10 Wrestling Matches Everybody Wanted (But Nobody Watched)

6. The CM Punk Vs. John Cena 2011 Series

CM Punk John Cena belts
WWE

Come the f*ck on, pal.

Everybody watched the CM Punk Vs. John Cena match at Money In The Bank 2011. It was one of the best and most monumental matches in WWE history. The tension was so thick, and CM Punk's counter wrestling approach so immaculate as both intra-match device and character building exercise, that it all converged to create quite possibly the loudest night in WWE history.

If it didn't happen, and if CM Punk hadn't excoriated WWE and John Cena in the build, fans might not have dared to dream of a real meritocracy that slowly, ultimately created the market conditions for AEW to exist eight years later.

This might read as something of a stretch, but a detached look at the hard data outright confirms that it wasn't nearly as successful as the narrative surrounding it indicates. The buy amount for MITB (195,000) was a vast improvement on 2010 (162,000), but the 2013 edition of the show, built via Mark Henry's seminal faux-retirement promo, actually performed marginally better (199,000).

The SummerSlam '11 number meanwhile bordered on outright disastrous; at 296,000, it was battered by the 2010 edition, which drew 350,000.

In fact, SummerSlam hadn't sold as badly, prior to 2011, since 1997 (!). The next two years also fared better, so it can't be attributed to steady year-on-year decline, either. So what explains the dissonance between acclaim and buzz and financial performance?

Did the less vocal WWE fans not enjoy being told their beloved promotion was a f*cking joke?

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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!