For starters I'm SHOCKED you're insulting CM Punk, whos from Chicago. Thats ironic.
And lolololol Punk was the absolute perfect choice to follow in the line of Hogan, Stone Cold and Cena as the face of the operation. He never had a chance to carry the torch because McMahon never put him in a Wrestlemania main event. Punk had everything you'd pretty much want for your franchise guy, everything from wrestling ability, charisma, fan appeal and personality.
Wat? Brooks had a title match and a match with Taker. Those
are main event matches no matter what Phil Brooks wants to complain about in any YouTube shoot after the fact. The fact he never ended the show in the last match is irrelevant, it's friggin WM, it's not like people aren't watching him regardless.
As for Punk being on the top tier, that's open for discussion. Nobody is discrediting his in ring talent, so long as he had somebody willing to work with him. I think his promos are extremely over rated and we're constructed too try hard after the "unscripted" pipe bomb where everything had to come across as a complete shoot and had to be shocking. It worked for awhile, then the shocking live shoot became passe. Punk killed it because, just like garbage wrestling, once you keep throwing it out there every week it's gets old, and he just didn't either have the talent or the screen writers just didn't have the skill to keep it fresh.
The E pushed Punk. They pushed him way over his talent level. They gave him a long run on top with the belt. They gave him the torch, then found out he was a complete diva and washed their hands of him. And no, I can't put him on the level of a Hogan or Austin, he was never larger then life. He was a great worker who had a great gimmick at first who was the IWC darling for years before he arrived who got over being "edgy", believed his own hype, then found out the IWC is a small niche compared to the huge demo the E actually caters to, and sobbed his way back home a richer man then the guy who was wrestling in garbage feds in basketball shorts. He went as far as he could.
Maybe he should have been doing more make a wishes then punching fans on camera.
And btw, Punk blocked me on his Twitter for months when I asked him if he was waiting for Luke Gallows to run into his UFC debut with a chair. That's taking yourself a little too seriously.