CM Punk has reflected on his legendary 2011 “Pipe Bomb” promo, arguing in a new interview that despite popular belief, he did not break kayfabe. Instead, he believes the promo’s enduring power comes from the fact that it is still “almost misunderstood” by fans.
Speaking with Allenownz Wrasslin, CM Punk was asked about the perception that his famous promo was one of the first times the curtain was truly pulled back for modern fans. He disagreed with that assessment, contrasting his promo with the 1996 “Curtain Call” incident, which he views as a genuine exposure of the business.
“I did not expose anything. You juxtapose it with the Curtain Call, which was 100% I mean, that pissed off Gerry Brisco,” Punk said. “I would be curious to have anybody try to explain to me how those two things are similar, because they’re drastically, drastically different, right?”
Punk explained that his goal was not to expose the business, but to use real-life issues and sentiments that fans were already aware of and incorporate them into a televised storyline for the first time.
“I took what I knew smart fans to think was taboo, and said things on television that nobody had ever said before in a context within a storyline, right?” he explained. “I did not beat anybody over the head with exposing the business… That, to me, proves how powerful a moment of what I did was, because it’s still almost misunderstood.”