10 Wrestling Storylines That Wasted Incredible Premises

3. The Summer Of Punk

HHH Adam Cole Shayna Baszler
WWE

The premise:

CM Punk, hardcore darling, articulates with savage precision the systemic issues plaguing WWE that led to his exit, thus becoming the voice of the voiceless before coining the catchphrase. He resolves to remove the WWE Championship from the waist of the gurning face of that system and take it with him in young retirement. This is thrilling, anxious stuff; we want Punk to stay, but we want him to defeat that system more. Money In The Bank is one of the all-time great nights; the match is a classic worked in a furnace, the result euphoric. All at once, the end is the beginning is the end; the catharsis only deepens the mystery. In one intoxicating presentation, WWE delivers everything one could ever ask of professional wrestling.

Now what?

The waste:

It's very naive to think that WWE would have its top title defended on a smaller, unaffiliated show now, much less in 2011, and so Punk didn't defend the title in ROH. But Christ, they didn't have to undersell every last story beat: WWE up and created a new title, Punk returned within eight days, and some very convoluted attempts to deepen the mystery followed to compensate - but "Is the very soul of WWE in the midst of transformation?" was rather more interesting than "Who texted Kevin Nash?"

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!