WWE: Top 10 Money In The Bank Pay-Per-View Moments

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1. CM Punk Defeats John Cena To Win WWE Championship: July 17, 2011

Was there ever any doubt what number one would be on this list?  It’s become one of the greatest moments in WWE history and it changed the game in the WWE for years to come.  The summer of CM Punk in 2011 took the wrestling world by storm like nothing fans had ever seen before.

Punk had earned a WWE Championship opportunity at Money In The Bank 2011 against John Cena, but he would blur the lines between reality and fiction like nobody had ever done before in the WWE in the buildup towards this match.  His “Pipe Bomb” promo was groundbreaking and the buildup to this match was nothing short of outstanding.

The Straight-Edged Superstar’s contract was legitimately ending around the time of the pay-per-view and he said he was going to leave with the WWE Championship.  In reality, he signed a new contract with the WWE just before the event, but fans didn’t know for sure and it created some must-see TV.

The match with Cena had a lot to live up to and not only did it live up to the hype, it exceeded it.  In his hometown of Chicago, Punk defeated Cena in a five-star match to win the WWE Championship for the first time amidst a frenzy by the WWE universe.  Everything the WWE did in the weeks leading up to this event and the match itself was flawless and Punk came out looking like the leader of a new era in the WWE.

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Regardless of how his time with the WWE ended, Punk’s summer of 2011 and WWE Championship triumph over Cena at Money in The Bank 2011 isn’t just the best moment in Money In The Bank pay-per-view history, but arguably the best moment of the WWE in this decade.