The Best of CM Punk in WWE

Dedicated to the very BEST of CM Punk in his WWE career.

CM PUNK is one of the most popular WWE Superstars of all time. Punk started his career in WWE back in 2005 when he signed with the company. He then headed to ECW and became a star there while becoming a ECW Champion. Punk then moved up to RAW and started to really make a name for himself more and more with the company. Punk won the Money in the Bank Ladder match in 2008 at WrestleMania 24 and went onto win his first World Championship (that is WWE created) and that was the World Heavyweight Championship. Punk, again, won the Money in the Bank Ladder match one year later at WrestleMania 25 -- becoming the first to win back to back briefcases. Punk, again, cashed in and won another World Heavyweight Championship that year. In 2011, Punk cut one of the greatest and most memorable promos of all time called 'The Pipebomb', which blended reality and story into one of the greatest 8 minutes in WWE history. After the Pipebomb, Punk went onto become the biggest superstar for the WWE, becoming a top drawing star and went onto become WWE Champion, his first reign with the title, at Money in the Bank against the biggest superstar of the last 10+ years at the time, John Cena. Cena and Punk went onto having the best rivalry and match of the year (for MITB). Punk dropped the title because of cash-in from Albert Del Rio at that year's SummerSlam event. Later that year, at Survivor Series, Punk would win back the WWE Championship and hold it for another 434 days, a record for the modern era at the time. After his record breaking reign as champion, Punk would fizzle out a little more and more, but still maintaining the audience's attention regardless and having three of the best matches of that year with Undertaker at WrestleMania 29, Chris Jericho at Payback and Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. He would remain a popular act until his leaving from the company after Royal Rumble in 2014. Punk would make a THUNDEROUS and unexpected return to WWE in 2023, at Survivor Series, years later.

Punk is widely known for his sharp-tongued promo ability and his in-ring IQ. For these strong abilities, Punk became one of the most polarizing and popular professional wrestlers of all time.

For this article, I will give you, what I believe, are the five very best matches and reasons for choosing each. 

What is your favorite CM Punk moment or match? Leave a comment below!

CM PUNK vs. DANIEL BRYAN - OVER THE LIMIT (2012)

ANALYSIS: I chose this match with Daniel Bryan from Over the Limit in 2012 because around this time Punk had been WWE Champion for a few months and Bryan had been getting real hot as an act in WWE. So, for these two, at that time, it was a huge match for both. Punk defending his championship, which went onto be a historic 434 reign, against a hot act in Daniel Bryan and they ended up putting on one of the best Pay-per-view matches of the year. It was a great showcase for both and proved Bryan can hang in a main event caliber environment with the top champion (even though this match didn't main event that night).

CM PUNK vs. DREW MCINTYRE - SUMMERSLAM (2024)

ANALYSIS: No feud has been hotter in 2024 than CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre. They were overshadowing the current WWE Champion Cody Rhodes in everything that they were producing for television on a weekly basis and what ended up being one of the best matches on the SummerSlam card for 2024. This was also a showcase for Punk in a big way. This was Punk's first singles match in a WWE ring since 2013, over a decade. This was a proving ground for Punk, at his age and to show the critics that he can still hang with the best in the company. And he did just that. The match also had a heavyweight story leading in, with McIntyre being a menace towards Punk, stealing a bracelet from Punk, which had Punk's dog and wife's names on it -- so it became real personal for Punk. The match involved Seth "Freakin" Rollins, who has had beef with both McIntyre and Punk before.

CM PUNK vs. BROCK LESNAR - SUMMERSLAM (2013)

ANALYSIS: At this time, CM Punk had been dealing with some injuries and getting burned out from competition, it's not big news story. Punk didn't need to prove anything at this point, because he had a record reign with the WWE Championship at 434 days prior to this feud with Brock Lesnar. The Lesnar feud started when Paul Heyman turned on his friend Punk at Money in the Bank that year. Afterwards, Heyman and Punk had been feuding for a minute until Brock Lesnar showed up, being a fellow 'Paul Heyman guy' and the two started a war with each other. The story was so convincing, real, raw and the match Punk and Lesnar had at SummerSlam 2013 is considered one of both competitor's best matches of their respective careers. So, in a way, Punk proved he could still hang, regardless of being more burned out at the time and it showed Brock can still work a great match when he's put to the test.

CM PUNK vs. JEFF HARDY (WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP) - SUMMERSLAM (2009)

ANALYSIS: 2009 was filled with some incredible and unforgettable moments in the WWE landscape. None more than the incredible feud between CM Punk and Jeff Hardy. Punk and Hardy had one of the hottest and most personal feuds of that year and of all time, especially in recent memory. Punk had been a complete menace towards Hardy, always mentioning and making a mockery towards Hardy's known drug use past. It had all culminated to their epic Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at SummerSlam 2009 for the World Heavyweight Championship. The other major story arc to this was that Hardy's WWE contract was set to expire and he wasn't signing back with the company. So, this match would be Hardy's last for the company, at the time. I'm glad, looking back, that this match was the main event of that show because there was NO hotter feud going than Punk and Hardy's. It ended up being the best match of 2009 and one of the best in both men's careers, respectively. This match also meant a lot to Punk, because it made him look and feel like a true main event player, which he ended up being down the road.

CM PUNK vs. JOHN CENA (WWE CHAMPIONSHIP) - MONEY IN THE BANK (2011)

ANALYSIS: This is my personal and what I believe is CM Punk's greatest match of all time in his WWE career. Also, happens to be one of John Cena's greatest matches in his career, respectively. Punk and Cena had one of the best rivalries of the modern era. There was no limit to their in-ring chemistry together. Punk brought out the very best from Cena that we hadn't seen in a minute from the 16x World Champion. The two went onto having some great matches one-on-one. The only match that came close to this level of storytelling and psychology between the two was when they faced off on RAW -- February 25, 2013 -- with the winner facing The Rock at WrestleMania, which Cena won. That was easily the greatest match in RAW's history. But this match at Money in the Bank had a lot on the line story wise for Punk especially. At this time, Punk's contract was expiring and if he won the title, WWE would be left without a major championship... the flagship championship. So, for Cena, this was a must win to keep the title in the company. But for Punk.. it meant he could beat the top player in WWE and walk out of Vince McMahon's company with the championship that means too much to the company. It was a story and match of great magnitude. It ended up being the greatest match of either respective careers for Cena and Punk.