CM Punk just became the face of AEW. His reign as AEW has all signs of being up there with his great WWE runs as champion. Punk is also one of the most over-stars of all time. Fans in the WWE still chant his name despite his almost decade absence from the company and his mantra as "the best in the world" is as true as ever.
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His career as a solo superstar overshadows the many great stables and tag matches Punk has had over the years. That's not to say CM Punk hasn't only had great tag partners over his career that spans two decades. This list examines the good and bad tag partners' that have helped CM Punk become "the best in the world."
10 Best: Rob Van Dam
CM Punk was one of the few bright spots of the early years of the WWE ECW reboot. It is only right that the first tag team partner of his WWE career is The Whole F'N Show. The combination of Punk and RVD was always entertaining. They never lost a single tag match and the mixture of explosiveness and performance created a perfect pair. Van Dam could make any tag team partner look good, but it seemed Punk was the rare "perfect complement" to RVD.
9 Worst: Primo
Primo is best remembered for tagging with his brother Carlito. Although he did hold the tag team titles in WWE three different times, Primo failed to make a major impact during his run in the WWE. He and Carlito competed with Punk on an episode of SmackDown against Kane, Ryback, and Daniel Bryan. Primo was definitely the weakest link of the match. Not even the "best in the world" could help Primo get over with fans.
8 Best: Seth Rollins
It's hard to believe CM Punk and Seth Rollins existed on the same roster and never had a singles match in the WWE. Rollins was the face of NXT while Punk was the face of the entire company. The Shield competed many times against Punk and various tag mates from The Usos to Cena and Big E.
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Rollins and CM Punk did have one dark tag team match against Antonio Cesaro and Kassius Ohno in 2012. It's hard to imagine the two generational stars ever teaming together again, but Rollins is still high on Punk's tag team list in terms of talent.
7 Worst: Colt Cabana
Colt Cabana and Punk have a long history, dating back to January 2000 when Punk defeated Colt in their first match against one another. The two seemed destined to be lifelong friends, but one podcast session where Punk trashed the WWE changed everything. Due to their history as friends, the two have competed many times as tag partners in various promotions. Cabana can be entertaining, but in terms of Punk's legacy, Cabana will be more remembered for his podcast with Punk than for their matches.
6 Best: Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan and CM Punk will always be remembered as great foes. The two had terrific matches in the 2010s and always delivered. When these stars feuded, they were in their WWE prime and the same applies to their tag team matches. Punk and Bryan were tag mates many different times and as a unit performed as well as they did in bouts against each other. The two have yet to unite in AEW, but a reunion of these major fan favorites seems inevitable.
5 Worst: Santino Marella
Santino Marella will be more remembered for his antics than his in-ring skills. Even the top star in WWE at the time, CM Punk, failed to make Marella more grounded. On an episode of Raw in 2012, Marella and Punk defeated Cody Rhodes and Daniel Bryan. This was thanks in large part to Punk. The fact that this was the first and last time the two joined forces in the ring is telling since Punk had MANY tag partners over his career.
4 Best: Sting
Since arriving in AEW, CM Punk has attempted to put various AEW wrestlers over with fans. CM Punk teaming with Sting was one of the few times Punk could provide little help to his tag team partner, in terms of respect from fans and wrestlers.
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The dream lineup of Punk, Sting, and Dary Allin was a unit that spanned three different generations of superstars, and, yes, the match did deliver.
3 Worst: The Boogeyman
The Boogeyman was one of those gimmicks so strange it was entertaining. Although many of the big stars of the late 2000s were fairly grounded, Boogeyman was not. His backstory in the WWE was nothing memorable and he mostly appeared as a shock wrestler eating worms and licking people. He and CM Punk teamed early on in Punk's career on ECW. Yes, Boogeyman was entertaining, but in terms of a true competitor, he was an oddball mixture for Punk who was sold as a "straight edge superstar." Boogeyman's entrance was more memorable than the matches themselves.
2 Best: Kofi Kingston
CM Punk only held WWE's World Tag Team Title one time and his partner was Kofi Kingston. Punk was already a former World Heavyweight Champion, but Kofi was just starting to blossom into the huge star he would become. The two only held the titles for a few months and the future WWE Champions always delivered in the ring. They were both on course to big things. Punk ascended to the top of the industry less than six months after the tag title run and a few years later Kofi founded the New Day.
1 Worst: Festus
Before Doc Gallows was a member of Punk's Straight Edge Society, he was Festus. You can chalk Festus up as one of the gimmicks the WWE might want fans to forget. The duo of Jesse and Festus never made any sense as a duo and the "mentally challenged" gimmick was always more cringe than anything. Jesse and Festus teamed with Punk on multiple occasions and not even Punk could make the six-man tag bouts interesting. Luke Gallows ranks miles higher on the list of former Punk tag mates compared to his old persona, Festus, who is at the very bottom.
