10 Horrible Booking Mistakes Made By WWE

3. CM Punk Losing to The Rock – Royal Rumble 2013

CM Punk’s title reign ended at 434 days when The Rock defeated him at the Royal Rumble. The Rock would go on to drop the championship to John Cena two months later.

It was such a testament to the talent of CM Punk to not only remain WWE Champion for 434 days but when the reign began, Punk was the top face in the company. When the reign ended, he was the biggest heel. John Cena hadn’t beaten CM Punk clean in almost two years until the next month.

Cena vs. Punk was the match for a generation that should have taken place at Wrestlemania 29. Punk’s reign should have lasted to Wrestlemania, and it was that loss to The Rock at the Royal Rumble that began the downward spiral that eventually soured him to the business.