10 Fascinating Facts About WWE In 2012

10. Vince McMahon Nixed CM Punk In UFC

CM Punk would've had some schedule over Royal Rumble 2012 weekend had things gone his way. He was earmarked to walk Chael Sonnen down the aisle for his UFC fight with Michael Bisping in Chicago on the Saturday night, but that show fell a mere 24 hours before the Rumble in St. Louis.

Vince McMahon reportedly stepped in to scrap plans despite knowing the WWE Title would be on show in front of millions. According to Punk's interviews after leaving the company in 2014, McMahon even called UFC “barbaric”. The ever-witty (and not bitter at all) wrestler pointed out that Vince let Triple H accompany Floyd Mayweather to the ring for a boxing fight months later.

Funny that.

The most fun thing about all of this is that WWE and UFC would work something out these days. You definitely wouldn't see Hunter stop some crossover and badmouth the fight league in the process, put it that way. This was just one more board room brawl for Punk to navigate.