Ranking EVERY WWE Champion From Worst To Best
14. CM Punk
CM Punk - much to the chagrin of his fans, and your writer is a big one - was not a massive needle-mover during his 434-day run as WWE Champion nor at too many of the flashpoints of the 2011 Summer Of Punk. It's a significant mark against 'The Voice Of The Voiceless', but it's just about the only one that springs to mind when reflecting on what, for the time, was an unbelievable and remarkable run.
It at long last provided Punk with some of the validation he'd always craved. He wanted to be the babyface that closed out the house shows just as much as he wanted to be the heel that lost everything on WWE's grandest stage, but too often he was robbed of both. Though the reign lasted longer than anybody's since Hulk Hogan 25 years earlier, he lost a lot of main event spots to John Cena, and infamously found himself out of the WrestleMania conversation completely due to the ongoing three year Cena/Rock story.
Per his 2023 return, there might yet be another day for Punk and the WWE Championship, but he'll at very least have Money In The Bank 2011 forever. One of the great nights in company history and centred entirely around him to boot, this was the sort of night every pro wrestler dreams of, and one that was, by then, earned multiple times over.