Does CM Punk belong in the WON HOF?

With CM Punk apparently retiring in 2014 and reaching the magic eligibility age (35), it's an interesting question whether CM Punk will qualify for the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.

Some thoughts:

1. Greatest 100 Wrestling Stars

When Steve Yohe organized votes for the "Greatest 100 Wrestling Stars", the list (published Dec 2013) had CM Punk finishing at #184. Punk finished right around some Japanese wrestlers who are in the HOF (Dump Matsumoto, Kazushi Sakuraba, Hiroshi Tanahashi) and some wrestler who are not (Tom Connors, Josh Barnett, Little Beaver).

Given the giant time-frame for eligible wrestlers (1860 to 2013) and the open-ended criteria ("while drawing & Box Office, importance outside of wrestling, longevity, working ability, style influence were all encouraged as criteria to consider, it was left it open to interpretation of the individual voters.") along with who were the voters (not biggest fans of modern product), I'm not surprised Punk finished so low.

By contrast, Bret Hart was #42, Shawn Michaels was #49, Randy Savage was #38, Triple H was #85, Undertaker was #50, John Cena was #45 and Ric Flair was #7, Hulk Hogan was #3, The Rock was #18, Bruno was #6. 

Thus, it seems like CM Punk was seen as more like a fourth or fifth tier wrestler in the eyes of the historians that voted in this poll. I think that's a little harsh.
2. Annual WON Awards

Let's look at something with a much larger pool of voters.  Here's some notes from CM Punk's finishes in the WON Awards:

2013 LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR): #5. C.M. Punk
2013 MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: #4. C.M. Punk
2013 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #2. C.M. Punk
2013 MOST CHARISMATIC: #6. C.M. Punk
2012 LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR): #2. C.M. Punk
2012 MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: #5. C.M. Punk
2012 BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW: #9. C.M. Punk
2012 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #1. C.M. PUNK
2012 MOST CHARISMATIC: #4. C.M. Punk
2011 LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR): #2. C.M. Punk
2011 MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: #6. C.M. Punk
2011 BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW: #4. C.M. Punk
2011 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #1. C.M. PUNK
2011 MOST CHARISMATIC: #3. C.M. Punk
2011 BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER: #10. C.M. Punk
2011 MOST OVERRATED: #9. C.M. Punk
2011 BEST GIMMICK: #1. C.M. PUNK
2010 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #3. C.M. Punk
2010 MOST CHARISMATIC: #9. C.M. Punk
2010 BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER: #3. C.M. Punk
2009 LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR) : #4. C.M. Punk
2009 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #2. C.M. Punk
2009 MOST CHARISMATIC: #7. C.M. Punk
2008 MOST OVERRATED: #8. C.M. Punk
2008 MOST UNDERRATED: #7. C.M. Punk
2006 BEST GIMMICK: #4. C.M. Punk
2005 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #2. CM Punk
2005 MOST UNDERRATED: #7. CM Punk
2004 MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: #9. C.M. Punk
2004 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #5. C.M. Punk
2004 BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER: #8. C.M. Punk
2003 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #5. CM Punk
2003 BEST GIMMICK: #2. CM Punk

This paints the picture of a guy who had a good gimmick and was a great talker. 

He was a very good wrestler, often the best in North America (Tanahashi won 2012 & 2011). But I notice that the time-frame (mostly 2008- 2013) is pretty compressed. And there's nothing special about Box Office numbers to call out.

CM Punk certainly had some good feuds:
2013 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 4. C.M. Punk vs. Brock Lesnar (23) 623
2013 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 5. C.M. Punk vs. Paul Heyman (82) 535
2013 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 10. C.M. Punk vs. The Rock (6) 142
2012 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 4. C.M. Punk vs. Daniel Bryan (49) 512
2012 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 6. John Cena vs. C.M. Punk (16) 291
2011 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 1. JOHN CENA VS. C.M. PUNK (190) 1,551
2010 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 9. Rey Mysterio vs. C.M. Punk (13) 309
2009 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 1. C.M. PUNK VS. JEFF HARDY (302) 2,201
2004 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 3. Samoa Joe vs. C.M. Punk (138) 1242
2004 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 9. C.M. Punk vs. Ricky Steamboat (16) 172
2003 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 2. Raven / CM Punk

And some great matches:
2013 WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR: 4. Brock Lesnar vs. C.M. Punk 8/18, Los Angeles, CA (76 first place votes)
2013 WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR: 10. Undertaker vs. C.M. Punk 4/7 East Rutherford, NJ (15 first place votes)
2012 PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR: 8. C.M. Punk vs. Daniel Bryan 5/20 Raleigh (4 first place votes)
2011 WORKED MATCH OF THE YEAR: 1. JOHN CENA VS. C.M. PUNK 7/17 CHICAGO (333 first place votes) 
2004 WORKED MATCH OF THE YEAR: 3. Samoa Joe vs. C.M. Punk 10/16 Chicago Ridge (163 first place votes)
2004 WORKED MATCH OF THE YEAR: 7. Samoa Joe vs. C.M. Punk 6/12 Dayton (12 first place votes)

Still, you can look at other people who had hot, short careers.  Examples like Mistico (who was a much hotter box office star in Mexico) or Bob Sapp in Japan but neither would be considered "top tier" or probably barely "second tier" once you take them out of their limited time-frame context.

3. Final Thoughts

Ironically, CM Punk left the company during the year that he likely would have had the highest profile. As you look at Daniel Bryan being injured, the company using part-time returning stars (Jericho, Batista, RVD) and programming super part-timer Brock Lesnar (currently in a major SummerSlam feud with John Cena), it's easy to imagine CM Punk playing an enormous role in 2014 WWE. However, he took off after the Royal Rumble and so instead we're only left with the prior years to judge him. Will he return in a few years to the ring? Only time will tell.

However, at this point, I am not convinced that CM Punk will be garnering my vote in the 2014 iteration of the WON HOF ballot.