Every WWE Money In The Bank Winner Ranked Worst to Best

CM Punk had many memorable reigns and feuds as a world champion. This was not one of them.

Initially not even scheduled to win the briefcase, Punk was option B after Jeff Hardy failed a drug test. He would cash in on Edge the night after Night of Champions, bringing the World Heavyweight Champion back to RAW (with the WWE Championship moving to SmackDown a week earlier). Unfortunately, midcard babyface CM Punk stood no chance to ascend to the main event on a show that featured John Cena, Batista, Chris Jericho, and Shawn Michaels. His pay-per-view matches would play second fiddle to John Cena and Triple H’s feuds, and he was only able to get one clean defense against JBL at SummerSlam (with his match against Batista at the Great American Bash ending in a double DQ).

What’s most galling about Punk’s first reign is that he didn’t even lose it in a match. At Unforgiven, in a backstage segment, Randy Orton punted Punk in the head, which removed him from the Championship Scramble match later in the night. Chris Jericho was the substitute, and he ended up winning the title.

Overall, not a time WWE will talk about in the far-out scenario where Punk returns to the company.