One of the first wrestlers that Ring of Honor catapulted to superstardom, CM Punk started to make a name for himself on the independent circuit, entered WWE through the door of the OVW development platform, began his adventure in the main roster with a six-month unbeaten streak on ECW. , but it was time to become one of the main figures in the company.
Born October 26, 1978, in Chicago, Illinois. Phillip Jack Brooks won his first world title in 2008 by cashing in on his Money in the Bank contract, but only established himself at the top. from the company in mid-2011, following a scathing promo that became known as the Pipe Bomb and winning the WWE Championship after an intense battle against John Cena in Chicago .
Between November 2011 and January 2013, CM Punk held the WWE Championship for 434 days, in what was one of the longest reigns in the company’s history. The Straight Edge Superstar has won four more world titles, as well as having won the ECW Championship (once), the Intercontinental Championship (once) and the World Tag Team Championship (once, with Kofi Kingston). In parallel, he became the first to win Money in the Bank twice in a row (2008 and 2009).
In 2014 he left the ring to try his luck in the UFC, but his name continued to be constantly chanted by fans in the pavilions where WWE shows were held, who dreamed of the return of CM Punk. And Punk did return to the ring in 2021, but it was to fight in AEW.
That’s why it’s worth remembering the ten best CM Punk matches in WWE, in chronological order.
SummerSlam 2009
TLC match for the World Heavyweight Championship:
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk
At Extreme Rules , Jeff Hardy won the World Heavyweight Championship by beating Edge in a ladder match , but shortly after the end of the match, CM Punk appeared on the scene to cash-in Money in the Bank and, consequently, claim the title after defeat hardy .
CM Punk and Jeff Hardy faced each other in the two pay-per-views that followed, with Hardy winning by disqualification at The Bash before reclaiming the title at Night of Champions via a win via settlement.
At the same time, CM Punk, who assumes himself as someone who doesn’t drink, smoke or take drugs, confronted his rival several times for having had drug problems throughout his career. After Punk attacked Hardy twice after Night of Champions, SmackDown General Manager Teddy Long scheduled a Tables, Ladders , and Chairs match between the two for SummerSlam.
SmackDown! (August 28, 2009)
Steel Cage match for the World Heavyweight Championship:
CM Punk (c) vs. Jeff Hardy
At SummerSlam , CM Punk regained the world title by beating Jeff Hardy after an intense battle. However, there was still room for one last match before the rivalry ended, as it was announced that CM Punk would defend the World Heavyweight Championship in a Steel Cage match against Jeff Hardy on the smackdown episode following the pay-per. -view. In addition, there was an additional stipulation: whoever lost would have to leave WWE.
Money in the Bank 2011
WWE Championship & Carrer Threatening Match :
John Cena (c) vs. CM Punk
On the June 13 episode of Raw , CM Punk benefited from a distraction caused by R-Truth to defeat champion John Cena in a non- title match.
A week later, Punk became the leading contender for the WWE Championship by beating Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio in a Falls Count Anywhere match. After the match, Punk revealed that his contract would expire at midnight on July 17, immediately after the Money in the Bank pay-per-view ended, and he promised to win the title and leave the company with the belt.
On the following episode of Monday Night Raw , Punk helped R-Truth beat Cena in a Tables match and made one of the most famous WWE promos ever, proclaiming himself the best in the world [ Best in the World ], giving harsh criticism to John Cena , Vince McMahon and the entire management of the company and promising to defend the WWE Championship in other companies, such as Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
As a result, Punk was suspended and his title shot was taken away . However, Cena confronted Vince McMahon and threatened to leave the company and return the WWE Championship to him if Punk was not reinstated. Vince McMahon relented, but on one condition: if Cena lost the title , he would be fired. On the July 11 episode of Monday Night Raw , Mr. McMahon tried to get CM Punk to renew his contract to make sure the WWE Championship stayed with WWE. The company president agreed to all of Punk’s demands and apologized, but Cena interrupted them and attacked Punk. In response, Punk tore up the contract. And to spice it all up, an extremely important fact: Money in the Bank took place in Chicago, Punk’s birthplace.
Over the Limit 2012
WWE Championship : CM Punk (c) vs. Daniel Bryan
Champion since November of the previous year, CM Punk was consecutively retaining the WWE Championship in the months that followed, earning victories over wrestlers such as Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler , Chris Jericho , Kofi Kingston and R-Truth.
Following the Extreme Rules pay-per-view in which Punk retained the title after beating Chris Jericho , it was announced that the next main contender would be decided through a series of Beat the Clock matches on the April 30 episode of Raw . In the final match of the night, Daniel Bryan defeated Jerry Lawler with the fastest time and became the main contender for the WWE Championship , earning the applause of CM Punk.
