Ranking the Matches That Made CM Punk WWE's Mr. SummerSlam Ahead of Cody Rhodes Main Event

Since arriving at WWE in 2006, CM Punk has delivered countless classic encounters and unforgettable moments.

He has competed in Match of the Year candidates, challenged for the top prizes in professional wrestling, and etched his name in the history books while compiling one of the most impressive resumes in the history of the company's annual summertime spectacular, SummerSlam.

Saturday night in Minneapolis, he will look to add another entry in his ledger when he defends the Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes in the main event of Night 1 of the 2026 spectacular. Ahead of that match, relive the matches that have helped Punk earn "Mr. SummerSlam" consideration over industry giants like Triple H, Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Bret Hart, ranked from worst to best.

Nos. 11-6

11. Alberto Del Rio, 2011

Alberto Del Rio's Money in the Bank cash-in to close 2011 is by far the worst of Punk's history at the event because it nearly unraveled everything he and the company had accomplished to elevate him to a marquee position in the company. At a time when WWE should have been protecting their suddenly red-hot antihero, Punk dropped his title to a guy who was never going to have the connection with the audience that the Straight Edge Superstar did.

10. John Morrison, 2007

Punk's debut at the summertime spectacular should have been the culmination of a months-long rivalry with John Morrison over the ECW Championship. Instead, he was made to look like a fool by losing to a hurricanrana in which The Shaman of Sexy utilized the ropes, delaying his run as the face of the third brand for another few weeks. That the two never seemed to have the in-ring chemistry one would have expected from them did not help matters.

9. Big Show, 2010

Punk was in the midst of an incredible run as the most hated man in the company, a heel the likes of which the company had not seen in generations. The leader of the cult-like Straight Edge Society that incited near-riotous conditions in arenas across the country, he was as hot as anyone in the summer of 2010. That is, until he lost to Big Show at SummerSlam in a match that was better than expected but was, arguably, the least meaningful on the list.

8. Seth Rollins, 2025

Unlike the Del Rio cash-in, which threatened Punk's run atop WWE more than anything, Seth Rollins' cash-in to close out the 2025 show propelled the Best in the World's rivalry with The Visionary forward and created an unforgettable moment in the process. Not much of a match, more of an angle, but still deserving of recognition on this list.

7. JBL, 2008

In the first defense of his first World Heavyweight Championship reign in the summer of 2008, Punk battled the hated JBL fourth from the top of the card, indicative of how his run with the big gold belt would play out. Still, Punk and JBL wrestled a solid match-up that exceeded expectations and gave fans a tease of what the Chicago-born competitor could do if given a legitimate run.

6. John Cena and Big Show, 2012

Punk was finally an established main event star by the time 2012 rolled around and was in the midst of what would go on to become a historic reign as WWE champion. At SummerSlam, the freshly turned heel would defend against familiar foes Cena and Big Show, the two Superstars he had most recently competed against at the previous two SummerSlam events.

Proving to be a resourceful and cerebral competitor, he waited for Cena to deliver a massive Attitude Adjustment to Big Show, then dumped the Greatest of All Time to the floor and pinned the giant to retain his title.

5. John Cena, 2011

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With immense pressure to match the unforgettable battle they delivered a month earlier at Money in the Bank, CM Punk and John Cena squared off for the second time in as many pay-per-view events to determine the undisputed WWE champion.

With Triple H as the guest referee, Punk and Cena delivered another immensely entertaining main event that fell short of expectations, if only because of the head-scratching booking that surrounded it.

Late in the match, Punk delivered a Go To Sleep, covered Cena, and won the match when Triple H missed the latter's foot on the bottom rope. Not only was Punk denied a clean win that could have firmly entrenched him in the main event, but his victory was negated moments later when Kevin Nash limped to the ring, delivered a jackknife and set up an Alberto Del Rio cash-in.

You already know how well that was received.

Despite the issues surrounding it, Punk and Cena have such incredible in-ring chemistry that even a disappointing match between them is infinitely better than most. This was no different. A clear Match of the Night contender.

4. Drew McIntyre, 2024

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Punk entered his first SummerSlam in 11 years, embroiled in two separate rivalries that intersected in Cleveland. He squared off with Drew McIntyre in the latest chapter of an intensifying feud, with Seth Rollins as the special guest referee.

