10 Real Life Events That Forced WWE Title Changes (4)

4. CM Punk Wins WWE Title On Day His Contract Expires At Money In The Bank 2011

                                      

This is one of the biggest stories in recent years that most fans know about because of how real of a situation it  was. After CM Punk’s memorable “shoot” promo in Las Vegas on the Raw stage in late June of 2011, there was a lot of discussion about how Punk’s WWE contract was expiring. The word came out that he was signed through the July 17 Money in the Bank event that was going to take place in Punk’s hometown of Chicago as he was set to take on John Cena for the WWE Title.
What was going to happen during the match? We really had no idea going into it. There was a feeling that Punk was going to end up winning the WWE Title and then they would have the Money in the Bank winner cash in to steal the WWE Title from him. Maybe Cena would return and Punk was leaving. There was also a thought that there was no way Punk could leave WWE because he was one of the best performers in the company.
Punk ended up defeating Cena clean for the WWE Title. He also managed to fight off Money in the Bank winner Alberto Del Rio, who was sent out there by Vince McMahon. It was one of the best matches ever and a very cool moment because of how WWE turned a real life situation into a great story.
As we found out later, Punk ended up re-signing with WWE prior to Money in the Bank although we didn’t know that until after the show. He likely got a raise on his salary and became a bigger star until he decided to leave WWE following this year’s Royal Rumble.