Known as the 'Summer Of Punk', the sunnier months of 2011 were fairly gripping. Cutting an infamous 'shoot' promo on the June 27th edition of Monday Night Raw, CM Punk promised he was going to leave WWE following the Money In The Bank Pay-Per-View. On that show, Punk was set to face John Cena for the WWE Title. Money In The Bank took place in Punk's home state of Illinois. This only cranked up excitement surrounding the bout, and Cena went into the PPV as the definite heel character. As soon as he made his entrance, fans were booing like crazy. By contrast, they treated Punk like a returning hero. Signs bearing messages like, 'If Cena Wins, We Riot' were commonplace. There was no way around it, WWE had to give CM Punk the title. From a storyline perspective, it made perfect sense. He wasn't actually leaving the company in real life, but it added intrigue that the angle called for the end of his WWE contract. With the WWE Title in his possession, Punk waved goodbye and celebrated in amongst his hometown crowd.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