The bout was a story-heavy one that borrowed from SummerSlam 1997, where Bret Hart challenged The Undertaker for the WWE Championship, with his hated foe, Shawn Michaels, serving as the guest official.

Punk and Rollins teased physical confrontations until the Best in the World finally answered the Visionary's scolding with a Go To Sleep. McIntyre capitalized on it, delivered a low blow and a Claymore, and won the match.

A shining example of a narrative-driven match still succeeding and putting its participants, and the crowd, in the right position for the rest of the story, it was the first hint that Punk's second run with the company would look different, but still result in him being one of the most engaging Superstars on the roster.

3. Jeff Hardy, 2009

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Enjoying his first sustained run as a main event star (and heel) in WWE, Punk entered the 2009 SummerSlam for a date with reigning world heavyweight champion Jeff Hardy, in the Charismatic Enigma's trademark match: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs.

Not shaken by the stipulation or the odds facing him, Punk delivered a more physical performance than previously seen in the popular gimmick bout. He endured steel chair shots, was tossed through one table, then was driven through the commentary table by Hardy via a Swanton Bomb off the ladder in what was the most jaw-dropping spot of the contest.

Punk, still resilient and tough despite his new role as a villain, returned to the ring, fended Hardy off, and dropped him from the ladder to win the match and title.

A significant match in Punk's WWE journey, it proved on a much bigger scale what his most passionate fans already knew: he could deliver an extraordinary main event and equally great individual performance on one of the biggest shows of the year.

Like his run a year earlier, when he tasted a world title for the first time, Punk's run would come to an end in unsatisfactory fashion, thanks in large part to the Undertaker, who returned in the closing moments of the 2009 broadcast.

2. Gunther, 2025

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From the moment he returned to WWE in November of 2023, Punk made his desire to regain a world championship crystal clear. He came close a few times to earning a title opportunity, but fell just short each time, including the previous two years' Royal Rumble matches.

Finally earning a title match against Gunther at the 2025 SummerSlam, with the Raw brand's World Heavyweight Championship on the line, the Straight Edge Superstar endured pain and punishment to ensure he won gold.

Punk absorbed everything the unforgiving Gunther threw at him. His body swollen, bruised, welted, and battered from the Ring General's relentless onslaught, the veteran competitor refused to quit. He stayed resourceful and alert, tripping Gunther up on the announce table and busting him open.

With the aura of invincibility gone, Punk took the fight to the champion, survived a sleeper attempt, and delivered consecutive Go To Sleeps to win the gold.

A brilliant, hard-hitting, highly-physical match that proved that Punk could still go against the best wrestlers on the planet, it provided the best possible ending to the Chicago native's journey back to the mountaintop.

If, that is, how SummerSlam 2025 ended.

1. Brock Lesnar, 2013

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The foundation for Punk's epic battle against Gunther in 2025 can be seen in his war with Brock Lesnar, arguably the greatest match in SummerSlam history, 12 years earlier.

A smaller competitor in a war with the most unstoppable force in the company, Punk endured tremendous physical punishment as he was tossed around the ring, beaten, battered, and bruised by The Beast Incarnate.

Punk survived and advanced, and at several points in the match, appeared to have the match won, only for the despicable Paul Heyman to interfere on behalf of Lesnar and break up the fall.

When the Straight Edge Superstar rectified the problem and trapped his former friend in the Anaconda Vise, Lesnar capitalized by bashing him with a steel chair, then dropping him with an F-5 onto it. That was enough to earn the heel the win.

Driven by the determination to remind the fans who the best wrestler on the planet was, Punk delivered a five-star, Match of the Year-caliber performance against Lesnar. Arguably as good as any match Lesnar has wrestled since returning to the company in 2012, it perfectly meshed storytelling and unforgiving physicality in a thing of pro wrestling beauty.

Some wrestlers will spend entire careers chasing the type of performances on a grand stage that Punk has delivered at SummerSlam. Will he add another classic to his resume when he challenges Cody Rhodes Saturday night in Minneapolis?

If the mounting tension between the two is any indication, there's plenty of reason to believe he will.