Ever since CM Punk signed his WWE contract way back in 2005 there have veritable cornucopia of ever so reliable internet rumors going around that Punk had some "heat" backstage. For those of you who might not know, saying someone has heat on them is a fancy way of saying that people don't like them. In Punk's case it was the higher ups like Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, Michael Hayes, Raw head writer Brian Gerwitz, and even the lord almighty himself, Triple H. Rumors were swirling that Punk had a bad attitude and rubbed people the wrong way.
As with anything read on a wrestling "news" site, I took it with a grain of salt. But was there any truth to it? Let's take a look back at CM Punk's WWE career and see what effect, if any, this backstage heat has had...
September 26, 2005: CM Punk makes his OVW debut.
November 9, 2005: Punk defeats Ken Doane for the OVW Television championship
April 2, 2006: Punk makes his WrestleMania debut as one of the old timey gangsters during John Cena's entrance.
May 3, 2006: CM Punk defeats Brent Albright in a strap match for the OVW Heavyweight championship.
July 28, 2006: OVW Champion CM Punk teams with Seth Skyfire to defeat Shad Gaspard & The Neighborhoodie (better known today as Cryme Tyme) for the OVW Southern Tag Team championships. This makes Punk one of only four men in the company's history to capture the OVW Triple Crown (Heavyweight, Television, and Tag titles).
August 1, 2006: Punk defeats former ECW champion Justin Credible in his WWE television debut on ECW. He would go on to be undefeated in singles competition for more than six months until losing to Hardcore Holly on January 9, 2007.
November 26, 2006: At the Survivor Series, Punk teams with Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Matt & Jeff Hardy to take on the team of Edge, Randy Orton, Johnny Nitro, Mike Knox, and Gregory Helms. During Triple H's usual DX introduction the crowd is chanting so loudly for Punk that even he has to stop and acknowledge it. Punk's team went on to win the match without losing any falls. It was the first 5 on 5 match won with a clean sweep in the history of the Survivor Series.
Summer, 2007: With ECW champion Bobby Lashley over on Raw feuding with Vince McMahon, CM Punk is made the focal point of ECW. He is simultaneously courted by rival factions The ECW Originals and The New Breed.
September 1, 2007: CM Punk defeats John Morrison to for the ECW championship. Punk would hold the title for five months before losing it to Chavo Guerrero.
March 30, 2008: Punk defeats six other superstars to win the Money In the Bank match at WrestleMania XXIV. One of the most high profile matches of the year, it entitles Punk to a shot at any of the three world championships at any time during the next year.
April 21, 2008: CM Punk competes in the 2008 King of the Ring tournament. Punk defeats Matt Hardy in round one and Chris Jericho in round two but ultimately loses to William Regal in the final.
June 30, 2008: CM punk cashes in his Money In the Bank title shot and defeats Edge for the World Heavyweight championship.
And that just about catches us up. Seems Punk's made out pretty well since he came to WWE. Even ignoring all the other accomplishments, winning two world championships inside of two years pretty damn impressive. It took Triple H more than four years to win his first. There are guys who've been with the company for over a decade who haven't accomplished half of what Punk has. If Punk got backstage heat for simply rubbing people the wrong way and still had the career he's had, Val Venis must've raped someone's mother.
Despite all the evidence to the contrary, there are still conspiracy theorists who believe that the people who run WWE have it out for Punk. These people have let it so invade their thought process that they can't enjoy when something good happens to CM Punk because they're sure something bad will soon follow. "Yeah, Punk won Money In the Bank, but I'm sure he'll be the first guy to cash it in and lose." "It's great that Punk won the World title, but he'll just lose it soon." With that attitude, it's impossible to enjoy anything. To paraphrase the late Mitch Hedberg, it's like refusing to eat an apple because you know eventually it will be just a core.
Reading internet rumors is fine. Believing them also fine, just as long as you know not everything can be taken at face value. But when what you're reading on a news site goes directly against what you're seeing on WWE television, it's time to give it up.
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