Theorem (OCELOT) ratings using Cagematch results 1963-2013 with a simplified k-value system.
Astute Observers may be able to correlate specific gains and drops with CM Punk's heel/face status along with which titles he was competing for.
Great WWE PPV Matches with CM Punk
(Match listing courtesy of Cagematch.net)
4/1/07: WWE WrestleMania 23 - "All Grown Up"
Eight Man Money In The Bank Ladder: Mr. Kennedy defeats CM Punk and Edge and Finlay and Jeff Hardy and King Booker and Matt Hardy and Randy Orton (19:11)
4/5/09: WWE WrestleMania 25
Money In The Bank Ladder: CM Punk defeats Christian and Finlay (w/Hornswoggle) and Kane and Kofi Kingston and Mark Henry (w/Tony Atlas) and Montel Vontavious Porter and Shelton Benjamin (14:24)
8/23/09: WWE SummerSlam 2009
World Heavyweight Title Tables, Ladders & Chairs: CM Punk defeats Jeff Hardy (c) (21:35)
5/23/10: WWE Over The Limit 2010
S.E.S. Pledge vs. Hair: Rey Mysterio defeats CM Punk (13:49)
2/20/11: WWE Elimination Chamber 2011
WWE Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership Elimination Chamber: John Cena defeats CM Punk and John Morrison and King Sheamus and R-Truth and Randy Orton (33:15)
6/19/11: WWE Capitol Punishment 2011
CM Punk defeats Rey Mysterio (14:58)
7/17/11: WWE Money In The Bank 2011
WWE Heavyweight Title: CM Punk defeats John Cena (c) (33:45)
9/18/11: WWE Night Of Champions 2011
No Disqualification: Triple H defeats CM Punk (24:01)
10/2/11: WWE Hell In A Cell 2011
WWE Heavyweight Title Triple Threat Hell In A Cell: Alberto Del Rio defeats CM Punk and John Cena (c) (24:08)
12/18/11: WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2011
WWE Heavyweight Title Triple Threat Tables, Ladders & Chairs: CM Punk (c) defeats Alberto Del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) and The Miz (18:50)
4/1/12: WWE WrestleMania XXVIII
WWE Heavyweight Title: CM Punk (c) defeats Chris Jericho (22:23)
5/20/12: WWE Over The Limit 2012
WWE Heavyweight Title: CM Punk (c) defeats Daniel Bryan (23:58)
7/15/12: WWE Money In The Bank 2012
WWE Heavyweight Title No Disqualification Match (Special Referee: AJ): CM Punk (c) defeats Daniel Bryan (27:47)
9/16/12: WWE Night Of Champions 2012
WWE Heavyweight Title: CM Punk (c) vs. John Cena - Double Pin (26:54)
1/27/13: WWE Royal Rumble 2013
WWE Heavyweight Title: The Rock defeats CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) (c) (23:17)
4/7/13: WWE WrestleMania XXIX
The Undertaker defeats CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) (22:07)
6/16/13: WWE Payback 2013
CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) defeats Chris Jericho (21:20)
7/14/13: WWE Money In The Bank 2013
WWE Heavyweight Title Contract Money In The Bank Ladder: Randy Orton defeats Christian and CM Punk and Daniel Bryan and Rob Van Dam and Sheamus (26:38)
8/18/13: WWE SummerSlam 2013
No Disqualification: Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) defeats CM Punk (25:19)