Money in the Bank 2012
WWE Championship – No Disqualification match :
CM Punk (c) vs. Daniel Bryan (AJ Lee as guest referee)
Daniel Bryan applied the Yes Lock to CM Punk at Over the Limit, but Punk managed to settle and retain the title, despite tapping out while the pinfall was counted. In the weeks that followed, Bryan ‘s ex-girlfriend AJ Lee showed interest in Punk and Kane while also rekindling her crush on Bryan . However, Punk and Kane believed that she was destabilized due to the end of her relationship with Bryan .
Following No Way Out, in which Punk beat Bryan and Kane to retain the title , Daniel Bryan earned the right to the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank after beating Punk and Kane. Weeks later, future wife AJ Lee was named a guest referee. And just before the pay-per-view started, it was announced that the match would be a no disqualification match.
Night of Champions 2012
WWE Championship :
CM Punk (c) vs. John Cena
At Raw 1000 on July 23, John Cena became the first wrestler to fail the Cash in the Money in the Bank suitcase, as his match against CM Punk for the WWE Championship was interrupted due to interference from Big Show. This led to a triple threat match at SummerSlam between Punk, Cena and Big Show in which Punk emerged victorious.
The following night on Raw , CM Punk won the right to choose his opponent at the Night of Championship and opted for John Cena , but on the condition that Cena admits live on television that Punk was the “best in the world”, which Cena refused. A week later, Raw General Manager AJ Lee announced that Punk would indeed defend the title against Cena at the pay-per-view .
Monday Night Raw (February 25, 2013)
John Cena vs. CM Punk
At the Royal Rumble, John Cena won the Royal Rumble match for the second time in his career by eliminating Ryback last, while CM Punk lost the WWE Championship to The Rock .
At the next PPV, Elimination Chamber, CM Punk failed to win the WWE Championship, losing to The Rock , who would defend the title against John Cena in a rematch of the previous year’s WrestleMania XXVIII match, which The Rock got the best .
The night after the pay-per-view , John Cena was about to step into the ring to confront The Rock when he was attacked by CM Punk, who still felt he was the leading contender for the WWE Championship . Therefore, a match between Cena and CM Punk was scheduled for the following episode of Monday Night Raw , to determine which of the two would face The Rock at Wrestlemania29 .
WrestleMania 29
The Undertaker vs. CM Punk
On the March 4, 2013 episode of Monday Night Raw , which was themed around “Old School Raw “, The Undertaker returned to WWE programming and issued an open challenge to all wrestlers to try to defeat him for the first time at WrestleMania .
CM Punk, Randy Orton , Big Show and Sheamus declared that they wanted to face the Deadman , which led to then- Raw supervisor Vickie Guerrero to arrange a match between the four of them that same night, in which CM Punk emerged victorious.
The following day, Undertaker and Kane’s former manager, Paul Bearer, died of respiratory problems.
A week later on Raw , CM Punk interrupted a Bearer tribute segment to stress that it would break Undertaker ‘s streak at WrestleMania . Kane didn’t like it and tried to attack Punk, but Punk managed to get away. That same night, Kane defeated Punk in a no disqualification match and then honored Bearer along with Undertaker , but Punk interrupted them once more by hitting Kane with the Deadman ‘s urn . Undertaker chased Punk, but Punk got away with the urn.
On the March 18 edition of Raw , Undertaker went to the ring to say that Punk had an opportunity to return the urn to him, but Punk only appeared on the giant screen, promising that he would break the streak while nonchalantly tossing the urn into the air.
Two weeks later, Punk, who was disguised as a druid, attacked Deadman and hit him with the urn, opening it later and dumping what was in it into Undertaker , further heating the rivalry between the two.
Payback 2013
CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho
On the May 27, 2013 episode of Raw , Chris Jericho introduced The Highlight Reel and invited Paul Heyman, who was asked about CM Punk’s absence from the lineup, in a segment very similar to the one that marked the start of the feud between Y2J and punk the previous year, marked by the discussion about which of the two was the “best in the world”. Jericho challenged CM Punk to a match at Payback and Heyman accepted on Punk’s behalf. The following week, Jericho and Heyman signed the match contract.
On the June 7 edition of SmackDown , Curtis Axel beat up Chris Jericho after Heyman, who was Axel’s manager, distracted Y2J by playing CM Punk’s theme song . After that match, Jericho applied a Codebreaker to Curtis Axel.
SummerSlam 2013
No Disqualification match: Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk
A match between two Paul Heyman protects, whose services CM Punk dismissed months earlier.Focused on becoming champion again, Punk challenged Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship, winning by count-out before Lesnar attacked him. Meanwhile, Punk turned for the Money in the Bank ladder match at the Money in the Bank PPV , but Heyman’s interference prevented him from achieving victory .
A day later on Raw , Lesnar returned to attack Punk, who in turn challenged The Beast to a match at SummerSlam , which Heyman accepted on behalf of Lesnar. And already during the PPV kickoff , Heyman announced that both Lesnar and Punk had agreed to make the match a no disqualification match.