10 Wrestling Matches Booked Out Of Spite

5. Triple H Vs CM Punk (WWE Night Of Champions 2011)

Goldberg The Fiend
WWE.com

"Am I f*cking going over" was supposedly the only question Triple H had for certain WWE writers when he was running Raw with his deathly dull iron fist in the mid-2000s. By 2011, he could answer the question himself.

Unfortunately for CM Punk, "f*ck yeah I'm going over!" wasn't ideal for the run he was on.

'The Voice Of The Voiceless' had already returned a touch too early from his transcendent WWE Championship victory at Money In The Bank, then won a rematch against John Cena in less-than-clean fashion then found himself battered by Kevin Nash and dethroned by Alberto Del Rio. Detonating a Pipe Bomb had started well, but suddenly he was losing way more than he was winning.

The intended Night Of Champions clash with Nash would have surely gone his way, but when 'The Game' stepped in for his injured mate, the figurative betting may as well have been suspended.

Hunter had fumed on-screen with a couple of Punk's near-the-knuckle gestures and remarks, and presumably couldn't wait to plant him with a Pedigree like all the rest. This useless result was never returned to after the fact - Hunter and Punk were teaming by the next pay-per-view, and the 'Straight Edge Superstar' was about as iconoclastic as an Edge t-shirt by the time he finally regained the gold months later.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 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 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, 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