10 MORE Wrestling Matches That Became Inadvertently Infamous

3. CM Punk Vs Ryback (WWE Hell In A Cell 2012)

CM Punk Ryback
WWE.com

In a podcast interview with Colt Cabana that's ultimately got him in far more bother for other comments he made, CM Punk wasn't all that kind to former foe Ryback for his alleged clumsiness during their various clashes together either side of the heel/face divide between 2012 and 2013.

It's perhaps kind to even refer to their feud as a feud, considering the accidental nature of their stopgap stories each year. However, for all their middling efforts, their inaugural Hell In A Cell clash had enough curiosity to draw the last decent B-show buyrate of the pre-Network era. Hell In A Cell 2012. Falling just short of 200,000 orders, the card outperformed every non-'Big 4' show that year with the exception of an Extreme Rules card headlined by Brock Lesnar's bloodthirsty WWE return.

As with 'The Beast' and John Cena then, fans were curious to see Ryback test his undefeated streak against a d*ckheaded heel champion gradually amassing a record-breaking reign.

Booking themselves into a corner with Punk's Royal Rumble 2013 clash with The Rock already locked in, Ryback became a victim of crushing circumstance. Bottling a good finish, the company delivered a f*ck one, incorporating corrupt referee Brad Maddox and a fast-count. 'The Big Guy's aura was halved in size the moment Maddox rapidly slapped three, and hung drawn and quartered by the time The Shield debuted to do more of the same the following month.

Contributor
Contributor

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, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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