1. CM Punk Wins WWE Title And Walks Out of the Company - Money In The Bank 2011
This storyline was done once before by Punk in Ring of Honor. It was announced that Punk was leaving the company, and was going to have his last match as a World Championship match. That fueled speculation as to what would happen if Punk won the title. However, at the time, Ring of Honor was only a grass-roots company, and while the impact rocked the foundation of the ROH fanbase, the ripple effect did not reach far beyond ground zero. Now, the storyline was to be done on a much larger scale, with far more pairs of eyes focused on the proceedings. The story was amplified by the fact that Punks supposed last match would take place in his hometown of Chicago. The ambience in the building that night had a Wrestlemania feel to it. Earlier in the night, the WWE had already appealed to the smart fan base by putting over internet darlings like Daniel Bryan and Christian in the Smackdown Money in the Bank and World Heavyweight Championship matches respectively. The pre-match hype video was masterfully done to build the anticipation to a fever pitch. After a brief pause, the opening riffs of This Fire Burns by Killswitch Engage immediately led to one of the loudest sustained ovations ever experienced in WWE. Punk slowly walked out in his new white Best in the World ringer tee to an even louder reception. The match itself with Cena was masterful. They went more than 30 minutes with the crowd behind Punk the entire time and booing the normally beloved Cena, quite similar to how the crowd treated Punk and his opponent Austin Aries in Ring of Honor. The ending of the Cena match was a little overbooked with the arrival of Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis. But Punk won the match cleanly with the Go to Sleep, and the celebration began. Vince McMahon tried to get the title back by sending in Alberto Del Rio to cash in his newly won Money in the Bank contract, but Punk kicked him in the head and left through the crowd. The final image of him blowing a kiss to Vince McMahon was the coup de grâce. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wroqcQVcoIg The storyline would get muddied up in future weeks with the addition of a second WWE Championship and the involvement of Triple H as the new Chief Operating Officer, but for one night, everything worked perfectly, and the moment doesnt mean nearly as much if done in any other city but Chicago. This was the night that Chicago established itself as the top wrestling town in WWEs circuit, and its an honor thats well-deserved. What new Chicago moments will be made this week as Payback takes place at the Allstate Arena this Sunday? Be sure to follow me on Twitter @PocketSeagull and leave a comment below!
