The return of CM Punk to AEW has fans thinking back to all their beloved moments from his career. However, anyone to be around in a relevant top spot as long as Punk was is bound to have their fair share of creative mistakes associated with them. Punk being such a polarizing figure makes those topics heavily debated.
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The old argument that WWE never used him well enough has crossed over to AEW having the pressure on them. Punk’s worst moments typically involved the creative team coming up with a bad idea or putting him in a difficult situation. The following booking errors were the worst of Punk’s legendary wrestling career.
10 Returning Too Soon During Summer Of Punk
The Summer of Punk remains CM Punk’s peak wrestling storyline during the summer of 2011. Punk had the perfect angle meant to elevate him into that true top tier for the first time. Money in the Bank 2011 is remembered fondly for Punk beating John Cena and walking out with the WWE Championship.
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Punk claiming he’d do it if winning the gold truly shocked fans when it happened. However, WWE had Punk return after a few weeks to end that uncertainty. The return was even timed in the worst way possible as WWE had just crowned a new champ with John Cena winning a tournament minutes before Punk returned with his belt.
9 JBL As His First World Championship Feud
WWE first pushed CM Punk in a high-profile spot when winning the Money in the Bank ladder match and cashing in on Edge to become World Champion. Unfortunately, Punk didn’t feud with a top star at the time and had his first rivalry as champ against JBL.
Many fans will assume JBL was a big deal as a former WWE Champion, but this came over four years after his prime run. JBL was a mid-carder or color commentator in the years between his success and this angle. Punk lost a lot of momentum in what felt like a secondary feud for the World Championship.
8 Winning AEW World Championship Back From Jon Moxley
The AEW stint of CM Punk has been equally as controversial as WWE in a much shorter time. It often gets overlooked that Punk won the AEW World Championship for a second time from Jon Moxley just minutes before he lost his mind during the infamous scrum muffin rant.
Punk’s injury during his first reign started the terrible interim title concept. Moxley shockingly defeated Punk when he returned to become undisputed champ and it should have ended there. Tony Khan put the title back on Punk too soon to worsen his injury and set a negative chain of events the company still deals with today.
7 Weird Run With New Nexus
The first month or two of the Nexus faction had fans calling it the best stable since Evolution. Unfortunately, things fell apart rather quickly with John Cena winning too many matches against them. WWE also bailed on sloppy angles like having them bury The Undertaker alive for no reason.
CM Punk’s heel character allowed him to become the new leader when Wade Barrett no longer felt credible in that role. New Nexus saw some of the members remaining and following Punk’s lead, but there was no logic behind the partnership aside from being mutual heels.
6 Mocking Paul Bearer's Death Vs The Undertaker
WrestleMania 29 featured the final WM match for CM Punk in his WWE career unless he returns one day. The Undertaker’s undefeated streak also had its final year surviving when Undertaker defeated Punk in what was easily the best match of the night.
However, the build caused many fans to lose interest and feel uncomfortable with the general story. Undertaker’s longtime manager Paul Bearer passed away in real life, and WWE used it as part of the angle. Punk pouring ashes over Undertaker as Paul Heyman impersonated the late Bearer felt too tacky for the time.
5 Losing WWE Championship At SummerSlam 2011
The Summer of Punk ended in the worst way possible just minutes after it seemed to end perfectly. SummerSlam 2011 being the final show of the year saw fans of Punk ecstatic when he defeated John Cena on the second consecutive PPV to become the undisputed WWE Champion.
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The aftermath was the huge mistake by WWE when Kevin Nash attacked Punk out of the blue and Alberto Del Rio cashed in Money in the Bank to win the belt. Both Del Rio’s title reign and Nash’s return turned out to be huge failures as WWE sacrificed Punk’s title reign for no reason.
4 First World Championship Reign Ending Without Being In Match
CM Punk’s fans were let down by his first World Championship having the horrible JBL feud and then just ending out of nowhere. WWE decided to have Punk drop the title without even being involved in the five-man scramble match that Chris Jericho won it in.
Randy Orton was not in the match, but he attacked Punk backstage due to their feud building. WWE replaced the injured Punk with Jericho and had his title reign end in the worst way possible. Punk would have been better off losing clean than not even being there when losing the gold.
3 Not Winning ECW Championship In Elimination Chamber
December to Dismember 2006 is considered both the night that ended any hope for the ECW brand and one of the worst PPVs in WWE history. Paul Heyman left WWE after this horrendous event made him ashamed of what the ECW brand had become under this return via Vince McMahon’s decisions.
CM Punk was the name that Heyman wanted to win the ECW Championship in the Elimination Chamber. McMahon refusing to budge on his pick of Bobby Lashley was bad enough, but Punk getting eliminated ruined most of the appeal fans had. The ECW brand was hurt more than Punk with this bad decision.
2 Ending Straight Edge Society Too Soon
An underrated storyline for CM Punk in WWE featured him getting his own faction. Punk’s heel turn in his incredible feud against Jeff Hardy shifted his straight edge persona from a likable thing about him to a way to talk down to other wrestlers and the fan base.
The Straight Edge Society formed with Punk essentially leading a cult by having Luke Gallows, Serena Deeb and Joey Mercury following his orders. This was a highly effective act that could have lasted years with the right members, but WWE bailed on it way too soon.
1 Triple H Defeating Him In Their Only Match
The worst moment from the epic 2011 run by CM Punk came at the end of his feud with Triple H. WWE received massive online views for the must-watch segments between Triple H and Punk. Worked shoot promos of hostile comments felt believable from both sides to create a desire for a big match there.
WWE wasted their big dream match by having it as a last-minute replacement of Triple H replacing an injured Nash. Night of Champions 2011 was the only time we received a singles match between the two, and Triple H inexplicably won as a part-time wrestler defeating Punk during his hottest run.
