2 days ago
WWE Money in the Bank is the house that John Cena and CM Punk built
If winning the Royal Rumble is WWE's equivalent to Charlie's golden ticket, then Money In The Bank briefcase is its Golden Gun, the instantaneous world-killer you very rarely see coming. Since its inception as a match in 2005, and shift to a PLE in 2010, the victor's ability to cash in that win in the form of a title match at any time, on the fly, has led to some of WWE's most surprising wins and painful losses. But outside of its namesake, the event itself has produced classic, pivotal matches that helped shape careers for years to come. Its most notable flashpoint came in 2011, when current WWE Champion John Cena faced off against one of his most enduring rivals, CM Punk, in a battle that helped both competitors ascend to new heights.
WWE was about six years and 10 world titles into the 'Hustle, Loyalty, Respect' experience. Cena had just main-evented WrestleMania for the third time, with his most recent outing being a loss to The Miz with a bit of help from The Rock. The mission was clear: Having faced and beaten all of the established stars on the roster, WWE reached out to its world-famous ambassador/Hollywood leading man to see if they could make Cena a household name. But the two wouldn't lock horns for another nine months, so the rest of 2011 was expected to serve as a kind of résumé-builder until the dream match could come to fruition. Cena regained the WWE Championship less than a month after WrestleMania 28 at Extreme Rules, defeating The Miz and John Morrison in a steel cage match. As the only 10-time WWE Champion at that point, there weren't too many more things to do procedurally, but creatively, Cena needed a new foil to bring out new aspects to his presentation and performance.
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That muse would come in the form of CM Punk, who spent a good part of the previous two years as a stable frontman, first for his personal cult The Straight Edge Society, then for neophyte fight club The New Nexus. He'd had plenty of singles success in WWE, first as one of faces of the revived ECW, then across both "WWE Raw" and "SmackDown" as Intercontinental, Tag Team and World Heavyweight Champion. During that time, he was also Money in the Bank's biggest beneficiary, having won and successfully cashed in to win the World Heavyweight Title in consecutive years, defeating Edge and Jeff Hardy respectively. Yep despite all of those accolades and accomplishments, Punk hadn't really been in position to win the company's top prize.
Once mid-June arrived, Punk had one of his hottest weeks to date, defeating John Cena, Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio all in the same week, with the final win earning him No. 1 contender status to Cena's WWE Championship. Punk then announced that his contract was set to end after Money in the Bank. He hit his creative peak the week after, storming to ringside to interfere with Cena's tables match with R-Truth. After distracting Cena long enough for R-Truth to spear him through a table, Punk grabbed a microphone from the announcer's station and made his way back up to the top of the ramp. He ducked down into the lotus position, and — decorated in a crisp new Steve Austin 'Stomping Mudholes' tee — he channeled the spirit of "Stone Cold" himself to sound off on all things WWE.
'I don't hate you, John," Punk started in after celebrating Cena's lifeless body, then stating that he'd beat Cena for the title and exit the company with it. "I don't even dislike you. I like you a hell of a lot more than I like most people in the back. I hate this idea that you're the best — because you're not. I'm the best.' Punk went on to list the many ways the machine had either failed or worked against him, throw shots at Cena and The Rock's ability to politic, coin the term 'Paul Heyman guy,' introduce his 'Best in the World' moniker and even the general apathy of fans. With every bar, the crowd's anticipation for another shot grew, until Punk's mic was cut off as he started weaving his way through a Vince McMahon anecdote about bullying. Appropriately dubbed 'The Pipe Bomb,' Punk's promo sent shockwaves through the wrestling world, blurring the lines between properly planned out stories and long-brewing backstage beefs. Suddenly the feud was more than just a title match — the world Cena ruled was called out as flawed and fictional, whereas Punk, with his authenticity built into the history Ring of Honor, his 'earned' appreciation from getting it out the mud, and his willingness to fight the system, was viewed as the real.
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It was presented as a war of ideologies, and the first real battle would take place at 2011's Money in the Bank.
