10 Most Important WWE Moments Of 2014 - 2

2A. CM Punk Heads Home

When word first broke that CM Punk had taken his ball and gone home, so to speak, many fans weren’t all that surprised. For one, Punk is a notoriously grumpy person, known for little temper tantrums when he’s unhappy. Two, he had been working an insane schedule, fighting through injuries, for years. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before he needed some time off, but everyone figured he’d be back.

A few weeks without Punk went by, and then a few more, and a few more after that. Punk was taking an unannounced sabbatical from Twitter, making his fans further wonder what was going on. When WWE would do shows in Chicago, people were expecting Punk to return… only to have Punk nowhere to be found. As his time away became multiple months, fans began seeing random media interviews from Punk where he would refer to himself as “retired” or that he was “never” returning to wrestling, WWE or otherwise. It was becoming more and more clear, at least to those that weren’t delusional, that Punk really was gone for good. When you’d see him on television elsewhere, he looked happy. He looked rested. He looked like he was losing weight. All signs of someone that was moving to a new phase in their life. On June 13th, Punk would marry April Mendez, better known as AJ Lee. Punk was infamous for dating woman after woman in the business, so when he settled down and got married, that seemed to be another sign that he was moving on in his life.

Some people became upset with Punk, with the train of thought there being that he walked out, but not on WWE… on us, the wrestling fans. He didn’t “owe” us anything, of course, but his fans were upset that he just up and left, not giving us a final match or even a promo.

For one of the most decorated wrestlers of the last several years to just walk away and not even want to come back is huge news, but it would only get bigger from there…