10 Lost Classic WWE Matches
5. CM Punk Vs. John Cena - Night Of Champions 2012
While their matches at Money in the Bank 2011 and on Raw in early 2013 are more famous in terms of crowd reaction and impact, inside the squared circle, John Cena and CM Punk never worked a better match together than their main event of Night Of Champions 2012.
The feud was exceptional leading in, just as it always was between Punk and Cena, built around Punk's recent heel turn and endless determination to keep his WWE Championship at any cost. Cena played the babyface as he usually does, desperate to help Punk see the light while also taking his championship away from him. Since they didn't have the sheer intensity of Chicago's Money in the Bank crowd to dictate the action, working in Cena's hometown of Boston, they were allowed to let the wrestling take centre stage.
Punk and Cena's chemistry meant that their sequences together felt genuinely monumental and they paced the match so well that it felt like a finish could come at any moment. The double pin finish was a little contrived, if WWE had instituted time limit draws, that would have been the perfect non-finish but that shouldn't take away from the brilliance they achieved.