10 Wrestlers Who Became World Champions At The WRONG Time

9. CM Punk

Drew McIntyre Right Wrong WWE Title
WWE.com

The man himself and his loyal fans would surely disagree, but CM Punk wasn't ready to become World Heavyweight Champion in 2008. Sure, he'd won Money In The Bank at WrestleMania XXIV and was a popular babyface, but Punk never had the backing of those who mattered most. No, not the fans. Those in the office.

Vince McMahon blatantly didn't see Punk as a proper top liner who could carry the can on flagship show Raw. After cashing in his chips on Edge (thanks to Batista on the 30 June 2008 episode), ol' CM struggled to convince Vince. He wouldn't even get the distinction of dropping the belt properly either, which was rubbish.

Punk was replaced by eventual winner Chris Jericho in a 'Championship Scramble' at Unforgiven in September. His World Title dreams were over (for now) without even being involved in the closing chapter. WWE booked Punk as a 50/50 'he's sort of in our plans but not really' champion over the summer.

That was never going to work.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.