Top 20 worst world title changes in wrestling history

13. Alberto Del Rio def. CM Punk: SummerSlam 2011

The summer of 2011 was an amazing time and CM Punk was right there leading the way. With all due respect to John Cena, this was the summer of Punk. It all started when Punk pinned Cena in a non-title bout on a June episode of RAW and then became the official number one contender the following week when he beat Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio in a three-way Falls Count Anywhere Match. Punk’s contract was legitimately set to expire the following month following Money in the Bank, which was in Chicago of all places, and the buildup was phenomenal, the obvious standout being Punk’s “pipebomb” promo. So we get to Money in the Bank and Punk actually wins the WWE Championship in an amazing match and walks away with the belt through his hometown crowd. Earlier in the night, Alberto Del Rio had won a MITB briefcase. Okay, no problem.

A little tournament is held and eventually, Cena is once again crowned WWE Champion (more on that in a bit). However, that same night, Punk returns with his belt and a match is set for SummerSlam to crown the real champion. And as most matches with Cena and Punk, it was fantastic. And much to the surprise of a lot of people, CM Punk actually won the match. Yes, Cena’s foot was on the rope but that’s not the point. Triple H was the guest referee here and following the match, his old pal Kevin Nash returned and put a beating on Punk, thus allowing Alberto Del Rio to slide in and cash in his briefcase. So not only did the best feud of the year get overshadowed by a cash-in (some work and some don’t), the program with Punk and Nash never even went anywhere. Nobody won here.