10 Wrestling Matches That Led To Massive Lawsuits

3. CM Punk's Royal Rumble 2014

Royal Rumble 2014 CM Punk
WWE

When: Royal Rumble 2014 (26 January 2014).

The 2014 Royal Rumble remains, for now, the last match of CM Punk's WWE career. He worked for almost 50 minutes in the 30-man melee before being eliminated by Kane. Early in the bout, Punk suffered a head injury and concussion, and he was pretty p*ssed about how it was handled.

Retreating into a nearby corner, he asked a doctor for advice and was reportedly told, "What do you want me to do?". That wasn't what Punk wanted to hear, and he was left enraged by how another WWE doc, Chris Amann, also misdiagnosed a staph infection. Less than 24 hours after the Rumble, Punk left the company.

His comments about the doctors on Colt Cabana's 'Art Of Wrestling' podcast led to legal hot water. Amann sued Punk and Cabana for defamation, and sought roughly $4 million in damages. The case was ruled in favour of Punk and Cabana in 2018, but that wasn't the end of the drama; Cabana later sued Punk for breach of contract and fraud.

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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.