25 Best WWE Raw Matches Ever

4. John Cena Vs CM Punk (February 25th, 2013)

CM Punk John Cena
WWE.com

Though he's stood across from the deepest and most diverse talent roster in industry history over the past 16 years, there's been few opponents to bring the absolute best out of John Cena quite like CM Punk. And that's not to discredit 'Big Match John' - he extracted an extra special layer from the 'Voice Of The Voiceless' too.

The stakes weren't quite as high as their legendary Money In The Bank 2011 WWE Title scorcher (though a WrestleMania 29 headliner against The Rock did await the winner), but that's perhaps what made this Raw rematch even better - they both established enough suspense to make it somehow seem an even bigger occasion.

The match was an acid test for an acidic Punk. He knew he'd be paired with The Undertaker at the 'Show Of Shows', required there as he was here to muster doubt in a result most assumed nailed on. Unhappy with the outcome, he used the contest to protest his position in an unwinable war.

Refusing to lose to each other's greatest hits, Cena somehow survived a Punk piledriver, before astonishingly busting out an imperfectly perfect hurricanrana to set up the match-winning Attitude Adjustment.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. 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