Five years back on this day, John Cena and the Rock would continue the buildup to their eagerly anticipated match at Wrestlemania 28 by teaming up in the main event of Survivor Series. Also on the same PPV, one fan favourite would rise to become the company’s top man whereas another would decide to walk away.
Two years later, a WWE Diva would get arrested for the most mundane of reasons – Read on to see what CM Punk, John Morrison and Kaitlyn did on November 20th that made the date so memorable for them.
#1 CM Punk begins his reign – November 20th, 2011
2011 was the summer of Punk and despite questionable booking decisions arresting his momentum, CM Punk had a chance on the November 20th Survivor Series PPV to capture the WWE Championship and to establish himself as the top babyface in the company.
His opponent was Alberto Del Rio who had cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Punk to win the title a couple of months back.
Punk would use the Anaconda Vice to pick up the submission victory and started his legendary title reign. He would hold on to the title for a record 434 days, the longest since Hulk Hogan held the title for four years in the 1980s.
Punk would have classic matches with the likes of John Cena, Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler during his time at the top before losing his title to the Rock at the 2013 Royal Rumble.
#2 The Rock and Cena form a tag-team – November 20th, 2011
Coincidentally, The Rock and John Cena would team up for the only time on the same day that Punk won the WWE title. Survivor Series 2011 had the tagline ‘Never before. Never again’ referring to the duo’s partnership.
They would face The Miz and R-Truth in the match and the Rock would pick up the victory for his team, delivering a People’s elbow to the Miz. He would drop Cena with a Rock Bottom post-match, building hype towards their upcoming match at Wrestlemania.
#3 John Morrison’s WWE PPV Swansong – November 20th, 2011
John Morrison was by far the most athletic WWE performer in 2010-11. However, the Shaman of Sexy was frustrated at his character's creative direction and decided not to renew his WWE contract in 2011.
Survivor Series would be his final PPV appearance in the company and he would wrestle Dolph Ziggler for the United States title at the event. Ziggler would retain the title with a little assistance from Vickie Guerrero and Morrison was released from his contract two weeks later.
Jo-Mo would find success in Lucha Underground and AAA and the ‘popular yet underutilised Superstar’ status that once defined him in the WWE would pass on to his conqueror Ziggler.
#4 Kaitlyn’s ridiculously embarrassing arrest – November 20th, 2012
Pro wrestlers have been known to cause quite a ruckus over the years and many prominent superstars have been arrested for charges ranging from DUI to drug possession to assault. But from time to time, some wrestlers get arrested for charges that are way more embarrassing because of the simple nature of the arrest.
Former WWE Diva Kaitlyn would find herself holed up in the office of the Kent County Sheriff on Nov 20th, 2012 – not for being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but for an unpaid speeding ticket during her previous visit to Michigan.
She would be arrested on the SmackDown taping and would be released after paying a $315 bond. Kaitlyn and the WWE would put the incident behind them and she would win the Divas title within a few months after her arrest.
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