WWE: 12 "Can't Miss" Matches From 2013

5. The Rock vs. CM Punk (Royal Rumble, January 27th)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIoYfkpfhes CM Punk's historic 434 day WWE Championship reign was one of the year's most notable accomplishments. The 2013 Royal Rumble was given a tremendous boost by The Rock's coming back. Love him or hate him, Rock puts butts in seats and sells a lot of PPVs. His appearances are special. For him to be the man that ended Punk's reign was noteworthy, adding a climactic stamp to the longest WWE title run in 25 years. Weekly fans of the modern product were outraged by the result, claiming that Rock did not deserve to be champion if he was not wrestling consistently. The WWE certainly took a calculated risk in putting the title on a man who had wrestled only twice in 9 years. It alienated a part of the fanbase that can be very vocal, but even the most jaded of fans cannot deny the mainstream appeal of seeing the WWE Championship belt on the shoulder of the highest grossing movie star of 2013. One of the most interesting reasons to watch this match was to see how the WWE decided to portray CM Punk. The Chicago Made star constantly has to prove himself. He might very well be the "Best in the World," but he has neither the look nor the attitude that the WWE covets. How he was booked against The Rock would go a long way toward definitively identifying to the fans just how the WWE felt about him. He needed to look strong and convincing in defeat to save face. So, it must have been quite the pleasant surprise to Punk fans to see him dominate 75% of the match. The one-sided nature may have deprived the wrestling world of a potential classic, but Punk walked away with a dominant performance against one of the WWE's all-time greatest stars (despite not retaining the title).