10 Wrestlers Who Turned During Championship Reigns

9. CM Punk (2009)

CM Punk
WWE.com

CM Punk was a man forever altered by his surroundings when he cashed in his Money In The Bank briefcase for the second time.

Wronged (and horribly so) by the way his first Championship reign was cruelly terminated a year prior, the 'Straight Edge Superstar' wasn't about to be quite as nicey nicey this time around. Nor was he prepared to feel any guilt about Jeff Hardy being the victim of his latest briefcase-based triumph.

The Extreme Rules title change had seen 'The Charismatic Enigma' endure a brutal war with Edge before falling to the once-virtuous Punk, but the ruthlessness and rye smile on Punk as he toasted his relatively easy win that night foreshadowed the darkness that followed.

Punk felt no remorse for his actions. The opposite in fact - he'd reclaimed something he'd been robbed of, and he'd done it at the expense of a man that had vices his lifestyle simply didn't abide by/

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett