12 Incredible Behind-The-Scenes WrestleMania Photos

11. Happier Times

The Rock Paige Ronda Rousey AJ Lee
WWE

Taken shortly before the 2012 Hall of Fame ceremony, the image captures pleasant peace between CM Punk and Triple H, with Shawn Michaels most likely harnessing the most mutual respect of anybody in the room.

Punk was the WWE Champion at the time, and in the middle of his historic 434-day title reign which would see the company half-heartedly promote him on a level with John Cena as the company's top star.

Just months earlier, Punk had been defeated by 'The Game' in a pay-per-view match he later lambasted Triple H over.

Rather than striking while the iron was hot with 'The Voice of the Voiceless', the senseless loss substantially cooled Punk, and he made no secret of his lingering resentment for the decision and Hunter himself when he acrimoniously left the organisation in 2014.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. 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