10 Huge Bust-Ups Between Wrestlers And Bookers

7. CM Punk Vs. Triple H

Do The Job Austin McMahon
WWE.com

Triple H wasn't formally booking WWE, but he had controlled his creative direction for well over a decade by 2014.

CM Punk was beat up, depressed, pissed off, disenchanted. He had spent his entire career in a rage against a machine that never saw him as a tippy-top guy despite so much vocal and metric-supported evidence to the contrary. He wanted the WrestleMania main event, and never got it. He was soul-sick, and Triple H offered him some chicken soup in the form of a...

...25 minute methodical 'Mania semi-main.

But CM Punk got to go over!

He'd probably have to endure lines like "Let's face it, Phil, you're just a straight edge Shannon Moore we let headline a B-level pay-per-view when business sucked" in the build, but he would go over, in a result that would definitely benefit Punk himself, and not Triple H, who definitely didn't need a great and cool opponent with which to preserve his legacy.

Definitely.

Who was in the right?

Punk's "F*ck this" departure catalysed the butterfly effect that led us to Daniel Bryan's career pinnacle, so Punk. WWE's best booker of the 2010s was a talent who had left the company.

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 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!