8 Wrestling Matches That Ended Before They Were Meant To

3. CM Punk Vs. Jack Swagger (WWE Raw - 9 January 2012)

Look at the contrast in facial expressions between CM Punk and Jack Doan in the image accompanying this entry. Furious that the referee had botched the end of his match with Jack Swagger on the 9 January 2012 Raw, Punk aimed a brief torrent of abuse his way. Meanwhile, Mr. Doan gave the wrestler a blank look that screamed, "I couldn't care less".

There's no way the ending fans got was in the script. Punk delivered his Randy Savage elbow off the top, pinned Swagger and then tried to lock on his Anaconda Vice submission hold when Swagger pulled a shoulder from the canvas. Sadly for both, Doan had already slapped the mat three times and called for the bell.

That disjointed finish and Punk's irritated outburst as his hand was raised gave the game away: Doan had either counted too quickly or believed that was the final spot.

It wasn't, and Punk let him know about it. To his credit, Swagger made himself scarce so all focus was on Punk's "celebration".