10 WWE Moments That Shocked The Wrestling World
8. CM Punk Leaves With The WWE Championship
When CM Punk's contract was up in July 2011, what WWE no doubt expected to be a simple renewal became one of the most pivotal and memorable moments in recent history.
As number one contender to the WWE Championship, Punk found himself in a unique situation, challenging for the WWE Championship on his final contracted date. This unusual predicament gave birth to the legendary "Pipebomb" promo on Raw and, all of a sudden, a routine title defence for Cena became the most unpredictable PPV in years.
By the time the Money in the Bank event was over, CM Punk was new WWE Champion and, for the first time in history, WWE was left without the WWE Championship. In reality, Punk had re-signed with WWE just an hour before it all went down on PPV. But for the viewing audience around the world, seeing the story unfold on TV was gripping stuff. To blur the lines even further, Punk made a handful of appearances after the fact, including the San Diego Comic Con and independent promotion AAW in Illinois.
Punk inevitably made his return to WWE one week later, missing just one episode of Raw on the sidelines. Nevertheless, the eight day hiatus was one of the most exciting weeks in wrestling and sent the rumour mill into overdrive.