One Moment WWE Wants You To Forget From Every Year (1985 to 2026)

16. 2011 - Triple H's Spiteful Burial Of CM Punk

triple h cm punk night of champions
WWE.com

Things change and people change, and that caveat's perhaps no better suited to two wrestlers more than CM Punk and Triple H, but as of writing in 2026, they are colleagues, confidents, and per just about every clip that exists of the two of them together, general and joint-most trusted soldier.

It's the latest improbable "never say never" scenario wrestling's thrown up, but to classify 'The Best In The World' and 'The Game' simply as former professional rivals would grossly understate how deep the resentment ran. CM Punk said as much during his iconic, revealing and destructive Art Of Wrestling tell-all with Colt Cabana in 2014, and as recently as 2026, Hunter's close confidant Kevin Nash specified just how cynical his best friend got during the dying days of 2011's dire "Summer Of Punk".

Deep into a doomed spin-off programme between Nash and Punk, 'The Voice Of The Voiceless' saved some of his most scathing remarks for Stephanie McMahon and the marriage between the two assumed WWE heirs. Per 'Big Daddy Cool', Triple H was so "hot" after one exchange that he collared Big Kev ahead of a planned Night Of Champions battle and said "You’re not wrestling Punk, I am. I’m beating that motherf***er." It's still real to him, dammit. 

Less revelation than confirmation, the story was that Nash was hurt at the time, forcing Hunter's hand. This party may still have been true, but Punk's fury at the time was as much to do with Triple H winning as it was him inserting himself into the contest. The future COO knew it too. The whole ugly story unsurprisingly wasn't included as part of a WWE Unreal recap of their prior tensions, presumably on account of how it undermines the persona Paul Levesque carefully curates for himself. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for nearly 10 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 65,000,000 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 provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, 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.