Top 5 opponents CM Punk faced during his historic 434 day championship run

It’s been almost two years now since CM Punk left the WWE, but more importantly, it’s been four years since he won the WWE Championship at Survivor Series, in 2011, against Alberto Del Rio.He held that championship for so long, that there was only one champion in the whole of 2012, and that’s really saying something, considering that prior to it, the title changed hands like a hot potato and even after it, the longest reign has been Brock Lesnar 223 day run which ended with Seth Rollins stealing the championship.Rollins himself came in at 221 days, before tragically having to forfeit the championship because of an injury.In those fourteen months that he had the championship, Punk faced formidable opponents, and the end result was some cracking matches. This article doesn’t look at who came closest to beating him, but it looks at who blended well with him in terms of story and chemistry in the ring.Punk may have come out on top on every occasion except the last one (obviously), but it was never just him that made his matches great.

#5 Dolph Ziggler

Always a classic

Dolph Ziggler may have only faced CM Punk for the WWE Championship once, but it was a great match, with some high stakes attached to it too.

John Laurinaitis made himself the special guest referee for the match at the 2012 Royal Rumble. At the time, Laurinaitis and Punk did not see eye to eye, and storyline-wise, the odds were stacked against the Second City Saint.

However, he had something to look up for, as Vickie Guerrero and Jack Swagger, Ziggler’s manager and tag team partner respectively, were banned from ringside.