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The 2011 version of the "Summer of Punk" was CM Punk's coming out party as a bonafide headliner in WWE.
However, despite that fact, it wasn't until the Autumn that Punk supplanted Cena as the main man in the company, at least as far as the fans were concerned.
Punk defeated Alberto Del Rio to become WWE Champion for a second time at the 2011 Survivor Series. That win kicked off an epic 434-day reign which was the longest title run since Hulk Hogan's inaugural WWE title reign between 1984-88.
Unlike Cena, Punk brought a gritty realism to most of his feuds as his dynamic stick work and energetic ring style saw him widely embraced by the WWE Universe.
However, in the eyes of WWE management, Cena was still the star of the show. At WrestleMania XXVIII, it was Cena's bout with The Rock which was positioned in the main event slot and promoted as the most important attraction on the card.
When the total pay per view buys came in at 1.2 million for the Show of Shows, it was Cena and Rock, not Punk who were given credit. The WWE Champion had to settle for a mid-card spot for his successful title defense versus Chris Jericho.
However, as his superlative reign took in blinding battles with Daniel Bryan, Punk earned the main event slots at Night of Champions, Hell in a Cell, Survivor Series and his title losing effort versus The Rock at the Royal Rumble.
434 days. It is likely to be a long time before any World title reign surpasses Punk's.
Previous parts in my series can be found here: Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14, part 15 and part 16.
John Cena (September 18, 2011 - October 2, 2011)
After John Cena dropped his version of the WWE Championship to CM Punk; it seemed as if the former champion would have to drop to the back of the line, when it came to title rematches.
However, after Punk also lost the belt minutes later to an Alberto Del Rio Money in the Bank cash-in and got waylaid instead with a feud with Kevin Nash and Triple H, a spot opened up for a WWE title challenger.
Cena, the former nine-time champion filled it. The leader of the Cenation made full use of the opportunity and dethroned the new champion, Del Rio to lift his tenth WWE Championship. The match was not particularly memorable.
However, despite a record-extending victory, Cena's tenth reign was just as short as his ninth.
Cena's reign was not particularly memorable as Cena spent little more than a fortnight as the WWE Champion before he dropped it back to the Mexican in a Triple Threat Hell in a Cell battle at the titular Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event.
Cena would have to wait over 18 months before he would regain the WWE Championship.
Alberto Del Rio (October 2, 2011 - November 20, 2011)
Alberto Del Rio's first WWE Championship reign lasted a paltry 35 days before he dropped the title in his first pay-per-view title defense versus John Cena at Night of Champions.
However, the Mexican Aristocrat would not have to wait for long before a rematch opportunity made itself available to him.
That came in the first-ever Triple Threat Hell in a Cell encounter at Hell in a Cell on October 2, 2011.
It was a blistering encounter. All three participants were super over with the live crowd. The finish came when Del Rio successfully locked Cena out of the cell, thereby denying him the opportunity to retain his title. The Mexican used a steel pipe to waffle Punk repeatedly which earned him the pinfall victory.
Del Rio defended the title against former champion Cena successfully at Vengeance later that month before putting the strap on the line once more against Punk.
This time, Del Rio dropped the belt for the second time via submission as Punk kicked off his record-breaking reign in style.
CM Punk (November 20, 2011 - January 27, 2013)
434 days. That is the length of CM Punk's second WWE Championship reign, a record in the modern era.
Few would have expected in November 2011, that Punk's title challenge to Alberto Del Rio on the under-card of the 2011 Survivor Series would be the beginning of a record-breaking Championship reign.
Indeed. Those heady days of July 2011 were fast fading into memory when Punk finally got his one-on-one rematch with Del Rio, three months after he dropped the strap at SummerSlam 2011. Punk was less over than he had been during the summer, following a run of three consecutive pay per view defeats.
His title win was a surprise, particularly as Del Rio had only won the strap the previous month. However, Punk's win was well received and took in memorable title encounters at TLC in a Triple Threat Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match versus Del Rio & The Miz and versus Dolph Ziggler at the 2012 Royal Rumble.
Punk had regained his mojo and he was next put in a feud with Chris Jericho whom he KO'd inside the Elimination Chamber before defeating him again in singles battles at WrestleMania and Extreme Rules. Although the bouts were decent, Jericho was not a credible threat to the title.
However, Punk's reign truly stepped up a gear when he was pitted opposite former World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan during the summer. He contested sterling battles with Bryan at No Way Out, Over The Limit and Money in the Bank.
