8 Times Wrestlers Who Wanted To Quit Were Given Championships
3. CM Punk (WWE Championship)
As his wrestling clock ticked over into its twelfth year, CM Punk's battered and bruised body told him it was probably time for a break - before it broke on its own accord. In his own words, Punk was "tired, sick, depressed", and so came to the difficult conclusion that come July 2011, he'd call quits on his WWE tenure.
With his time dwindling down, Punk was expecting to simply drift soundlessly back to his home in Chicago. Then a pipebomb broke the silence.
On 27 June, at the end of an already exciting Raw Roulette, Punk was handed a live mic. We all know what happened next.
Likewise, we all know where it went. Punk entered July's Money in the Bank PPV as the company's hottest commodity - but he still hadn't put pen to paper. He emerged as the new champion, the mystery over his future sparking the industry's biggest talking point in years.
As it happened, the ink was still drying on Punk's renewed deal when he pinned Cena for the belt; he'd finally acquiesced just as the show went on air.