10 Times Vince McMahon Cut Off His Nose To Spite His Face

3. The CM Punk Suit Incident

Vince McMahon
WWE.com

It's a wonder that Punk lasted as long as he did in WWE. This is the second of three Vince McMahon problem-solving exercises - two of which were entirely imagined - to appear on this list pertaining to the Chicago Made superstar.

In 2009, fresh from contesting the feud of the year with Jeff Hardy, CM Punk as reigning World Heavyweight champion was in the midst of a series with The Undertaker. The following story is apocryphal, but knowing the WWE mindset, entirely plausible - and has been independently verified by several people.

On a European tour, 'Taker allegedly gave Punk a dressing down about the state of his scruffy dress sense. Punk's response was typically belligerent: "What about Cena?" Cena only dusted off the suit for special occasions. Moreover, Punk probably felt that his punk rocker gimmick would be seen as phoney had he smartened up his act; it is after all a scene which to this day sees fans turn on bands for signing with a major label.

Vince decided to punish Punk - the hottest heel WWE had built since Edge - by stripping him of his title in a barely-competitive 10:24 Hell In A Cell match at the inaugural edition of its namesake pay per view. Punk would end his breakthrough year by losing a dark match to R-Truth at TLC.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!