CM Punk Says Comparing His Pipe Bomb to The Kliq’s Curtain Call Is “Drastically Different”

CM Punk isn’t letting fans rewrite wrestling history — especially when it comes to his iconic 2011 pipe bomb promo.

During a conversation with Allenownz Wrasslin, Punk was asked if the pipe bomb could be considered the modern-day equivalent of the infamous 1996 Curtain Call at Madison Square Garden, when The Kliq (Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash) broke character in front of a live crowd.

For years, fans have viewed Punk’s promo as a turning point in WWE — a moment that shattered kayfabe for a new generation. Punk strongly pushed back on the comparison and explained why the two moments couldn’t be more different.

“So this is all going to come down to perspective. And I think this is probably going to reveal—and this is going to sound super egotistical—but the genius of what the pipe bomb was: because I did not expose anything.”

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He called the Curtain Call a clear violation of kayfabe, pointing out that even people backstage were furious about it.

“You juxtapose it with the curtain call, which was 100%, like—I mean, that pissed off Jerry Brisco. Shouldn’t piss off Jerry Brisco.”

To Punk, the pipe bomb stayed fully within the realm of storytelling — even if it sounded dangerously real to the audience watching at home.

“I would be curious to have anybody try to explain to me how those two things are similar, because they’re drastically, drastically different. Right?”

“I took what I knew smart fans to think was taboo and said things on television that nobody had ever said before—in a context, within storyline. Right? Like, I did not beat anybody over the head with exposing the business. I wasn’t fraternizing with a good guy when I was a bad guy or vice versa.”

He argued that the real power of the pipe bomb lies in the fact that people still debate whether or not it was real — which proves how well it worked.

“And that, to me, proves how powerful a moment what I did was—because it’s still almost misunderstood.”

While the Curtain Call may have pulled the curtain back too far, Punk believes his promo just made people lean in closer — without ever actually breaking the illusion.