10 WrestleMania Matches History Deprived Us Of (That Weren't Actually Impossible)

9. John Cena Vs. CM Punk - WrestleMania XXVII

Bret Hart Randy Savage
WWE.com

The Miz character was on fire in late 2010, but his in-ring game was still lukewarm.

His biggest match yet, at WrestleMania XXVII, saw him retain his WWE Championship to John Cena, but the victory hardly covered him in glory. The match was a tedious sleepwalk even before Miz suffered a concussion, and as the remainder of their feud confirmed, Cena did not take him seriously as a main event player.

Punk meanwhile wrestled a vastly underrated midcard consolation prize opposite Randy Orton, in which he demonstrated that he was far and above Miz in terms of in-ring athleticism and psychology. When he hobbled over to a (storyline) injured Orton with an expression of smug derangement, his internet darling status was erased; the pop Orton received after drilling Punk with the catch RKO was powered by Punk's loathsome body language.

The famous pipebomb promo may well have been lost within this alternative Cena Vs. Punk-in-Georgia timeline, but in hindsight, those five minutes were overshadowed by months' worth of mind-scrambling, counterproductive and retconned storylines.

The Springtime of Punk doesn't have the same ring - but the Summer of Punk, ultimately, was a damp squib.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!