10 Unlikely WWE Champions With Hugely Memorable Title Runs

CM Punk is about as far away from the WWE's prototype champion as you can get. If John Cena was the blueprint, then CM Punk was the graffiti on the back.

Cena was the clean cut, muscular jock of WWE, while Punk's average physique, adorned with tattoos, made him the anti-authoritarian renegade. When the two were booked to collide at Money in the Bank 2011, it was a match made in heaven.

With Punk's WWE contract set to expire thereafter, the legendary "Pipebomb" promo that preceded it elevated their bout from B-PPV filler to a must-see attraction. What was initially a predictable main event victory for Cena became one of the biggest main events in recent history, solidified when Punk did the unthinkable and won the WWE Championship on his way out the door.

To the public, Punk was leaving WWE as champion; however, he would return to WWE in time for a "title vs. title" showdown with Cena at SummerSlam. Although his time with the belt wouldn't last, Punk's exit with the gold remains one of the most creative angles of the 21st century.

Punk would go on to recapture the belt later that same year in yet another hugely memorable run. His second reign was arguably even better than the first and became the longest of the modern era, lasting 434 days.