There would have been plenty of smiling faces in Stamford, Connecticut on Saturday night.
CM Punk’s debut defeat to Mickey Gall on the main card of UFC 203 was almost certainly enjoyed by many at WWE HQ.
In 2014, Punk walked away from the wrestling ring as one of the most popular superstars on the roster.
Shortly thereafter, he appeared on a UFC broadcast where he outlined his plans to begin training in mixed martial arts with a view to competing in the UFC.
After a lengthy two-year wait, that debut took place on Saturday night and it surprised few to watch Punk (aka Phil Brooks) get taken out in just over two minutes.
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Punk came rushing out against the highly favoured Gall, was taken down with little resistance, had his back taken and was submitted via rear naked choke.
The sequence bore an uncanny resemblance to the opening of a match at WWE Backlash the very next night when Dolph Ziggler and The Miz seemingly took a swipe at the downfall of one of WWE’s former star performers.
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During his time as a WWE superstar, Punk once paid a tongue-in-cheek tribute to Chael Sonnen’s embarrassing defeat to Anderson Silva in their rematch for the UFC middleweight title when Sonnen uncharacteristically threw a spinning elbow, missed, and was subsequently hit with a devastating knee to the body.
Vince McMahon doesn’t seem like a spiteful man so it would astound us if he intentionally mocked CM Punk’s loss.
And yes, that is sarcasm you detect there.
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