Ranking Wrestling's Most Shocking Surprise Every Year 1990-2020

12. 2009 - CM Punk Turns Heel

Hulk Hogan John Cena nwo
WWE.com

Something he'd teased during his second World Championship cash-in, CM Punk's actual turn on Jeff Hardy unleashed the Straight Edge beast that had been lurking within him since his Ring Of Honor peak.

Punk had won and lost the World Championship from and to the 'Charismatic Enigma' over the summer of 2009, but Punk's switch to the dark side got him the gold for good at SummerSlam and eventually brought about the brilliance of brutality of the Straight Edge Society.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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