CM Punk‘s Pepsi tattoo may be one of the most famous and confusing tattoos in wrestling – but one WWE legend has finally revealed why he got the controversial ink done.
The recent brawl out controversy has put an end to CM Punk’s run in AEW. He ended his year-long stint with the company with two AEW Championships to his name, as well as some classic matches against stars like Adam Page, MJF and Eddie Kingston. He was also the biggest draw in the company and his segments were always the biggest on the show – regularly drawing over a million viewers to hear him speak or wrestle.
He has seemingly been fired by the company after tearing down The Elite and Colt Cabana in the All Out 2022, in what was one of the most controversial moments of the year in pro-wrestling. If that wasn’t bad enough, he went on to attack The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega backstage in a fit of rage, putting a definitive end to his AEW career.
He is also known for his famous tattoos. Many of his tattoos were done “for fun”, whilst others provide insights into his lifestyle. He has many tattoos with the theme of “luck” including, four-leaf clovers, cards and dice. He revealed in his WWE documentary that they are ironic, considering he does not believe in the concept of luck. He also has a number tattooed being his ears, with his friends having similar tattoos to symbolise their friendship.
One tattoo that has surprised and baffled fans across the years is CM Punk’s Pepsi tattoo. On his upper left arm he has the logo for the soft drinks company brightly tattooed. Whilst visible when he wrestled, it was not included on WWE games or on merchandise (like toys) due to copyright issues – it was instead replaced with the “ying-yang” sign.
The Pepsi tattoo has become synonymous with CM Punk. He even named his finisher on the independent scene after the popular drink. His move (named the Pepsi Plunge) was ostensibly a top-rope pedigree and he was forced to stop using the move once he joined WWE (and I’m sure his knees have thanked Triple H for that). However, nobody ever knew why he got the infamous tattoo. Luckily. one WWE legend has let slip about the origins of the ink.
Bruce Prichard revealed on an episode of his “Something to Wrestle” that CM Punk was inspired by one of his favourite musicians to get a Pepsi tattoo. He spoke about he read about a music star getting a Coca-Cola tattoo because “they liked Coke”, so Punk decided to get the Pepsi tattoo because he preferred Pepsi.
“He really liked tattoos. He got into tattoos and what have you,” Prichard said. “There’s a story of the big Pepsi tattoo where he was reading an article about one of his favorite music stars, who got a Coca-Cola tattoo because they liked Coke. And he says, ‘Well, you know what? I like Pepsi so I’m going to get a Pepsi logo on my arm,'”
A veteran of the cola wars, fans will now never be unaware as to why CM Punk has a Pepsi tattoo.
