4 of CM Punk's greatest WWE moments

#1 CM Punk vs John Cena – Money in the Bank 2011

Picture perfect

This was the last match rated a 5-star bout by wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, and it is the only one which was not a gimmick match.

It's brilliant story line was the angle WWE Creative came up with following Punk’s infamous pipe bomb. Before the 'pipe-bomb', Punk had revealed that his contract will end immediately following The Money in the Bank pay-per-view and that he will take the WWE championship from John Cena.

Vince McMahon made desperate attempts to make Punk sign a new contract but Punk refused. On the fateful night, when he stepped up to face John Cena, the stipulation was that if Punk wins, he will walk away with the championship and leave the company.

The whole rivalry boasted some of the best promo work involving the likes of CM Punk and John Cena. Also, because of the pipe-bomb, it had a touch of reality to it and people were genuinely invested in the match like they hadn't been hitherto.

The match took place in Chicago, the hometown of CM Punk. Punk received a hero's welcome, and Cena was booed out of the building. After a brilliant match which saw interference by Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis, Punk came off as a victor and did leave the company with the title.

His hometown crowd’s reaction to the whole angle and his victory was the cherry on top. This moment became the defining moment of Punk’s career and will be remembered as one of his greatest.