I couldnāt stand The Fiend either lol, it wasnāt to my taste in the slightest.
Punk does deserve some respect though
WWE was truly utter shit and watered down around this time, to even get the crowd captivated like this takes some talent.
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I think MITD 2011 was around the time I stopped watching, but I loved that Cena/Punk match/ending/angle etc.
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It was a great character in my eyes. I really liked the juxtaposition between the fun house host and the Fiend. His previous character I have never been able to get into. At times it was like Undertaker-lite without any of Undertakerās physical gifts. Like a cheap horror movie.
But the Funhouse - if thereās any kind of horror that I like, itās when everyday things are made to seem intimidating. Little things like how heād switch between the jovial host and then suddenly become more menacing. That was unique and different. And by itās nature, it was always going to be something some people loved and others hated
But you absolutely need people who can tell stories in new ways in wrestling. Bray Wyatt indisputably had that.
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For me the thing that pushes Punk out is that his career isnāt just WWE, heās done some cool and very impactful stuff in wrestling outside of WWE too.
Depending on how this run ends, I may have to reconsider. However, I feel by that time Orton and Reigns would have a much bigger case to be in it than Punk.
Itās pretty clear in this run that Punk has one eye on what heās going to do when his in ring career ends. He seems to want that spot Shawn has at the moment running NXT.
He knows if he fucks this up that his chance to have a successful career behind the scenes could be up in smoke. And thereās no reason to fuck it up. WWE have pretty much given him his own bespoke schedule, positioned him as a main eventer and heās probably going to get that Wrestlemania main event before he retires, especially as he has set out that now Wrestlemania is 2 nights, heād see headlining either night as fulfilling that aim.
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Btw, a name that I personally didnāt entertain but did expect to be mentioned was Edge.
Is it me or has his name value diminished? And I donāt think itās just down to the AEW move, feel like the fall started before he jumped ship.
Overachiever.
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He was very good, and consistently so. But I really have no idea how he came to win so many world titles.
Like he deserves a lot of respect for his career, but I donāt think he was ever a widespread top 10 kind of performer.
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Seems harsh for me say but I feel he overstayed his welcome with this return.
Should have had a shorter and more meaningful run. Could argue that lockdown ruined that for him though.
2007-2011 He would win the World Heavyweight Championship 7 times.
2006-2009 He would win the WWE Championship 4 times.
Those are crazy numbers, heās not bad, but he really wasnāt all that. Massive overachiever.
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Still Alberto Del Rio is worse, he shouldāve won zero belts.
Sheamus has to be up there too, he sucked also. Yet beat Super Cena multiple times.
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That is mad. Edge was definitely deserving of a world championship run but being one of the most prolific title winners? Definitely not. And actually winning so many in such a short space of time is just a bit silly and speaks to some stupid booking.
Del Rio. Christ he was shit, and as it turns out also a nasty piece of work as well. Didnāt deserve a WWE career, let alone a world title. His personal ring announcer was better than him. (I saw him wrestle once in Tonbridge. He took a bump off the top of a ladder and went to Wetherspoons after the show 
)
The fact Sheamus got world title wins speaks to the state of WWE at the time. A lot of his best stuff has come in recent years in the midcard, where heās a good fit.
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I know it was a Money in the Bank cash in, but Jack Swagger ended up proving why the concept sucks. Another useless lump out of his depth that got no reaction.
All these guys won around the same couple of years as well, christ WWE really sucked then.
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Jack Swagger was worse tbf.
Edit: Iāve just seen @RockyMaivia mention him too. 
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Money in the Bank needs to be binned. It seems like a real booking millstone. There hasnāt been a really good cash in for years.
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Just remembered him despite how forgettable he was and needed to throw him in 
Even worse if you were a Jericho fan, that was his last major belt in WWE. Ended by that useless man.
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Always hated punk but seems he grew on a lot of people (and sounds like deservedly so) over the years I skipped out on wrestling.
Donāt mind the very few bits Iāve seen of him more recently but will never be a fan of his.
Funnily enough Edge was in that boat for me but I was still active in the period where he was earning his stripes outside of the tag team stuff so came to really like him in the end.
Jericho deserves more mentions tbh, brought a lot of entertainment.
It was an accident WWE failed to read properly, Edgeās cash in was good. But upon watching the PPV. It really was fans tired of Cena more than anything.
Cena 1st WWE title reign is a case study in why shoving someone down your throats when he wasnāt accepted is a bad idea. When you get heel HHH being cheered at Wrestlemania, you messed up.
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Itās mainly the Punk/Cena feud. It was one of Modern WWEās last great feuds and the story (which was excellent) was mainly carried by Punk himself.
Then topping it off with a great match at the PPV. Punk earned his stripes with all that. He had a niche (but loud) fanbase before that. Those 1-2 months changed all that.