What happened when Alberto Del Rio cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on CM Punk?

At SummerSlam 2011, CM Punk was at his peak. He was in the best form of his life. The superstar had returned after leaving WWE following his Money in the Bank 2011 win over John Cena.

Immediately after returning, he ended up facing John Cena in another WWE Championship Match at SummerSlam.

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When did CM Punk return to WWE?

June 27th, 2011. A pipe bomb was dropped on WWE. Happy 10th anniversary, @CMPunk 🎙💥 pic.twitter.com/xDqCB9CrLt

— WWE on BT Sport (@btsportwwe) June 27, 2021

Heading into Money in the Bank 2011, CM Punk had announced that he would leave the company with the WWE Championship after defeating John Cena. Thanks to the pipe bomb, Punk was the massive crowd favorite in his hometown of Chicago. He overcame everything at the event, including a cash-in attempt by Alberto Del Rio to pin John Cena and walk away as WWE Champion.

Punk left with the title, and a tournament was held to determine the next champion. Rey Mysterio won the tournament to become the champion but later lost the title to Cena that same night.

At the time, CM Punk returned to WWE to claim he was the only rightful WWE Champion. Triple H made himself the special guest referee, and Punk faced John Cena to determine the true WWE Champion at SummerSlam.

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What happened at SummerSlam 2011 when CM Punk faced John Cena?

John Cena faced CM Punk w/ Triple H as the referee at Summerslam 2011, Brock Lesnar faced each one at the next 3 SS'. pic.twitter.com/ROcXXYcQWK

— Wrestling Access (@WrestlingAccess) August 8, 2015

At SummerSlam 2011, John Cena and CM Punk went at it. The two fought while Triple H tried his best to call it down the middle. In the end, Punk won the match after hitting Cena with the GTS. Triple H counted the pinfall, not observing that Cena's foot had been on the bottom rope.

However, Punk would not get to celebrate for long.

Kevin Nash returned and attacked CM Punk with a Jackknife Powerbomb. Alberto Del Rio took immediate advantage and cashed in the briefcase, before hitting a Step Up Enzuigiri on Punk to become the new champion.

Thus, Punk lost his title in the same way that he had won his first two World Heavyweight Championships in WWE. Punk would be naturally furious and accused Triple H of conspiring with Kevin Nash.

This would lead to a feud between CM Punk, Kevin Nash, and Triple H.