Nine Years Ago Today: Punk/Cena at Money in the Bank

[Alyce: Old Media Enthusiast]

[Deleted]

I think this was probably legit the most emotionally invested in a wrestling match in my entire life. Maybe the only other time was Bryan at WM 30.

I was literally cheering and booing every single move of this match from my couch while literally sitting on the edge of my seat. Then I jumped out of my seat when Punk won. The only other time I've literally jumped out of my seat to mark out was AJ Styles debuting at the Rumble.

Literally.

[Bang Bang Bart]

The most famous match of the past decade was held in an event which had Big Show in PJs and Hornswoggle on the poster.

[slaughterama]

This whole thing had so much potential. The next couple of weeks with Punk showing up at an indy show with the belt and crashing Comic Con gave a lot of hope that this was going to be something pretty cool. Unfortunately they bring him back too soon, Kevin Nash gets involved, and Punk jobs to Triple H. OUCH!

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

I normally don’t give star ratings to matches, but if I did this would be easily *****.

Both guys had the crowd in the palm of their hands. I recall being one of maybe 2% of the fandom tops who wouldn’t have minded Cena winning, just because I liked his persona more. But he was the guy for the prior six years, and the other 98% of fans wanted someone new in that slot.

[turkeysandwich]

One of the few times I bought a PPV just for one match. I bet I rewatched that one match 20 times on my DVR. It had so much excitement that I thought a new incredible era of wrestling was starting. Sadly, it was just a blip as they botch everything afterwards and sped Punk back right away and had him facing guys the like of Old Man Nash.

Still odd to me that this was Nexus leader-era Punk. The fact that that is what they had Punk doing before this just always escapes me.

[cornettesracket]

I've been watching the raws before and after this show and I'm up till the end of august and MITB itself and the raws after it have an edge to them pre covid -19 raws just don't have.no LED aprons or ring posts. Cena and punk have this chemistry that's amazing. They've had two matches so far that I've watched and it's just good stuff. I remember loving Nast coming back but in hindsight his initial promo wasn't vintage Nash but they have been getting there.

[Deleted]

Jul 17, 2020 13:16:54 GMT -5 cornettesracket said:

I've been watching the raws before and after this show and I'm up till the end of august and MITB itself and the raws after it have an edge to them pre covid -19 raws just don't have.no LED aprons or ring posts. Cena and punk have this chemistry that's amazing. They've had two matches so far that I've watched and it's just good stuff. I remember loving Nast coming back but in hindsight his initial promo wasn't vintage Nash but they have been getting there.

Yeah, those LED aprons and ring posts are so gaudy. It's a big part of what makes WWE so fake and overproduced looking compared to other wrestling.

[thehottag]

One of the best top-to-bottom shows WWE has ever done, and also one of the very few wrestling DVDs I have bought in the last decade. Superb.

[Deleted]

I was there in person. The atmosphere at the arena all day was crazy. Loud CM Punk chants before we even got let into the arena. Definitely my favorite wrestling related memory.

[Hypnosis]

The Summer of Punk 2011 angle was ruined later, but before that, everything including MITB itself had me excited during that period.

[eJm]

When people ask what a Sports Entertainment WWE match is...well, this is one of them. It not only contains two people who know how to get a crowd to react to them but with a built-in story that was one of the few to be a "shoot" that made sense in kayfabe (and nobody had to call out any wives, whodafunkit?) but then you have it in one of their hometowns? There are WrestleMania matches that would have begged, pleaded, and possibly killed for that sort of reaction and connection.

And then they actually went through and had Punk win?! Like, Christ, it should have set up a real paradigm shift in the company. I mean, it didn't but it should have.

It's one of the best matches in company history, no doubt about it.

[BorneAgain]

With the slight exception of Bryan winning at WM30, this felt like the last big moment where everything about the future was in flux, where the possibilities about what could happen next really felt endless.

That kind of magic in wrestling is truly rare and its a shame that such a great night is somewhat tarred by the follow-up.

[Zone Was Wrong]

One of the best moments I've ever witnessed in wrestling. No matter what he's done since leaving, this match will always remain one of my absolute favorites. I still have the shirt and Punk still one of my favorites, if not THE favorite, wrestler(s) of all time. So weird to hear Fire Burns again.

