CM Punk has looked back on the moment he knew his 2011 pipe bomb promo had connected, and it came down to a three-word reaction from Vince McMahon backstage.
Speaking on What’s Your Story? with Steph McMahon, the newly crowned Undisputed WWE Champion recalled what the WWE boss said to him after he walked back through the curtain.
“When I came back it was ‘I smell money,’ is what he said,” Punk said of McMahon. “At the time, that was the stamp of approval, that was it. That was everything right there.”
The promo aired on the June 27, 2011 episode of WWE Raw. Sitting cross-legged at the top of the entrance ramp, Punk aired a long list of grievances about WWE and its management, referenced promotions such as Ring of Honor and NJPW, and pointed to his contract, which was set to expire the following month. He went on to defeat John Cena for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank in his hometown of Chicago.
Earlier in the same conversation, Punk framed the Summer of Punk as the stretch where he felt he had finally “leveled up.” As transcribed by Fightful, he said the run left him with “fond memories” and described the pipe bomb itself as “just magic.”
“I feel like I busted my a*** in my career to get to that moment where I was finally recognized,” Punk said. “I can either go home and squander this or I can ride this lightning bolt, and I rode the lightning bolt and it really made me feel like I had finally leveled up.”
He returned to programming this month and defeated Sami Zayn to win the Undisputed WWE Championship. His first defense is set against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam.
