10 Failed WWE Pushes One Tweak Away From Excellence

4. CM Punk (2006-2007)

Ryback WWE
WWE.com

Why it failed: That recent WWE returnee (sort of) CM Punk didn't leave years before he actually did was perhaps a bigger miracle than his 2019 comeback - the company relentlessly filled his plate so full of the sh*t Vince McMahon likes his talent to eat that it could have turned even a 'Straight Edge Superstar' to the bottle.

Never was it worse than in his formative years as a man that couldn't even comfortably dominate the C-brand. "Mythical brass rings indeed".

One Tweak: Make CM Punk the new face of the new ECW by giving him the Championship at the new pay-per-view and keeping it on him for absolutely f*cking ages.

Yes that's technically more than one tweak, but it's trapped in one long sentence and it makes the same point. In much the same way a well-booked Elimination Chamber might have salvaged December To Dismember, an early title victory to continue his undefeated streak would have expedited a Raw or SmackDown run that, too, could have had less potholes pre-"Pipe Bomb".

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett