Cena’s match against CM Punk for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank 2011 is perhaps one of the most important and memorable matches in modern WWE history, and that’s why it takes the top spot on our list of Cena’s best matches. It’s also a well-wrestled, well-paced match, with Punk at his prime, right ahead of his 434-day WWE Championship reign, against a perfect dance partner in Cena.
The match works so well, in part, because of Punk’s “pipe bomb” promo on an episode of “WWE Raw” right before Money in the Bank. Punk was on the warpath and even though most of his anger was directed toward Vince McMahon, he was set to take down the company’s golden boy and make an example of Cena, who he said was only better than him at “kissing Vince McMahon’s a**.” Punk threatened to walk out with the title when he took it off Cena, as his contract was expiring, and McMahon then threatened to fire Cena if that happened, so fans were watching the entire match on the edge of their seats, both in the arena and at home, to see how the match would conclude.
The over-33 minute Money in the Bank match was also helped by the fact it took place in front of a white-hot crowd in Punk’s hometown of Chicago, which only benefitted Cena, as he had to work harder to combat the “you can’t wrestle” chants. The in-ring action starts out a bit slow, leaving plenty of room for business to pickup throughout the lengthy match, though if you were only listening to the raucous crowd, you’d have no idea Cena and Punk were trading rest holds. Things pick up when the competitors start to trade finisher attempts, but the other man counters.
Toward the end of the battle, McMahon and John Laurinitis come down to ringside, and it looks as though the chairman is about to pull yet another Montreal Screwjob as Cena has Punk locked in the STF, but Cena breaks the hold to drop Laurinaitis, refusing the tainted victory despite the consequences for his own career. With Cena distracted, Punk catches him, hits a GTS and secures the massive victory. As icing on the cake, Punk also counters McMahon’s effort to have Alberto Del Rio cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase, leading to the iconic image of Punk blowing McMahon a goodbye kiss and leaving through the Chicago crowd.
Cena goes the distance in this one and doesn’t let the crowd throw him off at any point, and the bout is a masterclass in storytelling, making it the best Cena match in history.
Written by Daisy Ruth
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