10 Times The Past Buried WWE's Future

'The Summer of Punk' can mean two distinctly different things. In Ring of Honor terms, the summer of 2005 is heralded as one of the greatest periods in that company's history. Despite all rumors that he was leaving the promotion, Punk won the ROH Title from Austin Aries, unleashed one of the most unexpected and rapturously received heel turns of all time, put on a slew of great matches, and bowed out of the company for good to join WWE. And then there's the WWE's Summer of Punk.

After winning the WWE Championship from John Cena at Money in the Bank 2011, hot on the heels of his infamous Pipe Bomb, the expectation was that WWE would strap a rocket to the Straight-Edge Superstar and capitalize on the new eyes on their product. What they proceeded to do was the polar opposite of this, as Punk dropped his title to Alberto Del Rio at the next PLE, lost a number one contender's match to Cena, and got into a feud with Kevin Nash that made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

They weren't done there, though. Triple H would wrestle his only match in six months to defeat CM Punk at Night of Champions in a move that felt like a sledgehammer blow for many reasons. Firstly, it ensured that The Summer of Punk was a complete bust, but, crucially, it felt like Vince McMahon and his son-in-law rejected the WWE Universe's love of the 'Second City Saint' in no uncertain terms. Punk and the audience's call for change had been answered emphatically. No chance, that's what ya got.