10 Times WWE Totally Changed Its In-Ring Style

2. CM Punk Vs. Daniel Bryan - Over The Limit 2012

Eddie Guerrero Kurt Angle
WWE.com

The WWE canon was hardly bereft of the technical banger up until 2012 - Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect, Kurt Angle et al. wrestled many incredible matches in their time - but those matches were consistent with a thread of pro wrestling WWE has never denied, only marginalised to the upper midcard when the outsize megastar was on top.

This match was in the vein of a genre and spirit that WWE had openly mocked just two years prior, and it was contested for the WWE Championship.

This was a technical banger so informed by Punk and Bryan's Indy exploits that they even, with tongue in cheek or heart on sleeve, paid tribute to Super Dragon's curb stomp. This was a love letter to the dreaded Indy scene of the 2000s in which Punk and Bryan came up penned with a squelching viciousness.

Punk offered the body toned and elasticated through the running-heavy workout he had recently adopted for Bryan to contort at gross angles in an early, mat-based exchange. When Punk escaped, Bryan leathered his jaw with a succession of super-stiff elbow strikes Michael Cole sounded genuinely appalled by on commentary.

Punk and Bryan worked almost the exact match Bryan purportedly had to get away from, to "make it in WWE," and a spellbound North Carolina crowd went apesh*t for it.

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!