10 "Perfect" Wrestling Feuds That Went Horribly Wrong

3. CM Punk Vs. Chris Jericho

Thumb CM Punk Chris Jericho
WWE.com

Yes, this is the third entry related to CM Punk on this list.

Per his recent interview with ESPN's Marc Raimondi, Punk mightn't disagree. "I feel like [my time in WWE] was kind of wasted. It could have been so much more. It should have been so much more."

The CM Punk Vs. Chris Jericho programme could and should have been so much more.

Predicated on who truly was the best in the world, the premise was undermined by Jericho not winning the Royal Rumble and the match acting as a secondary concern to The Rock Vs. John Cena. If the premise wasn't insulting, it was certainly stretched. The heat was cheap, but that's fine sometimes; still, it felt like the logical thing to do rather than an emotionally intense story, and the loose thread of a grudge conflict was only briefly woven into their only very good match at WrestleMania XXVIII, where Punk would lose the title in the event of his being disqualified. It was abandoned a third of the way through a back-and-forth bout below the world class standard.

The Street Fight sequel at Extreme Rules was better, but Jericho fell on his arse and an obviously fake prop bottle disintegrated in his hands in the laughable angle that built towards it.

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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 current Undisputed WWE 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!