CM Punk Suddenly Quits WWE…Maybe…Probably…We’ll See

On Wednesday TMZ reported that wrestler CM Punk quit the WWE over the role he was supposed to have at the upcoming WrestleMania event. His sudden and shocking departure comes just weeks before the organization’s biggest event of the year.

Given the WWE’s well known flair for the dramatic, at first glance the situation reeks of a publicity stunt aimed at grabbing headlines and generating some early hype for WrestleMania 30. Though people seem to believe this is actually happening.

The drama started on Monday when Punk told Vince McMahon he was returning home to Chicago, which doesn’t sound like a definitive resignation as it’s been described, but that’s exactly how it was taken. The next day he was removed from all upcoming live events, including Monday Night Raw.

A number of hardcore fans quickly noticed the the WWE-released Punk documentary, “Best in the World,” disappeared from Netflix this week. Though it’s unknown if there’s a direct correlation between the two events, the timing is more than a little suggestive.

Punk has apparently been seeing red over the suddenly prominent role of Batista, who he apparently sees as a part-time wrestler lacking the proper physical conditioning. Punk was apparently livid that Batista was scripted to win at the Royal Rumble, setting the stage for him to compete in the title match at WrestleMania.

Apparently being the operative word.

The Batista issue has been widely reported as the catalyst for Punk’s decision to quit, but as is the case with any great WWE storyline, all may not be what it seems. Nick Paglino of WrestleZone.com offers up quite a different—and far less exciting—account, in which Batista plays a much smaller role.

In this alternate universe, Punk might have been upset about the creative choices in the script, but they had nothing to do with this situation. Apparently Punk and Batista are actually good friends and his exit has more to do with being burnt out and a number of nagging injuries he’s been dealing with.

Those are too incredibly differing accounts of the same situation. And how serious to take the news depends on which account you find more believable.

If the Batista angle holds up as the official story, the chance of this being a WWE publicity stunt is pretty good. Either that or Punk has been with the company so long that he’s starting to confuse real life with the explosive story lines that have been playing out around him for years.

If it turns out to be the much less interesting version about him being frustrated, injured and burnt out, well then it’s probably the real deal. The least exciting version of something is usually the truth. Which is why, like all CM Punk fans, I’m hoping it’s the former.

Although, in a way, the latter is a lot more explosive.