2023 was quite a jam-packed year for the Stamford-based company. From pulling out a handful of marquee live events with astounding bookings to bringing back a lot of former talents to the lore, WWE continues to set its mark high, aligning with the popular trend of the last two years. Now, given that the year is dying, ESPN looked back at the biggest takeaways of the whole 365 days and gave away several awards in many categories like every other year.

And when it comes to this compilation of 2023 cynosure moments, the current sensation CM Punk must be a talking point.

CM Punk attained a unique award right after his WWE return

WWE cast a large spotlight on the Second City Saint and pitched a surreal stage that transcended the squared circle at his much-awaited homecoming. The seismic segment in the Survivor Series is still resonating in the WWE fanatics’ hearts. A true Punk fan just can’t unsee the spellbound ethos.

To make the resurrection of the former champion even more magical, ESPN bestowed him with the best debut of the year.

Although it wasn’t Punk’s real debut, it has been treated as such due to the amount of bewilderedness surrounding it. The Best in The World first stepped into the WWE ring back in 2014 and had a remarkable few years filled with spectacular achievements and memories. And we can’t wait to get more out of his highly-hyped-up second stint down the line.

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But still, there’s another narrative that goes like Punk overshadowed the return segment of another marquee star, Randy Orton.

CM Punk’s monumental return proved to be detrimental to Randy Orton’s comeback on the same day

The Viper’s return at WarGames led to his team’s victory, as he filled the gap and helped to seal the win hitting one of his most legendary RKOs of all time.

Randy Orton underwent a severe injury and fusion surgery to get rid of it and was kept shelved for nearly 18 months for the same. After a lot of speculations regarding the high-voltage return The Apex Predator finally made it at the Survivor Series 2023 but enjoyed all the eyes on him unless and until The Devil showed up and ended up stealing all the spotlight.

While speaking to Rewind, Recap, and Relive, Heath Slater noted that he appreciated Punk’s return segment, but at the same time, he belives Orton deserved more hype than he got.

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What’s your take on CM Punk winning the Best Debut of the Year award? Sound off in the comments.