WWE Classic of the Week: John Cena vs. Ryback vs. CM Punk from Survivor Series

The recent return of Ryback and his interactions with John Cena have put the Big Guy back in the spotlight after a year in which he fell out of relevance and was stuck in a going-nowhere tag team with Curtis Axel. In many ways, his reintroduction as a babyface and his push to the top of the card feels like WWE CEO Vince McMahon apologizing for messing up the potential big-money character in the first place.

See, it was not all that long ago that Ryback very much looked like a potential breakout star for World Wrestling Entertainment. 

After entering the company shortly after WrestleMania 28 and tearing through a plethora of jobbers and lower-card enhancement talent, Ryback was catapulted to the main event scene following an injury to John Cena, challenging CM Punk for the WWE Championship.

The return of Cena led to the booking of a Triple Threat match between he, Ryback and Punk for the 2012 Survivor Series pay-per-view and created a unique dynamic that captured the attention of the WWE Universe.

Cena was the white knight, the goody two-shoes babyface, Punk the cerebral villain and Ryback represented the shades of grey. Who would emerge from the much-anticipated, much-hyped WWE Championship main event? Would Cena add to his incredible resume? Could Punk add to his historic championship reign? What would it mean for the future of WWE if Ryback captured his first heavyweight title? 

The answers to those questions would come when the three Superstars took to the squared circle for the main event of WWE's fall classic.

But first, their story.

Background

Night of Champions 2012 featured an outstanding main event pitting John Cena against CM Punk for the WWE Championship. The two longtime rivals exchanged counters, reversals and finishers before a controversial double-pin led to a crowd-infuriating draw.

A rematch was booked for October's Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, but an injury suffered by Cena put him out of action and left WWE without a main event for their monthly spectacular.

Enter Ryback.

The Big Guy with an insatiable appetite had been tearing through anyone who was unlucky enough to share the same ring as him for months. After a memorable moment backstage in which Punk turned around to find the juggernaut waiting for him, fans had all of the motivation they needed to want to see Ryback try to wrest the WWE Championship from around the waist of the self-proclaimed Best in the World.

At Hell in a Cell, Ryback proved himself physically superior to Punk, bumping him around the unforgiving steel structure. Unfortunately for the young newcomer, it was crooked officiating from Brad Maddox, the recipient of a cash payoff by Punk's friend and manager Paul Heyman, that proved to be Ryback's downfall.

With his win streak over and Punk still champion, Ryback would not stop until he avenged his Hell in a Cell loss. To do so, though, he would have to deal with a returning Cena, who stepped right back into the title picture.

Punk was faced with his greatest challenge to date as Survivor Series approached.

The Match

The Analysis

The booking of the 2012 main event was about as perfect as one imagine in that it played to the strengths of the performers involved. Cena and Punk carried the majority of the action, playing up their competitive rivalry and adding to their catalog of outstanding matches.

In order to keep the unstoppable Ryback at bay, the heated rivals even worked together to suplex him through the announce table.

Late in the match, though, he re-entered the contest and tore through both Punk and Cena and appeared well on his way to his first championship. The crowd was super hot for Ryback, who played his part to perfection, showing tremendous intensity and aggression as he rolled over his opponents.

The debuts of Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns put an end to Ryback's momentum and allowed Punk to pin Cena to successfully retain his title.

It was a brilliant bit of booking that allowed all involved to look as good, if not better than they were upon entering the show and introduced three young stars who would go on to dominate the wrestling landscape in the two years that followed.

The Aftermath

An injured knee would sideline Punk, leaving Ryback to focus on the new trio officially known as The Shield.

At TLC in December, the Big Guy partnered with WWE Tag Team champions Kane and Daniel Bryan to take on Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. Ryback would continue to look phenomenal in that match but would fall short of achieving victory, as Reigns and Ambrose powerbombed Bryan through a table to pick up the win.

Ryback would get one last shot at CM Punk and the WWE Championship on the January 7 episode of Raw, as he met the Best in the World in the Tables, Ladders and Chairs match originally scheduled for the December pay-per-view.

Once again, he appeared to be on his way to achieving championship glory, but The Shield came to Punk's aid and ensured that the Second City Saint would remain the top dog in professional wrestling.

As for Cena, he would have his own differences with Ryback later in 2013.

But that is another story for another time.