CM Punk traveled to Las Vegas yesterday to headline the 57th Annual Cauliflower Alley Club Reunion. The former WWE and AEW World champion received the Iron Mike Mazurki award, the highest honor of the organization.
The Iron Mike Mazurki Award is bestowed upon individuals who have made exceptional contributions to professional wrestling and have exhibited outstanding dedication to the sport both inside and outside the ring.
Punk addressed a sizable crowd at the Plaza Hotel & Casino and told them that the likes of Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and Tracy Smothers gave him the confidence to succeed in this business.
He noted that while many legends have passed, he’s still grateful that he can still text the likes of Bret Hart and Jerry Brisco and while he rubbed a few people the wrong way throughout his career, he always had the backing of some of the biggest wrestling legends.
Punk told Teal Piper, who was sitting in the audience, that her father was his hero and the reason why he is a wrestler today.
“So when people tell me that they don’t like me or the internet’s mad at me, I just kind of chuckle because Roddy Piper liked me, Dusty Rhodes liked me,” Punk said. “I had the respect and the backing of Harley Race before I went to the WWE, and to me, that means more than all the money in the world.”
Punk also credited the likes of JBL, Mickie James, Eddie Guerrero, and a few others who helped his career along the way.
His 41-minute speech can be seen in full below.