5 of CM Punk's best WWE matches
Shock waves were sent across the wrestling world when CM Punk made a surprise return to WWE TV.
‘The Straight Edge Saviour’ appeared towards the conclusion of the latest episode of WWE Backstage. FOX would later confirm that the former WWE Champion would be making regular appearances on the FS1 show.
Whilst it had been speculated that Punk had auditioned for the show, it was still a shock to see him appear, given the frostiness of his relationship with the WWE.
He infamously walked out on the company following the 2014 Royal Rumble, and hasn’t wrestled anywhere since. Whilst his new TV deal is with FOX and not WWE, many are already touting a future in-ring return for Punk, with Vince McMahon himself not ruling out the possibility.
The question would be if Punk can still go to the level he was at during his original run, where he was arguably one of the best the company had to offer. Over the course of eight years, he put on many top-caliber matches that stand as some of the best in WWE history.
Here are five of the best matches of CM Punk’s WWE career.
#5 Jeff Hardy - SummerSlam 2009
Having been a face for the entirety of his WWE run to that point, Punk would turn heel in the summer of 2019 and engage in what many class as one of his most acclaimed feuds.
Following Jeff Hardy’s victory over Edge in the main event of Extreme Rules, the ever-opportunistic Punk would cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Hardy to win his second World Heavyweight Championship.
After his win, Punk would begin flaunting his Straight Edge lifestyle as a way of showing himself to be better than others. This included Hardy, who Punk aggressively targeted given Jeff’s well-documented troubles with substance abuse.
The pair would trade the title in the months that followed, leading to a blow-out TLC match at SummerSlam. The bout is best remembered for Hardy’s death-defying Swanton Bomb from a ladder through a table on to Punk.
‘The Cult of Personality’ would find a way to regain his title though in what remains one of the finest matches in the situation's history. It would be the high point of Punk’s reign as he was attacked post-match by The Undertaker, who would eventually dethrone Punk just a few months later.