Every Wrestler Who Defeated John Cena For The WWE Title (And How They Did It)

4. CM Punk

Cm Punk John Cena
WWE.com

Most famously conquering John Cena in June 2011's phenomenal 'Money In The Bank' clash, CM Punk would also defeat 'The Champ' in the main event of that year's 'Summerslam', tidying up the convoluted set of circumstances that had befallen the WWE Title.

Following Punk's heroic first victory in Chicago and subsequent storyline walk-out holding the gold, WWE hastily arranged a tournament to crown a new champion.

Though Rey Mysterio would win the tournament, he'd be required to defend the title against the former champion later that night, which resulted in the 'Leader of the Cenation' holding aloft a brand new title belt, despite his discomfort at knowing who the real champion was.

With Triple H positioned as an impartial referee (despite suspicious gesticulation from Punk), the stage was set, but neither the match nor finish could live up to the original.

Booking an intentionally screwy finish, 'The Game' counted the fall on Cena despite 'The Face That Runs The Place' having his foot on the bottom rope.

And it would all shortly be for nought, as Punk would be decked by a returning Kevin Nash whilst celebrating victory, allowing Alberto Del Rio to cash in his 'Money In The Bank' title shot and take the title for himself.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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