10 Times The Past Screwed WWE's Present
2. Triple H Vs. CM Punk (Night Of Champions 2011)
From one needless CM Punk burial to another, there’s simply no defence for Punk’s loss to Triple H at Night Of Champions 2011. This was the night that the ailing Summer of Punk finally ended, and Punk’s momentum all but died.
Having owned WWE for most of the summer, Punk lost his WWE Championship when Alberto Del Rio cashed in on him following an assault by Kevin Nash at SummerSlam 2011. This led to Punk pointing the finger at Triple H, Nash’s old ally, and while it took a lot of persistence on Punk’s part, Triple H eventually subbed himself into Nash’s place and faced Punk at Night Of Champions.
The No DQ match featured interferences from Johnny Ace, Nash, The Miz, and R-Truth, and Triple H scored a victory that he gained absolutely nothing from. He went nowhere in the aftermath, and while Punk had cooled-off a little after losing his title, a win over one of WWE’s power players would’ve really helped him get back on track.
The Game disagreed, however. Punk cited this specific match as a major source of his resentment towards the WWE hierarchy during his post-release appearance on Colt Cabana’s podcast, and the ripple effect was felt for years to come. At a time when Punk should have been WWE’s biggest star, he was needlessly fed to an ageing heel whose best years were long behind him.