5 biggest mistakes WWE made with CM Punk

#2 John Cena overshadowing CM Punk during his 434-day title reign (2012)

CM Punk's 2011-13 title reign > any of Brock's title reigns since 2014Minus a few hiccups with main events, CM Punk's 434 Day WWE Title reign is a prime example of how you book a long title reign. pic.twitter.com/DLNHXQXTMN

— P̷u̷n̷k̷.̷™̷ (@TheEnduringIcon) February 25, 2020

CM Punk's WWE Championship reign ranks among the greatest in history, despite the issues with it. For the most part, he played second fiddle to John Cena. Punk main evented a single pay-per-view as the babyface WWE Champion - one which did not feature The Cenation Leader at all.

Some main events were justified, while others were not. For every mega match against The Rock or Brock Lesnar, Cena main evented WWE pay-per-views against Kane and John Laurinaitis. The fact that the latter main evented Over The Limit 2012 instead of CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan remains utterly baffling.

The Straight Edge Superstar constantly stole the show from beneath John Cena, although he should have been closing them. Punk only got to headline pay-per-views consistently once he turned heel, as he feuded with the 16-time world champion. He was outstanding in that role alongside Paul Heyman.

OTD in 2012: CM Punk and Daniel Bryan put on a brilliant match for the #WWE championship at Over The Limit.But that wasn't the main event. The main event was... John Laurinaitis defeating John Cena. Of course it was. pic.twitter.com/CJBmPrpbCw

— GiveMeSport WWE & Wrestling (@GMS_WWE) May 20, 2018

While he excelled alongside Heyman, the babyface portion of his 434-day WWE Title reign does leave a little to be desired. Punk deserved to headline many more pay-per-views than he did.