CM Punk Reflects On The Pipe Bomb, Explains Why It’s Misunderstood And Misrepresented

In 2011, CM Punk cut what is considered to be one of, if not there, best promos in WWE history when he aired his grievances about the company and broke the fourth wall.

The promo has been dubbed the “Pipe Bomb,” and immediately catapulted Punk to the top of every “best on the microphone” list.

Speaking to Matt Barnes on All The Smoke, Punk reflected on the promo.

“I was told to air my grievances. I was leaving. I think my contract was up the 17th of July. I was pretty burnt out and they were actively trying to get me to re-sign. My headspace was, ‘I think I just need some time off.’ I just had my first surgery, that was not fun, I didn’t get to take a break. I just wanted some downtime. I was told to air my grievances. [Do you really want that?] That’s exactly what I said. I was met with, [Vince McMahon voice] ‘Why would I ask you to air your grievances if I don’t want you to?’ ‘This is a controlled environment.’ ‘Let me approve it.’ I don’t think it’s a secret, I thought I was the best, so I had to figure out how to do this, make it good, but also make it real. I know he wouldn’t have approved anything I wanted to say. This became a, I’m leaving anyway, what the fuck are they going to do, fire me? I’m also responsible and professional, so I’m not going to swear or get us kicked off USA Network or say anything that is low-hanging fruit or edgy to be edgy. A lot of the times, we fall into that hole. I’ve done it. I try not to. It happens sometimes.

“Sometimes, your instincts are off. My instincts were dead on for that Pipe Bomb promo where I was so full of piss and vinnegar and I had such a chip on my shoulder. It’s really about knowing what buttons to press. Say three things that are irrefutably true, and then one thing you can wildly lie about. Everyone will be confused and won’t know. I wove this masterpiece of a painting where I’m in and out, I’m toeing the line. I bring it back to yell at the fans because they start cheering. Really, what I had to do was two promos. I had to write the one that was going to get approved, and I had to go out there and know this is the instance where it’s much better to ask forgiveness than permission. You can’t always do that, and many people have tried post-Pipebomb, and many people have failed. It’s easy to point, ‘He did it.’ You don’t really understand what I did,” he said. “To this day, I think that promo is so misunderstood and misrepresented. It stands alone in history as that’s the promo.”

Elsewhere during the interview, Punk discussed his latest Pipe Bomb aimed at Pat McAfee. You can find his full comments here.

Punk will defend the WWE World Heavyweight Title against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42.

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit and link to the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.