Punk was next pitted against John Cena in varying scenarios but overcame the former champion on RAW, SummerSlam in a triple threat with Big Show and Night of Champions in September.
Punk edged past the previously unbeaten Ryback at Hell in a Cell on October 28, 2012, in a match where the referee, Brad Maddox low-blowed Ryback to gift Punk the win.
"The Best In The World's" 434-day relationship with the title finally ended on January 27, 2013, when he was defeated by The Rock.
Punk actually did win the match after The Shield interfered, but Vince McMahon ordered a restart that saw "The People's Champion" win his first WWE Championship in a decade.
The Rock (January 27, 2013 - April 7, 2013)
The Rock's seventh WWE Championship reign ended at SummerSlam 2002 on August 25, 2002.
He would not lift his eighth until January 27, 2013, over a decade later at the Royal Rumble.
The groundwork was laid for The Rock's title collision with WWE Champion, CM Punk at RAW 1000 on July 23, 2012, when Punk laid out The Rock following the champion's title defense versus John Cena.
The Rock gained his revenge and the WWE Championship before a massive pay-per-view audience of 512,000, the highest 'Rumble number in four years.
Elimination Chamber the following month saw The Rock successfully defend the belt versus Punk in a rematch, that drew 213,000 buys on pay-per-view, the event's highest number since 2010.
That all set up the big rematch in the headline spot at WrestleMania. The Rock defended the WWE Championship versus Royal Rumble winner, John Cena in a bout superior to their 'Mania battle the previous year. This time, the result was reversed as Cena defeated The Rock to win the title.
WrestleMania 29 drew over a million buys once more for Rock-Cena 2 as the pair's box office magic continued.
This was likely to be Rock's final ever WWE Championship reign.
John Cena (April 7, 2013 - August 18, 2013)
John Cena's 11th WWE Championship reign kicked off in style in front of a pay-per-view audience of 1.039 million viewers and a capacity crowd of over 80,000 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Cena defeated The Rock at the second attempt in the headline attraction at WrestleMania 29 to regain the title with which he is most synonymous with.
Any subsequent feud could not hold a candle to his collision with The Rock, but his battles with Ryback at Extreme Rules and Payback were rewarding contests.
Cena next contested one of the finest bouts of the lumbering Mark Henry's career at Money in the Bank 2013 in a heated title battle, which is best remembered for the killer angle that proceeded it. Sporting a smart salmon suit, it seemed that Henry came out to announce his retirement but swerve turned on Cena, laying him out to set up the title bout.
Cena would defeat Henry however and then battle with Daniel Bryan in the main event of SummerSlam.
In one of the finest matches of his career, Cena put over Bryan clean via pinfall. Cena could not have been more giving in making Bryan look like a megastar.
Following his title loss, Cena would undergo triceps surgery. He would not factor into the title picture again until the following year.
Daniel Bryan (August 18, 2013 - August 18, 2013)
Daniel Bryan was John Cena's hand-picked opponent for their much-anticipated SummerSlam collision over the WWE Championship.
It was a decision that paid off for the fans if not for Cena. Cena dropped the belt to Bryan in a stunning bout.
On the face of it, it seemed like a star-making performance for Bryan. However, WWE were not sold on Bryan as WWE Champion. Therefore, the company booked a contingency plan to ensure that Bryan was right for the spot and had the required fan support to become a permanent main event fixture.
That meant the new WWE Champion's reign was set to an extremely short one.
Unfortunately, the impact of Bryan's win was immediately negated by his title loss which occurred moments after his title victory when Randy Orton cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to dethrone the new champion.
When SummerSlam ended, the lingering image was of The Viper holding the belt aloft.
Randy Orton (August 18, 2013 - September 15, 2013)
Randy Orton had not held the WWE Championship for three years when he won the Money in the Bank briefcase on July 14, 2013, at the annual Money in the Bank pay per view event.
Many wondered at the time what the value was of having a former six-time WWE Champion win a match which is usually reserved for stars on the rise seeking their first World title.
However, doubts over Daniel Bryan's capabilities as WWE Champion led to WWE booking Orton as a fail-safe.
The contingency booking was enacted at SummerSlam on August 18, 2013, when RKO dethroned Bryan for the belt moments after he had defeated John Cena for it.
Orton's reign was set to brief, however.
The pair contested a rematch at Night of Champions on September 15. The title was held up after referee, Scott Armstrong was deemed by WWE management to have delivered a fast count from Bryan on Orton.
On the night, Bryan had been crowned the new WWE Champion, but was stripped of the belt the following night on RAW.
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