10 Hysterical Times Wrestlers FORCED Each Other To Break Character

4. CM Punk Can’t Take It

CM Punk Paul Heyman Thumb
WWE

In late 2013, WWE promoted a ‘Championship Ascension’ ceremony. 

This followed a veritable campaign to make fans lose belief in Daniel Bryan. Bryan was demoted to the midcard after losing a WWE Championship programme to Randy Orton, who, in the ceremony, was presented alongside John Cena as the best champion in the history of the company. The fans, of course, resisted WWE’s narrative and vocalised their support of Bryan over and over and over again. This was the epitome of WWE’s arrogance; Bryan, paraded alongside a horde of former titleholders, was only there to appear as a lesser champion in the visual lineage. 

Did they think fans weren’t going to cheer for the most over wrestler in the company? 

This was WWE essentially being the uncool parent whose unruly children rejected them in sheer embarrassment.

Stephanie McMahon initiated the proceedings, and said that Triple H was “at the pinnacle” of those former champions. Now, this was an in-character line, but since the very idea was to present Cena and Orton at that pinnacle ahead of their unification bout at Tables, Ladders & Chairs, it was also a joke that didn’t recognise itself as a punchline. 

The line was so WWE that Punk, miserable to his guts of WWE, broke character and laughed in wry, helpless disgust in the background.

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!