Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of SUPERSTAR SCORES! For entry #35 in this series, we'll be focusing on one of the most controversial wrestlers out there in the past decade who has made headlines yet again by being released from All Elite Wrestling. Yes, we're talking about the so-called Best in the World, CM Punk!

If you're unfamiliar with how the segment works, here is a quick breakdown: Each edition, a wrestler will be put under the spotlight and rated on a 0-100 scale based on 10 categories that have been broken up into 5 umbrella sections: In the Ring Skills, On the Mic Skills, Appearance, Behavior, and Crowd Reaction.

The rating scale is as basic as you can get: 0-1-2-3-4 | 5 | 6-7-8-9-10. It follows the Three-Count Critique method of green being the good, yellow being in the middle, and red being the bad. A perfect 100 is the goal.

CM PUNK

IN THE RING SKILLS

Athleticism: Does the person have a good signature moveset and finisher? Can they perform a wide variety of moves on a regular basis and not botch them?

My Rating = 8

Psychology: The wrestler's ability to tell a story in the ring. Do they make you believe it's real or do they forget to sell their injuries properly? Can they make a long match stay interesting and not get boring?

My Rating = 8

ON THE MIC SKILLS

Charisma: If they get a mic, can they cut a promo without stuttering? Are they repetitive or do they keep things fresh?

My Rating = 10

Character: Is their gimmick(s) interesting? Can they pull off being both a heel and a face?

My Rating = 8

APPEARANCE

Physique: Are they in the proper shape for their gimmick or are they out of shape? (note: someone like Mabel isn't supposed to look like John Morrison, but Matt Hardy gaining weight deducts his points).

My Rating = 7

Entrance: Their music, the pyro if they have any, whatever taunts or actions they do to make it interesting.

My Rating = 8

BEHAVIOR

Backstage Professionalism: Are they a locker room leader or do they cause problems behind the scenes? Are they bogged down in politics? Do they put other people over or screw people over?

My Rating = 4

Public Relations: Does this wrestler project a bad image onto the company with arrests and such, or are they someone that promotes the company well, does charities, talk shows, etc?

My Rating = 5

CROWD REACTION

Popularity: How loud are the cheers and boos for them? Do they sell merchandise? Are ratings up or down when they're on screen? How many Twitter and Facebook followers do they have?

My Rating = 9

Credibility: Is this person someone you would see as a main-eventer and a future legend or are they doomed to forever be a jobber?

My Rating = 8

TOTAL SCORE: 75/100

FINAL THOUGHTS: The perception was probably that he would be eviscerated with negative scores and all. Clearly, there are some low points in some categories. But it's all relative. Fair is fair and the judgment has to take into account his entire career. I think this is a pretty good score, particularly with it immediately following his public firing.