CM Punk Reflects On Money in the Bank 2011 Match, Is Grateful To John Cena

CM Punk battled John Cena at Money in the Bank 2011 in one of the most famous matches of the era, and Punk recently reflected on his memories of the match. Punk defeated Cena for the WWE Championship with the storyline being that Punk’s contract was expiring that night. The two battled in the main event, with Punk winning the title.

Punk was asked what he remembers most about the match in his appearance on All the Smoke. He spoke about the crowd at the show and how they got him to that position before praising Cena for helping get him over to that level. You can see highlights below:

On What He Most Remembers About The Match:

“That crowd. That crowd… I ride the wave. I am carried to the position I’m in because of those fans, because of those people in Chicago. Just an unbelievable, once-in-a-lifetime atmosphere where we captured that lightning, you know? We’re riding on that lightning bolt, and all the ingredients are there. The build was there.”

“Nobody really knew what was going to happen. They knew I was out the door. They knew I was leaving so, ‘Obviously he’s going to lose.’ And when you have that kind of perfect storm, you can create magic.”

On Working With Cena In the Match:

“John is a guy I’m very grateful for in my career. Hats off to to John Cena, my wrestling soulmate. Because he didn’t have to be that nice or giving to me. A lot of top guys back then weren’t, you know? It was about — revenue was wildly different then. If you were on PPV, you got paid more. If you were the champion and you’re the main event of of the PPV, you got paid drastically more. So, that’s why a lot of guys didn’t want to give up their spot. Because that meant they’re making less money.

“And he essentially to me was one of the guys who was like, ‘Here’s the ball, kid. Run with it.’ And I did what I could. But I never would have been able to do it without him. So, quarterback is the guy on the team everybody talks about, they’re the franchise player. But they got to throw the ball to somebody to score a touchdown more oftentimes than not. So it’s a synergy between me and John. Running back, quarterback, and every time I think I was on screen with him, we scored touchdowns.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit All The Smoke with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.