In 2011, CM Punk was fed up with the creative direction of the company. The former world champion assumed control of the Nexus faction, but the storyline died a quiet death and Punk was on his way out. The status-quo was well-intact. John Cena was the only superstar relevant in the eyes of Vince McMahon and for his last program, Punk was to work a short feud with the 10-time WWE champion.

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Punk then dropped a pipebomb and won the title off of Cena in his hometown of Chicago. The Summer of Punk 2.0 had officially begun and unfortunately, this little boom lasted for a grand total of 2 months. At SummerSlam 2011, Kevin Nash got involved and the heat of the angle fizzled out. Nash went onto Feud with his best friend, Triple H and Cena went on a burying spree in order to prepare himself for the match as Rock at WrestleMania 28.

CM Punk Rose To Stardom in 2011

CM Punk was no longer the hottest commodity in the business but he was still sufficiently popular with the fan base. He got his hands on the WWE Championship at Survivor Series 2011 and he embarked on a supposedly historic title reign. The new champion feuded with the likes of the Miz and Alberto Del Rio in the lead-up to WrestleMania season and his opponent for the mega-event was booked months in advance.

WrestleMania 28 was set to feature a match for the ages, the best wrestler in the world versus the best in the world at what he did. Jericho had been preaching about being the best in the world long before Punk and he took issue with the fact that Punk had plagiarized his identity.

He accused Punk of being a Chris Jericho wanna-be and the two had one hell of a promo on an episode of RAW, eclipsing whatever Cena and the Rock were doing at that time. The segment had the right balance of intensity and respect, and a little sprinkle of reality that made it so very special. Jericho praised Punk right off the bat and said that his only gripe was that Punk called himself the best in the world when the moniker belonged to him.

The feud was for the moniker of the best in the world and that was all this program needed. The initial promo was incredible as it was strictly professional, all about the title of the best in the world but in the following weeks, WWE botched what should have been a defining rivalry of the PG Era.

Jericho, out of nowhere, brought up Punk’s family and aired the “deep and dark history” of his “dysfunctional family”, mostly on pre-recorded segments. When that did not work, Jericho started coaxing Punk into following the footsteps of his father and drinking his sorrows away.

The main crux of the feud, the title of the best in the world, was lost somewhere in the middle and the two had a decent match at WrestleMania 28. In the very first promo, Punk had mentioned that the two needed nothing more than a ring at WrestleMania and yet, by the time WrestleMania 28 came around, this feud was overbooked to kingdom come. The moment the rivalry turned from professional to personal, that was all she wrote.

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CM Punk won the match and retained his title at WrestleMania. Jericho got back to him the next week and smashed a bottle of alcohol against the back of his head. He then demanded that Punk take a field sobriety test on live television and in one of the goofiest segments of the PG Era (And that’s saying something), Punk acted like a stumbling drunk and then revealed that it was all a ruse. He attacked Jericho, claimed that Jericho had put him in a dark place, and went on to beat his opponent in a Chicago Street Fight at Extreme Rules 2012. Thankfully, that was the end of the feud.

The Personal Animosity Ruined The Storyline

The first major feud for Punk as WWE champion was a bust when it should have been epic from start to finish. Both Punk and Jericho were savants on the microphone and inside the ring but for some reason, the company pushed this program into personal territory, for no reason whatsoever.

Sometimes, a program works in the confines of a professional context. Remember WWE pulling this stunt off during the Rock versus Austin program in 2001? The introduction of Debra spoiled the hottest angle in the company but back then, the company had enough foresight to remove her from the equation.

Unfortunately for Punk and Jericho, the personal element remained in the storyline all the way to the conclusion, and the best feud in the world was ruined because of it.