If your connection with the fans is strong enough, almost every game can be a home game in professional wrestling, with two notable exceptions: New York's Hammerstein Ballroom and the city of Chicago, Illinois. In 2006, Rob Van Dam became the second person to ever win Money In The Bank, securing the briefcase at WrestleMania 22. Instead of a surprise cash-in, he called his shot: He'd challenge Cena at that year's ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view at "RVD's" hometown Hammerstein Ballroom. Cena entered the building to boos, slurs and gestures alike, speed-walking his way to the ring with his head down and his title raised. Van Dam won the match and the WWE Championship with assistance from Cena's bitter rival and first Money In The Bank winner, Edge. Just the same, Chicago's 'Middle America meets Metropolis' mystique rewards those who make their own way, who speak their own truth, and those who win. So Punk's hometown Allstate Arena would be another dedicated, disrespectful destination for Cena, who'd reaffirm that he's more than five moves, eight shirts and two mantras.
Prior to 'This Fire Burns' blaring through the arena's sound system, the crowd of 15,000 chanted 'C-M-PUNK!' in frenzied anticipation. He entered with his chin held high, introducing his now iconic 'Best in the World' ringer tee, with the event's date included for exclusivity. While Punk always wore the Chicago flag across his trunks and tights, he made sure the stars were red and stripes were white, firmly emblazoned on a white background. Michael Cole called the crowd 'partisan' as the graphic and titantron still both recognized Punk as the leader of The Nexus. As the commentary team explained Punk's unwillingness to sign a new deal, and the purposeful disruption he was looking to bring to the WWE Championship lineage, he stared into the camera, affirming their fears, taking in the signs, chants and screams, even putting his hand to his ear to fan the flames. Cena's entrance was eerily similar to One Night Stand, a fast pace to the ring, then affirming the title with his head down, as if saying, 'You may not respect me, but I know you respect this.' It's still jarring to see prime Cena, an absolute mountain of a man with an almost waifish waist, still fashion conscious enough to sport a pair of Jordan 1 Fund 5/8s.
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The next 34 minutes would produce each man's best-ever outing in WWE — with Punk's 2024 Hell in a Cell Match with Drew McIntyre being a photo-finish second.
There's always a willingness among Cena's more well-traveled opponents to tell the crowd, 'No, no he can wrestle.' The two spent the first few minutes trading headlocks, takeovers and visual acknowledgements of the other's wrestling acumen, making sure to include glares after the other made a bit of leeway. But a shift comes about four minutes in, and that's where their similarities outshined their differences. Time robbed the world of a Diamond Dallas Page vs. Randy Orton killer-cutter contest, and mismanagement cut off what could've been really promising Bret Hart vs. Sting deathlock lore. But with Cena's Attitude Adjustment and Punk's Go To Sleep having the same Fireman's Carry setup, they start making identical attempts to finish one another off in quick fashion, as commentary alludes to the Montreal Screwjob, pointedly painting Punk as the self-righteous Second City Saint and Cena as the dutiful Doctor of Thuganomics. During an almost 10-minute impasse, Punk is the first to really lean into strikes, doing his best Austin impression while Booker T appropriately calls the action a chess match from the booth, realizing it's more trying to outmaneuver one another than actually put the other man down.
The match finally starts to devolve around the 15-minute mark, when Punk leaps to the top rope and hits Cena with a cross body. Shaking off what looks to be a sprained knee, Cena baits Punk into an inside/outside suplex, with Punk lands hard ringside. Cena attempts to immolate with innovation, hitting a kind of shoulder carry into a body slam, to the tune of a two-count. As he locks eyes with the referee to infer about the pin count, you start to see the earliest glances of frustration from Cena. The two then finally slug it out, with Cena channeling his inner Scott Hall, locking in an abdominal stretch off on an Irish Whip. Never afraid to cut corners, Punk rakes his eyes to escape. The two once again strike each other in concert, with both laid out, trying to regroup. As the match reaches its early climax, Cena's subterfuge into a Five-Knuckle Shuffle is thwarted by a timely kick by Punk, followed by a knee to the back that forces Cena to the outside, then a suicide dive from Punk to put an exclamation point on the turned tide.
Yet it's the back half of the match that highlights the real charm of CM Punk: He's talented, he's engaging, but he can be appropriately clunky. If he did everything perfectly, he'd be Bryan Danielson, and I'd rather watch Punk vs. Danielson than a Danielson mirror match. After Punk over-rotates to escape a Cena AA, he failes to land on his feet, but it still works to stymie Cena — and when Punk pivots from the sitting position, he hits a quick martial arts combo, ending with a leg sweep, earning him a two-count.
