WWE: Analyzing CM Punk's Championship Reign

Since January of 2008, the WWE title has changed hands a staggering 26 times.

Over the course of the last five years, the WWE's top prize has been utilized as a prop rather than the prestigious award it was meant to be. On only two occasions (John Cena in 2007 and Triple H in 2008) has a Superstar enjoyed a lengthy title reign.

Until now.

CM Punk is in the middle of a nine-month run as WWE Champion—a run that began at November's Survivor Series with a win over Alberto Del Rio in sports' most hallowed arena, Madison Square Garden.

In those nine months, Punk has successfully retained the championship against challengers of all types. There was submission specialist in Del Rio. There was cunning opportunist in The Miz and the ultra-talented Dolph Ziggler.

But Punk's first real challenge was in the form of the most complete, all-around professional wrestler in the sport today: Chris Jericho.

The program with Jericho was a landmark one for Punk's reign. It was the first time he was challenged by someone perceived to be a future Hall of Famer. Punk rose to the occasion and gave his two best individual performances since last July's Money in the Bank pay-per-view.

After escaping the Jericho feud, which featured two exceptional matches at Wrestlemania and Extreme Rules, it was clear that World Wrestling Entertainment had faith Punk could hold down the WWE title picture while John Cena stayed busy with bigger and better things.

And that was the problem.

For as many great matches as Punk has had since winning the WWE title at Survivor Series, the fact that he has been constantly overshadowed by John Cena will remain a black mark on his title reign forever.

No matter how hard he has tried, no matter the quality of the matches and stories being told, Punk has not quite been able to escape the far-reaching shadow of the "golden boy" of pro wrestling.

In the nine months that he has held the gold, Punk has been in the main event of exactly one pay-per-view event. It was December's TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs show, a show that John Cena was not a part of.

In the 1980s and 90s, it was almost unheard-of for the WWE Championship not to be the final match on the card. In 2012, it has become commonplace for the company's number one babyface and merchandise mover to be the featured star of pay-per-views and television, regardless of whether or not he has the title.

Even Punk's tremendous matches with Daniel Bryan, as well as a storyline involving Bryan, Kane and AJ Lee that captured the fans' attention over the course of the summer, could not bump Cena out of the main event spot.

If CM Punk's title reign comes to its conclusion Sunday night at SummerSlam, it will be remembered in much the same way that Bret Hart's reigns are. Punk's reign has brought tremendous wrestling back to the WWE Championship picture and has emphasized the "sport" part of "sports-entertainment."

Like Hart, Punk has been overshadowed by the flashier champions of his time but is respected by hardcore wrestling fans for excelling between the ropes. Hart's matches are beloved by fans across the globe and, in due time, Punk's will, too.

While CM Punk's title reign has not been the business-altering phenomenon that so many had hoped for, it has been (and may continue to be) a reminder that a performer in today's constantly changing wrestling landscape can remain popular enough to carry a major championship for an extended period of time.

And there is nothing wrong with being compared to Bret Hart.