CM Punk's WrestleMania 41 Gear Was Inspired By Famous WWE Promo

"The Voice of the Voiceless" CM Punk is not often subtle when it comes to his time in the ring or on the microphone, but recently, he sat down on "WWE Break it Down," to discuss the intricacies of some of his gear since his return to the company at the end of 2023. Much of his gear, especially at big events such as Survivor Series and SummerSlam, feature callbacks to his previous eras or have small, meaningful aspects worked in to the designs. 

On the WWE YouTube show, Punk spoke about his gear at WrestleMania 41, the show where he finally got his main event match on "The Grandest Stage of Them All" against Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. Punk revealed the gear was a callback to his pipe bomb promo from 2011. He said every time he moves forward, he wants to reach back and bring some history with him.

"The inspiration for the gear... at WrestleMania was, we are in Las Vegas, where I cut the pipe bomb, where I was wearing my yellow gear," he explained. "I had new yellow gear made for the main event of WrestleMania. I tried to find the hoodie that I wore and I couldn't find it, so I just went out and bought like a plain, basic gray hoodie."

Punk pointed out in one of the photos, where he's kneeling before announcing "it's clobbin' time!" that someone's makeup is visible on the shoulder. He said he's not sure whose it is and explained it was a very "lovey dovey" environment backstage at the event.

"There was a lot of people that were giving me a lot of hugs and a lot of love prior to the match, like 'Hey man, you made it. Main event of WrestleMania. Congratulations,'" he said.

In addition to the more outward connection to the infamous pipe bomb promo, Punk explained that the gear also featured a much smaller detail that honored his wife, the newly returned to WWE AJ Lee, whose real name is April Mendez, and their dog, Larry, prior to the pup's unfortunate passing.

"The 'A' plus 'L,'" Punk said about the detail. "I don't get here, I don't get here, I don't get anywhere without my wife, April and my dog, Larry. They're like my totem, you know. When things go wild, I can always go back to them. When things are good, I'm always grateful for them. Partners in life."

WrestleMania 41 may have been the main event of "The Showcase of the Immortals" that Punk had been waiting more than 10 years for, but the match didn't go his way. In the end, it was Rollins to emerge victorious. Paul Heyman betrayed Punk at the conclusion of the match, choosing to side with "The Visionary," helping him walk away with the win.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit WWE and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.