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#1 CM Punk vs. John Cena
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CM Punk always had one obstacle between him and the mountaintop of WWE. It was John Cena. The Doctor of Thuganomics has always occupied the top babyface position in the company since Punk arrived. The Straight Edge Superstar was even an extra at Cena's entrance at WrestleMania 22 in Chicago.
When CM Punk became a commentator while injured in late 2010 to early 2011, it was John Cena he targeted upon his return. Punk would then take over the Nexus to battle Cena, but John overcame the odds as he usually does.
He pinned Punk to win the Raw Elimination Chamber Match on his way to a WWE Championship Match at WrestleMania 27. This part of the story was just a prelude.
Later in the summer of 2011, CM Punk defeated WWE Champion John Cena in a non-title bout. The following week, he defeated Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio in a Triple Threat Match to become the Number One Contender for the WWE Championship.
Following the win, Punk announced that his title match against Cena at Money In The Bank would be his final match with the company.
CM Punk set out to win the gold and walk out of the company with his contract expiring in his hometown of Chicago. A week later, Punk interfered and cost Cena a Tables Match against R-Truth.
After the match, he sat on the stage with Cena down in the ring and cut what would be known as "The Pipebomb Promo". This amazing diatribe set the wrestling world ablaze.
CM Punk mentioned former WWE talents like Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar as well as putting down the management of the promotion and how Cena was in a long line of company men like The Rock.
This promo was revolutionary in that it created new fans and brought lapsed fans back to watching wrestling again. It set the stage for what would be the biggest WWE Championship Match in years.
At Money In The Bank 2011, CM Punk and John Cena put on an all-time classic that is among the greatest WWE matches in history. Punk owned a significant hometown advantage in Chicago and the crowd elevated everything the two men did.
Punk defeated Cena to win the WWE Championship and walked out of Chicago's All State Arena with the title.
CM Punk returned just eight days later following Cena beating Rey Mysterio to win the WWE Championship. With Punk's return, there were two WWE Champions and a showdown was made to crown the undisputed champ.
Triple H served as a special guest referee. In another great contest, Punk beat Cena in controversial fashion this time.
CM Punk and John Cena continued their series of matches at Hell In A Cell 2011 in a Triple Threat Cell Match with Alberto Del Rio, at Raw 1000 in 2012 when Cena cashed in his Money In The Bank contract on the WWE Champion CM Punk in a failed attempt and then at Summerslam 2012 in another Triple Threat with Big Show, which Punk won.
Their next clash went down at Night of Champions 2012 with Punk and Cena putting on an outstanding battle that went to a no contest after a double pin. Outside of another Triple Threat with Ryback at Survivor Series, the two men faced each other once again on the February 25th, 2013 episode of Raw with Cena winning in yet another fantastic bout to face The Rock at WrestleMania 29.
The encounters between these two generational talents helped anchor the WWE for nearly three years. They traded the WWE Championship and helped both men in their careers.
For Cena, it gave him a rival who pushed him to evolve. For Punk, Cena gave him a level of notoriety no one else in WWE could give him. That's why CM Punk vs. John Cena is Punk's greatest rivalry of his career.
