CM Punk recently shared that getting “Cult of Personality” as his WWE entrance song in 2011 wasn’t just about style; it was part of a smart contract move aimed toward Vince McMahon.
Before 2011, Punk used “This Fire Burns” by Killswitch Engage. However, it wasn’t as personal to him. When “Cult of Personality” debuted in July 2011, it instantly clicked. The song fit his rebellious character perfectly, especially during his famous WWE title run.
It became even more iconic when Living Colour performed it live for his entrance at WrestleMania 29.
CM Punk Details How His WWE Theme Became Part of His 2011 Deal
Speaking on The Morning Mosh Pit, Punk explained how the song by Living Colour became such a big part of his career.
Punk said the connection to the song goes way back. “I was on a Little League team in 1989 and that was like the team song, believe it or not. So, that’s the genesis of that. And just an amazing band, amazing group of guys. And when I was still wrestling on the Indies, I used that song,” Punk said.
In 2011, during the famous “Summer of Punk” storyline around Money in the Bank 2011, Punk was negotiating a new contract. At the time, McMahon didn’t like spending money on licensed entrance music. WWE usually created its own themes to avoid extra costs.
Punk knew that. He revealed that he made a list of bold requests that he thought McMahon would reject. He actually wasn’t sure he even wanted to re-sign. One of those requests was for WWE to license “Cult of Personality.”
“How I got it in WWE…was Vince McMahon was notoriously against spending money on licensed music. He didn’t like spending money. And it was one of the things I requested if I was going to re-sign in 2011. So, I cooked up a bunch of requests, a bunch of asks that I assumed he would say “No” to, because I didn’t want to re-sign. I just wanted to kind of take a break for a minute,” Punk said.
But surprisingly, McMahon said yes to everything. “And then he went and said “Yes” to everything. And I was kind of like, ‘Oh, damn.’ And that was one of them. You got to license this song,” Punk said.
Punk joked that his plan backfired, but in a good way.
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