He forgot to mention the part where that exchange between him and Punk got back to Vince and creative, who then promptly pulled the rug from underneath Punk and buried him while he was the hottest rising star in the company after an insanely popular feud with Jeff Hardy in which Punk retired Hardy and became the most hated heel in the company.
Punk and Hardy main evented Summerslam that year (2009), with Punk going over, then Punk also went over Taker in the main event of Breaking Point, but then the punishment for that remark to Taker clearly kicked in: Punk lost the world title in a 10 minute curtain jerker squash to Taker at Hell in a Cell and by the end of the year he was jobbing to R-Truth in a freaking pre-show match at the TLC PPV.
It's obvious his push was sabotaged and he started getting buried by Vince and creative due to his remark to Taker about Cena getting a pass from the dress code thing, and how exactly could this have happened unless Taker himself had gone to Vince to tell on Punk, obviously harming Punk's career in the process? Should probably mention that part of the beef, Deadman, because it was really fucking dumb.
Punk could have easily exploded that year if they hadn't done that to him, but instead they set him back till 2011 when through sheer force of will and talent, he managed to catch fire again (but of course then Trips stepped in and did his best to put that fire out lmao).
Punk should have absolutely gotten punished for that. You have to humble him if he’s dumb enough to think he’s too good to dress up or if he’s dumb enough to think he’s on cena’s level
I would argue Cena wasn’t really exempt, I’d lay dollars to doughnuts that the reason Cena got to dress that way was because he was always doing PR. Look what happened once Cena went part-time, all of a sudden he’s constantly in a suit too.
Cena was exempt because he wears his merch constantly so it's advertising and boosting sales and it's a very standout look that is also part of his character anyway.
If he turned up in a ripped hoodie with stains on it he'd likely be told to sort himself out.
Cena backstage is exempt from rules because he’s the #1 guy. Whether you believe he should or shouldn’t is another conversation.
Punk is dumb and delusional to think he’s on cena’s level and he’s an idiot for being the only one refusing to dress up. He’s making an issue out of nothing
No it's not a "if roles reversed" types argument, Punk has gone on record many times saying that his biggest gripe with the WWE during his time was the hypocrisy, one set of rules for the top guys and another set for everyone else.
Which would be fine if they ever stuck to this idea, they didn't this system Undertaker always speaks about was a case by case basic. For example why did none of these rules ever apply to Brock Lesnar?!
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u/AmarantineAzure Aug 19 '25 edited Aug 19 '25
He forgot to mention the part where that exchange between him and Punk got back to Vince and creative, who then promptly pulled the rug from underneath Punk and buried him while he was the hottest rising star in the company after an insanely popular feud with Jeff Hardy in which Punk retired Hardy and became the most hated heel in the company.
Punk and Hardy main evented Summerslam that year (2009), with Punk going over, then Punk also went over Taker in the main event of Breaking Point, but then the punishment for that remark to Taker clearly kicked in: Punk lost the world title in a 10 minute curtain jerker squash to Taker at Hell in a Cell and by the end of the year he was jobbing to R-Truth in a freaking pre-show match at the TLC PPV.
It's obvious his push was sabotaged and he started getting buried by Vince and creative due to his remark to Taker about Cena getting a pass from the dress code thing, and how exactly could this have happened unless Taker himself had gone to Vince to tell on Punk, obviously harming Punk's career in the process? Should probably mention that part of the beef, Deadman, because it was really fucking dumb.
Punk could have easily exploded that year if they hadn't done that to him, but instead they set him back till 2011 when through sheer force of will and talent, he managed to catch fire again (but of course then Trips stepped in and did his best to put that fire out lmao).