[eJm]

Jul 17, 2020 14:32:59 GMT -5 BorneAgain said:

With the slight exception of Bryan winning at WM30, this felt like the last big moment where everything about the future was in flux, where the possibilities about what could happen next really felt endless.

That kind of magic in wrestling is truly rare and its shame that such a great night is somewhat tarred by the follow-up.

I keep saying this but I want a book on the Bryan booking at the time because that is still the most fascinating conflict WWE had with its fanbase possibly since the forced start of the Attitude Era when Nitro was killing them. Like, they had to be dragged kicking and screaming to even put the stipulation on HHH/Bryan, never mind go through with him winning. It's just so surreal.

On the other hand, I honestly didn't think they'd go through with Punk winning because, usually, when you sign a new contract on the day, it gives them a licence to not go through with the story. And then they did and it was insane.

[MrElijah]

Jul 17, 2020 14:26:26 GMT -5 eJm said:

When people ask what a Sports Entertainment WWE match is...well, this is one of them. It not only contains two people who know how to get a crowd to react to them but with a built-in story that was one of the few to be a "shoot" that made sense in kayfabe (and nobody had to call out any wives, whodafunkit?) but then you have it in one of their hometowns? There are WrestleMania matches that would have begged, pleaded, and possibly killed for that sort of reaction and connection.

And then they actually went through and had Punk win?! Like, Christ, it should have set up a real paradigm shift in the company. I mean, it didn't but it should have.

It's one of the best matches in company history, no doubt about it.

Funny enough, I think it did set up a Paradigm Shift....just not in the way we expected. It did however set up some seeds on the way the WWE went.

[eJm]

Jul 17, 2020 14:43:41 GMT -5 MrElijah said:

Jul 17, 2020 14:26:26 GMT -5 eJm said:

When people ask what a Sports Entertainment WWE match is...well, this is one of them. It not only contains two people who know how to get a crowd to react to them but with a built-in story that was one of the few to be a "shoot" that made sense in kayfabe (and nobody had to call out any wives, whodafunkit?) but then you have it in one of their hometowns? There are WrestleMania matches that would have begged, pleaded, and possibly killed for that sort of reaction and connection.

And then they actually went through and had Punk win?! Like, Christ, it should have set up a real paradigm shift in the company. I mean, it didn't but it should have.

It's one of the best matches in company history, no doubt about it.

Funny enough, I think it did set up a Paradigm Shift....just not in the way we expected. It did however set up some seeds on the way the WWE went.

It did but in some cases, they took the wrong lessons, which they seem to do with most things.

[Cyno]

This is in my top 5 matches of all time and easily the best match the I've seen in the company since WWF became WWE. Everything about it was incredible.

[A Platypus Rave]

Jul 17, 2020 14:47:09 GMT -5 eJm said:

Jul 17, 2020 14:43:41 GMT -5 MrElijah said:

Funny enough, I think it did set up a Paradigm Shift....just not in the way we expected. It did however set up some seeds on the way the WWE went.

It did but in some cases, they took the wrong lessons, which they seem to do with most things.

They took it to mean...shoot interviews I mean... Pipe Bombs... = money!

So we had Phil Brooks talking to Paul Levesque... AJ Lee's work shoot promo that buried the entire division and did nothing for anybody... (especially cause they then had Nikki do a rebuttal promo that never aired because she got sympathy from the crowd apparently)....

and like 100 other failed attempts... because they ignored the reason why the first one worked was literally because it was centered around stuff that was all supported in Kayfabe...

Cena was promoted more than Punk... Vince and WWE Corporate WERE teh bad guys since like 97... and it all came down to I am going to beat you in a wrestling match at Money in the Bank because I am the best in teh world.

[MrElijah]

Jul 17, 2020 14:47:09 GMT -5 eJm said:

Jul 17, 2020 14:43:41 GMT -5 MrElijah said:

Funny enough, I think it did set up a Paradigm Shift....just not in the way we expected. It did however set up some seeds on the way the WWE went.

It did but in some cases, they took the wrong lessons, which they seem to do with most things.

Can't believe they pissed away a Cena vs. Rey Title match on TV. That should've main evented Summerslam.