10 Times WWE Screwed Wrestlers Out Of Huge Matches
2. CM Punk – Unforgiven 2008
CM Punk was the World Heavyweight heading into Unforgiven 2008 and was scheduled to defend his title in a Championship Scramble match. But Punk never made it to the ring. Instead, he was storyline attacked backstage by Randy Orton and removed from the match entirely.
The real reason? WWE didn’t believe Punk was “ready” to be the face of the company. Despite being champion, he reportedly hadn’t won over key decision-makers backstage. So rather than booking him to lose the title in the ring, WWE wrote him out of the match entirely — and had Chris Jericho take his place and win the belt.
Punk wasn’t injured. He wasn’t suspended. He was simply pulled from the main event of a pay-per-view he was supposed to headline as champion. It was a massive burial, and Punk himself has spoken openly about how disrespected he felt by the decision.
This wasn’t just a missed opportunity — it was WWE actively sabotaging their own champion’s credibility.