5 gifted wrestlers WWE refused to push but were eventually forced to

#1 Former WWE Champion CM Punk

With his numerous tattoos and unremarkable physique, CM Punk never fit WWE's vision for a Superstar. However, Punk made up for it with his tremendous promos and in-ring performance. In his first pay-per-view match at Survivor Series 2006, The Straight Edge Superstar got a better reaction than DX and Rated-RKO.

Despite the fans' desire to see Punk in a prominent position, he was only used in middling storylines. All this changed after the infamous "pipe-bomb" promo, which saw Punk air his grievances while promising to leave with the WWE Championship in his hometown of Chicago.

This segment established Punk as the hottest commodity in professional wrestling. He eventually became one of the focal points of television for the remainder of his tenure. Punk also enjoyed a legendary 434-day reign as WWE Champion before dropping the title to The Rock.

He followed up this run by facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania 29 in what turned out to be the best match on the show.