7 Times Wrestlers Recovered From A Burial

Through all the lawsuits, gripes about not headlining Wrestlemania and podcast-pipebombs defacing the company, it’s easy to forget that, at one point, CM Punk was the company's golden goose, and that Vince McMahon was “bending over backwards to give him everything he’d ever wanted”.

However, it’s even easier to forget that Punk’s legendary 434-day title reign could have remained a fantasy.

Out of all the ways for a superstar to lose his first World Title, vacating it has to be the worst. It does nothing to further any storylines, makes the rising star look weak and leaves him at a dead end. Unfortunately, Punk was a victim of this outrageous decision in 2008. After a punt kick from Randy Orton rendered him unable to compete in a Championship Scramble match at Unforgiven 2008, he was forced to vacate the title. Upon his return a mere 8 days later, he lost a now-forgotten rematch and was quickly shunted down the card. When one takes into account the fact that this was his first ever World Title, the way in which it ended is downright ludicrous.

Although no one could have foreseen it, it’s possible that this loss ultimately helped to propel Punk to main event success, an addition to his angst and hardship that would ultimately contribute to his legendary ‘Pipebomb’ that shot him into stardom. However, we must remember it for being the blatant burial that it was, and commend Punk for his tenacity (and pray that Finn Balor still has something left in him).