12 Times WWE Broke Its Own Golden Rules

Over the decades, WWE has gathered a reputation as doing business a certain way. There's a hierarchy both behind and in front of the camera, and the delicate structure is rarely upset - Vince McMahon calls all of the shots while his top star dominates television and live shows. Even as Stephanie McMahon has taken control of the writing team and there's been more fluctuation on top of the card, it's still a tried-and-true formula - Vince has final say, and booking revolves around a top babyface (John Cena, for the past ten years). There are more specific rules and regulations that govern WWE programming on a day to day basis - some explicitly stated, and some a result of tradition. Certain matches have important consequences and certain stipulations demand adherence. All in all, the result is an instantly recognizable product for which WWE has become famous. Still, every rule is broken eventually - there's a time and place to shatter even the most sacred of company mandates. Sometimes WWE has picked the right time and place, making millions of dollars. Other times, they've badly misjudged the situation and cost themselves the same fortune. Here are 12 instances where WWE broke its own golden rules:

12. CM Punk Joins WWE As CM Punk

In 2002, WWE went through a brief kick of debuting wrestlers under their real names - a trend still felt in the presence of longtime superstars John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Randy Orton. It wasn't long before the company changed protocol, though, and wrestlers were back to using WWE-created sobriquets so the organization could retain all legal rights to the names. The ensuing years saw the creative team come up with flip-flopped names like Daniel Bryan, questionable ones like Michael McGillicutty, and outright insane choices like Dolph Ziggler. One wrestler who managed to avoid the trend was CM Punk. Long considered one of the best wrestlers on the independent scene, Punk's real-life straight-edge lifestyle became part of his wrestling gimmick, creating a unique character that was associated with groups like Ring of Honor and IWA: Mid-South. In 2005, Punk signed with WWE and reported to Ohio Valley Wrestling. Not only was he still called "CM Punk," but he kept the straight-edge, alternative music-inspired character. When he debuted on WWE TV as part of the ECW brand, he was still the same CM Punk. Punk had a long and successful WWE career. His character evolved over time, but it never strayed far from the CM Punk fans saw on the independent scene - and, one suspects, the real-life personality of the performer. The name CM Punk became world famous, and the man behind it is free to use it wherever he wants.