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It's here you start to see both men delve into desperation, looking for their deadliest non-finisher to try and throw the other man off. Punk rallies, and hits two high knees against the ropes, followed by a bulldog, setting up his springboard clothesline, earning another near-fall. Cena finally reverses an attempted GTS into his STF submission, and even re-establishes it in the middle of the ring to try to secure the win. To the delight of the crowd, Punk manages reverse the hold into his Anaconda Vice submission, only to have Cena get back to his feet and finally hit an AA. The ever resilient Punk kicks out, sending the match into its final act — the risk/reward, end-all, be-all showdown.
Cena, who very rarely leaves his feet, attempts his Top Rope Rocker Drop, only to have it reversed into a powerbomb for another close call. With Punk's frustration visible as well, he calls on the crowd to give him the energy to close the deal. Cena, with a top-rope guillotine and successful top-rope leg drop, can only laugh as he once again fails to seal the deal. He gathers himself, shaking out his shoulders and shadow-boxing, feeling like he has the combination to the Second City safe. After Cena once more hits an AA, Punk emphatically kicks out, and Cena leans even harder into asking the ref for clarity — like a .350 hitter that's never, in their estimation, been fooled on a curveball. Going for a super AA off the middle rope, Cena is once again foiled by Punk, who parlays a round of elbows into a Frankensteiner, shooting Cena off into the corner. Punk traverses the ring to hit another high knee, and finally nails a GTS. Unfortunately, he's too close to the ropes, as Cena goes tumbling to the outside. Punk literally grasped for Cena, realizing that window might be closing.
John Cena and CM Punk brought the best out of each other. (Photo via WWE)
As Punk shoots Cena back into the ring, the specters of Survivor Series '97 and '98 resurface, as Vince McMahon, flanked by John Laurinitis, make their ways toward the ring to secure the positioning of WWE's top prize. The distraction allows Cena to secure another STF, and like Bret Hart and Mankind before him, McMahon looks to process a loss for Punk without any actual proof of submission. McMahon relays Laurinits to tell the timekeeper to ring the bell to the match, and as he rustles to the bell, that third word in Cena's credo takes over — with his respect for Punk and the validity of the title causing him to break the hold and molly-whop Laurinitis before he can get the bellringer's attention.
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Cena then works his way to McMahon, explaining to him that he's not Shawn Michaels, he's not The Rock, and that the way he goes about his business can't be dictated by anything outside of competition.
That loyalty to respect would be his fatal flaw though, as Cena hustles directly into a GTS — and a pinfall — leading to CM Punk's first WWE Title win. Punk coveres his face in disbelief, reaching to the heavens in celebration, then sits and turned the title to camera-side like a prized pup, for its smile and shine to take centerstage. McMahon swiftly moves to commentary and calls out that night's Money in the Bank winner, Alberto Del Rio, to cash in his contract, to challenge an exhausted, wounded Punk to defend his newly won championship. But Punk gets the drop on Del Rio, hitting him with a head kick then exiting the arena through the crowd, cementing his dominance with his infamous blown kiss goodbye.
It's the best match of Cena's career. It's deeper than the reversals, the displays of power, or the showmanship. It is the ability to endure, to improvise, and to show emotion in those moments of doubt that let you know he was the guy to put in position. For Punk, it's his "Tha Carter 3" — while it may not be his most valued collection, it's absolutely his coronation, his highest moment at its highest peak.
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He'd have his first 'Real Title' run after sporadic, non-wrestling appearances, unifying his title, and would once more become the linear champion after winning the 'properly defended' title held by Cena at that year's SummerSlam. Cena had gained a new level of credibility as a competitor, but also successfully fought off some of the on-screen 'yes man' claims lobbied against him as the main man for the mega promotion. Fourteen years later, Cena's doing what he can to end his run as the business' biggest bad guy, and it may behoove him to lean into the nuances of his finest outing. He showed frustration, disappointment and self-doubt in his biggest moments, highlighting what made both him and Punk so special. In Punk's case, far before he was AEW's Clint Eastwood — the grizzled gunslinger using all the tricks on the trade to out-duel the young guns — he was a young gun in his own right, out-dueling the big boss en route to superstardom.
Money in the Bank may be a bit of a cheat code, but Cena and Punk are two men who played the game inside and out, typed out their own strategy guides, and followed them until their PCs hit sleep mode. It's an absolute classic from two of the best to ever do it, with the foresight to know it would solidify one another as two of the best to ever do it.
