CM Punk's 15 Greatest Matches of His WWE Career

Since arriving in the company in 2005, CM Punk has had some of the best matches in the recent memory of the WWE, gaining the moniker of "the Best in the World."

While CM Punk had great matches in his time with Ring of Honor and TNA, this article is solely based on his greatest matches while with the WWE, from his start with the ECW Brand to his current run as WWE Champion. 

In the short six years since joining the company, Punk has taken apart in everything from Last Man Standing to Ladder Matches, even the demonic Hell in a Cell on occasions in this article, so let's get started with the slideshow as Punk goes from the ECW rookie to multi-time World Champion.

Be sure to drop down to the comment section below this slideshow and let me know if you agree with my list of Punk's 15 best matches in WWE, or did one of his encounters fly under the radar and miss this list.

Versus John Morrison, ECW 2007

After coming up short on multiple occasions during the summer of 2007, Punk was finally able to get his first taste of WWE gold as he defeated ECW Champion John Morrison on ECW on Syfy.

Punk's run as ECW Champion would last from September until January of 2008, when Chavo Guerrero defeated him on ECW with an assist from Edge, who came and speared Punk, allowing Guerrero win the match. 

Money in the Bank Match, Wrestlemania 24

In the fourth annual Money in the Bank Ladder Match, CM Punk was victorious over of Chris Jericho, Mr Kennedy and Carlito from RAW; MVP from Smackdown and Shelton Benjamin and John Morrison from the ECW Brand as Punk trapped Y2J's leg in the ladder to capture the briefcase.

Money in the Bank, Wrestlemania 25

After winning the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at Wrestlemania 24, CM Punk came back and captured the MITB briefcase for the second consecutive year as he fought off Kane, Mark Henry, Kofi Kingston, Shelton Benjamin, Christian, MVP and Finlay in the fifth annual ladder match.

Versus Umaga, Extreme Rules 2009

In CM Punk's first of what would be two matches at the first annual Extreme Rules pay-per-view, Punk fought the late Umaga in a samoan strap match that he won after slapping the last turnbuckle pad following dropped the dangerous Samoan Bulldozer with the GTS.

Punk was not done for the night, as he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase defeating new World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy just moments after he won the belt from the previous champion, Edge.

Versus Jeff Hardy, Summerslam 2009

In a match that Jeff Hardy helped innovate with the Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian in the early part of the 2000s, CM Punk beat Hardy at his own game as he won his third World Heavyweight Championship. He brought down the belt after Hardy was taken out on a stretcher after he crashed and burned on a Swanton Bomb attempt off a ladder onto the announce table.

Versus Jeff Hardy, Smackdown 2009

In the final WWE match of Jeff Hardy, CM Punk successfully retained his World Heavyweight Championship in a steel cage match during August of 2009 that came with the stipulation that if Hardy lost, he would be forced to leave the WWE.

Versus Undertaker, Smackdown 2009

During Punk's run as World Heavyweight Champion on Smackdown, Punk was able to escape the grasps of the Undertaker, as the Phenom was unable to make it back in the ring before the referee counted to 10, resulting in Punk getting the win by the skin of his teeth.

Versus Undertaker, Hell in a Cell 2009

In the opening match of the first-ever Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, CM Punk lost his World Heavyweight Championship to the master of the demonic match, The Undertaker, as the Phenom delivered his patented Tombstone Piledriver to Punk, starting the Undertaker's third and likely final reign as World Champion on Smackdown.

Versus Rey Mysterio, Wrestlemania 26

In a match that would have forced Rey Mysterio to join the Straight Edge Society, CM Punk fell to the high flyer's signature move, the 619, even after the interference of  the SES' Luke Gallows and Serena were not enough to help give Punk the win and a new member to his straight-edge group.

Versus Rey Mysterio, Extreme Rules 2010

At the second annual Extreme Rules pay-per-view, CM Punk made it out of Baltimore with his black, stringy hair as he defeated Rey Mysterio in the classic "loser has his head shaved" match after Mysterio thought it wasn't right that Punk shaved the hair of new SES members while Punk still had long hair over the months.

Versus Randy Orton, Wrestlemania 27

Even with a hobbled Randy Orton that was suffering from a injured knee coming into Wrestlemania in Atlanta, the Viper was able to withstand the onslaught by CM Punk and win. Orton caught Punk with an RKO as Punk tried to hit his springboard clothesline from the top rope.

The mid-air RKO was one of the best moments of the night at the granddaddy of them all, the 27th Wrestlemania.

Versus Randy Orton, Extreme Rules 2011

In the opening match of Extreme Rules, Randy Orton and CM Punk practically stole the show as the two met in a Last Man Standing Match in the final match of their early 2011 rivalry.

The two highlights of this match is the beating that Orton put on Punk with a kendo stick while he was straddled on the top rope that was eventually followed by a top rope RKO giving the Viper the win that night. 

Versus John Cena, Money in the Bank 2011

If you try to search for a better match than this epic main event from this year's Money in the Bank, you can look all you want, but you will probably not find anything that matches up to this Punk/Cena match. 

The home field advantage of Punk being in his hometown of Chicago, IL made this scene for his WWE Title match against John Cena was very similar to the title match that Cena had at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City versus Rob Van Dam at ECW One Night Stand.

Versus Triple H, Night of Champions 2011

After the tension between Triple H and CM Punk finally boiled over into the two meeting at Night of Champions, "The Game" and "the Best in the World" didn't disappoint in their main event showdown even with outside interference by Awesome Truth and Kevin Nash during the no DQ match.

The highlight of the match had to be Punk with his best impression of Shane McMahon as he jumped from the top turnbuckle onto Triple H, who was laid out on the Spanish announce table. Poor Spanish announce table; it seems like there should be a sign that says 'HEY, THROW HIM THROUGH ME" over the years.

Versus Dolph Ziggler, RAW 2011

After winning his third WWE Championship the night before over Alberto Del Rio at Survivor Series, CM Punk met United States Champion Dolph Ziggler in a champion vs. champion match that was absolutely pay-per-view caliber that was given away for free on RAW.